The Scout Squad – Gameweek 22

It’s time to give you an early heads-up on our Scout Picks thinking for the Gameweek ahead this evening. This list of 22 players will also include some names in contention for a place in our Spot the Differential article, though will, of course, be subject to change, depending on the injury situation unfolds over the next 24 hours or so.

For Gameweek 22, here’s the players currently on our radar…

Goalkeepers

After finally recovering from a long-term knee injury, Fraser Forster’s return to the Southampton starting line-up earned them a second clean sheet in just nine Gameweeks. Priced at just 4.8, he hosts a West Brom side that have scored just eight times on their travels.

Swansea stopper Lukasz Fabianski will be hoping to recover from a 4-2 home loss to Sunderland in Gameweek 21. Kyle Naughton’s sending off hardly helped matters against the Black Cats, considering the Welsh side had earned three shut-outs in four prior to last night.

Defenders

Toby Alderweireld’s propensity for points at both ends of the pitch ensure the Spurs man remains firmly in contention for the home clash with Sunderland.

Rested for the midweek encounter with Everton, Aleksandar Kolarov looks a very likely starter as City host a Palace side that’s failed to score in their last four league fixtures.

Bournemouth’s Charlie Daniels comes into contention for a home encounter with Norwich. Priced at just 4.5, the left-back has served up a converted spot-kick, two clean sheets and five bonus points in his last five appearances.

We turn to Virgil van Dijk after Southampton earned a second straight clean sheet at St Mary’s. Having kept out Arsenal and Watford in recent weeks, the Saints now entertain West Brom, whilst both the Dutchman’s goals this season have arrived in front of his own fans.

Having dropped to just 4.3 in price, Robert Huth gets the nod after grabbing Leicester’s winner at the Lane last night. The Foxes earned a third successive shut-out against Mauricio Pochettino’s men and now travel to basement-dwellers Villa.

With the aforementioned Naughton now banned for three matches, Angel Rangel offers a budget-friendly route into Swansea’s back-four at a price of just 4.1.

Midfielders

Dimitri Payet’s goal and assist away to Bournemouth has maintained the Frenchman’s relentless Fantasy bandwagon over the last few days. Averaging 6.1 points per appearance, he’s now set for a trip to St James’, with hosts Newcastle managing just one clean sheet in the last nine Gameweeks.

We also call upon Georginio Wijnaldum for the Tyneside head-to-head. The Dutchman bagged his eighth goal of the season on Tuesday – all those strikes have arrived in front of his own fans.

Dele Alli will be looking to atone for his midweek blank against Leicester as Tottenham entertain Sunderland in Saturday’s early kick-off. Having served up three goals and two assists prior to the Foxes clash, we’re backing the youngster to get the better of the league’s most porous defence.

We’re keeping faith in Kevin de Bruyne for City’s clash with Palace. Despite a midweek blank, the summer signing’s Etihad form has seen him serve up four double-figure hauls ahead of this weekend. Having started as a sub last time out, David Silva is surely set to start against the Eagles and almost ousted the Belgian from our thoughts.

Both Riyad Mahrez and Mesut Ozil remain in contention despite a drop in Fantasy output. Mahrez has racked up five sets of double-figures on the road ahead of his trip to Villa, whilst Ozil – who travels to Stoke – had served up points in six straight road trips prior to blanking at Southampton and Liverpool.

Oscar remains our favoured Chelsea option due to his spot-kick duties and threat in and around the penalty area. All seven of his shots in the last four Gameweeks have arrived inside the box, whereas all seven of team-mate Willian’s attempts have been from long-range.

After bagging a brace in the midweek thriller with Arsenal, Roberto Firmino looks certain to keep his starting berth as a false nine when Liverpool face a United defence that shipped seven goals in their last three on the road.

Forwards

Despite his blank against Everton, Sergio Aguero remains firmly in our thoughts. The City striker has scored seven of his eight goals at the Etihad and hosts a Palace side that’s struggling for any semblance of self-belief right now.

Harry Kane bagged two double-figure hauls in four home appearances prior to his blank against Leicester last night. The Spurs striker will be heavily backed to get back amongst the goals against a Sunderland outfit that’s conceded more times than any side thus far.

Four goals and an assist in his last four matches in all competitions ensures the 7%-owned Diego Costa remains a real differential for Chelsea’s home match with Everton. We’re also backing Romelu Lukaku at the Bridge. The Belgian has notched seven of his 15 league strikes on the road, whilst his former side have managed just one clean sheet in their last six league matches at home.

Despite a single league goal in seven Gameweeks, Jamie Vardy cannot be overlooked as Leicester visit struggling Villa. Olivier Giroud, meanwhile, bagged his highest haul of the season away to Liverpool and will roll up to the Britannia full of confidence.

On Standby

There are a number of players waiting in the wings should injuries forced our hand over the next day or so.

West Ham’s Michail Antonio has two goals and four assists in the last four Gameweeks and look a steal at just 5.2. His team-mate Aaron Cresswell is also in the mix, with a goal and four clean sheets in his previous six.

Wayne Rooney’s return to form has served up four goals and an assist in his last three appearances across all competitions. The United skipper served up his highest haul of the season last time out, courtesy of a 16-point return at Newcastle, and now travels to Anfield, where Liverpool conceded three times to Arsenal last night.

Having teed up fellow full-back for Chelsea’s midweek opener, Branislav Ivanovic has now delivered a goal, two assists, a couple of clean sheets and six bonus points in the five matches since Jose Mourinho’s departure.

As touched upon above, David Silva and Willian will continue as our back-up options for De Bruyne and Oscar. A goal and assist from Andre Ayew against Sunderland underlined his points potential as the Swans prepare to entertain Watford, though Gylfi Sigurdsson offers a viable alternative, having netted in each of the last couple of league matches.

The Community Champions

Having scrapped the weekly vote idea from last season, we now operate a lottery system to pick our weekly candidates. The community member who beats our picks by the biggest margin over the campaign will win a £100 Amazon Voucher and a place in our Contributors and Moderators League for the following season. Red Devil leads the way after beating the Picks by 25 points in Gameweek 17.

Gameweek 21’s Community Champion Lateriser12 beat the Scout Picks by 45 points to 31, thanks mainly to Rooney’s haul at St James’. Gameweek 22’s Community Champion, as selected by our lottery, is one of our regular community writers, FantasyFootballFrog. This is his first FPL season and he sits in a respectable 58,527th place in the overall rankings.

In addition to a shot at the £100 Amazon prize, FantasyBet are offering a chance for further prizes to Community Champions that are eligible to play their games. More details can be found here.