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            <p>Should you pick <strong>Mohamed Salah (£12.5m)</strong> in your FPL teams? Expert Fantasy Premier League manager <a href="https://twitter.com/BigManBakar">BigManBakar</a> shares his thoughts for Fantasy Football Hub members.</p>
<p>See what Bakar and our other expert FPL managers are planning in their <a href="https://www.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/fantasy-premier-league-team-reveals?via=bigmanbakar">Gameweek 1 team reveals</a> - how many will pick Salah?.</p>
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<h2>FPL Gameweek 1: Salah or no Salah?</h2>
<p>This is the million dollar question for FPL managers at the moment.</p>
<p>As I sit here writing this article, with just a few days before the FPL deadline remaining, the certainty of my team eludes me.</p>
<p>Singularly responsible for this is Salah. Presently, I find myself in a state of unease, caught in indecision.</p>
<p style="text-align: center;">🤖 <strong><a href="https://www.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/ai-team-rating?via=bigmanbakar"><strong>Get your FPL team rated FREE by AI </strong></a></strong>🤖</p>
<div id="attachment_47676" style="width: 1034px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img aria-describedby="caption-attachment-47676" class="size-full wp-image-47676" src="https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/GettyImages-1410247944-1.jpg" alt="Mohamed Salah FPL" width="1024" height="683" /></p>
<p id="caption-attachment-47676" class="wp-caption-text">Mohamed Salah. Picture by Getty Images</p>
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<h2>The case for Salah</h2>
<p>Salah has been in superb form in <a href="https://www.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/fpl-pre-season-results-guide">pre-season</a>, which has continuously seen me searching for a Salah-inclusive team that avoids excessively compromising.</p>
<p>What I like about including Salah in my Gameweek 1 squad is that it means the funds won't be spread too wide, which is often the case in drafts without Salah, <strong>Harry Kane (£12.5m) </strong>and <strong>Trent Alexander-Arnold (£8.0m)</strong>.</p>
<p>Salah scored twice and assisted seven times across just five friendlies. Liverpool have scored three or more goals in each of these five fixtures.</p>
<p>Their playing style appears remarkably expansive, to the extent that the matches they engage in resemble basketball games.</p>
<p>The absence of a traditional defensive midfielder might be significant, as Jurgen Klopp seems inclined to outscore opponents, compensating for his team's defensive vulnerabilities.</p>
<div id="attachment_56591" style="width: 907px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img aria-describedby="caption-attachment-56591" class="size-full wp-image-56591" src="https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/Salah-stats-2022-23.jpg" alt="" width="897" height="731" /></p>
<p id="caption-attachment-56591" class="wp-caption-text">Mohamed Salah's 2022/23 season stats</p>
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<p>The Salah debate is complicated by Liverpool playing Bournemouth at home in Gameweek 2. He blanked in the 9-0 win over the Cherries last season - but will history repeat itself or will owners be rewarded?</p>
<p>Since Liverpool’s changed formation last season, no player has recorded more points than Salah.</p>
<p>Over this significant span of 10 gameweeks, he ranked first for shots inside the penalty area and second for both expected goals (xG) and expected goal involvements (xGi) across the entire league.</p>
<p>Contrary to popular opinion, he was playing more centrally, as his own <a href="https://www.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/opta" aria-label="https://www.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/opta/">stats</a> improved significantly – his minutes per xG, shots, final-third touches and penalty area touches all increased.</p>
<h3>Salah before change of formation v Salah after change of formation</h3>
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