Scout Picks – Gameweek 25

Having announced the players under consideration for the Scout Picks in Wednesday’s Scout Squad article, we now reveal our final selection for Gameweek 25.

Stoke City’s Lee Grant (4.4) earns the nod for a home clash against a shell-shocked Crystal Palace side still licking deep wounds after last weekend’s 4-0 home battering from Sunderland.

Encouragingly for his 8.5% owners, the Potters’ stopper has produced points via saves, bonus or a clean sheet in six successive outings at the bet365 Stadium. The Eagles, meanwhile, have scored just twice in the last four Gameweeks.

Swansea City’s Alfie Mawson (4.5) looks a very promising budget enabler at the back, offering points potential at either end of the pitch. The centre-half has netted in two of the last five matches since Paul Clement took charge and now welcomes a Leicester City side with a single goal in seven rounds of fixtures.

Marcos Alonso (6.7) is handed his customary Scout Picks place as Chelsea make their way to Burnley.

The Premier League’s joint top scoring defender, the Blues’ wing-back has netted four times and also earned 12 clean sheets ahead of his Turf Moor trip. He’s only failed to return points in three of 18 starts. Sean Dyche’s side have scored an impressive 21 goals at home but may struggle to breach a backline that has managed six shutouts on their travels, conceding just 10 goals in 12 matches.

Completing our backline is Manchester United’s Antonio Valencia (5.6), who rewarded our support last time out with an assist, clean sheet and two bonus points away to Leicester. Next up for the Ecuadorian is an Old Trafford encounter with a Watford side that has only managed to score in two of their last five road trips.

Our midfield quartet includes three players priced under the 8.0 mark, thus ensuring that Alexis Sanchez (11.8) cements a starting berth ahead of Hull City’s visit to the Emirates Stadium.

Having delivered attacking returns in ten of his last 12 matches, we’re backing the Chilean to get the better of an obstinate Tigers’ defence that has made strides under new manager Marco Silva, picking up clean sheets against Liverpool and Manchester United.

Our trio of mid-priced picks in the centre of the park has to include Gylfi Sigurdsson (7.4).

Subject to more transfers in that any FPL midfielder in the Gameweek, Swansea’s playmaker offers the perfect blend of form and fixture – he’s bagged three goals and an assist in his last three and welcomes a Leicester side that’s shipped 10 goals in four.

Concerns over the fitness of Andy Carroll have seen us turn to Michail Antonio (7.0) for West Ham’s home clash against a West Brom side with a single clean sheet on their travels.

Antonio, who has partnered the big Geordie up front in recent matches, has played a part in 66% of his side’s goals in home matches – more than any midfielder this season.

With a goal and eight assists in the last nine outings, Manchester City’s Raheem Sterling (7.8) has markedly improved his consistency.

We’re drafting in the winger as Pep Guardiola’s ment prepare for a Monday night clash with an injury-hit Bournemouth backline that’s shipped 16 goals in their last six.

Guardiola’s comments earlier today that he had left winger Nolito out of Monday’s squad as “we have Sterling” gives us confidence that the England winger can swerve his manager’s penchant for team tinkering.

Fears over rest and rotation persuaded us to omit Gabriel Jesus (9.2) from last week’s Picks but we’re not making the same mistake again after he netted twice at home to Swansea.

Snapped up by a massive 160,000+ FPL managers this week alone, the Samba starlet has three goals and an assist in two starts and looks set to keep Sergio Aguero on bench-warming duties as City look to wreak havoc on the Cherries rearguard.

A strike against Leicester last Sunday means that Zlatan Ibrahimovic (11.6) has now delivered points in ten of his previous 13 Gameweek appearances.

With visitors Watford registering a single shutout in 14 attempts, the United frontman looks primed to punish the 62,000 FPL managers who have shown him the door this week. Boasting a 41.4% ownership, Ibrahimovic also appears poised to become the most popular captain choice for an eigth successive Gameweek.

The average age of our strikers increases further with the inclusion of Sunderland’s Jermain Defoe (7.8). The veteran’s brace against Crystal Palace took his tally to 14 goals for the season and with Virgil van Dijk still sidelined for visitors Southampton, Defoe could be in line to reap rewards once again.

Seamus Coleman (5.8) is unlucky only to earn a bench role this week. The Everton defender visits Middlesbrough in sensational form, with attacking returns in each of his last four, and could even be fielded as a wing-back if Ronald Koeman opts for three at the back on Teesside.

With just 11 goals scored at the Riverside Stadium, ‘Boro are the lowest scoring home side in the Premier League, thereby offering the Irishman strong clean sheet prospects.

Stoke midfielder Marko Arnautovic (7.1) is also called up for an enticing home clash against Palace’s troubled defence. With two goals and an assist in his last four, the Austrian has the form to heap more misery onto Allardyce’s strugglers.

Our substitute forward place goes to Fernando Llorente (6.2) ahead of Swansea’s home clash with Leicester. The Spaniard’s penchant for explosive hauls could pose the Foxes problems – netting five times in the last six at the Liberty, he’s bagged 15 and 13-point returns over that run of matches.

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 Boris Bodega, who achieved a 33 point margin of victory over us in Gameweek 15.

The Gameweek 25 champion is Alfrankofredane who has opted for a 3-5-2 line-up of Grant; Coleman, Alonso, Mawson; Sigurdsson, Sterling, Sanchez, J.King, Mkhitaryan; Jesus, Costa.