There’s a very quick turnaround between Gameweeks as we get set for Tuesday’s Fantasy Premier League (FPL) deadline.
And Scout Picks are already upon us, with the caveat that an injury or two could emerge from the remaining press conferences still to come.
As ever, we are limited by certain restrictions in our selection:
- An £83.0m budget for our starting XI
- An overall squad limit of £100.0m
- No more than three players per team
GOALKEEPER
We are backing Arsenal to pick up a fifth away clean at Kenilworth Road on Tuesday, so David Raya (£4.9m) earns a place in the Scout Picks. The Spaniard is averaging 4.1 points per match this season, more than any other regular starting goalkeeper bar Alisson Becker (£5.6m). As for Arsenal, they can’t be beaten for clean sheets, goals conceded or expected goals conceded (xGC) in 2023/24 so far.
DEFENDERS
Fresh from back-to-back goals, Trent Alexander-Arnold (£8.0m) has explosive potential in Gameweek 15. Sheffield United, who are set to sack Paul Heckingbottom, have scored fewer goals than any other Premier League side this season, so Alexander-Arnold will fancy returns at both ends of the pitch, given how effective he is at exploiting pockets of space in the central regions. Meanwhile, no defender has attempted more shots than Alexander-Arnold in the last six matches.
He is joined by Liverpool team-mate Ibrahima Konate (£4.9m), who should get the nod with Joel Matip (£4.9m) out injured with a knee problem. The Frenchman has kept clean sheets in two of his last three starts and with a trip to Bramall Lane up next, the prospect of another shut-out is always there.
Wolverhampton Wanderers have impressed at Molineux in recent times, having taken points off Manchester City, Tottenham Hotspur, Newcastle United and Aston Villa. They now host a Burnley side who rank second-bottom for goals scored and expected goals (xG) in away matches this season. As a result, Toti Gomes (£4.4m) is a decent budget enabler who attempted two shots in the box in his last home outing.
Saturday’s shut-out was Newcastle’s sixth clean sheet of the campaign, the joint-most in the league alongside Arsenal. Given the generous turnaround time (Sat-Thu), Tino Livramento (£4.3m) is our representative from the Magpies’ defence as they prepare to visit Goodison Park. The youngster carried the ball forward very well against Manchester United last time out and could now profit against Everton, who have had issues defending their right flank all season.
MIDFIELDERS
COMMUNITY CHAMPION
Each week, a member of the Fantasy Football Scout community takes on the Scout Picks.
The community member who beats our team by the largest margin will win a £100 Amazon voucher and a place in our Moderators and Contributors League for the following season.
Prophet’s 75-51 victory in Gameweek 3 gave them the biggest win (24 points difference) of 2023/24 so far.
Our champion this week is The Knights Template, whose selection is as follows:
Raya, Castagne, Lascelles, Ward, Saliba, Salah(c), Mbeumo, Martinelli, Joelinton, Edouard(vc), Jesus.
The Scout Picks are 9-5 up on the community this season.
FOLLOW THE SCOUT’S WEEKLY TRANSFER PLANS
We’re running a Scout community team in FPL this season, with regulars like TopMarx, Tom Freeman, Marc Jobling and more contributing to the weekly decisions.
And we’re not just looking one week ahead like we are with the Scout Picks but instead planning in advance for the weeks and months to come.
You can follow our team via the Premier Fantasy Tools Pro Planner, which you can learn more about here.
