Today we are comparing the Liverpool trio; Philippe Coutinho, Sadio Mane and Mohamed Salah. All of which have Premier League experience, but some more than other. They have all had good pre-seasons with Liverpool, looking dangerous against the likes of Athletico Madrid and Bayern Munich.
Without futher ado, lets consider this FPL Dilemma…
Phillipe Coutinho
Phillipe Coutinho may be off to Barcelona but if he stays at Liverpool this season he will be a great asset to their title aspirations. His price of 9.0m does make him cheaper than Mane who he got more points than last season and the Tottenham pair Dele Alli and Christian Eriksen.
In total, Coutinho grabbed himself an impressive 171 points in just over 2,200 minutes of Premier League action. The Brazilian has everything in his locker. He is on free kicks, he can cut in on his right within 30 yards and you would expect him to hit the back of the net. As well as this, the magician can drop a shoulder and weave his way through any defence.
If Coutinho does leave Anfield, he will be leaving a hole which can’t be filled by the likes of Lallana or Henderson because of the sheer talent he brings to the Liverpool team. He has spent half a decade playing in the Premier League and has scored 34 goals and provided 35 assists for his teammates. Finally his disciplinary record is decent for an attacking midfielder, being booked just twice last season.
Sadio Mane
Sadio Mane is the most expensive out of three, being priced at 9.5m. He had a fantastic season for Liverpool last season. The Merseyside club sorely missed the Senegalese forward, when he left for AFCON in the winter and when he sustained an injury late in the season.
Mane racked up a fantastic 156 points in just over 2,200 minutes. His price in FPL has slowly been climbing since Mane joined the Premier League back in 2014/15, where he was originally priced at just 6.0m. Whilst at Southampton, he scored the quickest ever Premier League hat trick against Aston Villa.
Mane could be a must have this season in FPL as long as he stays fit because the Liverpool midfielder averages over 150 points a season in his 3 campaigns in the Premier League. The addition of European football may force Klopp to rotate the likes of Mane so his game time could be negatively effected.
Mohamed Salah
Mohamed Salah didn’t have the greatest of starts in the Premier League, with champions Chelsea. He joined the Blues at the beginning of the 2013/14 season but registered just 534 minutes of Premier League football, before he was sent out on loan at Italian outfit Fiorentina.
After a successful loan spell in Italy, a fellow Italian side Roma snapped the forward up on an initial short term loan, then on a permanent basis where he shone once more in the Calcio A. In the 31 appearances he made last season, he notched up 15 goals and 11 assist which more than tempted Liverpool into pursuing his signature.
Salah is priced equally to Coutinho at 9.0m making him cheaper than fellow winger, Sadio Mane. The Egyptian, who has scored 29 in 53 matches for his country, will inject pace similar to that of Mane, and will certainly be one to watch out for this season, and will be key for Liverpool’s title aspirations.
The Verdict
All three players involved in this Liverpool terrific trio will be great additions to your FPL teams but which one will be the best and most efficient. In my opinion, as long as he stays with the Reds, Coutinho will be the option to select as out of the three of them, as I believe he has the best technical attributes and the most potential to score 200 plus FPL points.
Although barring injuries, Salah and Mane should also be very high scoring midfielders and up there with the likes of the Pedro’s and the Heung-min Son’s of this FPL world. Salah, less likely so, as he isn’t yet proven in the Premier League which is a turn off for some FPL managers.
Ownership wise, there is just 4% to split the three of them. Mane is the least owned at 16.6%. In the middle of the three is Salah who is owned by 19.9% of FPL managers. Finally, the Brazilian magician tops the lot with an ownership reaching 20.6%. This information suggests that Coutinho is the better option out of the three, but if you are really struggling on deciding between 2 of them, select both, or if you are feeling really adventurous, have the lot!
Written by Harry Clark (@HarryClark67)
