Scout Picks – Gameweek 11

Earlier this week we listed the Scout Picks Squad selections in the frame for this weekend’s fixtures. Next this Friday evening, we reveal those who made the cut.

We’ve opted to spend a large chunk of our 84 million budget in the centre of the park this Gameweek, with a raft of premium priced midfielders boasting good form and favourable fixtures.

Luckily there are plenty of budget defensive options with healthy points potential to help us achieve this, particularly the 11.9% owned Burnley stopper Tom Heaton (4.7).

With 57 saves this season, which is 17 more than any other keeper, he offers the security of returns even if visitors Crystal Palace breach the Clarets’ backline.

At 4.8 and with a goal and two assists, 13.2% owned Adam Smith has been elected as our Bournemouth defender of choice for the Cherries home tie against a Sunderland side with just two goals on the road. The enterprising full-back threatens points at both ends following a display at Middlesbrough that saw him register five efforts on goal.

There’s further value with our remaining two defender picks.

With Claude Puel confirming that full-back Cedric Soares remains sidelined, Cuco Martina (4.3) looks set to get a run out when Southampton visit Hull City. The Tigers have the lowest home goal attempt tally in the league, which offers Martina strong clean sheet prospects.

West Brom are another team affected by injuries. They visit Leicester City without key attacking midfielder Nacer Chadli, who is undergoing minor surgery. This renews our faith in a Foxes’ clean sheet, which had taken a dent with the news that their influential stopper Kasper Schmeichel is facing a spell on the sidelines with a hand injury.

In selecting Christian Fuchs (5.4), we believe we have acquired a player who also has strong possibility of attacking returns, just in case Schmeichel’s deputy Ron-Robert Zieler slips up. Only United’s Daley Blind has created more chances among defenders than the 8.2% owned Austrian in home matches.

Our luxury midfield quartet features Kevin De Bruyne (10.7), whose stunning free kick against Barcelona in the Champions League midweek proved how pivotal the 9.4% owned Belgian is to Manchester City. With Middlesbrough visiting on Saturday, he looks primed to add to his seven assists and two goals so far.

De Bruyne’s international team-mate Eden Hazard (9.9) has a trickier tie, against Everton at home, but his sensational recent form in Chelsea’s 3-4-3 formation has ensured he returns to our Scout Picks for the first time since Gameweek 5.

The Toffees have just a single clean sheet on the road this season, while 21.4% owned Hazard has three goals and an assist over his last trio of matches.

We’ve opted for not one but two Liverpool midfielders for Watford’s visit to Anfield.

Philippe Coutinho (8.6)’s four goals and five assists this season make him the Reds’ highest FPL points scorer so far and more than deserving of a place.

Meanwhile, we’ve been unable to ignore Sadio Mane (9.0)’s fine home form, that has seen him score 34 FPL points across four Anfield league matches.

Of the pair Coutinho is by far the most popular, with 42.9% FPL ownership compared to Mane’s 14.4%.

Sergio Aguero’s (13.1) brace against West Brom last weekend has earned him more than 100,000 new FPL owners ahead of the weekend, roughly the same number that ditched him the fortnight before, during a three-game barren spell in front of goal.

Even though Middlesbrough have two clean sheets on the spin, we are backing the Argentine to continue his remarkable return to form.

Our final two picks see us tighten the purse strings but avoid scrimping on quality.

After starting on the bench against Inter Milan in the Europa League last night, the 12.9% owned Charlie Austin (6.7) looks assured of a starting berth when Southampton visit struggling Hull on Sunday.

With 23 goals conceded, the Tigers look an easy target for a striker who has already scored four league goals this season.

Priced at 6.6 Bournemouth’s Callum Wilson is another budget friendly striker facing a woeful defence, as Sunderland park up at the Vitality stadium. The Black Cats concession of 20 goals this season presents an ideal opportunity for 5.3% owned Wilson to add to his two home strikes so far.

Manchester City’s clean sheet against West Brom last weekend has boosted our faith in their rearguard, especially John Stones (5.0), who earned a bonus point in that match. Already this week he has attracted more than 38,000 new FPL managers, and he is perhaps unlucky to only make our bench.

With our Manchester City quota full, we were unable to find a spot in our Scout Picks for 5.7 priced sensation Ilkey Gundogan, who has scored four goals over the last week. With slim pickings among similarly priced midfielders, we have bucked our usual trend of having a cheap bench by handing a place to Dimitri Payet (9.4).

West Ham’s 12.1% owned set-piece specialist has been underwhelming of late, with just an assist in his last three league games, but his underlying statistics offer us hope of returns when Stoke City visit. Over that period the Frenchmen has been the top midfielder in terms of chance creation.

We also think that the Potters will find the net in Saturday’s meeting, with Wilfried Bony (7.3) their likeliest scorer on the back of a brace against Swansea on Monday. The 1.3% owned striker also earns a place on our bench, with the Hammers lacking the influence of centre-back Winston Reid through suspension.

The Community Champion

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. The current champion to beat is VS10_, who had a 32-point margin of victory over us in Gameweek 6.

This week’s champion is Ronhaars, who has opted for a 4-3-3 line up of: Forster; Bertrand, Simpson, Francis, Lowton; Hazard, Ozil, Firmino; Aguero, Ibrahimovic, Bony.