The Scout Picks – Gameweek 26

We turn to a 4-4-2 formation this time around and roll out the Scout Picks for the weekend’s round of fixtures. The top six teams supply us with just a trio of selections for Gameweek 26, whilst we call upon a couple of Everton and Chelsea players ahead of plum home clashes against West Brom and Newcastle.

Palace stopper Wayne Hennessey comes in between the posts for a home encounter with Watford. Ideally, we’d wanted Scott Dann but, with budget tight elsewhere, the keeper’s kind price of 4.2 wins us over against a Hornets side that’s failed to score in four of the last five Gameweeks.

Virgil van Dijk earns the nod as Southampton travel to the Liberty in search of a sixth straight clean sheet. Having kept out United, Arsenal and West Ham in the last three, the Saints will be confident of defying a Swansea side that’s scored just five times in the last six in front of their own fans. Van Dijk’s threat in the opposition area has already seen him score twice since arriving at St Mary’s last summer.

Charlie Daniels offers a viable option for points at both ends of the pitch as Bournemouth entertain out-of-sorts Stoke. The Cherries’ spot-kick taker has bagged a goal and two assists in the last four Gameweeks, whilst the Potters have drawn blanks in each of their fixtures over that period.

Chelsea’s home encounter with a Newcastle side that’s scored once in their last four away trips boosts Branislav Ivanovic’s clean sheet potential. With a goal and three assists also accrued in the last nine matches, he’s averaged 6.1 points per appearance since the departure of Jose Mourinho.

With too much uncertainty surrounding the Everton left-back berth, we’re handing Seamus Coleman to continue his fine recent form at home to West Brom. The rampaging right-back is sure to trouble Tony Pulis’ side on the flank and has a goal and two clean sheets in the last couple of fixtures. The Baggies, meanwhile, have notched once in four and failed to produce a single shot on target at Newcastle last weekend.

West Ham’s trip to Norwich boosts our faith in Dimitri Payet. The Canaries look in turmoil at the back right now and have conceded 16 times in the last five Gameweeks, suggesting that the Hammers playmaker could have a field day at Carrow Road tomorrow.

The top-rated player in this week’s RMT ratings, Mesut Ozil is our only selection for Arsenal’s home clash with Leicester. With the Gunners desperately needing a win to boost their title ambitions, the German’s eye for a killer pass will be key to unlocking the Foxes backline. Ozil also looks back in form, too, having delivered his seventh double-figure haul of the season at Bournemouth last Sunday.

Liverpool’s Roberto Firmino is an obvious candidate for the trip to struggling Villa. Granted, the midlands outfit have improved at the back in recent weeks but the Brazilian arrives on the back of three double-figure returns in five, helping him take second place in this week’s Captain Poll.

Oscar is our Chelsea attacker of choice for the visit of Newcastle. Again, budgetary restraints play a part in his selection over Diego Costa but the former’s spot-kick duties and security of starts (eight in the last nine Gameweeks) makes him our pick of the Blues’ midfielders.

The fixture-proof Sergio Aguero leads the line as City welcome Spurs to the Etihad. Having found the net in each of the last four Gameweeks, the Argentine looks back to his reliable best against a defence that’s surprisingly managed just two clean sheets in their last nine road trips.

Romelu Lukaku will be looking to build on last week’s strike at Stoke when West Brom roll up to Goodison. The Baggies have mustered a mere two clean sheets in 15 Gameweeks and are facing a number of injury concerns in defence, boosting the Belgian’s chances of adding to his 16-goal haul tomorrow.

West Ham’s trip to Norwich earns Aaron Cresswell a place on the bench. The Canaries have failed to score in three of the last four and the left-back’s forages forward have already served up a goal and three assists for Slaven Bilic’s side.

A visit from the injury-hit Baggies looks good news for Ross Barkley owners. The playmaker has produced points in three of his last five at Goodison and we reckon the in-form Toffees will turn over Tony Pulis’ side as they look for a third straight 3-0 win.

Stoke’s dire defensive displays affords Benik Afobe the final place on our bench. The Potters continue to struggle without Ryan Shawcross and have conceded three times in each of the last trio of fixtures ahead of their trip to Dean Court. Afobe, meanwhile, scored in three successive Gameweeks prior to last week’s loss to Arsenal and looks the hosts’ likeliest source of goals tomorrow afternoon.

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.

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.

Red Devil leads the way after beating the Picks by 25 points in Gameweek 17.

Gameweek 25’s Community Champion Beavis was narrowly defeated 58 points to 57 by the Scout Picks.

Gameweek 26’s Scout Picks Community Champion, as selected by our lottery, is Eden Hazardous. His picks are as follows: Courtois, Moreno, Borthwick-Jackson(4.0) Daniels, Sanchez, Ayew, Oscar, Firmino, Costa, Rooney, Kane.