From Mohamed Salah to Cole Palmer: these are the best alternatives to Erling Haaland as captain in the Fantasy Premier League

It seems dangerous to consider, even for a second, going against Erling Haaland (£15.2m) at this point.

After being one post away from achieving three consecutive hat-tricks, the Manchester City The striker has racked up an impressive nine goals in four games.

However, the champions are about to head into the fifth round at home against Arsenal – a team that kept a clean sheet in both of their encounters last season. They really do look like an unstoppable force taking on an immovable object.

But when you're betting on a captain other than Haaland, there needs to be a really good alternative. Let's look at three other contenders for the armband this weekend, whose points will be doubled.

Mohamed Salah (£12.7m)

More than 938,000 managers flocked to sign Liverpool's key striker last week, knowing he had hit double-figure figures in his three appearances so far. As usual, Salah produced nothing in a shock defeat at Anfield to Nottingham Forest.

However, there are still plenty of reasons to keep trusting the all-time FPL player – his constant threat hasn’t suddenly disappeared. The 32-year-old is the leader in terms of touches in the penalty area (42) and has taken the second-most shots on target (eight).

While Andoni Iraola's impressive Bournemouth side cannot be underestimated, they have historically been a good opponent for Salah. The Egyptian has scored nine goals in nine Premier League games against the Cherries.

Ollie Watkins (£8.9m)

Last season brought outstanding numbers for Watkins, as his 19 goals and 18 assists led Aston Villa to Champions League football.

And now he has finally scored his first goal of the campaign, netting twice in Saturday's comeback win over Everton. In response, he looks set to be the most-bought player heading into Matchday 5, where the next hurdle is a Wolves side who have yet to keep a clean sheet.

Meanwhile, Villa's 16 big chances are the second-most, eight of which belong to centre-forward Watkins. It's a figure only Haaland can match.

One potential setback is that there has been a recent trend to substitute him around the hour mark, allowing Jhon Duran (£6.0m) to come on and score frequently.

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Cole Palmer (£10.6m)

Option number 3 is another England star coming off an excellent 2023/24 season.

Palmer's 22 goals and 13 assists earned him 244 points and became the FPL's top scorer. Not bad for someone who didn't start a league game until matchday seven.

Like Salah, he is a penalty-taking midfielder and has had a promising start to the season.

We witnessed one goal and four assists from him during matchdays two and three, although things were quieter at Bournemouth, where not a single shot was recorded.

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What makes him attractive as a captain is that Chelsea The team will face West Ham, a team they beat 5-0 just four months ago. Palmer scored that day and, even with Julen Lopetegui in charge, the Hammers are posting poor defensive numbers. Through four rounds, they have conceded the most shots (73) of any team in the top flight.

Visit FantasyFootballScout.es To find out more.

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