A home encounter with Sheffield United means Mohamed Salah (£13.3m) is likely to be heavily-backed with the armband in Gameweek 31 of Fantasy Premier League.
The Liverpool star is averaging 9.2 points per start at Anfield this season and has blanked in just one of those 11 appearances.
Liverpool's visitors, meanwhile, have conceded a league-high 77 goals, with 17 of those coming in their last five fixtures alone.
Salah entertains the Blades in fine form, scoring four goals and supplying two assists in his last four matches to collect 35 points.
That total was mirrored by Chelsea’s Cole Palmer (£5.9m), who is set to face Manchester United on the back of successive double-figure returns.
Son Heung-min (£10.1m), meanwhile, has earned 36 points in his last four contests ahead of Tottenham Hotspur's visit to West Ham United.
Both Son and Palmer produced three goals, two assists and six bonus points in those encounters.
The two most-owned players in Fantasy, Manchester City’s Erling Haaland (£14.3m) and Arsenal’s Bukayo Saka (£9.0m), have managed just 15 and 22 points respectively across their last four matches.
Haaland and Saka both have favourable home fixtures to get back to their best, with Man City hosting Aston Villa and Arsenal facing Luton Town.
Player form, last four matches
| Player | Pts | G | A | Bonus |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Son | 36 | 3 | 2 | 6 |
| Salah | 35 | 4 | 2 | 5 |
| Palmer | 35 | 3 | 2 | 6 |
| Saka | 22 | 1 | 2 | 2 |
| Haaland | 15 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
Who has had the greatest attacking threat?
The underlying numbers further enhance the appeal of captaining Salah. His 23 shots, 20 shots in the box and eight big chances all place top in the analysis, while his five big chances created are joint-top with Son.
Although Son, Palmer and Haaland are near-identical for shots in the box, the Man City star had seven big chances – more than the five of the former two combined.
Saka, meanwhile, had no big chances at all in Arsenal’s last four encounters. Indeed, his total of one big chance involvement is the worst on show here, with Salah leading the way on 13.
Player attacking threat, last four matches
| Player | Shots | Shots in box | Big chances | Goal conversion | Key passes | Big chances created |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Salah | 23 | 20 | 8 | 17.4% | 8 | 5 |
| Palmer | 18 | 10 | 2 | 16.7% | 10 | 3 |
| Son | 15 | 12 | 3 | 20.0% | 7 | 5 |
| Haaland | 13 | 11 | 7 | 7.7% | 3 | 0 |
| Saka | 10 | 7 | 0 | 10.0% | 7 | 1 |
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How are they performing home/away?
Salah is once again head and shoulders above his rivals in the home and away season analysis.
His 19 big chances and 11 big chances created both place top in the table below, with his combined total of 30, at least 12 more than any of the other Gameweek 31 armband contenders.
When it comes to frequency of big chance involvement though, it is Palmer who is next-best with an average of 48.9 minutes – essentially two per appearance at Stamford Bridge.
Haaland, meanwhile, runs Salah the closest for big chances and has the slight edge over the Egyptian for minutes per shot in the box.
Indeed, both Haaland and Salah are averaging around four shots in the box per home match this season.
Player form, home/away 2023/24
| Player | Big chances | Big chances created | Mins/big chance involvement | Mins/shot in box |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Salah (H) | 19 | 11 | 33.8 | 23.2 |
| Palmer (H) | 10 | 6 | 48.9 | 36.8 |
| Haaland (H) | 16 | 2 | 58.6 | 21.2 |
| Son (A) | 8 | 7 | 67.4 | 42.1 |
| Saka (H) | 8 | 8 | 69.4 | 38.4 |
What about the opposition?
Sheff Utd's defensive data lends even more weight behind Salah's armband appeal. They conceded 12 goals and 65 shots in the box in their last four matches, with both those totals among the worst two in the league.
Palmer and Saka's prospects are lifted here, too. Man Utd's 68 shots in the box conceded are more than any other side in the league, while Luton's 18 big chances conceded also places bottom.
Man City and Spurs' opponents, Villa and West Ham, are difficult to separate for conceding goals, shots in the box and big chances across their previous four matches.
Opponents' form, last four matches
| Team | Goals conceded | Clean sheets | Shots in box conceded | Big chances conceded |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SHU | 12 | 0 | 65 | 9 |
| LUT | 8 | 0 | 54 | 18 |
| WHU | 8 | 0 | 38 | 13 |
| AVL | 7 | 1 | 39 | 12 |
| MUN | 6 | 1 | 68 | 12 |
How do the opponents fare home/away?
The home and away team statistics indicate Luton have the worst defence in the analysis.
Similar to Sheff Utd, they have failed to keep a clean sheet on their travels this season. And the Hatters have allowed their opponents 65 big chances in such fixtures, compared with the Blades' 40.
Man Utd's statistics again look promising for Palmer. In away matches, they have conceded 192 shots in the box - 33 more than Sheff Utd and the third-worst total in the league.
Villa's data also gives Haaland backers encouragement here - they have conceded 46 big chances in away matches, six more than the Blades.
Team home/away form, 2023/24
| Team | Goals conceded | Clean sheets | Shots in box conceded | Big chances conceded |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| LUT (A) | 36 | 0 | 216 | 65 |
| SHU (A) | 32 | 0 | 159 | 40 |
| AVL (A) | 23 | 3 | 137 | 46 |
| WHU (H) | 22 | 4 | 141 | 32 |
| MUN (A) | 20 | 4 | 192 | 38 |
So, who is the best captain?
It's impossible to look beyond Salah, with the player and team data pointing to another big haul for the Egyptian.
While the team statistics also favour Saka, his recent lack of big chance involvement is a concern.
Instead, it is Palmer and Haaland who could be the best alternatives to the Liverpool star, with both boasting the numbers to profit from their match-ups with poor away defences.
