FPL GW30 stats: Palmer delivers as differential captain

More than 496,000 Fantasy Premier League managers were rewarded for captaining Cole Palmer (£5.8m) in Gameweek 30.

Palmer scored twice as Chelsea drew 2-2 with Burnley to earn 15 points for his performance, or 30 as captain.

It proved to be a shrewd move by managers as Palmer was the fifth most-captained player.

Erling Haaland (£14.3m) and Son Heung-min (£10.1m) were the top two choices, while Mohamed Salah (£13.2m) was the third most-captained player, with 1.3m handing him the armband, and Ollie Watkins (£9.0m) completed the top four.

Haaland, the No 1 armband pick, carried the hopes of 3.6m managers for Manchester City's home encounter versus Arsenal, having scored and supplied two assists in the corresponding fixture last season.

But he was unable to repeat that performance as the contest finished 0-0, registering a second consecutive blank.

Salah scored in Liverpool's 2-1 win over Brighton & Hove Albion to return seven points, although his backers will feel a little disappointed it wasn't more given how many opportunities he had.

He took 12 shots, the most of any player in Gameweek 30 and double his previous highest tally in a match this season. Nine of those attempts were inside the opposition penalty area and three were deemed big chances.

GW30 most-captained players

Ollie Watkins (£9.0m) was entrusted with the captaincy by 800,000+ managers, but to their frustration the Aston Villa talisman wasn't involved in either goal in the 2-0 win against local rivals Wolverhampton Wanderers. He was withdrawn at half-time, earning only a single point.

Despite being top of the Fantasy player standings, Watkins has now blanked in three successive outings and is by far the most-sold player for Gameweek 31.

Meanwhile, a home meeting with Luton Town proved the perfect tonic for Son, as he bounced back from his two-point score away to Fulham in Blank Gameweek 29.

Tottenham Hotspur came from behind to win 2-1, with Son scoring the winning goal to claim 10 points.

GW30 most-bought players

Palmer was also among the most-bought players of the round, snapped up by more than 574,000 Fantasy bosses.

His double-figure haul was his eighth of the campaign, the joint-most in Fantasy level with Salah and Son.

And it was fully deserved, too, as he took nine shots against Vincent Kompany's side, the most he's had in any Premier League game.

Moving up to 157 points, Palmer becomes the best-value player of 2023/24 Fantasy, having returned 27 points per million based on his current price of £5.8m.

Malo Gusto (£4.2m) was the top defensive target but, in contrast to his high-flying Chelsea team-mate, it wasn't the right-back's afternoon as registered a solitary point.

It wasn't for a lack of trying, however, as the cut-price defender created four chances, including one big chance, and took three shots.

Rodrigo Muniz (£4.6m) fared better for his new owners continuing his fine form with a goal away to Sheffield United.

He takes his total to 63 points in the last eight Gameweeks, the most of any player over that period.

Salah back on the menu

Salah was the most-recruited player of the round as he begins to recover owners following his injury-interrupted return from the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON).

The Egyptian found himself in over 55 per cent of teams before his departure in Gameweek 21 and, despite his surge in popularity, he remains a relative differential with an ownership of 31 per cent.

Top 100 managers' GW30 captains

The majority of the leading 100 managers, including the overall leader Sundeep Jaswal, opted for Son as captain.

Five of this elite group picked an excellent differential in Palmer, with Harvey Suddick moving into the top 25 as a result.

Elsewhere, Muniz got one vote, as did Haaland, while 22 of the top 100 handed the armband to Salah.

Also in this series