Fantasy Premier League: An important midweek round with Salah a popular captaincy choice

We have now entered the final stretch of the Premier League season. There is just one day off between the final matches of the 30th round and the start of the 31st round of games. What do we need to look out for during an important moment of the campaign?

Arsenal and Liverpool

First and foremost, our eyes should be on the Gunners and The Reds. Both of these teams are in contention for the Premier League title and both play against some of the weakest teams in the league in the coming days at their respective stadiums. Arsenal will take on Luton, with Sheffield United travelling to Anfield.

That means we should be arming ourselves with defensive and offensive players from both teams ahead of this round. After all, there is a very good chance of earning a clean sheet and no one should be surprised by the high number of goals their forwards can score either.

In Jurgen Klopp's team, the likes of Mohamed Salah (13.3), Luis Diaz (7.5) and Conor Bradley (4.2) come to the fore. The Egyptian put in a busy performance against Brighton and narrowly missed out on scoring three or four goals in that game.

The Colombian is also in good form and against the Seagulls he posed a big threat in the final third. Bradley, on the other hand, is a fairly secure option from the defensive line, and is extremely cheap for a first-team player at the current league leaders.

Looking at Arsenal, it is certainly worth having at least one of their defenders in your squad. William Saliba (5.8) and Gabriel (5.3) have plenty of owners, so you are unlikely to need to be persuaded to buy them.

However, it is important to note the considerable turnover in Mikel Arteta's offensive options. Bukayo Saka (9.0) was unable to continue in the match against Manchester City and it is unclear whether he will be able to play against Luton, while Kai Havertz (7.2) and Gabriel Jesus (7.7) are not certain choices. So why not turn to Martin Odegaard (8.5) who has a definite place in the squad?

Who to captain?

We should not have any great problems with the choice of captain. The obvious candidate is Salah, who against Brighton had as many as 12 shots on goal and can really do a lot of damage to the Sheffield defence. He is by far the surest option for the armband, but what if someone doesn't have him?

This is where the challenge begins, as there are no other certainties up for grabs. Saka was one, but the Englishman left the pitch prematurely in Sunday's game, and is potentially facing another game on Wednesday. While Arteta has assured that it is not an injury, it must be taken into account that Saka, if he plays at all against Luton, will definitely play less than 90 minutes.

Erling Haaland (14.3) must be named here as standard, but the Norwegian is not a guarantee for points right now. His team will play at home against Aston Villa, who, in their December match, made Pep Guardiola's team look the worst they have on the pitch for many years. In addition, the last time Haaland hit the net was in a game against Copenhagen at the beginning of March. He has not scored in either the Premier League, FA Cup or national team matches since then.

Of course, last week's heroes Cole Palmer (5.9) and Heung-Min Son (10.1) must also be taken into account. Remember, however, that Chelsea only drew against Burnley and will now play against a much stronger rival - Manchester United. Tottenham instead tired at home against Luton and now face a trip to face West Ham United. Palmer and Son are good choices for this FPL week, but I would advise against their selection as captain. 

Who to buy?

Harvey Barnes (6.2) - Newcastle's hero from the previous round after he scored a double against West Ham and sealed a 4-3 victory in added time. On his return from injury, Barnes was unable to carve out a place for himself in the starting line-up and did not show great form. 

Now, however, an ideal opportunity lies ahead of him. Everton are coming to St. James's Park, and on top of that, his rival for a place in the line-up, Anthony Gordon (6.0), will be serving a suspension for a red card. Barnes is barely owned by 1% of the players and this differential could pay off.

Alexander Isak (7.7) - if you don't have room for a Newcastle midfielder, why not go for a striker? The Magpies have one of the easiest schedules until the end of the season and they will also have one double-header in the form of an extra game against Manchester United. The Swede scored two penalties against West Ham and has scored four goals in his last three league games. 

Rodrigo Muniz (4.7) - he made his presence known once again this weekend - netting a beautiful bicycle kick against Sheffield United. The Brazilian has been playing on a fairly regular basis since the 17th round, and he already has eight goals to his name. It's a very safe option because, at 4.7, Muniz can sit on the substitutes' bench with you on a regular basis and score very valuable points when needed. You don't really lose anything as he is very likely to be cheaper than your current cheapest striker.