DREAM TEAM managers must remember to select their captain for Gameweek 29 before Saturday’s 10:45am deadline.
Mohamed Salah (£8m) has been the most popular skipper for months on end but his reign may be at an end.
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Liverpool’s top scorer has just one fixture this coming Gameweek, the small matter of Wednesday night’s Merseyside derby at Anfield.
The Egyptian superstar may well post another double-digit haul – he’s registered 54 goal involvements this season for crying out loud – but he doesn’t appear to be among the leading candidates on paper.
Logically, the best captain is more likely to come from one of the seven teams set to pull double duty.
And so the question must be asked: has Erling Haaland’s (£7.8m) time come again?
Manchester City travel to Bournemouth this weekend in the FA Cup quarter-finals before welcoming Leicester to the Etihad in the Premier League in midweek.
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The Cherries are not to be underestimated but the big Norwegian No9 will be licking his lips at the prospect of taking on the Foxes on current form.
Ruud van Nistelrooy’s side have lost seven games in a row and haven’t scored a league goal since Janaury.
The chances of Haaland adding to his season tally of 29 goals at some point this coming Gameweek are relatively high.
Alternatively, might there be a fantastic captain lurking in Crystal Palace’s ranks?
Daniel Munoz (£5.4m) averages seven points-per-game this season and so it would be reasonable to expect a healthy return from him with the Eagles due to face Fulham and Southampton.
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The Colombian wing-back has scored five goals, provided six assists, and contributed to 12 clean sheets.
Wednesday’s trip to St Mary’s Stadium represents a mouthwatering mismatch as Saints have mustered just four points on home soil since their return to the top flight.
While that’s all valid, many gaffers will be reluctant to captain a defender, even one as good as Munoz.
Much of the same logic applies to Palace’s attack-minded assets.
Eberechi Eze (£4.5m) averages 6.8 points-per-game while only Bruno Fernandes (£6.7m) has earned more points from his last three outings than Ismaila Sarr (£3.7m).
Jean-Philippe Mateta (£4.5m) is expected to return from injury in Gameweek 29.
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Elsewhere, Aston Villa have the luxury of a cup quarter-final against lower league opposition as they travel to Preston on Sunday, with a league game against Brighton to follow.
Some Dream Team bosses will be tempted to stick the armband on Morgan Rogers (£3.9m), Marco Asensio (£4.1m) or Ollie Watkins (£5.2m) – assuming the latter is passed fit – but predicting minutes isn’t all that easy where the Villains are concerned.
Mentions too for Justin Kluivert (£4m), Antoine Semenyo (£4.2m) and Evanilson (£4.2m) as it wouldn’t be all that surprising if Bournemouth landed a few blows on Man City before overwhelming Ipswich.
In conclusion, Haaland is seemingly the most logical captain among the premium options but there are several tempting alternatives this Gameweek.
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