Remember when there was a big Mohamed Salah v Erling Haaland debate.
In his past nine games, Manchester City’s Norwegian forward has 26 Fantasy Premier League points.
Salah has 108.
One. Hundred. And. Eight!
Salah leads the team again this week, with three players from Liverpool and a double Aston Villa attack.
The team of the week is selected based on current FPL prices to fit within a £100m budget, as if you were playing a Free Hit.
How did last week’s team do?
A heartbreaking 59th-minute substitution meant last gameweek’s punt – Jamie Vardy – ended with four points despite his goal, after also getting booked.
Still a smashing week though as Salah (18), Alex Iwobi (15), captain Cole Palmer (14), Ollie Watkins (12) and double Manchester City defence did the business.
That led to a haul of 84 points.
Keeper and defence
David Raya, Arsenal, keeper, £5.5m – away at Fulham
Raya has two clean sheets in his past three games and this team has the budget for a premium keeper.
He was superb against Manchester United, acting as sweeper multiple times and making one excellent save from Matthijs de Ligt.
The Spaniard also has a good chance of bonus if it ends up being a low-scoring Arsenal win.
Virgil van Dijk, Liverpool, £6.4m – away at Everton
This team of the week has had success the past three weeks doubling up on one defence so we go again with the league’s best backline statistically against a struggling attack (not counting Everton’s 4-0 thumping of Wolves!).
Van Dijk has had nine shots this season – eight of them were headers in the box – and poses an obvious threat from corners.
The fact this is a derby means nothing for me – Liverpool are on fire.
Trent Alexander-Arnold, Liverpool, £6.9m – away at Everton
Alexander-Arnold has been frustrating to own for FPL players this season and yet he is now the second-highest scoring defender.
He showed the attacking threat he has with two assists in his 23 minutes on the pitch as a substitute on Wednesday at Newcastle.
Always worth a punt if you have the cash as he has double-digit potential in every game.
Noussair Mazraoui, Manchester United, £4.7m – home to Nottingham Forest
Forest have failed to score on their past two away trips – at Manchester City and Arsenal – so this pick is banking on that trend continuing.
Mazraoui has been one of United’s best players this season. In FPL terms, he makes a lot of blocks and interceptions and also has a high pass completion percentage, which all contribute to bonus points.
So a potential six points for a clean sheet could end up more like eight or nine.
Midfield
Mohamed Salah (captain), Liverpool £13.3m – away at Everton
First name on the teamsheet, no arguments at the moment.
Salah is on for a historic FPL season and we’re riding that wave.
Morgan Rogers, Aston Villa, £5.3m – home to Southampton
Rogers, a popular budget pick at the start of the season, has had two frustrating runs of blanks this season and you can see why his ownership has dropped in recent weeks.
But he still has four goals and two assists, which is very decent in his price range.
Home to Southampton is as juicy as it gets at the moment and Rogers will have plenty of chances to add to his tally from that position he occupies just behind Watkins.
Bukayo Saka, Arsenal, £10.5m – away at Fulham
Salah’s incredible point scoring is grabbing the headlines but Saka and Palmer are also on pace for 300-point seasons in midfield.
There’s only room for one in this week’s team and Saka gets the nod, with six returns in his past three games.
Jarrod Bowen, West Ham, £7.4m – home to Wolves
Wolves have conceded eight goals in their past two games.
West Ham aren’t playing badly in attack – they had 31 shots in the defeat at Leicester which could easily have been 5-1 to them instead of a 3-1 loss.
Boss Julen Lopetegui is under major pressure, they need a result and Bowen is their talisman.
It all seems to be aligned for a West Ham victory.
Amad Diallo, Manchester United, £5m – home to Nottingham Forest
Diallo passes the eye test – he is so exciting to watch and majorly involved in Ruben Amorim’s system as a right wing-back.
Since the Portuguese manager arrived at OId Trafford, Diallo has three assists in his two starts.
In that time only Bruno Fernandes (seven) has made more key passes than Diallo’s five and the Ivory Coast winger has created the most big chances of any player (three).
Strikers
Yoane Wissa, Brentford, £6.2m – home to Newcastle
Wissa’s seven goals in just 10 starts this season is bang tidy and Brentford are averaging more than three goals per game at home.
The bookmakers also expect at least three goals in this one – it should be a great spectacle – so Wissa is in prime position to add to his tally.
Ollie Watkins, Aston Villa, £9m – home to Southampton
Watkins is another easy pick this week.
On penalties, he returned 12 points last week against Brentford’s poor defence and faces an even worse one on Saturday in the shape of bottom club Southampton.
Subs bench
Neto, Arsenal, £4.2m – away at Fulham
Raya’s back-up.
Joao Pedro, Brighton, £5.8m – away at Leicester
Last week showed the importance of a strong bench in this December period. I may regret not starting Joao Pedro.
Kyle Walker, Manchester City, £5.2m – away at Crystal Palace
City have a decent chance of a clean sheet against a low-scoring Palace team and Walker should play given the amount of injuries they have.
Jan Paul van Hecke, Brighton, £4.5m – away at Leicester
If Leicester have as few shots and possession as they did against West Ham, it’s not a stretch to see Brighton keeping them out.
Total team cost: £99.9m
Player to watch
Bilal el Khannouss, Leicester, midfielder, £4.8m
I like the Morocco midfielder. He’s exciting to watch and also has a bit of an attitude, like he’s got a point to prove.
New Leicester boss Ruud van Nistelrooy must like that as he was handed only his fourth start of the season against West Ham and mopped up the bonus points with a goal and assist.
Leicester have a so-so fixture list until the end of January, but it does include home games against Brighton, Wolves, Palace and Fulham.
If you are looking for a rotatable, budget eighth forward player, then El Khannouss is a potential option.
Team to target
Fulham – Arsenal (h), Liverpol (a), Southampton (h)
Ignore those horrible next two games. You want to look at Fulham from week 17, where they face Southampton, Bournemouth and Ipswich at home in the space of four gameweeks.
They are a squad packed with affordable options.
