Will FPL managers be rewarded for backing Isak as captain after Salah blank?

More than 1.2million managers in Fantasy Premier League will be hoping their decision to captain Alexander Isak (£9.5m) pays off when Newcastle United visit Leicester City on Monday evening.

The Swede is the second most-captained active player in Gameweek 31 and has scored or assisted in all four of his meetings with promoted clubs this season.

Notably, Isak's nearest armband rivals all suffered a disastrous weekend, with four of the top five all blanking.

GW31 most-captained active players

Mohamed Salah (£13.8m) was the top captain pick for the 18th time this season, handed the armband by more than 5.2m people.

But he was unable to add to his remarkable tally of 12 double-figure hauls in away matches as Liverpool lost 3-2 at Fulham.

The 204,000+ who entrusted Ollie Watkins (£8.9m) with the captaincy will have been pleased that he started against Forest after not being named in Villa's starting XI in the last two matches in all competitions. However he was withdrawn after 61 minutes, having failed to register a single shot, finishing on two points.

And Cole Palmer (£10.7m) continued his indifferent spell of form, blanking in Chelsea's draw with Brentford.

To the surprise of many, Palmer was left out of the starting XI despite being fit, appearing as a second-half substitute. Sold by more than 3m managers across the last four Gameweeks, that number is only likely to increase. 

Still to play

Along with Isak, Jacob Murphy (£5.1m) is another popular Newcastle pick. He was the fifth most-bought player for Gameweek 31, earning 384,000+ new owners. 

Murphy enjoys an appealing fixture with Leicester on Monday. The Foxes have lost each of their last seven home matches, conceding 18 goals and scoring none.

In further encouragement for his new owners, Murphy produced his joint-best return of the season in the reverse fixture in Gameweek 16, scoring twice for a 13-point haul.

In total, 1.6m managers have invested in one of Eddie Howe's (£1.5m) players while the Newcastle head coach himself is the most-selected Assistant Manager, knocking Arne Slot (£1.5m) off top spot for the first time since the chip was introduced in Gameweek 24.

GW31 most-selected assistant managers

Elsewhere, the most-bought players in Gameweek 31 have disappointed their new owners.

Omar Marmoush (£7.6m), the third most-recruited player of the round, joined the list of flops after blanking in Manchester City's 0-0 draw with Manchester United.

It follows on from a difficult Saturday which saw the top two transfer targets, Bukayo Saka (£10.4m) and William Saliba (£6.4m), snapped up by a combined 1.6m people, both blank in Arsenal's 1-1 draw at Everton. 

And Nikola Milenkovic (£5.0m), bought by over 446,000 managers, blanked for the first time in six outings as Nottingham Forest lost 2-1 to Aston Villa.

GW31 most-bought players

Those Wildcarding will have been thinking about more than just this one Gameweek, however.

Man City welcome Crystal Palace to the Etihad Stadium in Double Gameweek 32 (DGW32) before playing twice in DGW33. 

Likewise, Mikel Arteta's (£1.5m) side host Brentford in the next round of matches before also playing twice in DGW33.

So despite the bumpy start, the next two Gameweeks will have a greater bearing on whether these transfers will be viewed as a success overall.

GW30 chips played

The five most-sold players all missed Gameweek 31 through injury.

Chris Wood (£7.1m) is the closest to a return as he recovers from a hip injury sustained on international duty.

GW30 most-sold players