Monday was not just an evening to forget for Liverpool fans, but also the near 1.4million FPL managers who made Mohamed Salah (£12.6m) the most-popular captain for the fourth successive Gameweek.
The pressure was on after Tottenham Hotspur duo Harry Kane (£11.0m) and Son Heung-min (£9.7m) joined Bruno Fernandes (£11.2m) in producing double-digit hauls in Gameweek 17.
More than 1.2million people entrusted Kane with the captaincy, and he scored and assisted in the 3-0 win against Leeds United, as did the fourth-most popular armband pick, Son.
Fernandes rewarded the 1.1million+ who handed him the armband with his eighth double-digit return in 16 matches, scoring as Manchester United beat Aston Villa 2-1.
GW17 most-captained players
| Player | Captained by (‘000s) | GW17 pts |
|---|---|---|
| Salah | 1,386 | – |
| Kane | 1,273 | 12 |
| Fernandes | 1,188 | 10 |
| Son | 1,125 | 13 |
But Salah, who had been enjoying his most productive campaign to date, with 13 goals in his first 13 matches, contrived to register a blank for the third successive gameweek as Liverpool lost 1-0 at St Mary’s Stadium.
Son is the most-popular choice among the leading 100 FPL managers, and their trust looks well-placed so far, given the South Korean has outscored both Kane and Fernandes.
Most-captained by top 100
| Player | Captained by |
|---|---|
| Son | 28 |
| Salah | 22 |
| Kane / Fernandes | 21 |
Crystal Palace‘s Wilfried Zaha (£7.4m) was the No 1 transfer target for Fantasy managers ahead of Gameweek 17.
But although the Eagles beat Sheffield United 2-0 on Saturday, the 28-year-old managed only three points at Selhust Park.
Fernandes justified his acquisition by a further 229,413 new owners and now finds himself in more than half of all FPL teams.
Pedro Neto (£6.0m) completed the top three most-bought players. The Portuguese provided an assist but took just five points due to Wolverhampton Wanderers shipping three goals in their high-scoring draw at Brighton & Hove Albion.
GW17 most transferred-in players
| Player | Transferred in by (‘000s) |
|---|---|
| Zaha | 259 |
| Fernandes | 229 |
| Neto | 227 |
More than 281,000 Fantasy managers sold Jack Grealish (£7.7m) ahead of Gameweek 17, missing out on his ninth assist of the campaign and seven-point haul against Man Utd.
However, he remains on four yellow cards and another booking before Gameweek 21 would mean a one-match suspension.
A combined 452,000+ parted company with Southampton’s Jannik Vestergaard (£4.8m) or Chelsea‘s Reece James (£5.2m) after the pair were ruled out through injury.
GW17 most transferred-out players
| Player | Transferred out by (‘000s) |
|---|---|
| Grealish | 281 |
| Vestergaard | 247 |
| James | 205 |
SOURCE: premierleague.com
