The Weekend Scout Picks

Even though I’ve been heavily distracted by dreams of World Cup glory and the sight of Charlize Theron with warm ping pong balls, I’ve still managed to pull myself together and choose some footballers for you. Here’s my dubious selection for the weekend…

Finding clean sheets amongst this weeks fixtures is like searching for some humility amongst a Nicklas Bendtner interview. Bloody difficult. The fact that I’ve ended up with Friedel in goal off the back of just one clean sheet in the last 10. gives you a clue as to how tough this has been this week. Villa entertain Hull at home, with the visitors on a high after a run of four unbeaten. I see that coming to an end here though. Hull are still averaging well under a goal a game away from home, so Friedel and his defence have a good opportunity to end their barren defensive run here.

Paddy Power have Arsenal as favourites for a shut-out at home to Stoke. I’m not sure I agree with this but there is some logic here. Stoke have scored just four goals in their last six away games and only Portsmouth have a worse goalscoring record on the road. The Arsenal back line is far from secure however, and the loss of Song to suspension has me worried that Stoke will be a major major problem from set plays. Having said that, bizarrely, Pulis’ side have scored just 7 goals from set-pieces this season (one of the lowest in the league). You can tie yourself in knots with this one then but Arsenal still look one of the stronger options this week. At least the selection of Vermaelen offers me some goal threat at the other end. He’s bound to be a busy boy when it comes to clearances too, so bonus points could be on the cards if Arsenal fail to dazzle in attacking terms.

United are the bookies second favourites for a cleanie and, with Carlton Cole sidelined for West Ham, United look a fairly solid prospect. Evra is perhaps the most sensible option here, given that that Evans and O’Shea will again be missing. Brown and Rafael are your short-term alternatives if you’re pinching pennies.

Paul Scharner keeps his place in my picks selection having returned a goal, an assist and a clean sheet over the last two games. Wigan have a decent fixture against Birmingham, although I suspect we might see the home side concede to an in-form Birmingham. Scharner, in his attacking midfield role though, continues to offer returns at a good price.

Fulham’s Hangeland seals the final defensive spot. He comes up against a Sunderland side who continue to struggle for away form. I was in two minds with this one to be honest, with Liverpool’s Insua and Blackburn’s Samba coming close to inclusion. I’ve opted for Hangeland though, particularly as there are still doubts over Kenwyne Jones’ chances of making the game for the visitors through injury.

Hangeland’s team-mate, Clint Dempsey, starts off my midfield selection. I’m keeping faith with the US international, who could yet start up front against the Black Cats, despite Zamora’s return to fitness. Even so, Dempsey has recorded plenty of shots on goal this season (he has the most attempts off target in the league) and will be a threat to Steve Bruce’s side in attack or from midfield.

Dempsey was my only real certainty going into the day. The other selections have been rotated as the hours have passed with Fabregas, O’Hara, Boateng, Milner, Eagles and Matt Taylor all coming in and out of the side. In the end I’ve opted to play safe with Fabregas, even though I see a potentially frustrating afternoon for Wenger against Stoke. Pulis’ side come into the game having kept two consecutive clean sheets, whereas Arsenal start off the back of two blanks against Sunderland and Chelsea. We may not see a landslide here then, although Arsenal should come good, with Fabregas influential.

I’ve gone for Bolton’s Matt Taylor again, even though he faces an away game at Wolves. Megson’s side will go to Molineux without Kevin Davies through suspension. That will come as a blow but I’m still tipping them to score a couple here. If that proves to be the case, then Taylor has a good chance of being in the points. He’s putting in plenty of crosses and having shots on goal – I’m confident returns will come soon enough and the Wolves defence should offer some assistance.

The final midfield spot was a very close call. I nearly played safe with Villa’s Milner or Ashley Young at home to Hull. Burnley’s Chris Eagles also came close. In the end though, I’ve opted for Portsmouth’s Boateng who will likely be a key threat to Burnley’s obliging defence at Fratton Park on. I see plenty of goals in this game and Boateng should be a major influence. O’Hara is also worth a look, although Kevin Prince just sneaks it with spot-kick duties.

Up front we’re treated to an embarrassment of riches. I’ve chosen to spend big with Rooney and Drogba - simply because one is in irresistible form, while the other goes to a West Ham side who are shipping goals at home and are without their best defender in Upson. Tottenham’s Defoe, up against an Everton defence ravaged by injury, runs them close. For cheaper options you can look to Wigan’s Rodallega, Burnley’s Fletcher and Villa’s Agbonlahor – all look good for points this week.

Paddy Says…
Finally, as usual, I’ve teamed up with Paddy to try to cater for those of you who are over 18 and like to embroider their fantasy football weekends with a flutter or two.

Paddy is offering us 8/1 on Arsenal, United and Fulham all keeping clean sheets in the gameweek. In the Scout Picks special you can get long odds of 28/1 on Dempsey, Taylor and Drogba to all to score this weekend.

I also requested some December specials based on Rooney and Torres and the Chelsea and United defences. You can get 5/1 on Rooney scoring 5 or more goals in December, and identical odds on Torres being top scorer this month. A couple of interesting bets for those looking to back their fantasy selections or cover their backsides. When it comes to clean sheets, Paddy seems to share my views on the Chelsea and United defences in December. The odds on them both keeping four or more clean sheets this month are very short at 5/4 for United and 6/4 for Chelsea.

As always, Paddy’s offer of a free £20 bet when you register and make a £10 bet still stands.

Good luck if you decide to have a bet and best of luck to all of those involved in the Fantasy Football Scout Cup this weekend. We have Breakballartist and DonnellyC clashing in our final, while Barkerov and Poshleftme are fighting over third place. Good luck to all four of you once again. You can hear Granville and I preview the final in this week’s podcast and we will doubtless be tracking your fortunes in the chatroom.