Scout Picks – Gameweek 4

The time has come to reveal the players who have made the cut from our midweek squad article to earn a place in our Gameweek 4 Scout Picks.

We’ve opted for a Burnley double-up this week to tap into both their defensive and attacking prospects. Crystal Palace drop by Turf Moor  in search of their first win and having shipped six goals over the first three fixtures.

Tom Heaton (5.0) offers us the chance of clean sheet points against an Eagles side that has also yet to find the net. There is also potential for extra points in selecting the 7.5%-owned Clarets stopper, given that he has picked up save points in two of his three matches to date.

Another side to concede six goals this campaign is Leicester City, which gives us hope that Marcos Alonso (7.1) can deliver attacking returns when his Chelsea side visit the King Power stadium.

The 20.5%-owned Spanish left wing-back’s brace in this fixture last season gives us further confidence, as do his eight shots this campaign, which is more than any other defender.

Southampton suddenly have a wealth of centre backs to choose from, with the places of Jack Stephens and Maya Yoshida under threat from new signing Wesley Hoedt and Virgil Van Dijk, who has returned to first team training after putting in a transfer request over the summer.

This has seen us turn to their full-backs, and with our Scout Picks cost coming in under the 83 million budget, we have enough to afford left-back Ryan Bertrand (5.5) over counterpart Cedric Soares (5.0). Both are sure starters, but the 15.5%-owned England international has the slight edge for us due to superior bonus point potential, having notched two already.

Our defensive trio is completed by Manchester United’s Phil Jones (5.1). Given his suspension for the Red Devils’ midweek Champions League encounter, he looks a shoo-in to start for his side’s trip to Stoke City.

With two goals from 36 shots so far, the Potters could present the England centre-back with his sternest test yet this campaign.

The second Claret to earn a place for Palace’s visit is their set-piece specialist Robbie Brady (5.5). He’s fired off seven shots and delivered more successful corners than any other player. It is worth noting that the Irishman’s corner-taking prowess also boosts the appeal of Burnley defender Ben Mee, who has already had four close range efforts this season.

There’s further value to be found in the inclusion of West Ham’s Michail Antonio (7.5) for his side’s first home match of the season against a pressing Huddersfield outfit that may struggle to adapt to the extra space provided by the vast London Stadium surface.

Five shots from two starts suggest that the winger – who sits in just 0.5% of teams – could prosper against the newly-promoted Terriers.

Spurs’ visit to Everton looks potentially tough for their attacking players, given that the home side kept eight clean sheets last season at Goodison Park. As a result, we have opted against investing in Spurs’ 12.4m-priced striker Harry Kane and instead picked his cheaper team-mate Christian Eriksen (9.6).

With eight goals and 16 assists last season, and assisting three of his side’s four goals this campaign, the 21.8%-owned Dane looks the man most likely to deliver should Spurs score and get the better of Everton’s resolute back line. A stunning free-kick for Denmark against Armenia this week also reminded us of his potential from dead-balls.

Manchester City may have conceded fewer shots in the box than any other side this season, but history suggests that Liverpool attacking coverage will be needed this week – in their last six match-ups the Reds have scored 12 times, while City have only managed four goals.

This is reinforced by today’s news that Pep Guardiola’s side will be without the substantial influence of skipper Vincent Kompany in defence.

So Mo Salah’s 9.0 price tag, coupled with an impressive tally of two goals and as many assists, wins him a place over his more expensive team-mate Sadio Mane (9.5).

Captain Poll leader Romelu Lukaku (11.7) unsurprisingly occupies one of our forward slots after scoring seven goals for Manchester United and Belgium since mid-August. While he travels to a Stoke City side with a reputation for being stubborn at the Bet365 stadium, they will be without their skipper Ryan Shawcross, forcing Mark Hughes to reshuffle his three-man backline.

Fixture has trumped form in our selection of Arsenal’s Alexandre Lacazette (10.4). While he has an enticing home encounter with a Bournemouth side without a win or clean sheet this season, the Gunners’ confidence is at a low. Their 4-0 away defeat to Liverpool last time out highlighted their problems, but at least the French striker emerged largely blameless, having started that game on the bench.

A start looks guaranteed for the former Lyon striker, who has been discarded by 113,000+ FPL managers since Gameweek 3, as Arsene Wenger’s troops look to recover from the Anfield mauling.

Swansea City’s Tammy Abraham (5.5) completes our starting XI as he takes on a Newcastle United at the Liberty Stadium. The 3.3%-owned Chelsea loanee opened his scoring account and picked up two bonus points away to Palace in Gameweek 3. He also notched for England U21’s in midweek to underline his potential ahead of the Magpies’ visit.

Brighton’s failure to sign a striker in the transfer window means that their attack-minded defenders and midfielders will need to step up. This includes their 1.4%-owned centre back Lewis Dunk (4.5), who earns a substitutes spot for the Seagulls’ home tie with West Brom, having recorded five penalty area shots, more than any other defender so far.

Arsenal’s Aaron Ramsey (7.0) also grabs a place on the bench for the Cherries’ visit. The Welshman’s eight goal attempts is more than any other Arsenal player, which suggests he is primed to hurt the 34,000+ FPL managers who have discarded him since Gameweek 3.

Our tentative optimism in a strong showing from West Ham against Huddersfield on Monday night has prompted us to hand our final substitute spot to Chicharito Hernandez (7.1), who scored a brace and was awarded maximum bonus points away to Southampton in Gameweek 2. With 130,000+ transfers-out since Gameweek 3, he looks to be another with the potential to punish.

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.

This week’s champion is Darth_Krid, who has opted for a 4-3-3 line up of: Fabianski; Alonso, Bertrand, Valencia, Bellerin; Ozil, Eriksen, Tadic; Lukaku, Firmino, Hernandez.