FPL GW15 stats: Huge swing for Palmer captain backers in Salah's absence

More than 715,000 Fantasy Premier League managers were celebrating their good fortune as Cole Palmer (£11.1m) delivered a Gameweek-high 18 points.

With the Merseyside derby between Everton and Liverpool postponed due to bad weather, the top captain choice, Mohamed Salah (£13.3m), missed out and vice-captains came into play.

Palmer was the biggest beneficiary as the most-popular of the Salah vice-captains.

Chelsea's talisman scored twice and earned an assist to claim the maximum three bonus points as the Blues came from 2-0 to beat Tottenham Hotspur 4-3.

The postponed match at Goodison Park will be rescheduled for a later date and will likely result in a Double Gameweek for both Liverpool and Everton - when they play TWICE in the same round of matches.

GW15 top five Salah vice-captains

Including Salah vice-captains, Palmer was captained by over 1.8million managers.

He was also, briefly, the most-selected player in Fantasy, as more than 321,000 parted company with Salah ahead of the deadline. Those moves are already being reversed, however, with the Egyptian currently the third-most bought player for Gameweek 16, with 74,000+ transfers in.

The No 1 transfer target for the next round of matches - and the fifth-most captained player for Gameweek 15 - was Alexander Isak (£8.5m).

The Sweden international scored for the second successive match in Newcastle United's 4-2 defeat to Brentford and was rewarded with a share of the bonus points.

Since returning from injury in Gameweek 8, Isak ranks top among forwards with 50 points, one better than Matheus Cunha (£7.1m) and Chris Wood (£6.5m).

Haaland ends drought

More than 3.4m managers benefitted from Erling Haaland's (£15.0m) first goal since Gameweek 11.

Captained by just over 3m, Haaland gained a further 457,818 armbands from Salah vice-captains.

And things got even better for his backers with the Norwegian earning one bonus point from Manchester City's 2-2 draw with Crystal Palace.

GW15 most-captained players including Salah vice-captains

The "curse" of the most-bought player struck again.

This week its victim was Bukayo Saka (£10.5m), who was snapped up by nearly 500,000 FPL bosses and blanked in Arsenal's 1-1 draw at Fulham.

The most-popular transfer has now failed to produce immediate returns in each of the last six Gameweeks.

Saka's team-mate William Saliba (£6.1m) was also in demand after producing his best score of the campaign in midweek, thanks to a 15-point haul at home to Manchester United.

And the Frenchman was on the scoresheet again, rewarding his new owners with a 10-point return after earning two bonus points.

Elsewhere, it was a frustrating weekend for those who recruited Ollie Watkins (£9.0m) as their new addition was named among the substitutes for Aston Villa's 1-0 win over Southampton. Watkins, who also featured among the top-five captains, made a second-half appearance but that only resulted in the dreaded one-point return.

Mbeumo's stunning home form punishes sellers

Bryan Mbeumo (£7.7m), the most-sold player in each of the last two Gameweeks, confounded his sellers by registering double digits in the Bees win over Newcastle.

A total of 1,424,740 managers have sold the Brentford star over the last week following just one assist in five appearances. 

But Mbeumo punished their lack of faith by scoring and assisting at the Gtech Community Stadium. He's now amassed a remarkable 75 points at home, the most of any player in Fantasy.

Most points in home matches

Joao Pedro's (£5.9m) stock was on the rise ahead of Gameweek 15 as five returns in four matches prompted 350,000+ to add the Brazilian to their squads.

But the budget-friendly forward was unable to extend that good form as Brighton & Hove Albion surrendered a two goal lead to Leicester City on Sunday.

GW15 most-bought players