How to solve the Salah-Haaland dilemma – FPL talking points

Three gameweeks of nan Fantasy Premier League play are successful nan container and nan world break is simply a bully chance to bespeak connected nan authorities of your squad and what we've learned truthful far.

Some pre-season predictions person travel true, but immoderate are successful nan bin - specified arsenic my connection that you could spell without Mohamed Salah to commencement with.

Wrong!

The astir eye-catching constituent truthful acold has been nan performances of FPL's 2 juggernauts - Manchester City's Erling Haaland and Liverpool's Salah.

The elemental reply is 'yes'.

A much nuanced consequence is that 'it depends what you do pinch nan spare cash'.

Both person an unthinkable 41 points truthful acold successful what is an unprecedented commencement to an FPL season.

At much than 13 points per game, nan brace are connected people for a whopping 520 points. For context, nan champion ever FPL play was Salah's 303 points successful 2017-18.

They are evidently not going to transportation connected astatine this rate. If they do, Haaland would people 88 goals and Salah would person 38 goals and 38 assists.

But Salah's grounds FPL haul could good beryllium astatine consequence moreover pinch nan inevitable slowdown.

The 2 cardinal questions to activity retired present are:

1) Which 1 of them will you skipper each week?

2) What could you do pinch nan other rate if you went without 1 of them?

Having some players gives you a awesome skipper prime astir weeks and besides makes it very difficult to fresh different premium subordinate into your side.

Yes, you tin person a Cole Palmer aliases Bukayo Saka successful location too, but almost each different subordinate successful your squad would beryllium £5.5m aliases little - and history tells america that those prices don't often consequence successful high-scoring FPL players.

Your big-money alternatives are Palmer (£10.6m), Saka (£10.1m) and Son Heung-min (£10m). I'd besides propulsion Phil Foden (£9.4m) and Kevin de Bruyne (£9.6m) successful that category, on pinch Ollie Watkins (£8.9m).

But there's only week six of nan adjacent six gameweeks wherever you mightiness skipper 1 of these players complete Salah aliases Haaland - erstwhile Palmer's Chelsea person Brighton astatine location and Saka's Arsenal look Leicester astatine Emirates Stadium.

Verdict: If you don't person some already past it mightiness beryllium clip to rip up your plans - and moreover usage your first wildcard - to get Haaland and Salah in.

However, it's important to play your ain crippled and look astatine nan authorities of nan remainder of your side. As mentioned, it is difficult to find regular FPL points scorers nether £6m.

For example, a operation of Salah and Villa's Morgan Rogers (£5.1m, 6 FPL pts) could go Palmer and Brentford's Bryan Mbeumo (£7.1m, 24 FPL pts), truthful if you for illustration really that looks successful your squad past spell for it.

Palmer and Mbeumo surely person nan imaginable to outscore Salah and Rogers, assuming nan Liverpool man stops getting double digits each week.

This is nan discourse you person to see erstwhile making your prime - tin you lucifer Salah's output by spreading nan costs around?

Equally, if you were brave capable to spell without Haaland past you could person Salah, Saka, Palmer AND players specified arsenic Kai Havertz and Watkins up beforehand too.

Ditching nan astir costly FPL subordinate ever gives you plentifulness of freedom.

Just don't beryllium amazed if nan large Norwegian wraps up a hat-trick aft 30 minutes against Brentford adjacent clip out!

Trent Alexander-Arnold (20 points), Andy Robertson (18) and Virgil van Dijk (18) are nan 3 highest-scoring defenders, pinch Liverpool nan only broadside to person kept 3 cleanable sheets this season.

It seems for illustration a no-brainer to get astatine slightest 1 of them into your broadside - particularly if you are wildcarding.

Alexander-Arnold (£7m) would beryllium my first prime and I'd prime Robertson complete VVD. The daft point is that they apical nan scoring charts and neither Liverpool full-back has an attacking return yet.

The Reds person conceded conscionable 14 shots successful nan box, bettered only by Manchester City and Nottingham Forest, and they person nan lowest expected goals conceded (xGC) astatine 2.19.

This suggests they will easy amended connected past season's 10 cleanable sheets and, pinch Forest and Bournemouth astatine location next, a double-digit haul for 1 of their defenders is connected nan cards.

If you're having Haaland and Salah, past you request worth up front. Look nary further than Brighton's Joao Pedro (£5.7m).

Team-mate Danny Welbeck has outscored nan Brazilian striker truthful far, but Pedro has penalties and feels for illustration nan amended semipermanent prime of nan two.

Brighton look Ipswich, Forest and Spurs astatine location successful nan adjacent 4 gameweeks, but they've besides shown they will beryllium a threat connected nan roadworthy - scoring astatine Arsenal past week which is nary mean feat.

Nottingham Forest's Chris Wood is somewhat much costly astatine £6.1m but has 2 goals successful 3 games and has secured a maximum prize each clip he has scored.

He has Liverpool distant next, but 5 of nan pursuing six games are greenish connected FPL's fixture ticker.

A left-field prime could beryllium Everton's Iliman Ndiaye (£5.4m), who looks to person worked his measurement into Sean Dyche's starting line-up.

The Senegal guardant scored 14 goals successful nan Championship 2 seasons agone for Sheffield United and has looked lively truthful far. Everton's tally from week 5 to 14 is astir arsenic tasty arsenic it gets, including games against each 3 promoted sides.

No! Watkins was nan only striker to people much FPL points than Haaland past season.

He's grounded to find nan nett truthful acold but his underlying stats propose goals are connected nan horizon.

The Aston Villa striker has had 4 large chances and his expected goals (xG) is 1.57. He's been unlucky - aliases rusty.

Last play Watkins grounded to people successful his first 5 games but vanished pinch 19 goals and 18 assists.

Villa look Everton (h), Wolves (h) and Ipswich (a) successful their adjacent 3 games. Have patience pinch Watkins and he could beryllium nan cleanable signing this week - particularly if you situation to spell without Haaland.