Disappointment for FPL managers as top 10 captains blank in GW12

Salah, Haaland, Mbeumo

None of the top picks produced big hauls this weekend, with Saka the only player to earn more than two points

It's been a disappointing Gameweek for Fantasy Premier League managers, with each of the top 10 captaincy picks blanking. 

And it wasn't just the top 10, you have to go down as far as Richarlison (£6.4m), the 18th most-popular captain pick, before you find a player who scored, assisted or kept a clean sheet.

In fact, Eberechi Eze (£7.6m), in 27th position, was the highest-placed captain to reach double-figures thanks to his 20-point haul.

GW12 most-captained players
Player Captained by Points
Haaland 6,213,952 2
Salah 1,166,777 2
Joao Pedro 896,454 1
Mateta 562,400 1
Mbeumo 351,115 1
Ekitike 256,244 1
Gyokeres 241,550 0
Semenyo 240,972 0
Saka 226,136 4
Fernandes 196,452 2
Popular picks disappoint

Erling Haaland (£14.9m) was the most-popular armband choice for the seventh successive Gameweek, captained by more than 6.2m managers for Manchester City's trip to Newcastle United, but he was unable to reward his backers as he failed to score in the 2-1 defeat. 

Mohamed Salah (£14.2m), favoured by more than 1.1m for Liverpool's appealing encounter with Nottingham Forest at Anfield, also blanked, his sixth of the season, as the Reds lost 3-0.

Other popular captain picks to let down their suitors included Joao Pedro (£7.5m), Jean-Philippe Mateta (£8.1m) and Hugo Ekitike (£8.6m), who all returned just a single point.

There was disappointment, too, for the 240,000+ who captained Antoine Semenyo (£8.0m) for AFC Bournemouth's meeting with West Ham United, as he was ruled out of the Cherries' squad. Those managers will now get double points from their vice-captain.

On Sunday, Bukayo Saka (£10.1m) could only muster an Expected Goal Involvement (xGI) tally of 0.21, his lowest of the last three Gameweeks. His three shots on goal were all from outside the box. The winger did at least pick up defensive contribution points for the second time this season.

Gunners team-mate, Viktor Gyokeres (£8.8m), was not even in the squad due to injury. 

Curse of most-bought player strikes again

Finally, the most-bought player of the round, Bryan Mbeumo (£8.6m), added to the misery by collecting a yellow card to reduce his Gameweek total to a single point as Manchester United lost 1-0 at home to Everton.

It's the second time this season that Mbeumo has been the Gameweek's No 1 transfer target - and he's blanked on both occasions. Snapped up by over 1.6m managers in Gameweek 10, he totalled just two points away to Nottingham Forest.

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