Should FPL managers sell Salah?
Mo Salah is the highest scoring FPL player in the game this season. However, he has now blanked in three of his last four fixtures and hasn’t scored from open play since Gameweek 26. At £13.3m some FPL managers are now considering whether it is time to sell Salah in favour of other premium options.
Salah is the top scoring player in FPL this season with 225 points and he continues to be the most owned player in the game. Even with his current form dip Salah is owned by 61.2% of FPL managers. Salah is also top for goals with 20, six more than Spurs’ Son Hueng-Min and teammate Diogo Jota who are tied second.
He is also second for assists, tied with Trent Alexander-Arnold and Andy Robertson, over the season so far.
The last four Gameweeks
With three blanks in the last four Gameweeks Salah seems to be an easy sell. However, managers should be very careful before parting with the Egyptian.
Salah has had 19 shots in the last four Gameweeks, 13 of those have come from inside the box. Only Kane has had more shots than Salah in this time and no-one has had more shots from inside the box.
This suggests that Salah’s FPL managers have been unlucky not to see points returns in the last four Gameweeks.
AFCON
Prior to the African Cup of Nations Salah returned 177 points. This averaged out at 8.85 points per match. However, since returning disappointed from AFCON Salah has returned just 48 points, averaging 6 points per match. This drop in Salah’s form is making managers question whether he could be sold.
This drop off in Salah’s average points per match is more noticeable when compared to other premium assets. Tottenham’s Son has found form at the same moment as Salah’s has declined.
Since Salah returned from AFCON Son has returned 69 points, averaging 0.9 more points per match than the Liverpool midfielder. At just £10.9m Son is also substantially cheaper than Salah. This is budget that managers could use to upgrade the rest of their squad.
Overall
Liverpool’s fixtures until the end of the season do not look like fixtures that would lead to selling the game’s top scorer.
In the next two Gameweek’s Liverpool have two difficult fixtures on paper against Manchester United and City. Salah’s record against both Manchester clubs however is excellent.
Salah has retuned in his last three Premier League meetings with against City and three of his last four against United. Indeed his last match against United saw a 24 point haul.
After these fixtures Liverpool then have good fixtures that Salah can exploit. Salah has returned in his last two fixtures against Everton, as well as two of his last four against Southampton and Wolves. Liverpool and Salah also still have a fixture against Aston Villa still to be rescheduled.
Legomane anticipates that fixture will be rearranged into Gameweek 36 to give Liverpool a Double Gameweek.
With nice fixtures as well as still being in the race for the title there is a lot for Salah to play for. FPL managers should tread very carefully when considering whether to sell Salah from their FPL teams. In the coming weeks he will likely punish, especially as the underlying stats remain good for the Egyptian.
Community Chatter
Muizz is joining the sell Salah bandwagon in favour of Spurs’ Son Heung-Min.
FPL Enthusiast has had a look at Understat’s data which highlights the plentiful chances that Salah has had in the last 10 Gameweeks.
Rob2K spent Saturday’s match hoping for a Salah return which never came.
Want to know what to expect from the Gameweek 32 fixtures? Check out our recent article.
