With less than 24 hours to the Gameweek 24 deadline, we roll out another set of Scout Picks for your perusal. We double up on West Ham and Tottenham this time around and trial a 4-3-3 formation in order to accommodate a trio of big hitters up front.
David de Gea gets the nod between the posts as United entertain a Stoke outfit that’s scored just once in their last four fixtures across all competitions. The Red Devils’ record of five goals conceded in 11 league outings at Old Trafford suggests they stand a decent shout of collecting a twelfth clean sheet of the campaign tomorrow evening.
Scott Dann’s potential at both ends of the pitch earns him a spot as Palace welcome Bournemouth to Selhurst Park. The centre-half already has three goals to his name this terms and leads all defenders for touches inside the box (19) in the last four, suggesting he could still pick up the points if the Eagles do concede.
Branislav Ivanovic comes in for similar reasons as Chelsea make their way to Watford. The Blues have registered a clean sheet in all three road trips under Guus Hiddink, whilst the right-back has also served up a goal and three assists in just seven appearances since the Dutchman took the helm.
With Francis Coquelin back in the Arsenal midfield, Hector Bellerin’s prospects of defensive returns could take a turn for the better at home to Southampton. The Gunners have conceded just three times in their last five at the Emirates, whilst the Saints have netted just twice in their last four road trips. Furthermore, the underlying stats indicate that the right-back has stepped up his involvement in the final third in recent matches, raising hopes he could add to his pair of assists so far.
West Ham’s Aaron Cresswell takes the final place in our four-man defence. At home to a Villa side that’s scored just three times in their last six away matches, the raiding left-back will be looking to add to the goal and three assists he’s already accrued so far.
We also call upon Dimitri Payet for the Hammers’ clash with Villa. Remi Garde’s men have managed just a single away clean sheet from Gameweek 2 onwards and look up against it at Upton Park tomorrow evening. Slaven Bilic’s side are unbeaten in nine in front of their own fans and it’s a fair bet that Payet will be central to the hosts’ attacks against the basement-dwellers.
Dele Alli is an obvious candidate for Tottenham’s trip to Norwich. The youngster’s goal and assist at Palace last time out means he’s now notched in four of his last five away appearances and given that the Canaries just shipped five at home to Liverpool, he continues to look the standout option in the sub-6.0 bracket.
Leicester’s home clash with Liverpool ensures that Riyad Mahrez remains in our thinking. After picking up an assist against Stoke last week, a lack of an FA Cup fixture means the Algerian will be fully refreshed as he goes in search of a fifth double-figure haul in front of his own fans.
Sergio Aguero is nailed-on as City make their way to Sunderland. The runaway leader of this week’s Captain Poll, the Argentine rolls up to the Stadium of Light on the back of successive braces against Palace and West Ham, whilst his stint on the bench at Villa in Saturday’s FA Cup win suggests he’ll be well-rested ahead of the showdown with Big Sam’s side.
Tottenham’s visit to Norwich also brings Harry Kane into consideration. The frontman has netted in each of the last couple of Gameweeks and has already bagged a brace against the Canaries earlier in the season. Kane also leads all forwards for shots on target over the last four Gameweeks, which bodes well for his prospects at Carrow Road.
We’re keeping faith in Romelu Lukaku for Everton’s home clash with Newcastle, in spite of his worrying lack of form. Although he’s failed to produce points in four of the last six, it’s worth noting that three of those blanks arrived on the road – indeed, the big Belgian had bagged a goal or assist in six straight Goodison appearances prior to his blank against Swansea in the previous Gameweek.
West Brom’s home improvements bring Craig Dawson onto our subs bench. The right-back has produced two clean sheets and five bonus points in his last three at the Hawthorns, with Tony Pulis’ side starting to finally tighten up in front of their own fans.
We’re backing Ross Barkley to pick up the points at home to Newcastle. Having found the net in both of Everton’s cup matches over the last week, the midfielder looks to have rediscovered the eye for goal that saw him net six times in the first 14 Gameweeks.
A home clash with Villa brings Enner Valencia into consideration. After bagging braces against Bournemouth and Man City in the last three Gameweeks, the Ecuadorian seems in fine form as the Hammers look to strengthen their bid for a top six finish.
The Community Champion
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.
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.
Gameweek 17’s Community Champion Red Devil is the leader so far, having beaten the Scout Picks by 69 points to 44.
Gameweek 24’s Community Champion as selected by our lottery, is Doosra. His picks are as follows: Adrian; Williams, Cresswell, Smith; Payet, Eriksen, Alli, Sanchez; Kane, Mitrovic, Aguero.
