It’s the question that haunts Fantasy Premier League managers this season and with several Wildcard chips being played over the international break, it has only become more relevant.
The outlook of your team can be completely different depending on which Liverpool attacker you decide to go with. The current 3.1m gulf in value can transform your team one way or the other. Going with both however, is highly unprecedented and not entirely efficient as you would sacrifice on premium assets from other teams.
On the one hand we have Salah who in just his first season, established himself as FPL royalty and is already a Hall of Famer. On the other is Mane, who spent last season in his team-mate’s shadow but is threatening to steal his crown this term.
WHY CHOOSE MANE
The Senegalese international has scored four goals already and is playing in a similar role to Salah on the opposite flank. He started at a value 4m cheaper than Salah at 9m but has since risen to 9.9m because of his good form.
Even now, the 3.1m saved from opting for him over the Egyptian can enable you to afford another premium midfielder as well like Eden Hazard (10.7m). Choosing Salah would mean surrendering that luxury and settling for a mid-range midfielder instead in the region of 7m.
In terms of value, Mane is currently twice as good as Salah. According to the FPL’s Value index (form vs price), he boasts a ratings of 1.0 to Salah’s 0.5.
WHY CHOOSE SALAH
For starters, he delivered 303 points last season, an all-time high, and deserves more than four gameweeks of your loyalty. He hasn’t done badly either, he just hasn’t hit the heights of last season yet.
However, his underlying stats are identical to what they were last term, suggesting that he’s currently underachieving while Mane is clearly overachieving. Sooner or later, it will start to tell in the points column.
An under-performing Salah has still managed two goals and two assists so far. Not too shabby at all. He also doubles Mane in terms of key passes per game (3.3 to 1.5) and shots per game (4.8 to 2.5).
CONCLUSION
What is more likely? Mane continues to put away every chance and maintain the kind of run in form he has never achieved before or Salah starts to be a little more efficient and surpass him?
Last season’s Player the Year has more shots at goal and is attempting more assists that his team-mate. At the end of the day, it may just come down to Salah taking his chances. The Egyptian has missed four big chances so far this season, Mane has missed none.
