The Scout Squad – Gameweek 1

We’re now just two days away from the new season. Some things will change, others will stay the same.

And so it is with our Scout Squad feature…

We’ve made some tweaks that we hope you’ll like – the main one being the inclusion of a fourth expert to pit their wits against our weekly community champion.

And what an expert he is.

Form is temporary, as anyone who has ever owned Joe Allen will tell you, but class is permanent. So step forward Peter Kouwenberg – the current number one-ranked FPL manager in our career Hall of Fame – who will be joining Mark, Paul and Jonty to create our Scout Picks that will battle it out with a community champion selected weekly from our ever-knowledgeable visitors.

Our quartet will detail and justify their selections below before we reveal the Picks XI they’ve gone for later in the week.

Gameweek 1 starts this Friday with the visit of Leicester City to Arsenal, but it’s fair to say that our selection panel are keeping their powder dry for the weekend as they’ve plumped for just a single player from either of the Friday night sides.

Instead, there’s a lot of early season consensus involving strawberry blond Belgian Kevin De Bruyne, Spanish brunette Marcos Alonso and the never-changing hairstyle that is Romelu Lukaku.

Arguments, however, are bubbling up, particularly over goalkeepers, the ever-thorny issue of Liverpool midfielders and who, out of Sergio Aguero and Gabriel Jesus, should be given a spot up top. Mark is also spoiling for a fight over Harry Kane.

And there’s always the question of formation to provoke an unhealthy level of bickering.

Paul Says…

Manchester City are the only team to supply both a midfielder (De Bruyne) and forward (Jesus) to my squad.

In terms of tactics, I feel that with both at a similar price point, the selection can offer either a 3-5-2/ 3-4-3 or 4-3-3/ 4-4-2 formation, depending on budget.

With Salah also on board as a premium option, I’ve omitted Alli in my midfield and gone for a trio of mid-price picks instead. Alli was tough to leave out for the trip to Newcastle United – he had more big chances away from home than any midfielder.

With question marks still hanging over Aaron Ramsey, I’ve instead turned to Zaha, Matt Phillips and Fabregas at 7.0 and under to help balance the books. Fabregas was acquired for his home form – he was involved in 55.6% of Chelsea’s goals at Stamford Bridge last season.

His team-mate Michy Batshuayi was also somewhat unlucky not to make the cut at home to Burnley, while the same can be said for Arsenal’s Sead Kolasinac and Everton centre-half Michael Keane.

Meanwhile, Palace’s Patrick van Aanholt could be the next to profit from a wing-back berth as Huddersfield Town visit. Nine of the Dutchman’s last ten goals over the previous two seasons have come in front of his own supporters.

Jonty Says…

Romelu Lukaku was the first name on my squad sheet. He meets West Ham at Old Trafford having scored against them in seven of his last eight league encounters. The 11.5-priced forward is also the unsurprising leader of our Captain Poll.

I favour him over Harry Kane (12.5), who faces a potentially trickier tie away to Newcastle United – a side that has only shipped four goals in pre-season. Spurs midfield duo Dele Alli or Christian Eriksen (both 9.5) look potentially better value for this tie.

My allegiance to my own club, Brighton, has flown off with the seagulls this week as I have to back Man City to humble them in their first top-flight match since 1983. I’ll be pushing for at least one of Jesus (10.5) or De Bruyne (10.0) in Friday’s Picks and also believe John Stones’ (5.5) two goals in pre-season have earned him a berth.

With just an 83m budget, we will struggle to fit in all our top-priced selections, which makes me think 4-4-2 or 4-3-3 may be an ideal formation. With favourable home fixtures for Southampton, Manchester United, Everton, West Brom and Chelsea , we certainly have lots of options at the back.

To help free up further funds I’ve also put forward Swansea’s City’s cut price midfielder Tom Carroll (4.5) as an option, should we not select a Southampton defender. With set-piece duties to his name, he is threatening to be another Etienne Capoue, the budget Watford midfielder who went on an early scoring run to mock those who benched him over the first month.

Wilfried Zaha (7.0) over Christian Benteke (8.0) save further funds for Crystal Palace’s home tie against promoted Huddersfield Town.

Mark Says…

The fixtures have been pretty kind to us for the opening Gameweek, so putting a squad together was never really a struggle.

One glance at my selection and it’s clear that I’m backing both Man City and Liverpool for big attacking returns.

One way or another, I want two of Jurgen Klopp’s side in the Picks come Friday, so I’ve doubled on Salah and Mane in midfield and given Roberto Firmino the nod among my forwards.

I realise I’ll have a battle to fight here. I’d expect to get Salah in the XI, though the chances of a Liverpool Scout Picks double – even when facing Watford – might just be slim.

De Bruyne and Jesus picked themselves and will likely feature in my squad in the majority of weeks. I’m not convinced that Aguero will be stronger than the Brazilian as a striker option.

Elsewhere the defence was simple to piece together, with Man United, Chelsea and Southampton the obvious routes for clean sheets. I’ll be shocked if these three fail to form Friday’s back three.

I can’t see too many disputes, although bizarrely, it will likely be Harry Kane who causes the most upset.

I’ve put him at the top of my striker selection over Lukaku. I expect that to go against the popular thinking and if there’s even a suggestion that the Spurs man will miss out, I’ll be fighting tooth and nail. I’ve even omitted Spurs midfielders to make it clear where my allegiances lie.

Peter Says…

The principle of a one-off Gameweek is a novelty for me, but brings Chelsea and Everton assets into my thinking, whereas tough short-term fixtures would otherwise deter me from heavy investment in these sides.

Chelsea’s Marcos Alonso somewhat predictably tops my defensive billing, with Courtois’ presence reiterating my confidence in Chelsea’s defence, or perhaps a lack of confidence in Burnley’s goal-shy away attack (13 goals in 19 last season).

Chelsea also scored eight more goals (55) than any other club at home last season, but choosing an attacking asset isn’t easy.

I’ve gone for Cesc Fabregas, but I’m not entirely convinced.

For Everton, Jordan Pickford and Leighton Baines both reflect my thoughts on Everton’s playing style under my fellow Dutchman, Ronald Koeman.

Looking at pre-season form and predicted finishes for 2017-2018, it’s also no surprise that Man City and Man United supply a total of six players for my squad.

City are away to a Brighton side whose incredible defensive record in the Championship – 14 goals conceded in 23 games – will face its toughest test in the top flight.

Spurs (first) and Liverpool (fourth) were amongst the top scorers last season, so Kane and Salah seem sensible choices, with a number of alternative midfield options available for both clubs.

These premium selections are partially balanced by a sprinkling of cheaper options from Southampton (hosting Swansea City) and Crystal Palace (hosting Huddersfield).

An assertion from a Huddersfield-supporting friend that ‘we either keep a clean sheet or ship four goals’ bodes well for Zaha’s chances, while the Terriers were hardly the most prolific scorers on the road in the Championship (22 goals in 23 games).

No room for Arsenal players, who may excel hosting Leicester, but I would like to see how their new faces settle in before backing the Sanchez-less Gunners.

The Community Champion

Representing the community against the Scout Picks in Gameweek 1 will be veteran BabyB, who has two top 3,000 finishes across his nine-year FPL career.

The community champion who has the best lead over the Scouts during 2017/18 will win a £100 Amazon voucher (currently we can only offer Amazon.co.uk or Amazon.com vouchers), as well as a place in the FFScout Moderators and Contributors league for the following season.