The less said about two of our Gameweek 9 captain picks the better! Whilst an injury suffered against Malmo in the Champions League midweek ruled Romelu Lukaku (£11.5m) out of Chelsea’s 7-0 thrashing of Norwich, Harry Kane (£12.1m) drew blank for Spurs as they fell to a 1-0 defeat away at London rivals West Ham. For Mo Salah (£12.9m) however, it was an entirely different story. An imperious performance by the Egyptian king saw him net a hat-trick to go alongside an early assist as Liverpool humiliated bitter rivals Man Utd. Jurgen Klopp’s side ultimately triumphed by five goals to nil at Old Trafford, a result which saw Salah accumulate a massive 24 FPL points.
We now turn our attention to Gameweek 10 and cast an eye over the most appealing captain picks, as well as highlighting a differential selection that could see our readers steal a march on their mini league rivals ahead of Saturday’s 11:00am deadline.
PREMIUM OPTIONS
Mo Salah (£12.9m) vs BHA (H)
Forget just captaining Mo Salah (£12.9m), it would be no surprise if a large portion of FPL managers are tempted to activate their triple captain chip and put their faith on a player who could arguably be described as the best player in the world right now, when taking into account his scintillating form. Salah is currently on an incredible run of having scored in each of his last ten matches in all competitions for Liverpool. From an FPL point of view, Salah has netted in eight of the nine gameweeks completed so far, scoring ten Premier League goals overall including six assists.
With a whopping 107 FPL points in the bank so far this season, no player is even close to Salah’s overall score with 57 points the second highest FPL score accrued after nine gameweeks. Brighton at home represents a very enticing Gameweek 10 fixture on paper after watching Man City put four goals past the Seagulls last weekend. Graham Potter’s are expected to put up more of a fight defensive here, but it would be a significant surprise if Salah wasn’t to register at least two attacking returns here, let alone just one!
Trent Alexander-Arnold (£7.6m) vs BHA (H)
For those FPL managers with the guts not to hand their captain’s armband to Salah, some would call you brave, some would call you stupid! However, there are a number of alternatives on the table. One of which is his Liverpool teammate Trent Alexander-Arnold (£7.6m), who accrued both a clean sheet and an assist against Man Utd, acquiring 10 FPL points for his large ownership. Alexander-Arnold’s point-scoring exploits have understandably gone under the radar within the FPL community due to the form of Salah, but the flying full-back has now picked up 16 points across the last two gameweeks.
Alexander-Arnold currently has 51 FPL points to his name, the joint-highest score among defenders and this is despite missing two gameweeks due to injury. Liverpool head into Gameweek 10 having racked up six Premier League clean sheets so far this season and they’ll be expecting another shut out against Brighton. Factor in the attacking threat posed by Alexander-Arnold down the right-hand-side combined with his set piece prowess and he represents a perfectly viable captain pick, despite defenders being historically dangerous to hand the armband to.
Michail Antonio (£8.1m) vs AVL (a)
Arguably the first big bandwagon player of the 2021-22 campaign from an FPL point of view, Michail Antonio (£8.1m) was back on the scoresheet in Gameweek 9, scoring his sixth goal of the season as West Ham defeated Spurs by a goal to nil. Owners of Antonio gained 7 FPL points as a reward, increasing the forward’s overall score to 57 points after nine gameweeks. Only Mo Salah has more at this stage.
Gameweek 10 sees West Ham travel to Aston Villa and Antonio will be looking to build on his six goals and four assists already accrued in the Premier League. Villa have failed to keep a clean sheet in their last three league matches, conceding a worrying eight goals in the process. When taking into account the recent defensive fragility of the hosts, a big physical focal point in Antonio may well be set to take advantage. With the FPL ownership of the 31-year-old currently just above 47%, this makes captaining Antonio by far the best way of capitalising on any attacking returns that he can register at Villa Park.
DIFFERENTIAL OPTION
Mason Mount (£7.5m) vs NEW (a)
With Chelsea’s two main forwards in Romelu Lukaku and Timo Werner injury, many expected them to possibly struggle in front of goal against Norwich in Matchday 9. Chelsea’s answer to those concerns was emphatic, thumping the Canaries 7-0 with midfielder Mason Mount (£7.5m) at the forefront of their attacking success. The England international registered a hat-trick and an assist in what was his first 90 minutes in the Premier League since Gameweek 3, accumulating a mammoth 24 points in total.
The Blues make the long trip to Newcastle in Gameweek 10, looking to make it four straight Premier League wins and Mount will surely retain his place in the starting line-up following his display last weekend. Confidence can go a long way in football and Mount will be hunting for more goals against the newly minted Magpies, especially as it feels like he has a point to prove following his recent lack of gametime. That makes him the ideal differential pick for any FPL manager looking to break away from the majority.
