Welcome to the first of our weekly articles which will focus on the Top Three Captain Picks each gameweek in Fantasy Premier League (FPL), according to our Fix algorithm.

Mohamed Salah (WHU)

A name we are likely to see in this section with much regularity. Salah, is now the most expensive player in the game at 13.0, and will have a lot to do to live up to his price tag. Our fix algorithm has three Liverpool players as the projected highest scorers for gameweek one and Salah is head and shoulders ahead of his midfield counterparts. This does not come as a surprise with the Egyptian wonder sharing free kicks, some corner duties and taking part in a full pre-season. West Ham are under new management in Pellegrini, who is not exactly known for defensive solidity. In the last six gameweeks of the 2017/18 season, West Ham conceded more Shots in the Box (SiB) (66) than any other team. Liverpool meanwhile, were ranked fourth for SiB (59) in the same period. Salah accounted for 15 of these attempts, and was ranked second only to Arnautovic (16) for SiB amongst midfielders, despite playing two games less. To date, the Hammers focus in the transfer window has been on flair players, not defensive reinforcement, which perhaps indicates where their priorities lie. Our algorithm projects Liverpool to be the highest scoring team this gameweek with 3.0 goals. This one could be a very open game, so, if you own Salah, there is really no reason not to captain him. Our Fix algorithm predicts a whopping 9.7 points for the Egyptian.

Josh King (CAR)

Bournemouth start their season at home to newly promoted Cardiff, a side who built their promotion campaign off the back of a solid defence (only 39 goals conceded in 46 league games), which could play into the hands of Bournemouth’s attacking style given the little pressure Cardiff are likely to exhibit on their defence. Bournemouth were ranked fifth for SiB in the last six weeks of the 2017/18 season, with 54 shots, the same number as Spurs, despite playing a game less. They were particularly attacking on home turf, with a chance created every six minutes in their last six home games. Cardiff had the joint-best defensive record in the Championship last year, averaging less than a goal (0.70) conceded at home, but were leakier away (1.0). The step up from the Championship to the Premier League can be a difficult one. Newcastle conceded 0.87 goals per game when they stormed the Championship in 2016/17, but this number rose to 1.24 in the Premier League last year. Brighton showed a similar trend, with 0.87 goals conceded in their promotion campaign which rose to 1.42 in the Premier League. Our Fix projected goals table expects Bournemouth to be the third most prolific side this weekend with 2.2 goals. So, it is no shock that outside of the Liverpool trio King’s name is listed as the highest projected scorer with 5.3 points. The table below using the Fix Comparison Matrix from gameweek 32 to 38 last year illustrates why King is the Bournemouth attacker to focus on. King, played more minutes than both Defoe and Wilson, had more shots on target and attempted more assists. It is also worth noting that he was on penalty duty last year which should continue with Defoe’s ageing legs likely to see limited minutes. If you feel like taking an early punt, King, could be your man.

Alexis Sánchez (LEI)

Man. United kick off their season on Friday 10th at home to Leicester. With Lukaku likely to miss the start of the season – due to World Cup exertions – and Martial unsettled – as a result of transfer speculation, Sánchez, could find himself playing as the main striker for Man. United. In the final six gameweeks of last season, Sánchez created 15 chances for his team mates, just five behind the top creative force, Eriksen, who created 19, despite playing two games less. He created a chance for his team mates every 29 minutes, bettering many Premier League stalwarts such as Eriksen (32), Hazard (34), Sané (40) and De Bruyne (52). The Chilean only had an attempt at goal every 110 minutes during the same period, but his pre-season form, which has seen him score twice, and a central role, indicate the Chilean may be approaching the form of 2016/17, when he had a shot every 25 minutes. United created a chance every 6.6 minutes last year, so Sánchez should find plenty of opportunities to test the Foxes defence. After West Ham, Arsenal and Cardiff, Leicester are expected to be the most susceptible to conceding in gameweek one with only a 15% clean sheet probability. The Foxes conceded 17 big chances in the final six gameweeks of the season, second only to Swansea (18). Their defence was particularly porous away from home last season, conceding an average of two goals, and with transfer speculation affecting their World Cup stars (Schmeichel and Maguire), we do not expect that pattern to change. Puel has already stated that he does not expect Maguire to be fit in time for the Old Trafford fixture and with an injury to Evans, Leicester are likely to be lining up with Benalouane and Morgan as their center-backs. If you are looking for an explosive differential and want to kick off the opening weekend with a bang put your faith in Sánchez. Our Fix algorithm expects Sánchez to shine with a score of 4.7 points.