The Scout Squad – Gameweek 30

With the break from Premier League action nearing its conclusion, we now mull over the players in contention for a place in this Friday’s Scout Picks.

This article aims to give a greater insight into the decision-making process behind our selection, as Mark, Paul and I list the 18 players we think have the best chance of success across the four positions, listing them in rank order.

The discussions and disagreements that will take place behind the scenes are then showcased, as each of us looks to back our players for a place in the Scout Picks, as well as our Spot the Differential article.

Finally, we will also reveal the Community Champion who has been selected by our lottery to represent the community and be in with a chance of winning a £100 Amazon voucher.

Goalkeepers

When asked on the Scoutcast to nominate a clean sheet, my first action is to scan the fixture list for Middlesbrough’s next opponent.

The Teessiders have struggled in front of goal, scoring just 20 times – fewer than any side – which has prompted the selection of Swansea City’s Lukasz Fabianski (4.8) as my top choice keeper for Gameweek 30.

Boro’s visit to the Liberty Stadium has also caught the eye of my colleagues, who have both handed him second spot. Granted, Paul Clement’s troops have only recorded a solitary shut-out at home but, with such a woeful attacking unit paying visit, we are all backing the Welsh side to improve upon that record this weekend.

Kasper Schmeichel (4.9) is another with two nominations, ahead of Stoke City’s visit to the King Power Stadium, with Mark and I backing the Foxes’ renaissance under new boss Craig Shakespeare. The Potters failure to score in each of their last three away matches gives us hope that Leicester can earn a clean sheet as they look to record their fourth successive victory under the new regime.

Paul remains unconvinced that Shakespeare’s side can achieve this, and will be reminding us that Leicester have shipped four league goals over his short tenure.

Instead, joins forces with Mark to back Hull City’s Eldin Jakupovic (4.1) to keep West Ham at bay when they drop by the KCOM Stadium on Saturday.

But with the Tigers only managing one league clean sheet at home since Marco Silva took the helm in January, I’m ignoring the Swiss stopper and backing Slaven Bilic’s side to find the net. With 23 goals on the road, a tally only bettered by Arsenal, Manchester City and Liverpool, I have strong Hammers statistics at hand as I attempt to persuade Mark and Paul to reconsider.

Paul is the odd man out in endorsing Watford’s Heurelho Gomes (4.9) as a source of clean sheet points when Sunderland visit Vicarage Road.

The Brazilian – who has made at least five saves in two of his last three home outings – faces a Black Cats side that has failed to score in six of their last seven matches.

I’ve thrown in David De Gea (5.4) into the mix, just in case team-mate Antonio Valencia, one of our top-ranked defenders, emerges as a late doubt due to jet lag after turning out for Ecuador this week. Although unlikely, it is always good to have a plan B for this promising home match against West Brom.

Defenders

Valencia (5.8) gets universal support for good reason this week, with attacking or clean sheet returns in all but one of his last eight. Meanwhile, the Baggies have shipped nine goals and managed just a solitary shutout in their last six.

But while the raiding right back is the most popular player in the transfer market, with more than 89,000 new FPL owners, he isn’t our top choice defender this week. That honour goes to Marcos Alonso (6.8), with the Chelsea left wing-back earning star status across our defender selections as he prepares to welcome Crystal Palace to Stamford Bridge.

“I’m delighted that I’m avoiding a battle when it comes to rallying behind Alonso. I’m convinced that if David Luiz would only step aside, we’d see the wing-back rattle in a few more goals from those direct free-kicks. Regardless, I’m struggling to see Palace breaching the Blues backline and – whisper it – Alonso may just be a captain differential as a result.” – Mark

A league-high 13 clean sheets this campaign for the Blues, coupled with a renewed focus on defence from Sam Allardyce’s charges, figure strongly in our thinking. Alonso’s place at the top of the defenders’ goal attempt table is another factor.

The only other defender with three votes is Swansea’s Alfie Mawson (4.6), due to those aforementioned ‘Boro attacking statistics, as well as the centre back’s eye for goal: he’s scored four times since cementing his place in the starting XI since Gameweek 15.

Mark and I both lean towards a Spurs clean sheet for their Turf Moor trip this weekend. Ambitiously, I’m hoping our 84m budget can stretch to Spurs right-back Kyle Walker (6.4), who has five assists, a record among defenders. Mark has perhaps wisely offered up his team-mate Ben Davies as a cut-price solution.

Paul is sticking religiously to the hope that Hull can keep West Ham at bay with his pick of Harry Maguire (4.4), while Mark is doubling up his support for Leicester’s defence by sponsoring Christian Fuchs.

While I’m not confident that Southampton can keep a clean sheet when Bournemouth drop by, I’m keen include Ryan Bertrand (5.5) in the Scout Picks due to his attacking threat. The left-back has accrued an impressive four assists in his last six starts and faces a Cherries rearguard that has conceded 13 goals over that period, more than any other side.

Midfielders

A form versus fixture debate is set to ignite when it comes to including Alexis Sanchez (11.6) in the Picks.

Mark and Paul both award him top spot from, while I’ve ignored the 26.2% owned Arsenal talisman altogether ahead of Manchester City’s visit to the Emirates Stadium.

My colleagues will no doubt point to his goal and assist for Chile on Tuesday against Venezuela, as well as four goals and two assists in his last six league starts to bolster their case. Meanwhile, I’ll be armed with a strong argument in favour of the City backline, which has conceded just twice and kept four clean sheets in their last six. It promises to be a firey tussle.

“Going without Sanchez seems to be an outlandish risk. I hear the arguments on City’s defence but, even with Arsenal’s abject form, I have to back the Chilean to overcome that and contribute another return. His consistency is unmatched and in that 30 minutes against West Brom, he looked almost unplayable. Sunday’s encounter is a big stage and I just think it’s far too dangerous to write him off and overlook him.” – Mark

There will be no such disagreement when it comes to Gylfi Sigurdsson (7.8)’s inclusion.

The Swansea set-piece specialist is my top choice, and second for Mark and Paul, having amassed eight goals and 11 assists so far this term. With ‘Boro shipping managing just one shut-out in their last six, the 18.8% Icelander looks primed to reward our faith.

Dele Alli (8.9) is another with a trio of nominations, with all three of us favouring his goal threat over team-mate Christian Eriksen’s assist potential for Spurs visit to Burnley.

The England midfielder, who looks to have taken over penalty duties in Harry Kane’s absence after his spot kick success in Gameweek 29, has scored 14 goals this season, half of which arrived on the road. But the Clarets will not make it easy on the 28% owned Alli – only four teams have conceded fewer home goals than Burnley’s 12 this term.

Josh King (5.8) gets two votes, from Mark and I, on the back of nine goals in 11 as he collides with a Saints defence that has conceded ten goals in their last six matches.

Mark and Paul also back Southampton to find the net, after taking note of Bournemouth’s aforementioned defensive form, but have different ideas as to the source.

Dusan Tadic (7.0) is endorsed by Mark to continue a fine run of form that has harvested one goal and three assists in his last trio of starts. With an ownership of just 1.8%, this has largely been unreflected in the FPL market.

“I’m always looking for opportunities to back Tadic – a stat monster who delivered some spectacularly for Fantasy managers back in that Gameweek 8 in his debut season. Sentiment aside, I’m convinced he’s going to deliver a strong run-in and, in the past few matches, as certainly passed the “eye test”. Gabbiadini’s absence would come as a major blow but I still see Tadic delivering in a game of goals at St Mary’s.”- Mark

Meanwhile, Paul backs his budget-friendly team-mate James Ward Prowse (5.0). With a goal and assist in his last three, he is also another strong under the radar option, sitting in a mere 0.5% of sides.

Should striker Manolo Gabbiadini recover from the groin injury that sidelined him from international duty with Italy, our thinking may change. But for now, this midfield pair are our key choices for Saints cover in this fixture.

“I’m getting in early as the Ward-Prowse champion ahead of Southampton’s 11 matches in the final nine Gameweeks. Owned by 0.5% of FPL managers, he’s bagged two goals and an assist in their last six matches, taking 14 of their 22 corners. At a price of 5.0, boasting a higher goal involvement (43.8%), that any midfield team-mate, he looks an ideal cheap fourth midfielder for the run-in.” – Paul.

Elsewhere, I’ve turned to West Ham for my differential candidate and their 1.1%-owned midfielder Andre Ayew (7.1). With Michail Antonio set to miss out through injury, a start looks assured for the former Swansea man, who has three goals and an assist in his last four.

Another player with a low ownership but strong form that I’m supporting is Leicester’s Riyad Mahrez (8.9), who will be looking for a third goal in as many matches when Stoke visit.

Meanwhile, Paul will be looking to convince us to include Liverpool’s Sadio Mane (9.7) for Everton’s trip to Anfield, armed with the Senegalese winger strong home record of eight goals and four assists.

Forwards

Leicester’s presence continues into our forward selections, with Jamie Vardy (9.8) earning universal support and top spot for Mark and I.

In the Shakespeare-era, the Foxes’ marksman has three goals in as many outings, as well as assisting a further two over that period. A goal against Lithuania for England on Sunday further strengthens his case for a Scout Picks berth, and with 73,000 new FPL owners, Vardy is the most popular transfer in among strikers over the international break.

Romelu Lukaku (10.5) looks another shoo-in, when he takes on a Liverpool defence that has shipped eight goals in their last six matches and kept just one clean sheet. The 47%-owned Toffees striker boasts form that also warrants selection, with nine in his last six in the league, and a goal for Belgium against Greece over the break.

Should we opt for a three-man frontline, Troy Deeney (6.9) looks to have sewn up the third striker spot, with a trio of votes. The Watford skipper has five in his last seven and hosts a Black Cats side that has conceded 24 times and kept just one clean sheet in 13 road trips.

My pick of West Ham’s Andy Carroll (6.3), Paul’s endorsement of Hull striker Oumar Niasse (5.6) and Mark’s selection of Jermain Defoe (7.8) are others in the frame for this spot.

With concerns around a possible ankle injury picked up on international duty, we’ve only given a lukewarm nod to Diego Costa (10.7). Paul has ignored the 39.4%-owned Chelsea striker altogether, while Mark and I have only handed him third billing.

As well as Costa’s fitness, another concern in selecting the Blues forward is a turnaround in fortunes for the Crystal Palace defence ahead of their Stamford Bridge visit; the Eagles have conceded just once in their last four and kept three clean sheets.

Sergio Aguero (12.7) has also failed to impress us, ahead of City’s hard-to-call Emirates visit. The Argentine earns just one vote, from Paul, and looks unlikely to survive Friday’s shakedown.

“To be honest, Costa and Gabbiadini were in my top three forwards for Gameweek 30 but as they are still listed as doubts for the weekend, I removed both at the last minute to draft in Deeney and Aguero instead. As Joe mentions above, Deeney has scored in five of the last seven (not including the own goal against Palace), while Arsenal’s dodgy defence – conceding three times in all but one of their last four – looks promising for Aguero, who was used somewhat sparingly by Argentina over the international break.” – Paul.

Community Champion

Representing the Community against the Scout Picks in Gameweek will be Gwitbrock. This is his fifth campaign, with last season’s finish of 6,825 his best to date.

The community champion who has the best lead over the Scouts during 2016/17 will win a £100 Amazon voucher (currently we can only offer Amazon.co.uk or Amazon.com vouchers).

Last Gameweek’s champion aa33 was beaten 78-54 by the Scouts.

The current champion to beat is Boris Bodega, who achieved a 33 point margin of victory over us in Gameweek 15.