Erling Haaland will cost a record-equalling £14.0m at the start of 2023/24 Fantasy Premier League, while Mohamed Salah has dropped to £12.5m.
Haaland jumps from his opening price of £11.5m last season and is one of only four players, along with Thierry Henry, Robin van Persie and Cristiano Ronaldo, to start a Fantasy campaign at £14.0m.
The Manchester City forward was the top-scoring player in 2022/23 Fantasy, amassing 272 points thanks to 36 goals and nine assists.
Despite his hefty price hike, few managers will dare to go without the Norwegian due to his very favourable early schedule.
Man City’s first six matches
| GW | Opponent | FDR* | GW | Opponent | FDR* |
| 1 | BUR (A) | 2 | 4 | FUL (H) | 2 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | NEW (H) | 4 | 5 | WHU (A) | 2 |
| 3 | SHU (A) | 2 | 6 | NFO (H) | 2 |
*Fixture Difficulty Rating (1= easy, 5= hard)
Man City face four of the six sides who were promoted to the Premier League in the last two seasons over the first six Gameweeks.
See: Every FPL price announced so far
Notably, Haaland thrived against such opponents in the previous campaign.
His total of 47 points against promoted sides was joint-top in Fantasy last season, with the forward producing six goals and two assists to average 8.4 points per start.
Salah falls
Salah, meanwhile, has dropped from his 2022/23 starting cost of £13.0m.
Although he finished 33 points adrift of Haaland on 239 points, the Liverpool star was a huge success after they changed tactics in Gameweek 30.
Salah was the top-scoring player in Fantasy from that point, producing seven goals, five assists and 78 points.
His 40 shots and 38 shots in the box were both more than double any team-mate, underlining his role as the focal point of Jurgen Klopp’s attack.
Liverpool’s favourable long-term schedule suggests Salah is likely to prove a popular premium pick alongside Haaland in managers’ opening squads.
Liverpool's first 12 matches
| GW | Opponent | FDR* | GW | Opponent | FDR* |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | CHE (A) | 3 | 7 | TOT (A) | 3 |
| 2 | BOU (H) | 2 | 8 | BHA (A) | 3 |
| 3 | NEW (A) | 4 | 9 | EVE (H) | 2 |
| 4 | AVL (H) | 3 | 10 | NFO (H) | 2 |
| 5 | WOL (A) | 2 | 11 | LUT (A) | 2 |
| 6 | WHU (H) | 3 | 12 | BRE (H) | 3 |
The Reds will face only one of last season’s top-five sides in the first 12 Gameweeks.
Also in this series
Part 2: Tricky decisions in midfield
Part 3: New role key to Alexander-Arnold rise
Part 4: Big changes for Rashford and Sterling
Part 5: Saka to cost the same as Odegaard
Part 6: Kane a tricky pick among premiums