FPL Gameweek 30 Deadline Report

Fantasy Football Fix AI 2 April 2025

FPL Gameweek 30: Salah Shines as Managers Activate Wildcard in Droves

Gameweek 30 sees a surge in chip activity, with many FPL managers deploying their second Wildcards. Meanwhile, Erling Haaland’s injury and the return of FPL favourite Bukayo Saka have shaken up team selections across different ranking tiers.

Let’s dive into the key trends shaping this crucial Fantasy Premier League gameweek.

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Captaincy

Mohamed Salah's home fixture against Everton has seen him emerge as the overwhelming captaincy favourite across all ranking tiers:

Player	Top 1M (%)	Top 100k (%)	Top 10k (%)	Overall (%)
Salah	81.0	83.4	85.7	43.4
Marmoush	10.6	9.9	9.1	3.7
Isak	1.6	1.5	1.2	5.7
Palmer	0.3	0.3	0.3	4.7
Haaland	1.0	0.9	0.6	19.4

The Liverpool talisman commands over 80% of the captaincy among active managers, with his backing increasing to 85.7% among the top 10k.

Man City’s Marmoush has become the clear second choice, especially among engaged managers. With Haaland sidelined, his chances of starting have increased, attracting around 10% backing among top-tier FPL managers.

The injured Haaland remains a popular captaincy pick among casual managers, with 19.4% overall backing. However, this plummets to just 0.6–1.0% among active managers, suggesting many teams are now inactive or missed the midweek deadline..

Effective Ownership

Player	Top 1M (EO%)	Top 100k (EO%)	Top 10k (EO%)	Overall (EO%)
Salah	178.0	181.1	184.1	106.8
Isak	86.4	91.5	92.5	57.1
Marmoush	69.5	75.5	76.6	22.6
Palmer	37.6	38.6	43.3	43.7
Kluivert	57.8	54.5	50.5	29.4
Mateta	42.2	52.3	58.7	-
Wood	29.0	22.1	17.5	31.2
Haaland	3.3	2.8	1.9	48.4

Salah's effective ownership exceeds 180% among top managers, reflecting his huge captaincy numbers combined with near-total ownership. Newcastle's Isak, facing Brentford, has seen his EO climb above 90% among better-ranked managers.

Crystal Palace's Mateta has seen a surge in his EO ahead of their fixture against Southampton. Meanwhile, Palmer's consistent EO across all tiers suggests broad agreement on his value despite injury concerns and a recent dip in form.

Chip Usage

Chip	Top 1M (%)	Top 100k (%)	Top 10k (%)	Overall (%)
Wildcard	27.7	37.2	40.6	4.1
Triple Captain	0.1	0.1	0.0	0.2
Bench Boost	0.6	0.4	0.1	0.5
Free Hit	0.0	0.1	0.1	0.2

Wildcard usage shows a clear correlation with rank, with over 40% of the top 10k activating compared to just 4.1% overall. This suggests top managers are more proactively restructuring their teams to deal with upcoming Blank and Double Gameweeks.

Other chip usage remains minimal across all tiers, with managers likely saving these for future Gameweeks.

Transfer Stats and Finances

Metric	Top 1M	Top 100k	Top 10k	Overall
Avg Team Value	101.3	101.9	102.4	99.1
Avg Bank	2.3	2.1	2.1	1.5
Avg GW Transfers	0.9	0.9	0.8	0.5
Avg Points Hit	0.7	0.8	0.6	0.6

Team value continues to be a key differentiator, with top 10k managers holding teams worth 3.3m more than the overall average. This additional value provides greater flexibility in team selection and would have come in handy for those that used their Wildcard chip.

Gameweek 30 represents a crucial period where engaged managers have clearly differentiated themselves from the casual player base through many playing their second Wildcard.