Captaincy options for Gameweek 27: The case for and against Mohamed Salah

DREAM TEAM managers must remember to select their captain for Gameweek 27 before Saturday’s 11am deadline.

In last week’s captaincy article, we suggested that Bruno Fernandes (£6.4m) was a better fit for the armband than Mohamed Salah (£8.3m) and so it proved to be.

Manchester United’s captain banked 17 points his two fixtures in Gameweek 26 while Liverpool’s main man endured a rare off-day against PSG, mustering just two points.

Gaffers who opted to double Fernandes’ returns instead of Salah’s will have benefited from a significant points swing but does that mean they should bet against the Egyptian superstar again in Gameweek 27?

Arne Slot’s side escaped from Paris with a 1-0 win but were comprehensively outplayed by the Ligue 1 champions.

PSG’s left-back Nuno Mendes marshalled Salah very well and a similar performance at Anfield this coming Tuesday would likely result in another paltry return from Dream Team’s runaway points leader.

Before that highly-anticipated second leg, Liverpool welcome Southampton to Merseyside in what should be a straightforward task.

Saints are rooted to the bottom of the Premier League table having conceded the most goals and Salah (30 goals and 22 assists in 2024/25) could fill his boots on Saturday afternoon.

This mismatch is the biggest reason to captain the prolific 32-year-old but isn’t there a risk Slot will manage the workload of his most important players this weekend?

The league leaders probably won’t need to be at their best to beat a team destined for a return to the Championship and so it wouldn’t be all that surprising if Salah’s minutes were reduced with a view to ensuring he’s in the best condition possible to take on PSG.

Even so, it would take a very brave Dream Team manager to not captain the game’s top performer ahead of the most favourable fixture on offer in the top flight this season.

And just because Salah was kept quiet in Paris, doesn’t mean the same will happen on his home patch.

For those willing to roll the dice, Cole Palmer’s (£5.8m) fixtures look mighty inviting.

Chelsea’s talisman hasn’t been at his best of late but back-to-back home games against Leicester and Copenhagen make up an appealing double header.

Palmer started in Denmark on Thursday night when the Blues’ registered a 2-1 win in the first leg of their Conference League round of 16 tie.

Clearly, Enzo Maresca is prepared to make proper use of his star player now the competition has reached the knockout stage.

The England international has missed out on some points recently but he’s still among an elite group of just four players who average more than nine points-per-game this campaign.

The Foxes aren’t as bad as Southampton but they’re not that much better – they conceded 12 unanswered goals in four league games in February.

Palmer will fancy his chances of ending his mini goal drought and will probably get more minutes in midweek.

The aforementioned Fernandes has provided plenty of points recently but his upcoming double header of Arsenal and Real Sociedad doesn’t look quite as friendly as previous Gameweeks.

Although he is Dream Team’s second most in-form player right now and that counts for something.

Son Heung-min (£4.8m) looked a decent outside bet for captaincy in Gameweek 27 earlier this week but Tottenham’s bitterly underwhelming showing against AZ Alkmaar has all but killed that idea.

The South Korean superstar averages an impressive 6.5 points-per-game this season and Spurs have the luxury of consecutive home games this coming Gameweek (Bournemouth and the return leg against AZ Alkmaar) but it’s not unthinkable Ange Postecoglou’s side will lose both games.

In our humble opinion, it comes down to Salah v Palmer.

The fear of missing out on Liverpool v Southampton at Anfield will probably be the prevailing factor among engaged gaffers.

Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk