Palmer or Salah for captain? FPL tips & team of the week

There's a big call to be made this week in Fantasy Premier League as the two highest-owned players compete for the captain's armband.

Liverpool's Mohamed Salah (owned by 71.9% of players) and Chelsea's Cole Palmer (60.7%) are the two main choices.

Do you play it safe with the man who rarely fails to deliver, Salah, at home to a Newcastle defence that is generally half-decent but leaked four against Manchester City and three on Sunday at home to Nottingham Forest?

Or gamble on an out-of-form Palmer at home against a woeful Southampton side that is shipping goals?

Both make this week's team - but who will be skipper?

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?

Truly abysmal with no Salah, Bournemouth triple-up flopping and only Kaoru Mitoma returning. Just 26 points.

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Keeper and defence

Aaron Wan-Bissaka has two goals and three assists this season

Alphonse Areola, West Ham, goalkeeper, £4.2m - Leicester City (h)

Double West Ham defence this week is a pick all about their opponents - struggling Leicester City.

The visitors have failed to score in eight of their past 11 games. That is awful and West Ham were decent in keeping a clean sheet at Arsenal last time.

Aaron Wan-Bissaka, West Ham, £4.4m - Leicester City (h)

Not a massively high-upside pick but Wan-Bissaka is having his best season offensively since 2020-21, with two goals and three assists.

He played really well against Arsenal and, of any West Ham defender this season, he has the most bonus points by far with nine (Max Kilman is next on five).

Patrick Dorgu, Manchester United, £4.5m - Ipswich Town (h)

The young Dane was United's most impressive player in the topsy-turvy draw at Everton, with 17 final-third touches and four crosses.

If Ruben Amorim continues to use him like that - essentially a left winger - then he is bound to get attacking returns and, if United ever get their act together defensively, a clean sheet might follow.

Marc Cucurella, Chelsea, £5.1m - Southampton (h)

Chelsea feel like the obvious clean sheet shout this week, at home against the league's lowest scorers.

The problem is that they don't have many reliable defensive options.

Cucurella is about as good as it gets and the Spaniard at least has a goal in him, with two this season.

Midfield

Bryan Mbeumo needs five more goals in 12 league games to break the 20-goal mark for the season

Bryan Mbeumo, Brentford, £8m - Everton (h)

What was I thinking, leaving Mbeumo out of the team of the week last time as he scored 14 points away at Leicester?

He's now only 11 points behind Palmer for the season and this week's game against Everton could turn into another bonanza, with David Moyes' visitors involved in two 2-2 draws in their past three.

Mohamed Salah (vice captain), Liverpool, £13.7m - Newcastle (h)

After a one-week rest, Salah is back in this week but no captain's armband for the Egyptian.

Why? Well it is a bit of a risk but Newcastle have the potential to keep things tight and the upside of Palmer v Southampton is too much to ignore.

If you own both and are a more risk-averse player then maybe just stick with Salah.

Cole Palmer (captain), Chelsea, £11.1m - Southampton (h)

In FPL you either play the form or the fixtures, and ideally both.

Palmer as captain this week is definitely a fixture pick as he only has one assist in his past five games and looks out of sorts.

But this is a man with eight double-digit hauls this season and the only player with the same explosive potential as Salah.

Saints conceded four at home to Brighton last week - Chelsea can surely get three or four here and, if they do, Palmer WILL be involved in some of those goals.

Pedro Neto, Chelsea, £6.2m - Southampton (h)

Neto was Chelsea's most impressive attacking player in the defeat at Aston Villa and you've got to think Enzo Maresca will give him another start.

Neto has had a stop-start season, but he passed the eye test on Saturday and was unlucky not to score.

Jarrod Bowen, West Ham, £7.3m - Leicester (h)

West Ham's talisman against struggling Leicester is an easy choice to make.

Bowen has two in three games since returning from injury and has been involved in more than half of West Ham's goals this season.

Strikers

Matheus Cunha is Wolves' shining light this season

Beto, Everton, £5m - Brentford (a)

It's become impossible to ignore the Guinea-Bissau striker's form - 35 points in four games is incredible - and his price makes him a great enabler if you want to pack your team with premium assets.

He scored once in the draw against Manchester United but it could easily have been three.

A trip to Brentford - the worst defensive record outside the bottom five - is nothing to fear.

Matheus Cunha, Wolves, £6.9m - Fulham (h)

Cunha could be FPL gold over the next few gameweeks, having scored in his past three games.

After this one, the Brazilian faces Everton, Southampton, West Ham and Ipswich.

Even subsequent games against Tottenham, Manchester United and Leicester could be productive for him.

At £6.9m, with 13 goals already, Cunha is an absolute bargain.

Subs bench

Dean Henderson, Crystal Palace, goalkeeper, £4.5m - Aston Villa (h)

Daniel Munoz, Crystal Palace, defender, £4.9m - Aston Villa (h)

Joao Pedro, Brighton, striker, £5.4m - Bournemouth (h)

Rayan Ait-Nouri, Wolves, defender, £4.7m - Fulham (h)

Team total cost: £95.9m

Player to watch

Manchester United signed Chido Obi from Arsenal last year when his schoolboy terms expired

Chido Obi, Manchester United, striker, £4.5m

United's strikers have been woeful this season - Rasmus Hojlund has two league goals and Joshua Zirkzee has three.

It would not be a shock if Ruben Amorim gave 17-year-old Obi - who has two substitute appearances so far - his chance in the team.

The former Arsenal youngster has a hatful of youth-level goals and would be an absolute bargain as a starter.

Team to target

Wolves - Fulham (h), Everton (h), Southampton (a)

As mentioned with Cunha, Wolves have a great run of games coming up.

All winnable matches, and a squad full of budget assets makes them worth a look.