Scout Picks – Gameweek 15

Yesterday 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 final cut.

The search for value between the sticks has taken us to Crystal Palace’s Wayne Hennessey (4.3), who travels to a Hull City side that has scored a mere six league goals at the KCOM this season. The 2.1% owned stopper, who is deputising for the injured Steve Mandanda, looks among the best bets for a clean sheet this week.

There are further savings to be made in defence with Burnley’s home encounter against Bournemouth propelling Michael Keane (4.9) into our XI.

The 2.6% owned centre back offers strong prospect of returns at both ends of the pitch, with a top three placing among defenders in terms of attempts in the box this season.

In addition, the Cherries have only managed to score five times on the road. If Tom Heaton returns from injury for Sean Dyche’s troops as expected, Keane’s shut out prospects will be enhanced even further.

Only Burnley have mustered fewer goal attempts on the road than Middlesbrough, which gives Southampton’s Cedric Soares (5.0) a coveted slot in the Picks.

Cedric is ranked second for chances created amongst defenders since returning to action in Gameweek 12. It is also worth noting that the 2.3% owned Portuguese right-back has picked up more FPL bonus points than any defensive team-mate, despite missing four matches through injury.

Our luxury purchase in our 84m budgeted side’s defence is Marcos Alonso (6.3).

The 6.9% owned left wing-back looks set to be a regular in the Scout Picks for the rest of December given his attacking threat and Chelsea’s kind run of fixtures, which starts on Sunday with the visit of West Brom.

Since breaking into the Blues’ first team in Gameweek 7, no defender has had more goal attempts than the Spaniard.

Chelsea’s strong home form has prompted us to triple up on their assets, across all outfield positions, with 37.1% owned Eden Hazard (10.4) claiming a midfield berth.

The Belgian has three FPL double-digit hauls at Stamford Bridge, making him a strong armband option this week.

Top of our captain poll is 31.9% owned Alexis Sanchez (11.6), who welcomes Stoke to the Emirates in fine form, having scored five goals in his last two league matches.

The Potters have only conceded eight times across their seven away games, but have yet to face a top four side on the road.

Consistency has driven us to select Gylfi Sigurdsson (7.4), with the Swansea ‘false 9’ bringing in attacking returns in four of his last five league outings.

The 7.7% owned differential welcomes a Sunderland outfit to the Liberty Stadium that is only behind Burnley in terms of conceding close range efforts on the road.

Liverpool attackers have arguably the best fixture of any side this Gameweek as they host a West Ham side that has conceded nine times in their last three matches.

With Sadio Mane (9.3), who has scored five times in the league at Anfield this season, just out of our price range we have opted for his slightly cheaper team-mate Roberto Firmino (8.8).

While the 18.5% owned Brazilian has failed to deliver returns in his last three matches he has still been posting encouraging underlying statistics, including six close range efforts over that period.

Our third Chelsea recruit is Diego Costa (10.8), who is even more reliable than Sigurdsson for delivering attacking returns.

The Spanish striker has only failed to score or assist in two out of 14 starts this season, while West Brom have just one clean sheet on the road. With 200,000 new owners this week he is now FPL’s most popular player.

No side has conceded more than Swansea over the last four matches, which makes Jermain Defoe (7.8) a shoo-in for Sunderland’s trip to Wales. The 24.1% owned Black Cats striker will be confident of adding to his eight-goal tally on Saturday.

Sergio Aguero’s four-match ban, following his red card tackle on Chelsea’s David Luiz last weekend, gives Kelechi Iheanacho (6.7) an opportunity to shine.

The Nigerian delivered 20 FPL points over two matches the last time he deputised for the Argentine, suggesting history is on his side. This has clearly been noticed by FPL managers, with more than 96,000 securing his services this week.

Crystal Palace’s 3.6% owned Scott Dann (5.3) is unlucky to only make the bench, given that he travels to a Hull City side that has conceded more close range efforts at home than any other Premier League outfit.

The attack-minded Eagles centre-back has already scored twice this season and is joint top with Ryan Shawcross among defenders for attempts in the box (11).

For those unable to afford Liverpool’s Firmino or Mane, their team-mate Emre Can (4.9) has presented a solid case for inclusion with three goals and an assist in his last five league matches. The German midfielder looks odds on to profit when West Ham’s porous backline visits Anfield.

No side has conceded more headed goal attempts than Hull this season, which brings another Crystal Palace asset, Christian Benteke (7.6) into our thinking. The 8.2% owned Belgian has scored four times in as many matches and, crucially for this encounter, has had more aerial attempts than any other player over the season.

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 champions to beat are VS10_ and Ziro, who have both achieved a 32-point margin of victory over us.

This week’s champion is Boris Bodega who is fielding a 3-4-3 line up of: Courtois; Alonso, Azpilicueta, Koscielny; Sanchez, Ozil, Mane, Sigurdsson; Benteke, Iheanacho, Origi.