For the fourth successive Gameweek, Erling Haaland (£14.1m) and Mohamed Salah (£14.5m) are set to battle it out for the captaincy in 2025/26 Fantasy Premier League.
Liverpool's Salah was the most-selected captain in each of the opening two Gameweeks of the season, handed the armband by 3.6million and 3.0million managers respectively.
But in Gameweek 3, when Liverpool faced Arsenal, it was Haaland's turn to claim top spot for Manchester City's visit to Brighton & Hove Albion.
The Norwegian's goal against the Seagulls rewarded those backers and took his total to three goals and 24 points for the season.
FPL experts' captain picks
Salah's blank against the Gunners, meanwhile, means he has one goal, an assist and 16 points to his name.
The Egyptian now gets the chance to atone when the Reds visit Burnley on Sunday, with Man City and Haaland entertaining Manchester United in the first Manchester derby of the season later that afternoon.
Salah v Haaland captain stats, GW1-3
| GW | Most-captained | No. of managers | Second most-captained | No. of managers |
| 1 | Salah | 3.6m | Haaland | 1.4m |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | Salah | 3.0m | Haaland | 1.8m |
| 3 | Haaland | 2.2m | Salah | 2.0m |
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Who has had the greatest attacking threat?
The underlying statistics help to highlight the differences in the pair's early season performances.
Haaland's 13 shots in the box are not only a league-leading total, but over THREE times the four of Salah.
When it comes to big chances, or situations where the player is expected to score, the contrast is even more surprising.
Haaland leads all players with a total of six, whereas Salah has had ZERO.
Indeed, Liverpool themselves have only recorded five, with Arne Slot's new 4-2-3-1 set-up taking time to gel due to the host of new summer signings.
Haaland has also created one big chance, giving him a total of big-chance involvements.
Salah does claw back the deficit somewhat with his creativity, supplying his team-mates with three big chances, yet his involvement is still less than HALF of his premium rival.
Salah v Haaland attacking stats, GW1-3
| Player | Haaland | Salah |
| Shots in box | 13 | 4 |
|---|---|---|
| Big chances | 6 | 0 |
| Big chances created | 1 | 3 |
| Big chance inv. | 7 | 3 |
Which other players have favourable fixtures?
Similarly to Liverpool, both Crystal Palace's Jean-Philippe Mateta (£7.5m) and Fulham's Rodrigo Muniz (£5.5m) face promoted opponents this weekend, entertaining Sunderland and Leeds United respectively.
Meanwhile, Viktor Gyokeres' (£9.0m) 24 per cent ownership will be hopeful he can profit when Arsenal play at home to a Nottingham Forest side who have just appointed Ange Postecoglou as head coach. Last season, Postecoglou's Tottenham Hotspur were the fourth-worst side for conceding big chances.
All three of those forwards, along with Liverpool's Hugo Ekitike (£8.8m), have had two big chances so far.
What's also noticeable here is that, unlike previous seasons, Salah's numbers are now being mirrored by Liverpool's other attackers. His four shots in the box are identical to Ekitike and Cody Gakpo (£7.7m), while his four chances created are matched by Ekitike and Florian Wirtz (£8.4m).
Haaland, by contrast, has taken 13 of Man City's 22 shots in the box – his nearest team-mate is the injured Omar Marmoush (£8.4m), with three.
Attacking stats, GW1-3
| Player | Shots in box | Chances created | Big chances | Big chance inv. |
| Haaland | 13 | 1 | 6 | 7 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Salah | 4 | 4 | 0 | 3 |
| Muniz | 5 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| Ekitike | 4 | 4 | 2 | 2 |
| Mateta | 3 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| Gyokeres | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| Gakpo | 4 | 6 | 0 | 1 |
| Wirtz | 3 | 4 | 0 | 0 |
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What about the opposition defences?
The defensive data leans more towards Salah and Liverpool's attackers here, with Burnley's 37 shots in the box conceded a league-high total.
While that is a hefty 17 more than Man Utd, there's far less disparity for conceding big chances, with Burnley marginally worse, by eight to six.
Selected team defensive stats, GW1-3
| Club | Goals conc. | Clean sheets | Shots in box conc. | Big chances conc. |
| Burnley | 6 | 1 | 37 | 8 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Man Utd | 4 | 0 | 20 | 6 |
| Leeds | 5 | 2 | 22 | 4 |
| Sunderland | 3 | 1 | 16 | 4 |
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So, who is the best captain?
Having warmed up for the Manchester derby with six goals over the international break, Haaland is clearly in better form than Salah right now.
The huge difference in the duo's goal threat is another big factor that tips it in the Norwegian's favour here.
Certainly, Salah backers will be encouraged by the Burnley defensive data.
But unlike previous seasons, the Egyptian's potential for attacking returns is being matched by his team-mates so far, which is something that cannot be said for Haaland.