Gameweek 2 captaincy options: Mohamed Salah and Bukayo Saka popular alternatives to Erling Haaland

PLEASE be aware that the deadline for Dream Team Gameweek 2 is later today at 6:45pm.

That’s an hour before Nottingham Forest vs Sheffield United kicks off – good luck to those taking a punt on one of Steve Cooper’s troops this evening.

Dream Team gaffers should ensure all desired actions regarding transfers, Boosters and captaincy are completed before the deadline to avoid disappointment.

Here we’ll run through some strong captaincy options for Gameweek 2 but not before we revisit our tips from last week.

Erling Haaland (£8.5m) justified his status as by far and away the most-popular selection with a 14-point haul at Burnley via a clinical brace.

Manchester City’s No9 is the most-selected captain again ahead of Gameweek 2 but a meeting with Newcastle (fresh off a 5-1 win) means he’s not being backed to the same dominant extent.

Elsewhere, we tipped Eberechi Eze (£3m) to have fun against the Blades and that he did although he somehow failed to register a goal involvement.

However, Crystal Palace’s No10 did earn maximum bonus points to end up with eight (doubled to 16 for those who captained him) when all was said and done.

We backed Bukayo Saka (£6m) for a double-digit haul in Arsenal’s opening fixture and the ‘Star Boy’ delivered with 11 points thanks mostly to his sumptuous left-footed finish.

Finally, we deemed Kaoru Mitoma (£3.5m) a decent captaincy option at home to Luton and while the Japan international did provide an assist, he ultimately had to settle for five points.

Mohamed Salah (£7m)

Looking ahead now, Liverpool’s Egyptian hero is a very strong alternative to the Haaland default selection.

Salah missed out on his usual opening weekend goal but he looked lively enough against Chelsea and will be licking his lips at the prospect of a home game against Bournemouth on Saturday.

It’s almost exactly a year ago that the Reds decimated the Cherries 9-0 at Anfield so it’s fair to say this fixture is ripe with points for the home side.

Granted, Bournemouth have improved since that humiliation but Andoni Iraola’s approach of “organised chaos” could play into Salah’s hands.

Bukayo Saka (£6m)

We’re backing the England international to produce the goods again in Gameweek 2.

A trip to Selhurst Park represents a tougher challenge than Forest at the Emirates but the Gunners should have too much firepower for Crystal Palace to withstand.

Dream Team bosses almost take Saka’s attacking prowess for granted but what was notable about his first outing was his tally of five tackles against Steve Cooper’s men – an effort that earned him two points.

The Eagles’ left-back Tyrick Mitchell (£2.5m) is a worthy foe but Arsenal’s No7 rarely misses out against bottom-half opposition (Palace finished 11th last season).

Pervis Estupinan (£3.5m)

And now for something a little different.

Brighton’s rampaging full-back created the joint-most big chances in Gameweek 1 and no defender registered more shots on target.

While it’s probably fair to say a home fixture against Luton is one of the most favourable match-ups in the Premier League this term, the Ecuador international displayed his attacking verve in considerable style.

Estupinan travels to Molineux this Saturday to face a Wolves side who find it incredibly difficult to put the ball in the net no matter how many chances they carve out.

If Roberto De Zerbi’s side can get on the front foot then a clean sheet looks highly likely given their opponents’ inefficiency in front of goal.

Estupinan could combine defensive points with attacking returns this weekend.

PLAY SCORE PREDICTOR AHEAD OF MATCHWEEK 2 – PLAYSTATION 5 UP FOR GRABS!

Haaland, Salah, Saka and Estupinan make up our top captaincy nominees for Gameweek 2 – we’ll even throw in Bryan Mbeumo (£3.5m) as differential wildcard.

MOST-POPULAR CAPTAINS FOR GAMEWEEK 2 AMONG ALL DREAM TEAM MANAGERS:

1. Ering Haaland (£8.5m)
2. Mohamed Salah (£7m)
3. Bukayo Saka (£6m)
4. Bruno Fernandes (£6.5m)
5. Martin Odegaard (£5m)

Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk