We’ve put together our Scout Picks ‘bus team’ ahead of Gameweek 18 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 Friday’s 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.

GAMEWEEK 18 FIXTURES

THE LIKELY LADS

With appealing home matches for Manchester City and Newcastle United, it’s fair to assume they will supply the Scout Picks with at least four players, perhaps more. The pair face Everton and Leeds United respectively, both of whom rank among the worst six sides for minutes per xG conceded in 2022/23.

Erling Haaland (£12.2m) and Miguel Almiron (£5.8m) are shoo-ins, while the likes of Kevin De Bruyne (£12.6m), Phil Foden (£8.3m) and Callum Wilson (£7.4m) are also in the mix, providing the latter is passed fit having missed the Boxing Day visit to Leicester City through illness.

In his absence, Almiron’s fine form continued. The Paraguayan netted his ninth goal of the season and is the first FPL midfielder to reach 100 points in 2022/23.

Defenders Joao Cancelo (£7.4m) and Kieran Trippier (£5.9m) will also be heavily backed, with double-ups not out of the question, potentially bringing Ederson (£5.4m), Nick Pope (£5.3m) and Sven Botman (£4.4m) into the conversation.

Elsewhere, it feels like a straight shoot-out between Mohamed Salah (£12.8m) and De Bruyne, given our £83.0m budget for the first XI, while Aleksandar Mitrovic (£6.8m) is nailed-on with error-prone Southampton up next: only Leeds (69) have conceded more Premier League goals than the Saints (68) in 2022.

IN CONTENTION

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