The 2.96million Fantasy Premier League managers who have captained Mohamed Salah (£14.5m) will be hoping to steal a march on their rivals following a disappointing Gameweek for the top captain picks.
The No 1 choice, Salah, has seen both Erling Haaland (£14.1m) and Cole Palmer (£10.5m), second and third in the captaincy stakes, combine for a total of two points.
Haaland blanked in Manchester City's 2-0 defeat to Tottenham Hotspur while Palmer was injured in the warm-up of Chelsea's win at West Ham United.
GW2 most-captained players
| Player | Captained by | Pts |
|---|---|---|
| Salah | 2,964,007 | - |
| Haaland | 1,842,111 | 2 |
| Palmer | 1,254,142 | 0 |
Encouragingly, Salah boasts an outstanding record against Liverpool's opponents on Monday night, Newcastle United.
In his 16 meetings with the Magpies for the Liverpool, he's totalled 121 points, thanks to 10 goals, eight assists and 14 bonus points. Of all 34 Premier League opponents he's faced, he's only accumulated more points against West Ham United.
Salah's last six matches v Newcastle
| Gameweek | Venue | Pts | Breakdown* |
|---|---|---|---|
| GW27 - 2024/25 | Home | 6 | 1A |
| GW14 - 2024/25 | Away | 18 | 2G, 1A, 3B |
| GW20 - 2023/24 | Home | 16 | 2G, 1A, 3B |
| GW3 - 2023/24 | Away | 5 | 1A |
| GW24 - 2022/23 | Away | 6 | 1A |
| GW5 - 2022/23 | Home | 10 | 2A, 2B |
*G = Goals, A = Assists, B = Bonus
For the 1.25m managers who captained Palmer, their vice-captains will now assume the armband and earn double points.
So far, that's bad news for the 117,563 who vice-captained Haaland and the 54,732 who opted for Ollie Watkins (£9.0m). Watkins blanked for a second successive Gameweek as Aston Villa fell to a 1-0 defeat at Brentford.
But it's good news for those who vice-captained Joao Pedro (£7.5m) or Viktor Gyokeres (£9.0m).
Joao Pedro scored a goal and supplied two assists to deliver 30 points with the armband. Only once before in Fantasy has he recorded more points in a match. That was against Spurs in Gameweek 19 of the 2023/24 campaign, when he notched 16 points.
And making his home debut, Gyokeres announced himself to Fantasy managers with two goals and a share of the bonus to delight his vice-captainers with 24 points in Arsenal's 5-0 win over Leeds United.
Salah completes the top five Palmer vice-captains.
Palmer vice-captains
| Player | Vice-captained by | Pts* |
|---|---|---|
| Salah | 323,557 | - |
| Haaland | 117,563 | 2 |
| Joao Pedro | 100,618 | 15 |
| Gyokeres | 60,419 | 12 |
| Watkins | 54,732 | 2 |
There were mixed fortunes elsewhere, too.
The top transfer target for Gameweek 2 was Man City's Tijjani Reijnders (£5.7m), recruited by more than 1.2m people, but he was unable to repeat his Gameweek 1 heroics as he blanked in Man City's loss to Spurs, getting only two points.
However, the 988,523 managers who snapped up AFC Bournemouth's Antoine Semenyo (£7.2m) will be feeling better about their decision with the midfielder providing an assist for a six-point return.
Most transfers for Gameweek 2
| Most transfers in | Most transfers out | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Reijnders (MCI) | 1,270,360 | Frimpong (LIV) | 1,208,379 |
| Semenyo (BOU) | 988,523 | Wirtz (LIV) | 617,226 |
| Wood (NFO) | 706,035 | Konsa (AVL) | 565,684 |
| Ekitike (LIV) | 655,678 | Gvardiol (MCI) | 495,960 |
| Ballard (SUN) | 543,268 | Joao Pedro (CHE) | 487,254 |
Reijnders wasn't the only transfer to backfire.
Sunderland defender Dan Ballard (£4.6m) was bought by 543,268 FPL managers, making him the fifth most-bought player for Gameweek 2, but he limped off with an injury early on against Burnley on Saturday, getting only one point.
And Nottingham Forest's Chris Wood (£7.6m) was unable to convert either of his two attempts on goal at Crystal Palace, as he finished on two points.
Meanwhile, the 487,254 FPL managers who sold Joao Pedro ahead of Gameweek 2 suffered agony as he racked up a total of 15 points against the Hammers.