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            <p>The rise of <strong>Mohamed Salah </strong>and poor form of <strong>Erling Haaland </strong>has kept the Norwegian out of most FPL teams in recent months - but is Blank Gameweek 29 the time to buy him?</p>
<p>The Manchester City forward has dropped to 27.9% ownership - and a tiny 1.06% of the game's top 10,000 managers.</p>
<p>Salah by contrast is the most popular player in the game at 70.5% but he does not play in Gameweek 29, leaving the captaincy debate wide open.</p>
<p>While those using their Free Hit may see Haaland as an obvious buy, it's less clear for those not using the chip.</p>
<p>We take a look at the stats, <a href="https://www.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/fixture-ticker">fixtures</a> and <a href="https://www.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/predictions">Hub AI</a> to help decide whether Haaland is a must-buy or not.</p>
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<h2>Haaland: The stats</h2>
<p>Haaland has not lived up to his record-breaking £15.0m starting price but has still had a solid season.</p>
<p>He has scored 20 goals - more than any other player except Salah - and in line with his 19.83 expected goals (xG).</p>
<p>No one has had more shots on target than his 57, while he also leads the way for big chances.</p>
<p>He remains City's main goal threat, having been involved in 43% of their goals while on the pitch. This is bang on his expected goal involvements of 43%.</p>
<p>Haaland has managed 164 points this season at an average of 6.07 per game, again perfectly in line with his expected data.</p>
<p>But compared to last season, when he scored 27 goals in 31 appearances, he is performing slightly worse in several categories.</p>
<div id="attachment_71400" style="width: 808px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img aria-describedby="caption-attachment-71400" class="size-full wp-image-71400" src="https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Haaland-GW1-28.jpg" alt="Erling Haaland's stats" width="798" height="650" /></p>
<p id="caption-attachment-71400" class="wp-caption-text">Erling Haaland's stats</p>
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<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>While he has averaged more shots per game - 2.11 to 1.9 - he has had fewer big chances and his xG and goals are lower.</p>
<p>He was the league's standout performer in 2023/24, with his 0.95 xG and 0.87 goals per game significantly ahead of the rest.</p>
<p>This season though, his 0.73 xG and 0.74 goals tallies are beaten by Salah.</p>
<p>None of this makes Haaland a poor option - and his attacking data is still among the best in the league - but it's his price point in comparison to Salah that has made owning him hard to justify.</p>
<p>Cheaper options in the forward category have been able to match or better him for points too, with <strong>Chris Wood</strong> leading on 172 and <strong>Alexander Isak </strong>on 167.</p>
<div id="attachment_71401" style="width: 1034px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img aria-describedby="caption-attachment-71401" class="size-large wp-image-71401" src="https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/FPL-top-points-scorers-1024x602.jpg" alt="Top FPL points scorers" width="1024" height="602" /></p>
<p id="caption-attachment-71401" class="wp-caption-text">Top FPL points scorers</p>
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<h2>Haaland's recent form</h2>
<p>Haaland scored just three goals Gameweek 6 and 18, the period which saw his ownership plummet.</p>
<p>He has improved in recent weeks however, scoring four and assisting two in his last six games.</p>
<p>Since Gameweek 22, he has ranked second behind Salah for xG per game and fifth for expected points (5.66).</p>
<p>His 39 points in this period have only been good enough to rank joint-16th best, with Salah scoring 95 and <strong>Justin Kluivert </strong>59.</p>
<p>Eight Blank Gameweek 29 players have scored more points than him in this time.</p>
<p>But some have had double gameweeks and he actually has the ninth best points per game at 6.5.</p>
<p>This is the fourth best among forwards, with Wood's 7.0 the only Gameweek 29 playing forward to better his return.</p>
<p>His recent numbers have not been at the headline-grabbing levels of Salah's 10.56 points per game but it still looks like Haaland is one of the best options for Gameweek 29.</p>
<p>The question for FPL managers is how easy it is to bring him in - and at what cost?</p>
<div id="attachment_71402" style="width: 808px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img aria-describedby="caption-attachment-71402" class="size-full wp-image-71402" src="https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Haaland-recent-form-up-to-GW28.jpg" alt="Erling Haaland's recent form" width="798" height="650" /></p>
<p id="caption-attachment-71402" class="wp-caption-text">Erling Haaland's recent form</p>
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<h2>City's stats and fixtures</h2>
<p>City's fixtures will play a major part in FPL managers' decision making.</p>
<p>Many who are not playing the Free Hit will look to Wildcard in Gameweek 31, when the schedule should be set for the upcoming double gameweeks and Blank Gameweek 34.</p>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://www.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/fpl-blank-gameweek-29-free-hit-guide-ai-best-team-pros-and-cons-of-using-a-chip-best-fixtures"><strong>FPL Free Hit guide for Blank Gameweek 29</strong></a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/best-fpl-wildcard-team-and-tips-blank-gameweek-29"><strong>Is the Wildcard a good Free Hit alternative? </strong></a></li>
</ul>
<p>According to the Hub ticker, City have the second best run of games up to Gameweek 30. They play back-to-back home games against Brighton and Leicester.</p>
<p>Brighton should not be pushovers, having won six straight games in all competitions since losing 7-0 at Nottingham Forest.</p>
<p>Leicester meanwhile have lost six successive matches and have the third worst expected goals conceded (xGC) in the league. No team has conceded more headed attempts.</p>
<div id="attachment_71399" style="width: 1034px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img aria-describedby="caption-attachment-71399" class="size-large wp-image-71399" src="https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Fixtures-GW29-30-1024x253.jpg" alt="The top of the Hub's fixture ticker for Gameweek 29 and 30" width="1024" height="253" /></p>
<p id="caption-attachment-71399" class="wp-caption-text">The top of the Hub's fixture ticker for Gameweek 29 and 30</p>
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<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>Pep Guardiola's side have been one of the best attacks in the league this season, ranking third for xG (1.82) and joint-third for goals scored (1.89) per game.</p>
<p>Their xG of 1.7 since Gameweek 22 has been a little below their season-long performance but their 2.14 goals has been above - and second best.</p>
<p>This has not been the league-winning City of last season though, when they averaged more than two expected and actual goals per game.</p>
<p>They are consequently fighting for their place in the top four.</p>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://www.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/fpl-gameweek-29-fixtures-analysis"><strong>FPL fixtures analysis for Gameweek 29 and players to target</strong></a></li>
</ul>
<div id="attachment_71403" style="width: 1034px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img aria-describedby="caption-attachment-71403" class="size-large wp-image-71403" src="https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Team-xG-gw1-28-1024x602.jpg" alt="Team expected goals " width="1024" height="602" /></p>
<p id="caption-attachment-71403" class="wp-caption-text">Team expected goals</p>
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<h2>AI predicted points for Gameweek 29-30</h2>
<p>Hub AI rates Haaland as the best option for Gameweek 29 on 7.1 predicted points.</p>
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