Captaincy options for Gameweek 11 – Another round of Erling Haaland vs Mohamed Salah

IT’S Groundhog Day for Dream Team managers.

Once again we’re on the eve of a mouthwatering Gameweek debating whether to captain Erling Haaland (£7.5m) or Mohamed Salah (£6.7m).

The prolific pair are the top two points scorers in the game and each have two fixtures at their disposal.

Let’s analyse each of the standout options before throwing in some wildcard alternatives for the thrill-seekers out there…

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The first thing to note is that Haaland has banked 45 points across his last three outings.

After a quieter period (by his standards) the Norwegian cyborg has scored five goals across the last two Gameweeks to restore normal order and retake his place at the top of rankings.

And it’s hard to envisage anything other than another deluge of points in Gameweek 11.

Manchester City welcome Bournemouth to the Etihad this weekend in what is statistically the most one-sided match-up in English football history.

The Cherries have never beaten the Eastlands club and things have only got worse since they reached the dizzying heights of the football pyramid – it’s 12 defeats from 12 in the Premier League.

The reigning champions average over three goals scored per game against Bournemouth in the top flight and with Pep Guardiola’s men having produced arguably their best performance of the season at Old Trafford last week, all signs point to one-way traffic in favour of the hosts this Saturday.

Then in midweek, City host Young Boys in the Champions League.

They beat the same opponents 3-1 in Gameweek 9 and, truth be told, that result flattered the Swiss outfit.

In conclusion, an in-form Haaland has two extremely favourable fixtures both at Etihad this coming Gameweek.

Any Dream Team gaffer who bets against him in terms of the captain’s armband is either immensely brave or critically naive.

It’s a measure of Salah’s Dream Team pedigree that he’s even a viable captaincy option in Gameweek 11 given Haaland’s situation.

Liverpool’s No11 has registered more Dream Team points than any other player since he landed back on English soil in 2017.

An ever-reliable performer, the Egyptian superstar has been particularly successful of late, amassing 47 points across the last three Gameweeks.

Having underwhelmed last season, the Reds have rediscovered something close to their best form this term and look incredibly strong in attack, where Salah remains the primary threat among several appealing options.

Jurgen Klopp’s troops face Luton and Toulouse in the coming days – another friendly double header on paper.

The Hatters have scraped together just five points from ten games since promotion while the Ligue 1 side lost 5-1 at Anfield last week.

However, both of Salah’s Gameweek 11 fixtures are set to take place on the road – a slight disadvantage compared to Haaland’s luxury of back-to-back home games.

Plus, there’s no guarantee the 31-year-old will even feature against Toulouse on Thursday night – he’s played 82 minutes across three Europa League fixtures in 2023/24.

Salah is always a strong option but justifying him over Haaland for captain this week is difficult – his time will come again.

Some quickfire alternatives for the adrenaline junkies:

• Jarrod Bowen (£4.9m) vs Brentford (a), Olympiakos (h)
• Ollie Watkins (£4.7m) vs Nottingham Forest (a), AZ Alkmaar (h)
• Bruno Fernandes (£5.6m) vs Fulham (a), Copenhagen (a)
• Ederson (£3.5m) vs Bournemouth (h), Young Boys (h)
• Kaoru Mitoma (£4m) vs Everton (a), Ajax (a)

Good luck to all Dream Team bosses ahead of Gameweek 11 – it should be a cracker!

Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk