Yes it’s good to be back. Back for another aimless wander through a weekend fixture list. So allow me to lead you though the sweet sights and sounds of the opening day’s games, stopping off at my hotspots for clean sheets and goals and introducing you to some early player picks along the way…

Best For Clean Sheets

No surprises where the cleanies look most likely in gameweek one. Old Trafford and Stamford Bridge were fortresses for the majority of last season and with newly promoted Birmingham taking on United and Phil Brown’s Hull at Chelsea, they look odds on to start that way this term. With Liverpool at Spurs and Arsenal at Everton, last season’s other three semi-reliable defences are tied up with tough fixtures. That leaves the smart money on United and Chelsea defenders for this gameweek.

That kind of investment won’t come cheap of course so you’ll need alternatives to consider. How about the Stoke defence? So strong at home and against newly promoted Burnley who have struggled for goals and form in pre-season, they look good option. Owen Coyle’s side will need something from this game given their horrible run of opening fixtures but Stoke are formidable in the Britannia cauldron and look good for the win. If Faye is fit to line up alongside Shawcross, then both look good shouts in the low-to-mid price bracket.

The other games I’m looking to here is the Portsmouth vs Fulham. I’m seeing this one as a possible goalless encounter with Portsmouth struggling to break down an organised Fulham and Hodgson’s side showing caution away from home in the opener.

Best For Goals

Goodison looks good for starters here. The Everton defence is likely to be disrupted by all the Lescott transfer talk, while the Arsenal defence has some new variables, including a possible debut for Vermaelen alongside Gallas. I looking for three or four goals here, with so much attacking talent on show in both sides.

Elsewhere, I can see Wigan putting up a fight at Villa with Martinez injecting a new fluid style to the Steve Bruce’s template. Villa have won games in pre-season but have still failed to be convincing. I think they’ll need at least couple to see off Wigan here.

The Wolves vs West Ham encounter also looks to have at least two or three goals in it. The Wolves defence arrives in the Premier League with a far from impressive record in their Championship promotion season. New faces may help, but I can see West Ham nicking at least one. Equally, Mick McCarthy’s side have enough attacking talent to cause the Hammers problems at the other end, so we could see a ding-dong affair here if we get an early breakthrough.

Best For Frustration

I’ve got a bad feeling about Liverpool’s encounter with Spurs at White Hart Lane. Rafa’s side have lacked fluidity and goals in pre-season and I can see another cautious start from Benitez in this opening game. Spurs struggled for goals for long spells last season and although Crouch, Keane and an in-form Defoe offer a wealth of options for Redknapp, I can see this being desperately tight with either a 0-0 or a 1-0 away win looking a likely outcome. Not a big fixture for fantasy returns in my book.

Provisional Picks

So where does all this lead me when it comes to the Scout Picks? You’ll gather that I’m likely to load up on United and Chelsea in defence, with Foster, O’Shea and Evans all set to be considered. The Chelsea defence is perhaps best represented by Carvalho, Cole or Cech at this stage. Ivanovic is a temptation but a risk with Bosingwa a factor. I’ve already mentioned Shawcross and Faye as options for Stoke, while Hangeland is undoubtedly Fulham’s best selection at the back. Kaboul presents a cheap choice in the Portsmouth ranks, Wilson and even cheper one. Elsewhere, in order to gamble on attacking points from out of position defenders, I’m looking at Warnock at Blackburn and Ricketts at Bolton who both have home games.

In midfield, Lampard picks himself against the Hull defence. The likes of Pienaar, Fellaini, Cahill and Arshavin all look tempting from the Goodison encounter. Bear in mind though, both Everton and Arsenal miss gameweek two, so these would be short-term options for one week only.

Right now I’m also considering Sidwell for Villa, N’Zogbia for Wigan, Lawrence for Stoke and Milijaš for Wolves. His team-mate, Ebanks-Blake, immediately looks a good budget option up front, while Drogba/Anelka and Rooney/Berbatov, also look very powerful this week in the high price brackets. Elsewhere, I’m also eyeing up Arsenal’s Bendtner as a short-term option with Kitson/Fuller as further budget possibilities.

Of course much will change in the next 24 hours, with the final Scout Picks due on Friday evening as usual.