The Scout's panel of Fantasy Premier League experts give their thoughts on Erling Haaland (£14.0m) and how often they plan to captain the Manchester City star following his back-to-back blanks and ahead of a mixed run of fixtures.
Pranil Sheth (@Lateriser12)
Haaland is definitely a good captaincy option but perhaps not an autopick. Despite his recent form, he's still capable of producing multiple returns in any match. I'm captaining him against Brighton & Hove Albion and AFC Bournemouth and looking at Mohamed Salah (£12.6m) or Son Heung-min (£9.5m) as alternatives in the other weeks.
See: Is it no longer essential to own Haaland in Fantasy?
Utkarsh Dalmia (@ZopharFPL)
I still plan to captain Haaland in two of the next five Gameweeks - against Brighton and Bournemouth. Salah has great fixtures in the other three Gameweeks and he will be getting the armband then.
Haaland and Salah's next five fixtures
| Player | GW9 | GW10 | GW11 | GW12 | GW13 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Haaland | BHA (H) | MUN (A) | BOU (H) | CHE (A) | LIV (H) |
| Salah | EVE (H) | NFO (H) | LUT (A) | BRE (H) | MCI (A) |
Sam Bonfield (@FPLFamily)
In the eight Gameweeks so far, I have moved the armband away from Haaland three times already, captaining Salah twice and James Maddison (£8.1m) once. Over the next 10 Gameweeks, I can only see myself captaining Haaland on three occasions.
FPL experts' captain choices GW9-13
| Expert | GW9 | GW10 | GW11 | GW12 | GW13 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pranil Sheth | Haaland | Salah | Haaland | Salah | Son |
| Utkarsh Dalmia | Haaland | Salah | Haaland | Saka or Salah | Salah |
| Sam Bonfield | Haaland or Son | Salah | Haaland | Saka | Saka |
| Ben Crabtree | Son | Salah | Haaland | Saka | Saka |
| Nick Harris | Son | Salah | Haaland | Saka | Son |
| Pras | Haaland | Salah | Haaland | Salah | Haaland |
Ben Crabtree (@FC_CrabDogg)
I have mixed the captaincy up so far, but have had little success with the alternatives. Given fixtures and form, I will continue to look at Son for the armband while Bukayo Saka (£8.6m), providing he returns from injury soon, has some great fixtures coming up too.
How many of you are considering giving Mo Salah the armband for Gameweek 9? 👀 #FPL pic.twitter.com/cO20jZlG6A
— Fantasy Premier League (@OfficialFPL) October 16, 2023
Nick Harris (@WGTA_Nick)
Haaland is still a strong option, but it should never be the case that he is just auto-captained without consideration for alternatives each week.
Pras (@Pras_FPL)
If there is a fixture where there is a viable alternative, such as in Gameweek 8, then on a case-by-case basis, you can look elsewhere. Haaland on merit is still the best captain in most weeks, though.
View all the latest FPL tips ahead of Gameweek 9 in Fantasy Premier League