Mohamed Salah, Liverpool, midfielder, £14.5m (captain) – Arsenal (h)
Salah will be our captain this weekend. Liverpool may have an incredibly tough home fixture against Arsenal, but so far this season Arne Slot’s gung-ho attacking approach has been paying off. Salah already has a goal and assist this term, plus he’s scored in three of his past four games against the Gunners.
Bruno Fernandes, Manchester United, midfielder, £9m – Burnley (h)
A Manchester United player in this week of all weeks? Setting their midweek misery to one side, the underlying numbers suggest Ruben Amorim’s side will do well at home to Burnley. If that’s the case, expect Fernandes to star. It’s true the Portuguese is playing deeper these days, but thanks to defensive contribution tallies he would still have got 12 points if he had scored his penalty at Fulham. Fernandes will probably stay on spot-kicks too after netting two in United’s shootout defeat by Grimsby in the Carabao Cup.
Harvey Barnes, Newcastle, midfielder, £6.5m – Leeds (a)
With an ownership of just 0.7%, winger Barnes is potentially a superb pick if you’re in need of a differential. Tricky matches away to Aston Villa and at home to Liverpool are a big reason why he’s yet to haul this season. But the Englishman has a better-looking fixture this weekend away to Leeds, who conceded five at Arsenal last time out. He’ll expect plenty of minutes, too, with team-mate Anthony Gordon serving a three-match suspension. Last season, Barnes had 14 goal contributions – despite starting only 17 of his 33 Premier League appearances.
Dango Ouattara, Brentford, midfielder, £6m – Sunderland (a)
Brentford already have a new cult hero in summer signing Ouattara, whose winner against Aston Villa helped him to a healthy 13 points last time out. The midfielder, who spent much of his debut practically playing as a centre forward, could be in for more contributions against newly promoted Sunderland on Saturday.