The Scout discusses the best premium stars to own in Fantasy Premier League after the first three Gameweeks of the season.
The two most expensive players in Fantasy, Mohamed Salah (£14.5m) and Erling Haaland (£14.1m), have had somewhat contrasting starts to the new season.
Liverpool's Salah has rewarded his huge 53 per cent ownership with 16 points, thanks to a goal, an assist and one bonus point.
Notably, both those attacking returns (he scored against AFC Bournemouth and supplied the assist against Newcastle United) were recorded after his new team-mates Hugo Ekitike (£8.7m) and Florian Wirtz (£8.4m) had been replaced late on in the respective matches.
Manchester City's Haaland has outperformed the Egyptian, scoring three goals and collecting six bonus points to total 24 points.
Yet he can be found in only 32 per cent of squads.
Haaland v Salah output, 25/26
| Player | G + A | Bonus | Ownership | Pts |
| Haaland | 3 | 6 | 32.1% | 24 |
| Salah | 2 | 1 | 53.9% | 16 |
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Who has had the greatest goal threat?
The underlying numbers help to highlight the disparity in the pair's goal threat.
Haaland's 14 shots and 13 shots in the box are both more than THREE times Salah's totals of four.
When it comes to big chances, or situations where the player is expected to score, Haaland has had a league-high six so far, whereas Salah is yet to have any.
Indeed, Liverpool have only had five themselves, which is a clear sign that Arne Slot's new-look 4-2-3-1 formation has yet to gel.
Haaland v Salah goal threat, 25/26
| Player | Shots | Shots in box | Big chances |
| Haaland | 14 | 13 | 6 |
| Salah | 4 | 4 | 0 |
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Who has the most all-round potential?
Salah's creativity certainly helps lessen his rival's advantage here. The Liverpool star has created four chances for his team-mates, three of which were categorised as big chances.
Added to his own zero big chances, this means Salah has been involved in three big chances so far.
Haaland has created one such opportunity which, combined with his six big chances, means he has been involved in seven of them - over DOUBLE the total of Salah.
Haaland v Salah creativity, 25/26
| Player | Chances created | Big chances created | Big chance inv. |
| Haaland | 1 | 1 | 7 |
| Salah | 4 | 3 | 3 |
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What about the other premiums?
The underlying numbers also show how frustrating a pick Ollie Watkins (£8.9m) has proven at the start of the season.
Aston Villa's forward has blanked in all three of his outings, yet he's had eight shots in the box, ranking third for this statistic this season.
Manchester United's Bruno Fernandes (£9.0m), meanwhile, has been the league's best creator, providing 12 scoring opportunities for his team-mates. He's matched the eight shots and two big chances of Watkins, although both of his were penalty-kicks.
Arsenal's Viktor Gyokeres (£9.0m), meanwhile, has scored twice from just three shots - one of them a converted penalty.
Watkins v Fernandes v Gyokeres goal threat, 25/26
| Player | Shots | Shots in box | Chances created | Big chances |
| Fernandes | 8 | 4 | 12 | 2 |
| Watkins | 8 | 8 | 3 | 2 |
| Gyokeres | 3 | 3 | 2 | 2 |
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Elsewhere among the big-hitters, we've yet to see Alexander Isak (£10.4m) in action this season, but the Swede's move from Newcastle to Liverpool will soon bring him back into contention for Fantasy managers.
Chelsea's Cole Palmer (£10.4m) has played only once and remains an injury doubt for Gameweek 4, while Bukayo Saka (£9.9m) is sidelined for Arsenal with a hamstring complaint.
Who has the best fixtures?
Villa's Watkins has the best schedule among the premium picks over the next four Gameweks.
According to the Fixture Difficulty Ratings (FDR), where the difficulty of each fixture is ranked from one to five, with one being the easiest possible match and five being the hardest, Villa's matches average a mere 2.5 during the coming period.
Notably, they face TWO promoted opponents, visiting Sunderland in Gameweek 5 and hosting Burnley in Gameweek 7.
Salah takes second place, with Liverpool's matches averaging 2.8. Similarly to Watkins, two of those score two in the FDR - away to Burnley and at home to Everton, with both matches in the next two Gameweeks.
Haaland and Fernandes are both at home to a promoted club in this period, too. Man City face Burnley in Gameweek 6 before Man Utd host Sunderland in Gameweek 7.
| Player | No. of matches that score 2 in FDR | FDR total |
| Watkins | 2 | 2.5 |
| Salah | 2 | 2.8 |
| Haaland, Fernandes | 1 | 3.0 |
| Gyokeres/Saka | 1 | 3.3 |
| Palmer | 0 | 3.3 |
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So, who are the best premiums to own?
Haaland's goal threat is so markedly better than Salah's right now, it's impossible to overlook the Man City star.
Right now, Liverpool's new tactics and host of new attackers means it could take a while before we see Salah back to his very best.
If you're a Watkins owner, those fixtures do look tempting enough to hold and his underlying numbers still remain convincing, in spite of his run of blanks. Buying him is another question altogether, though, with less expensive forwards such as Joao Pedro (£7.7m) and Jean-Philippe Mateta (£7.5m) in better form.
Although he's yet to earn an assist, Fernandes' creativity has been peerless so far this season. Combined with his potential for defensive contribution points - he's earned them twice in three outings - and the Portuguese can prove a very handy armband option when faced with a favourable fixture.