All of the three most-popular vice-captains to Erling Haaland (£12.2m) scored or assisted in Gameweek 14 of Fantasy Premier League, proving the importance of putting a lot of thought into your back-up armband selection.
Haaland was the most-popular pick in the Gameweek, with 5.3million FPL managers hoping he would recover from a foot injury.
But the game's highest-scoring player missed Manchester City's 1-0 win at Leicester City, leaving millions reliant on their vice-captains.
Luckily for many they were not let down.
Top Haaland vice-captains
| Player | Vice-captained by | Pts |
|---|---|---|
| Jesus | 957,919 | 9 |
| Salah | 836,002 | 7 |
| De Bruyne | 760,993 | 11 |
Mohamed Salah (£12.8m), Kevin De Bruyne (£12.4m) and Gabriel Jesus (£8.0m) were the most popular back-ups.
On Saturday Salah scored and produced seven points in Liverpool's loss to Leeds, while De Bruyne got the winner and maximum bonus from Man City's 1-0 victory at Leicester.
Jesus was the most selected of the three, though, and the 957,919 who gave him the vice-captaincy faced an anxious wait before the forward produced two assists in Arsenal's 5-0 win over Nottingham Forest.
Managers uncertain on Haaland
FPL managers were in fact split on Haaland ahead of the deadline.
While he was the most-captained player, he was also the most-sold player for the Gameweek.
GW14 most-captained players
| Player | Captained by (000's) | Pts |
|---|---|---|
| Haaland | 5,348 | 0 |
| Salah | 1,251 | 7 |
| Jesus | 952 | 9 |
Some 26,470 managers Triple-Captained Haaland, while 634,000+ will have been pleased to have benched the Norwegian as he was left out of the squad.
Despite the sales, Halaand remains in 81 per cent of all teams, and Pep Guardiola has suggested Haaland might be fit to face Fulham next weekend.
GW14 most-sold players
| Player | Transferred out by ('000s) | Pts |
| Haaland | 365 | 0 |
|---|---|---|
| Salah | 307 | 7 |
| Gross | 300 | 7 |
Like Haaland, managers were equally uncertain what to do with Liverpool's Salah.
An appealing fixture prompted more than 1.3m to hand him the armband but enthusiasm was tempered by three blanks over his last four outings.
But Salah delivered as both the second-most captained and the second-most sold player.
Elsewhere, Fantasy managers continued to sell Pascal Gross (£5.6m), who featured in top three transfers out for the second successive Gameweek.
But the German ended a run of five matches without a return as he scored the fourth goal in Brighton's 4-1 victory over Chelsea.
See: Fantasy Premier League stats
Also in this series
Part 2: GW14 FPL stats: Top target Almiron extends hot streak
Part 3: GW14 Bonus points
Part 4: Saturday review: De Bruyne a big Haaland alternative
Part 5: Best FPL replacements for suspended Toney
Part 6: GW14 Lessons: All change up front
