13 Aug, 2025
The Ultimate FPL Dilemma – Salah, Haaland or Both?
Big Man Bakar brings you his take on the most important FPL question ahead of GW1. Should FPL managers own Salah or Haaland or both?
Every new Fantasy Premier League season throws up at least one big decision that keeps managers awake at night. This year, nothing divides opinion more than the question of whether to start with Erling Haaland, Mohamed Salah, or to go all in and own both. On paper, it sounds simple. They are two of the most reliable point machines the game has ever seen, and having them together feels like the ultimate insurance policy. If either explodes in form, you are covered.
Should you own Salah or Haaland, or both in FPL?
The appeal of pairing them is obvious. We are talking about players who have broken records for fun, carried teams to mini-league glory, and delivered captaincy hauls that define seasons. But the reality is that FPL is a game of balance, and committing a massive £28.5m of your £100m budget to just two names can seriously compromise the rest of your squad. That is almost 29 percent of your funds tied up in 13 percent of your players.
The problem is not just the starting XI. This season’s extra Bench Boost chip means that squad depth matters more than ever. If you spread your budget more evenly, you can build a 15-man squad capable of returning points across the board. Load up on both Salah and Haaland and you often end up with a paper-thin bench, bargain defenders who are one poor game away from losing their place, and cheap midfielders you never actually want to start.
Another factor to consider is the captaincy. You can only give the armband to one player each week, so by owning both, one of them inevitably misses out on the extra points the majority of the time. That is a huge chunk of cash for a player you may not be captaining.
Salah vs Haaland:
There is no denying that a Haaland-led draft has plenty going for it. The forward pool is unusually shallow this season, and Haaland sits at the very top of it. There are very few premium strikers you can truly rely on, so locking in the Manchester City talisman gives you consistency, captaincy security, and the peace of mind that comes with owning a player who can turn any fixture into a points haul. His positional flexibility in FPL is also important — because premium forwards are scarce, Haaland fills a slot where genuine alternatives are hard to find.
That said, ignoring Salah comes with serious risk. His ownership is sky-high and he remains a fixture-proof captain. Gameweeks 4 and 5 are particularly dangerous without him, as Liverpool face Burnley and Everton — two matches where Salah could run riot. If you go without, you either accept the risk, plan transfers weeks in advance to bring him in, or use an early Wildcard to fix the problem. None of those routes are ideal.
Big Man Bakar’s Conclusion:
For me, this is where the tipping point lies. While Haaland’s position scarcity is a strong argument, missing Salah in Gameweeks 4 and 5 is not a gamble I am willing to take, especially with his ownership so high. The downside of being on the wrong side of those returns is simply too great.
That is not to say a Haaland-led draft is weak — far from it. But when I weigh up the captaincy rotation, early fixture advantage, and Salah’s proven record of delivering season after season, I find it easier to build a squad I trust with him as my premium cornerstone
Bakar has you covered on all things FPL ahead of GW1. If you are looking for the best premium team builds – check out his Salah and Haaland GW1 draft or alternatively his Salah, Palmer and Bruno GW1 draft. If you are looking for a slightly different premium players draft, then we tried our hand at a wild Salah, Haaland, Palmer and Isak super draft!
If you like the idea of a heavy premium player drafts, but wanted some alternative cheap options to help you build these premium player heavy teams, then look no further than our best budget Goalkeepers, Defenders, Midfielders and Forwards in FPL for the 25/26 season.
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With years working in the FPL space and digital media. George now brings his knowledge and tips to the ingenuity audience through a fun and personable writing style.