We’ve reached a crossroads for premium midfielders in Fantasy Premier League.
Chelsea’s Cole Palmer (£10.7m) has suddenly become the most bought player ahead of Gameweek 7, while in the opposite direction, we’ve seen significant sales for Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah (£12.7m) and Arsenal’s Bukayo Saka (£10.1m), who, at the time of writing, has been sold by nearly 3.5 times as many managers as those who have brought in Chelsea’s star player ahead of Gameweek 7.
But should we really be selling Salah and Saka? And is Cole Palmer really a must-own? How do their fixtures stack up?
Let’s explore which route is the best to take.
Why Cole Palmer is such an attractive FPL option
Palmer stole the headlines last weekend, scoring all four goals in Chelsea’s 4-2 win against Brighton, having had seven shots in that game and five on target.
He could have scored more, too, having hit the woodwork and having a goal disallowed. He missed two big chances and his team-mate Nicolas Jackson (£7.9m) also missed two big chances Palmer had created.
We all know what Palmer is capable of. He was the top-scoring FPL player across the 2023-24 season with 244 points and is currently the highest-scoring midfielder in the game. He is also on penalties under Enzo Maresca.
With Palmer as their talisman, Chelsea have scored the most goals of any team in the Premier League this season with 15, ahead of Manchester City on 14. They also rank second for big chances on 24.
They have had a kind schedule recently and won four of their last five, but their fixtures become more challenging across the next five gameweeks. They face Nottingham Forest, Liverpool, Newcastle United, Manchester United and Arsenal in this spell, before their fixtures improve from Gameweek 12 onwards.
We can consider Palmer to be a player who is fixture-proof both home and away, capable of delivering attacking returns in any game despite the quality of the opponent.
When it comes to most players, Chelsea are a challenging team to invest in given their squad depth, with plenty of competition for places across the front four. However, Palmer’s omission from their current Europa Conference League squad gives him a significant advantage when it comes to his minutes in the Premier League.
He’s started every league game so far in this campaign, with just two early substitutions. The groin issue that kept him out of the last international break is well behind him, too.
So yes, Palmer remains my favourite asset to own from this potent Chelsea attack and I’d be prepared to back form over fixtures to purchase him ahead of Gameweek 7.
Saka is a picture of consistency
Going into Gameweek 6, Arsenal’s Saka was the only player, along with Erling Haaland, to have delivered an attacking return every week.
That run came to an end against Leicester City last weekend when his assist for Leandro Trossard got chalked off as it was ruled a Wilfred Ndidi own goal.
However, Saka somehow came away with a bonus point in a game where he failed to deliver an attacking return — remarkable given there were six goals in the game.
Arsenal had a sensational 35 shots in that game, with Saka providing eight key passes, including four big chances created. He had seven shots on goal himself, including four on target.
His routes to points are incredible, ranking fifth in the Premier League for shots with 18 and second for key passes with 20. He’s dominant on the north Londoners’ set pieces, including penalties.
Arsenal have one of their fixtures of the season in Gameweek 7 when they host Southampton, who have conceded 12 goals in this campaign. This one could be a cricket score.
Following Southampton, it’s an attractive trip to Bournemouth, having come through challenging away games against Spurs and Manchester City and remained unbeaten.
They do have trickier fixtures to come, facing Liverpool, Newcastle United and Chelsea between Gameweek 9 and 11, but Saka has proven to be fixture-proof, so don’t let this spell put you off.
How to choose between Palmer, Saka and/or Salah
Comparing Palmer and Saka directly, it is the Chelsea man who has the narrow edge for me in the short term given his explosive recent scoring form.
Both would be key transfer targets heading into Gameweek 7 if I didn’t own them already, but I wouldn’t consider selling Saka for Palmer.
There’s very little to separate the pair and Saka arguably has the better fixture on paper this week against Southampton (H). Consider this a sideways move, which should be avoided.
However, both of them provide an alternative captaincy option to Erling Haaland in Gameweek 7 if you have the appetite for a differential pick. I prefer Saka given the fixture ease.
Salah owners may be considering making the switch to either Saka or Palmer this week. Salah is another player who has returned in five games this season with eight goal involvements.
Liverpool, though, have tough fixtures in the short term, facing Crystal Palace, Chelsea, Arsenal and Brighton in their next four games.
Bringing price into the equation, too, I think it’s fine to sell Salah this week to bring in either Palmer or Saka. The points saving may even allow you to buy both.
Another potential Liverpool cash cow that might enable you to afford Saka and Palmer is defender Trent Alexander-Arnold (£7.1m). Downgrading him could allow you to upgrade a high-priced midfielder.
That move is justifiable if you have plenty of free transfers banked, but I wouldn’t do it for a hit this close to the international break. We always see lots of injuries around that period, so it’s important to have a stack of free transfers to utilise going into Gameweek 7.
(Top photo: David Rogers via Getty Images)
