Scout Picks – Gameweek 29

After listing the players under consideration in Wednesday’s Scout Squad article, we now reveal who has earned a place in Gameweek 29’s Scout Picks.

A visit from a Burney side with just nine goals on their travels heralds a Picks return for Jordan Pickford (4.1), who came back into the Sunderland first XI in Gameweek 26 following a lengthy injury lay-off.
Even if the Clarets find the net, we’re confident of claiming save points, which the Black Cats’ stopper has earned in 15 of his 18 starts.

Another of our selection to offer multiple scoring methods is Scout Picks regular Seamus Coleman (6.0), who has delivered attacking or defensive returns in five straight home appearances.

We feel that the raiding right-back will again reward us against a visiting Hull City side that’s scored just two goals in their last ten away matches.

Having found the net a mere 19 times, Middlesbrough are comfortably the Premier League’s most impotent attacking unit – a damning statistic that ultimately contributed to manager Aitor Karanka’s dismissal. With such a meagre goal tally we are confident of a clean sheet for Antonio Valencia (5.7) when Manchester United drop by the Riverside Stadium on Sunday.

Should the Spaniard’s departure spark their lacklustre strikers into life, the Ecuadorian also offers the chance of attacking points – he has three assists in six and has supplied more successful crosses than any FPL defender.

With Spurs’ Danny Rose still sidelined though injury, we call upon his cut-price deputy Ben Davies (4.7) for a home encounter with Southampton.

As Mark pointed out in our Scout Squad article, a total of seven chances created over the last four Gameweeks, a tally matched only by Chris Brunt among defenders, suggests that the Welshman can couple defensive returns with attacking promise. The Spurs rearguard has shipped just seven goals at White Hart Lane, keeping nine shut-outs – the best home defensive record in the league.

With Harry Kane sidelined through injury and Zlatan Ibrahimovic banned for the next two league matches, the balance of power in FPL looks to be shifting towards the midfield and has seen us opt for a 3-5-2 formation.

Topping the bill in the centre of the park is Alexis Sanchez (11.5), who visits West Brom on Saturday lunchtime as the Premier League’s most potent away force, with 11 strikes and five assists on the road.

The Chilean looks primed to punish a Baggies side that already look on the beach, having reached 40 points and certain league safety; Tony Pulis’ troops have conceded nine times and earned a solitary shut out over their last six matches.

The absence of Kane means that the Spurs’ midfield will be required to step up, which has prompted us to double up on their assets for the Saints’ visit.

For goal potential, we have opted for Son Heung-Min(6.8), who bagged a hat-trick against Millwall in the FA Cup last weekend and may well be on penalty duties in the absence of Kane and long-term injury victim Erik Lamela.

The South Korean was also Tottenham’s best performer during Kane’s last absence, during Gameweeks 6 to 10, scoring twice and assisting another over that period. With just a 4.0% ownership he looks to be a strong differential.

Meanwhile, Christian Eriksen (8.6) hands us assist potential – the Dane has 13 to his name already and has delivered double-digits in five of his previous eight at the Lane.

Key players on either side of Bournemouth’s clash with Swansea at the Vitality Stadium take our final two midfield berths. For the Cherries, Josh King’s (5.6) run of eight goals in seven is impossible to ignore and has prompted more than 130,000 FPL managers to secure his services in light of last Saturday’s hat-trick against West Ham.

For the Swans, Gylfi Sigurdsson (7.7) also demands inclusion after serving up attacking points in eight of nine appearances under new manager Paul Clement.

Bearing in mind that the home side have conceded 15 times in their last six, and the visitors have shipped ten over the same period, goals look a certainty in this one.

With money saved through Son and King’s inclusion, we have enough to splash out on two of FPL’s most expensive strikers, Romelu Lukaku (10.3) and Sergio Aguero (12.7)

The Everton marksman tops our Captain Poll and has attracted more than 115,000 new FPL managers this week for good reason, having scored in each of his last five home clashes. He hosts a Hull defence that boasts the joint-worst away record this term, with 31 goals against on the road.

We are undaunted by speculation over the Belgian’s future due to contract wrangling after manager Ronald Koeman offered assurances that the striker’s first team place is secure.

Manchester City crashed out of the Champions League on Wednesday but we are confident their top scorer will bounce back from his disappointment when Liverpool drop by on Sunday.

We are particularly buoyed by his previous against the Merseysiders – the Argentine has scored in all four of his Premier League home encounters against the Reds.

Our first bench spot goes to Crystal Palace’s Jeffrey Schlupp (4.7). Sam Allardyce’s side have chalked up back-to-back shutouts and host a Watford outfit that have notched just 12 times on the road this term. Schlupp is set to start with Patrick van Aanholt sidelined and his pairing with Wilfried Zaha down the left could be a key factor: the Hornets have shipped more chances from the right-side of defence than any other side over the last four Gameweeks.

Leicester City’s failure to keep a clean sheet since Gameweek 20 earns a bench role to West Ham’s Michail Antonio (6.9), who has nine goals and seven assists this season. While Jermain Defoe (7.7) completes our reserves. He squares up to a Burnley outfit that has conceded 30 times and only managed a solitary shut-out on the road. The veteran may have only delivered attacking returns in one of his last six league outings but his output will be vital if the Black Cats are to prevail. He’s scored or assisted ten of their 14 home goals and six of the last eight home and away.

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 29 champion is aa33 who has opted for a 3-4-3 line up of: De Gea; Valencia, Cahill, Alderweireld; Mkhitaryan, Alli, Son, Barkley; Aguero, A.Carroll, Vardy.