We’ve put together our Scout Picks ‘bus team’ ahead of Gameweek 17 of Fantasy Premier League (FPL).

In this early selection, we select a first draft of our regular picks before they are finalised and published much closer to the Boxing Day deadline.

We are limited to an £83.0m budget for our starting XI, while our bench is also price-capped after a reader vote.

In the meantime, this ‘bus team’ article – a term coined by the duo behind the Always Cheating podcast – will discuss the players who are likely to be in the running.

THE LIKELY LADS

Having not taken part in the World Cup, a refreshed Erling Haaland (£12.2m) and Mohamed Salah (£12.8m) are highly likely to make the Scout Picks XI. The Norwegian is averaging a frankly ridiculous 9.5 points per match this season, courtesy of 18 goals and three assists in 13 appearances, while Salah produced 24 FPL points in the final three Gameweeks leading up to the World Cup. As a result, there is potential for both players to hit the ground running upon the Premier League’s resumption on Boxing Day.

Their opponents – Leeds United and Aston Villa – have kept just five clean sheets between them all season, so there is potential to double up on Manchester City and Liverpool’s attacks. Jesse Marsch’s troops have been particularly poor defensively, as noted in our recent Half-Term report, which boosts the case for Kevin De Bruyne (£12.4m) and Phil Foden (£8.3m), while Darwin Nunez (£9.0m) should see plenty of pitch time with Luis Diaz (£7.8m) and Diogo Jota (£8.8) still out injured.

Can we say anyone else is assured of their place in the Scout Picks at this point, however? Probably not – although there are multiple names in the mix.

IN CONTENTION

The rest of this article is completely free to read but requires a Fantasy Football Scout account for access – you can get yours at no cost here.