The Scout explains why there are more managers in Fantasy Premier League are turning to premium midfielders such as Mohamed Salah (£12.9 million), Cole Palmer (£10.9 million) and Bukayo Saka (£10.1 million) at the expense of Manchester City Before Erling Haaland (£15.2 million).

Liverpool’Salah is the only player to cross the 100-point mark so far, combining eight goals and six assists to collect 107 points in his 11 outings.

Chelsea Star Palmer, meanwhile, produced seven goals, five assists and 84 points to take second place ahead of Haaland, who had 82 points, thanks to her 12 goals.

Who is most likely to score?

By assessing each player’s goal threat in Fantasy, it’s clear why Haaland already appears on track to win a third consecutive Golden Boot.

Haaland’s 49 shots in the box match the combined total of Salah and Palmer, who had 30 and 19 respectively.

Likewise, Haaland’s 19 big chances – or situations in which the player is expected to score – are just one fewer than Salah and Palmer’s 20 combined.

The Norwegian’s 21.8 percent conversion rate looks very sustainable and indicates that he can continue scoring goals at the same rate for the rest of the campaign.

Goal threat compared to GW1-11

But the point scoring system in Fantasy, in addition to each player’s ranking, shows why these underlying statistics should not be considered in isolation.

Midfielders like Salah, Palmer and ArsenalSaka’s Saka earns five points for every goal scored, while Haaland – as a striker – only earns four points.

Midfielders also earn a point for each clean sheet their team keeps, but attackers are NOT rewarded.

An analysis of their production this season helps to understand why Salah has had such a good start to the new Fantasy campaign.

Haaland, who is the top-selling player heading into Gameweek 12, has 48 points from goals, with each of those 12 strikes earning him four points. He got no points for his team’s two clean sheets.

Salah’s eight goals earned him 40 points as a midfielder, which is equivalent to Haaland’s 10 goals. The former also collected six points from clean sheets.

So, despite four goals less than Haaland (just two thirds), Salah has totaled 46 points thanks to goals and clean sheets – just two points shy of the Man City talisman.

Palmer’s seven goals and two clean sheets allowed him to accumulate 37 points, just over Haaland’s nine goals.

Goals and points compared GW1-11

Who is most likely to get help?

The creativity stats highlight the big difference between Haaland and the three premium midfielders.

Haaland failed to provide a single assist, with just five key passes and one big chance created to his name. Obviously, his comeback potential depends almost exclusively on his goal threat.

Salah, on the other hand, produced six assists, helping him score 18 more points.

Saka and Palmer, meanwhile, had 21 and 15 points respectively thanks to assists. The duo occupy the top two spots here for key passes and big chances created, with Saka being the best player in the league for the latter statistic with 13.

The “high chances created” statistic is particularly relevant here because it is favored by the Bonus points system (BPS), which helps determine bonus points in a given match.

Indeed, thanks to their creative efforts, Saka and Palmer have each earned bonus points in matches this season in which they neither scored nor assisted.

Assistance and points compared GW1-11

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Who has the best lights?

Compared to premium midfielders, Haaland clearly has the toughest schedule ahead. According to the Device difficulty levels (FDR), his next six matches score a total of 21, with only one scoring two – against Crystal Palace during Gameweek 15.

In contrast, the next six matches of Palmer and Saka each score only 15 points in the FDR. Crucially, four of Palmer’s matches score just two, with matchups against Leicester City, Southampton, Brentford And Everton giving him plenty of opportunities to make bigger wins in Fantasy.

Meanwhile, three of Salah’s next six games score just two, with the Liverpool star likely to rival Palmer for the captaincy in his meetings with Southampton, Everton and Fulham.

FDR score for the next six matches

*1 = simplest luminaire possible, 5 = most difficult luminaire possible