FPLAIInsights
Captain26 April 2026

GW35 Captain Picks: Salah Fitness Doubt Opens the Door for Gibbs-White

Mohamed Salah carries a 75% chance of playing ahead of a tough away trip to Man United (difficulty 4), making him a genuine captaincy risk despite his 6.3 form and 14.8% ownership. Morgan Gibbs-White is the standout alternative, boasting a blistering form of 11.7 and attracting over 81,000 transfers in ahead of a home fixture against Chelsea (difficulty 3). If Salah is ruled out or starts on the bench, managers without cover will be left scrambling.

Mohamed SalahLIV / MID / £12.9m
Form: 6.3Owned: 14.8%Fixture: MUN (a, diff=4)Fitness: 75% chance

A road trip to Old Trafford is already a tough ask, and the fitness cloud hanging over Salah makes captaining him in GW35 a high-variance call. His underlying form is solid but not dominant enough to justify the risk when so many managers will be watching team news until the last minute.

RISKY CAPTAIN -- 38%
Morgan Gibbs-WhiteNFO / MID / £7.6m
Form: 11.7Owned: 10.0%Transfers in: +81,364Fixture: CHE (a, diff=3)

Gibbs-White is the hottest midfielder in the game right now, with the highest form score of any outfield player at 11.7. His trip to Chelsea (diff=3) offers a realistic path to a big haul, and the 81,000+ managers rushing him in this week are not wrong to do so. He is the clearest differential captaincy pick in GW35.

BUY -- 82%
Ollie WatkinsAVL / FWD
Form: 6.7Fixture: TOT (a, diff=4)

Watkins has decent form at 6.7 but faces Tottenham away (diff=4), which limits his ceiling compared to Gibbs-White. He remains a solid budget option but is not the armband pick this week unless you need a safe mid-range return.

HOLD -- 55%

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