Fantasy Premier League: Shifting Strategy from Haaland to Salah, Weekly Tips, and Team Selection

A recommendation has been made to consider transferring out Erling Haaland. Following a return of just one goal in four games for the Manchester City striker, it is suggested that funds could be more effectively allocated elsewhere this week. Mohamed Salah is put forward as a captain choice for his home fixture against Brighton. The team of the week is assembled based on current FPL prices, designed to fit within a £100m budget, simulating a Free Hit chip. The previous week saw some clean sheets, with two contributed by Josko Gvardiol (nine points) and Rico Lewis (six points). These performances, alongside strong showings from Bryan Mbuemo (15 points) and Cole Palmer (10 points), plus a return from captain Haaland, resulted in a respectable total of 64 points. Haaland’s score could have been significantly higher, as he missed three major scoring opportunities against Southampton, yet he remained the captain choice for the majority of FPL players. Listeners are encouraged to tune into the latest episode of the Fantasy 606 podcast. Matz Sels ranks second only to Manchester United’s Andre Onana in the goalkeeper point-scoring charts. Matz Sels, Nottingham Forest, keeper, £4.6m – home to West Ham The Belgian goalkeeper is currently in good form, having registered a surprise assist and a clean sheet in his last two matches. Nottingham Forest remains among the top five teams in most defensive statistics and has conceded only seven goals, which is the second-lowest total in the league. Given the rarity of clean sheets generally, and Forest playing at home, Sels is considered a sensible selection. Trent Alexander-Arnold, Liverpool, defender, £7m – home to Brighton Last week, only three out of 20 teams managed to keep a clean sheet. The preceding week saw five, partly due to a 0-0 draw between Aston Villa and Manchester United. In this context, selecting the most attacking defensive asset in a home game is presented as a straightforward decision, despite Brighton’s considerable attacking threat. Alexander-Arnold continues to lead all other defenders significantly in expected assists (3.05) but has only one actual assist. If one believes these figures will revert to the mean, then “he’s due.” Rayan Ait-Nouri, Wolves, defender, £4.6m – home to Crystal Palace This player is a very popular FPL selection currently and was highlighted as a player to watch in this column three weeks prior. Ait-Nouri is noted for his attacking prowess and budget-friendly price, having scored with three of his five shots on target. He now faces a series of fixtures where he could potentially add clean sheets to his attacking returns. Leif Davis, Ipswich, defender, £4.5m – home to Leicester City Considering this week’s fixtures, predicting a clean sheet is challenging. Therefore, another attacking full-back playing at home is included. Davis’s attacking statistics have been previously discussed; he had an excellent season in the Championship in 2023-24 and has already contributed a couple of assists this season. Ipswich is expected to adopt an attacking approach at home against relegation rivals, suggesting numerous attacking opportunities for Davis. Bryan Mbeumo, Brentford, midfielder, £7.7m – away at Fulham Bryan Mbeumo continues to perform consistently, having accumulated 68 points with only three blanks in his nine games, placing him third in the midfield points list. While some might anticipate a high-scoring encounter between Tottenham and Aston Villa this week, a significant number of goals are also expected at Craven Cottage. Brentford’s defensive record is poor, but they are the third highest-scoring team in the league. Mohamed Salah (captain), Liverpool, midfielder, £12.7m – home to Brighton Following his 10-point haul away at Arsenal, Salah is now the top-scoring FPL asset. His total of six double-digit returns this season is remarkable, including consecutive high scores against Arsenal and Chelsea, contrasting with blanks at home to Forest and Bournemouth. The debate between Salah and Haaland is reignited as the latter’s scoring rate has decreased. Players are advised to carefully review the next six fixtures or so and consider whether to make the switch. Phil Foden recorded 27 FPL returns last season. Phil Foden, Manchester City, midfielder, £9.3m – away at Bournemouth Selecting Foden can help mitigate some of the risk associated with not having Haaland. It is anticipated that the England midfielder will eventually deliver one of the explosive performances that made him a mandatory pick last season, such as his hat-trick against Brentford. Given Manchester City’s injury concerns and his 58th-minute substitution in the EFL Cup on Wednesday, Foden appears certain to start and is likely to play in the number 10 role, which enhances his effectiveness. This selection is acknowledged as a “gut-feel” decision, noting that Foden was benched the last time he was included in the team of the week. Bukayo Saka, Arsenal, midfielder, £10m – away at Newcastle Mikel Arteta’s pre-match comments last week, which hinted at Bukayo Saka’s potential unfitness for the Liverpool match, led to a collective reaction among FPL players, followed by a sigh of resignation when he scored Arsenal’s opening goal nine minutes into the game at Emirates Stadium. Saka is a valuable asset in weekly FPL, but it is becoming apparent that he is less of a captain option compared to other premium players. His 10 returns are phenomenal, but these have translated into only two double-digit weeks, in contrast to Salah’s six. He has created a league-leading 12 big chances and is expected to do so again against a struggling Newcastle side. Chris Wood, Nottingham Forest, striker, £6.4m – home to West Ham The New Zealand striker is emerging as a reliable “set-and-forget” option. He has delivered returns in every home game this season, accumulated 28 points in his last three matches, and faces a West Ham team that conceded four big chances in their previous game against Manchester United. Raul Jimenez, Fulham, striker, £5.7m – home to Brentford Another striker at the budget end who is providing excellent value; last week’s blank was the Mexican’s first in six games. A home game against a Brentford side that has conceded eight goals in three games presents a significant opportunity for him to return to scoring points. Matheus Cunha, Wolves, striker, £6.5m – home to Crystal Palace The rise of assets like Cunha is one reason players might consider going without Haaland, particularly if they have a wildcard available. The Brazilian has scored four goals this season and now faces the same favorable fixture run that makes Ait-Nouri an appealing pick, starting with home games against Palace and Southampton. Matheus Cunha scored 12 goals last season and has already achieved a third of that tally this season. Carlos Miguel, Nottingham Forest, keeper, £4.3m – home to West Ham Sels’ backup. Brennan Johnson, Tottenham Hotspur, midfielder, £6.7m – home to Aston Villa It is regrettable to leave a player of Johnson’s quality on the bench, but this team has sufficient budget for a strong first substitute, and the match between Spurs and Aston Villa has the potential to be high-scoring. Yukinari Sugawara, Southampton, defender, £4.5m – home to Everton The Japan right-back has an expected assists (xA) of 1.0, has created four big chances, and is set to face an Everton side that struggles to score goals. Ashley Young, Everton, defender, £4.5m – away at Southampton The FPL veteran has registered a return in each of his last five games, making him a player worth monitoring. The total cost for the team is £99m. Alejandro Garnacho, Manchester United, midfielder, £6.2m The Argentine youngster could have accumulated at least 20 more points this season, given the chances he has missed, most recently hitting the crossbar against West Ham. He has surpassed Bruno Fernandes as Manchester United’s statistical leader and has an expected goals (xG) figure this season of 2.98, almost a goal more than the two he has actually scored. His upcoming fixtures include Leicester, Ipswich, and Everton after this week’s encounter with Chelsea. Bournemouth’s upcoming fixtures are Manchester City (home), Brentford (away), Brighton (home). Wolves’ favorable fixture run has been mentioned multiple times in this column, and Manchester United also has promising games ahead, which supports the selection of Garnacho. Looking further ahead, Bournemouth will face a defensively vulnerable Brentford side away in gameweek 11, followed by a sequence of three decent home games and trips to Wolves and Ipswich. The Fantasy 606 listeners’ team The Erling Haaland triple captaincy did not yield positive results for the listeners’ manager in gameweek nine, leading to another red arrow. This week, discussions have revolved around a drastic shift in strategy by selling him. The proposed idea involves making two transfers to bring in Mohamed Salah and then captaining him for his next three matches against Brighton (home), Aston Villa (home), and Southampton (away). This strategy must be weighed against Haaland’s upcoming fixtures – Bournemouth (away), Brighton (away), Tottenham (home) – and the additional budget flexibility that would become available. Salah appears to be the superior captain choice for gameweek 10, though the subsequent weeks are considered to be fairly balanced. Numerous in-form strikers are available for selection should a player decide to sell Haaland, with most being offered at bargain prices. Chris Wood holds a “cult status” on the podcast, but Mateus Cunha and Yoane Wissa are now considered potentially better long-term investments, both having under 5% ownership. Brighton’s fixtures look favorable from gameweek 12, suggesting Danny Welbeck or Joao Pedro, if he is fit, would be good choices at that point, as would Chelsea’s Nicolas Jackson, who is slightly more expensive at £7.9 million. The listeners’ manager is making a defensive change this week by selling Gabriel to acquire Virgil van Dijk, leaving £3.1m in the bank for the next manager by resisting the temptation to opt for Trent Alexander-Arnold. Individuals interested in managing the listeners’ team on the Fantasy 606 podcast are invited to send an e-mail to fantasy606@bbc.co.uk. The code to join the BBC Sport FPL league is ‘bbcfpl’. The Listeners’ team maintains its position at the top of the table.