Scout Picks – Gameweek 17

We move onto Gameweek 17 of this season’s Scout Picks tonight, where Mark, Jonty, a different member of the community and I pick an XI for the upcoming round of fixtures. Each week, our line-ups go head-to-head and over the course of the season we’ll be keeping a tally of the points as we go along. This week, we’ve slightly upped the budgets to 84.0 apiece for our starting line-ups.

The Community – Managed by JonnyC07

I have chosen a City double-up of Joe Hart and Pablo Zabaleta as there is a great chance of a clean sheet against Palace at home. Even though there is defensive rotation risk, the Argentine has had his rest and I reckon he’ll be back for the Eagles encounter. Aaron Cresswell and Ben Davies both offer attacking potential, as well as a good chance of clean sheets against Leicester and Burnley respectively.

Stewart Downing has been a man of consistency this season and, up against Leicester at home, I expect his attacking returns to continue. Juan Mata was, arguably, Man of the Match last week in a United team that is gaining momentum with six straight wins, and I anticipate another good performance from the Spaniard. Christian Eriksen is finally finding form and looks a tasty option at home to Burnley, whilst I expect Yaya Toure to step up against Palace at home, with City struggling for strikers.

Wilfried Bony has four goals and an assist in his last five, so should have no problem against a leaky Hull defence. Charlie Austin is back from suspension and with five goals and two assists in his last four at Loftus Road, I hope his home form continues. My final pick, Robin van Persie, is a no-brainer as he is looking ever more dangerous and with four goals and two assists in his last five, he should relish the trip to Villa.

Jonty

Festive rotation and options in defence makes me nervous about selecting a Tottenham defender for their plum home clash against Burnley. As a result I’ve opted for the security of Hugo Lloris to give me cover.

Kevin Mirallas’s injury has prompted me to select Leighton Baines. As Athletico Timbo’s hot topic this week shows, the left-back has been seriously hampered by the Belgian and should prosper in his absence.

Louis Van Gaal likes Jonny Evans and has selected him whenever fully fit, which admittedly is rare. His security of starts make him my pick of the Manchester United backline. Aaron Creswell, who has a goal, three assists and two maximum bonus Gameweeks under his belt, offers me the chance of points at both ends of the pitch when lacklustre Leicester visit West Ham.

Manchester City have no strikers so I’m anticipating goals from their midfielders. According to my Members Table, Yaya Toure has been second only to Sergio Aguero for attacking threat at Manchester City this season. Frank Lampard offers further threat and at a budget price. Christian Eriksen, with six goals, two assists and 17 bonus points is key to Tottenham, while Alexis Sanchez offers further security of returns – the Chilean has failed to score or assist just twice since Gameweek 7.

Up front, Robin Van Persie’s recent confidence can’t be ignored, neither can Charlie Austin’s home form. The QPR man has accrued a total of 36 FPL points in his last four home matches. There is plenty of choice among West Ham’s ranks and I’ve opted for the goal accuracy of Diafra Sakho to shine brightly this Gameweek.

Mark

I’ve opted for pretty wide coverage this week, with seven teams providing talent for my XI. The back three has a nice mix of clean sheet potential and attacking threat, with James Tomkins getting an unlikely selection on the back of West Ham’s major threat from set-plays against Leicester.

Indeed, the selections of Stewart Downing and Andy Carroll are made with that principle in mind – I’m expecting the Hammers to bombard Leicester with crosses and the stats show that the Foxes have a vulnerability here.

Samir Nasri is my choice of City cover – I believe he’ll be the player charged with the “false nine” position and his current form suggests he’ll be the key man when Palace visit the Etihad.

The form of Alexis Sanchez, Christian Eriksen and Wilfried Bony make them indispensible and obvious selections, while Diego Costa’s selection may raise a few eyebrows. I’m keen to stand by the Chelsea striker, however – he was rested in midweek and I think he’ll relish the physical battle with the Stoke centre-backs. I’m expecting the customary Costa goal, hopefully without the away booking.

Paul

I needed a cut-price keeper this week, so opted for Costel Pantilimon for Sunderland’s derby trip to Newcastle. Whilst a clean sheet is far from certain, he offers the guarantee of save points and has averaged 4.9 ppg so far. Pablo Zabaleta and Gary Cahill have both impressed for efforts in the opposition box over their last four appearances, whilst City and Chelsea have been very resilient at the back of late.

Given that Leicester have conceded more headers than any side, I’m expecting an aerial bombardment at Upton Park. The front two could easily share the spoils, so I’m opting for Aaron Cresswell and Stewart Downing – their delivery looks key for Big Sam’s side.

The rest of my picks are very much in-form options. Samir Nasri has stepped up for City and could grab the false nine role, whilst north London duo Alexis Sanchez and Christian Eriksen look set to continue their displays against Burnley and Liverpool’s porous defences.

Up top, Charlie Austin’s average of 6.5 points per home appearance makes a mockery of his 6.0 price tag as the Baggies roll up to Loftus Road. As highlighted in yesterday’s Captain Sensible piece, Robin van Persie faces a very weak Villa defence and is high in confidence ahead of his midlands trip, whilst Wilfried Bony sits top for attempts on goal and shots in the box over the last four – a trip to Hull hands him the chances to extend his run of eight strikes in ten appearances.

The Scores So Far

The Community – managed by Dusan Citizen – emerged triumphant in Gameweek 16 with a score of 59 points. Jonty took second spot with 56, whilst I nudged Mark into fourth by 52 points to 46.

After 16 rounds of fixtures, then, Jonty re-takes the lead on 920 points, just two ahead of Mark. I sit in third on 907 points, with The Community back in fourth on 807.