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The case for Haaland and Salah in FPL
The case for rostering both Mohamed Salah and Erling Haaland is certainly compelling. They are two of the most prolific scorers in Premier League history, and naturally, every FPL manager wants a piece of their explosive potential.
Including both in your team offers a safety net if either starts the season on fire. If Salah has three goal involvements against Bournemouth or Haaland bags a hat trick against Wolves, you don't have to worry about not having that.
However, despite the appeal, building a squad around both heavy hitters is a route I've chosen to avoid. Allocating £28.5m, nearly 29 percent of your total budget, to just two players out of 15 severely impacts the rest of the squad. It often results in a weaker bench, and in many cases, forces compromises in the starting XI, as well.
This trade-off becomes especially relevant in the context of this season's extra Bench Boost chip, which places a greater emphasis on squad depth and means that having a well-rounded team across all 15 slots could be vital at different points in the season.
Additionally, since only one player can be captained each week, it's difficult to extract maximum value from rostering both Salah and Haaland simultaneously. If one is consistently ignored for the armband, the return on investment for the second premium may not justify the cost.
To put it into perspective, would you rather have a pairing like Cole Palmer (£10.5m) and Florian Wirtz (£8.5m), or a £5.0m midfielder and Haaland, all for the same combined cost? For me, the value and balance offered by the former are hard to ignore.
Finally, there's also the issue of flexibility. Managers who start with both Salah and Haaland may find themselves needing to offload one of them quickly if they want to redistribute funds to improve the rest of their squad. That move may be inevitable and potentially disruptive as the season unfolds.
The case for Haaland in FPL
One of the main advantages of opting for a Haaland-based draft over a Salah-based one lies in positional flexibility. Haaland occupies a forward slot, a category where high-quality options are often limited in FPL.
In contrast, Salah takes up a midfield spot, a position that offers far more depth and viable alternatives. Structurally, the cost of both drafts is largely comparable. For instance, pairing Haaland with someone like Morgan Rogers is roughly the same as selecting Salah alongside Jorgen Strand Larsen.
Haaland also presents more differential potential. As of writing, he's rostered by roughly 20 percent of managers, while Salah is the most-selected player in the game at 57 percent.
This discrepancy in popularity creates a clear divide in risk and reward. If Haaland hits the ground running, teams that have included him could gain ground quickly. However, there's also significant downside risk. If Salah delivers early hauls and Haaland doesn't, those without Salah could find themselves playing catch-up from the very beginning.
The case for Salah in FPL
Leaving out someone of Salah's reputation and reliability is no easy call.
He's a top captaincy candidate most weeks, so with his huge rostership, not having him could be a costly gamble.
If you go without Salah to begin the season, Gameweeks 4 and 5 could prove painful, as he faces Burnley and Everton, two fixtures where he's likely to be the standout captaincy option.
In contrast, if you start the season with Haaland over Salah, you'd be relying on him against Man United and Arsenal in those weeks, far tougher opponents.
That leaves you with three options: go without Salah during two prime Gameweeks, schedule transfers in advance to bring him in for Gameweek 4, or use an early Wildcard to restructure your squad.
Personally, I wouldn't be inclined to pursue any of them.
