A little later than usual, we’ve created our Scout Picks ‘bus team’ for Gameweek 33 of Fantasy Premier League (FPL).

In this selection, we put together a first draft of our regular picks. We will then finalise and publish them much closer to Saturday’s deadline.

Plenty can change between now and then, of course, with Scout Squad nominations, European matches aplenty and a whole host of press conferences still to come.

We are, as ever, limited by certain restrictions:

• An £83.0m budget for our starting XI
• An overall squad limit of £100.0m
• No more than three players per team

GAMEWEEK 33 FIXTURES

Above: The Gameweek 33 fixtures sorted by difficulty on our Season Ticker

THE LIKELY LADS

There’s only one place to start when it comes to Scout Picks candidates in Gameweek 33: Manchester City.

The Cityzens are at home against a Luton Town side who have struggled defensively all season. The Hatters have conceded 38 away goals in the Premier League, more than any other side, and are one of only two clubs (along with Sheffield United) without a clean sheet on the road.

The fear is that City are in UEFA Champions League action either side of Gameweek 33, so there is the very real potential for some minute management on Saturday:

• Tuesday 9 April: Champions League quarter-finals – Real Madrid (a)
• Saturday 13 April: Gameweek 33 – Luton Town (h)
• Wednesday 17 April: Champions League quarter-finals – Real Madrid (h)
• Saturday 20 April: FA Cup semi-finals – Chelsea (n)
• Thursday 25 April: Gameweek 34 – Brighton and Hove Albion (a)
• Sunday 28 April: Gameweek 35 – Nottingham Forest (a)

With the admission that midweek minutes and injuries could come into play, we’ve opted for Rico Lewis (£4.2m), who was great pushing up the right flank at Selhurst Park, Phil Foden (£8.3m) and Erling Haaland (£14.3m), at least for now.

Foden and Haaland’s tallies of 6.2 and 6.8 points per start rank them eighth and third among players with meaningful game-time.

Liverpool representation also looks on the cards. Opponents Crystal Palace lost 4-2 at Selhurst Park on Saturday, leaving them winless under Oliver Glasner since his first match in charge in February.

Caoimhin Kelleher (£3.9m) could save us some pennies on our meagre £83.0m budget, but the availability of Alisson Becker (£5.7m) will need to be monitored, given that he was involved in Tuesday’s session at the AXA Training Centre.

Virgil van Dijk (£6.6m) and Andrew Robertson (£6.4m) are pricier considerations, but with just three clean sheets across 17 in all competitions, defensive coverage is far from certain.

Further forward, Mohamed Salah (£13.4m) is the obvious route into a Liverpool attack that has racked up 21 goals in their last seven home outings.

Luis Diaz (£7.6m) and Darwin Nunez (£7.7m), however, are strong alternatives should we need to make a saving in Friday’s Scout Picks. Against a Palace outfit that just shipped four goals to Man City, we especially like Diaz’s chances of continuing a purple patch that has seen him deliver nine attacking returns in his last ten run-outs.

Elsewhere, any talk of going without Arsenal defensive coverage is verging on being a non-starter, given their recent form (five clean sheets in seven).

And there’ll surely be room for at least one of Bukayo Saka (£8.9m), Martin Odegaard (£8.6m) and Kai Havertz (£7.3m) in the Scout Picks, given that Arsenal will be facing an Aston Villa side who have conceded 16 goals in their last seven matches.

Havertz’s aerial presence in the opposition box is a factor in his favour: Villa have conceded 14 goals from free-kicks and corners this season, more than any other club bar Nottingham Forest and Burnley.

We’ll not waste any time explaining why Cole Palmer (£6.1m) features.

IN CONTENTION

On the subject of Chelsea, Djordje Petrovic (£4.6m) is a viable goalkeeper option, while Malo Gusto (£4.3m) has racked up three shots and 16 key passes in his last half-dozen appearances, but there are big reservations, with the Blues registering just one clean sheet since the turn of the year.

Solid budget picks like Sergio Reguilon (£4.4m), Jan Paul van Hecke (£4.1m) and Rayan Ait-Nouri (£4.7m) are probably worth pursuing instead, provided the latter is fit.

Reguilon looks the most attractive and attacking of the sub-£4.5m defenders, having supplied the assists for Brentford’s final two goals on Saturday.

However, we’ve opted for team-mate Mark Flekken (£4.6m) in our ‘bus team’, largely due to a lack of other appealing goalkeeper options. Hopefully by Friday, we’ll know who is likely to start at Liverpool, Man City and West Ham United.

largely due to uncertainty over who starts in goal for Liverpool, Man City and West Ham United. Hopefully by Friday, other goalkeeper options emerge.

There is more confidence in Newcastle United and Tottenham Hotspur attackers than there is in their defensive counterparts, meanwhile. The fixture certainly looks a bit iffy from a clean sheet perspective: both sides have struggled defensively all season and there have been plenty of goals in the last eight meetings between the pair, with 36 scored between them.

No surprise Anthony Gordon (£6.0m), Alexander Isak (£7.9m) and Son Heung-min (£10.1m) are in our ‘maybe’ pile, then. The only real downside to the latter right now is price.

The defences of Sheffield United, Burnley and Manchester United aren’t in great nick to say the least, so Brentford, Brighton and Hove Albion and Bournemouth’s attacks will fancy their chances when they meet in Gameweek 33.

Over the whole season, the trio have faced 371, 349 and 365 shots in the box, far more than most other clubs (see below).

Bryan Mbeumo (£6.7m), Ivan Toney (£8.1m), Pascal Gross (£6.3m) and Dominic Solanke (£7.3m) head the Scout Picks queue, with two of those names featuring in our ‘bus team’.

THE LONG SHOTS        

FPL’s top-scorer as a long shot? Ollie Watkins (£8.8m) has been a prominent member of most of our FPL sides over the season but such is Arsenal’s defensive strength, he’ll almost certainly be overlooked.

Elsewhere, an injury update would be welcome on Jarrod Bowen (£7.9m), who hosts a Fulham side without a clean sheet in their last 12 away matches. Even if he’s passed fit, he’s a tough sell over Saka, Foden, Mbeumo and Palmer.

As for Manchester United assets, one win in six doesn’t scream ‘buy’, so it’s hard to make a case for Bruno Fernandes (£8.2m) and Alejandro Garnacho (£4.9m).

Finally, there’s a cut-price appeal to Chris Wood (£4.9m), Ben Brereton Diaz (£5.0m) and Pablo Sarabia (£4.7m), who could become possible shouts if further enablers are required. Bench roles, however, feel much more likely.

GAMEWEEK 33 SCOUT PICKS: BUS TEAM