Friday’s night’s Scout Picks have arrived and this week I’ve thrown a couple of controversial names to shake things up a bit. Cautious with my Fantasy Premier League (FPL) lineup this year, I’ve decided to vent my gambling instincts with the Picks. It may not win me any points contests or indeed credibility, but it makes my Friday night and weekend that little bit more interesting.

The Defence

Scott Carson
The Baggies skipper returns to my Picks eleven to bring his Save Point potential, along with a decent clean sheet option at home to Mark Hughes’ Fulham. The visitors have a string of absentee’s in midfield and are up against a confident West Brom side. I can see the home team coming out with the points and Fulham struggling to get to grip with Roberto Di Matteo’s slick midfield five. Carson is as good a bet as any between the sticks this week and comes at a modest 4.1 FPL price tag. He also has decent potential over the coming Gameweeks.

Ashley Cole
Jose Bosingwa returns to offer a cheaper alternative on the right-flank but Cole is more secure and continues to reign supreme amongst the heavy-hitting Defenders and has enjoyed another FPL price increase this week, as more and more Fantasy Managers get on board. Chelsea are this week’s big favourites for a shut-out at home to Wolves and Cole should return at one end, with the promise of further dividends at the other.

Paul Konchesky
A “must-buy” on his return from injury, the buzz surrounding Konchesky has died a death as Liverpool continue to struggle for form and slide down the table. Fixtures remain strong for Roy Hodgson’s side however and while they may well take time to muster attacking fluidity, they should have it in them to keep a couple of cleanies in the next few Gameweeks. Konchesky has shown signs of becoming a key figure for Hodgson and with a lack of width down the left, his bombing runs and plentiful crosses could put him up there with the likes of Leighton Baines and Ashley Cole when it comes to full-backs with attacking promise.

Elmohamady
The fixture list has worked against the Egyptian and subsequently he’s been restricted to bench roles in my Picks for several weeks. He’s remained firmly on the radar however and the home fixture with Villa this weekend hands me the perfect opportunity to promote him to the eleven. A hugely influential figure in Steve Bruce’s side, Elmohamady wins a ridiculous number of aerial challenges and puts in more crossed balls than most in the entire league. Attacking returns will arrive once Sunderland start finding the net with regularity and another home clean sheet is not out of the question here in what will be a cagey affair with Gerard Houllier’s men.

Seamus Coleman
I was tempted to play safe and go for Wigan’s Antolin Alcaraz for the final defensive slot but, with clean sheets so hard to come by, I feel like backing the attacking returns offered by Everton’s sparkling Irish full-back. Coleman is now established in David Moyes’ lineup, Leon Osman’s injury has only cemented that position. At just 4.5 in the FPL he offers incredibly value and scoring power at both ends of the field. I’ve got a theory that Everton will hold out for at least a point against a Tottenham side fatigued by Champions League exertions and Coleman offers me potential with the 0-0, whilst giving me some threat going forward on Everton’s right wing should they nick a goal.

The Midfield

Steven Gerrard
While Liverpool have faltered badly of late, Gerrard’s presence in the engine room has remained prominent and the stats show that he is still up there with the League’s top performers week in, week out. Sooner or later Gerrard will earn himself a haul that will lift him firmly back on the Fantasy radar and, off the back of midweek rest and up against a Blackburn side that’s missing skipper Chris Samba, it could well arrive this weekend.

Charles N’Zogbia
Wigan’s Bonus Point machine is back in production having harvested maximum returns over the past two weeks. A brace last weekend saw the winger produce a performance which belied his falling FPL price tag and put Fantasy Managers back on alert. This Gameweek he has the perfect platform to cement his place back in our hearts. Bolton’s defence will offer opportunity and while goals seem unlikely to flow, N’Zogbia will surely be an influential figure and in line for Bonus yet again should Wigan prevail.

Nani
The final midfield slot was a close call. Both Florent Malouda and Rafael Van der Vaart were pressing for inclusion, then of course I could have gone with Cesc Fabregas with his return for Arsenal at City. I’ve opted for the form of United’s trickster though, despite a tricky fixture away at Stoke. United can’t afford to drop more points and, buoyed by Rooney’s new contract, there should be a new optimistic air about Alex Ferguson’s men. Nani can win a game on his own in his current form, as illustrated by recent strikes at Bolton and in the midweek Champions League tie.

James Morrison
We’ve already gone into the potential offered by Chris Brunt in today’s earlier Watchlist article but for the Picks I’m going to follow a hunch. Morrison ‘s twinkling toes has been a feature of West Brom’s play since his return from injury and at 4.5 in the FPL he offers outstanding value. A scorer last time out at the Hawthorns, I’m going to gamble on his coming good against a Fulham side that is down to the bare bones in midfield.

The Forwards

Didier Drogba
Back in the Chelsea lineup after recovering from a fever, it will be Mick McCarthy with the temperature tonight as he tosses and turns over the likely damage that the Ivorian will inflict on his side at the Bridge. Drogba’s returns have been modest of late and that’s allowed Carlos Tevez to get ahead of him in the goalscoring stakes – the game against and out-of-form, injury strewn Wolves is a golden opportunity to reinstate himself at the top of the scoring charts.

Nikola Zigic
Let’s have some fun and take another risk. It would be all very easy to slot in a Carlos Tevez or a Dimitar Berbatov alongside Drogba but you don’t need me to point out their credentials. Instead I’ll offer a “heads up” quite literally to the prospect that Zigic, off the back of confidence boosting first goal against Arsenal last weekend, will surely cause problems to a Blackpool side who are far from dominant in the air. Zigic is a giant and Birmingham have players in the side, particularly Seb Larsson, who can exploit that with the crossed ball. If Jerome is fit, the big Serb may not even start but if he does, I see him being a key figure at St Andrews this weekend.

In Reserve

I’ll opt for the aforementioned Alcaraz as my defensive pick, with a word also on Birmingham’s trio of Liam Ridgewell, Scott Dann and Roger Johnson. I fancy Birmingham at set-plays this weekend in a game which could well produce a few goals. Newcastle’s cut-price option, Danny Simpson, also warrants a mention. Chris Hughton will likely go to Upton Park with a 4-5-1 and that could well produce a low scoring affair and give Simpson an early chance to return.

With that in mind my reserve midfield slot goes to Blackpool’s Charlie Adam who continues to grow his Fantasy reputation and FPL value. He will face a battle against Birmingham’s five man barrier in the middle of the park, but could come out with points again with his influence at set-pieces. A nod also goes to Sunderland’s Jordan Henderson who takes strong form into his home clash with Villa. Finally, I’ll offer a mention for Wigan’s Jordi Gomez – more on him later in this week’s “Spot the Differential”.

As I’ve decided to turn down the option to go big (in terms of price) with my second striker, I’ll opt to keep the price down on the bench too. Victor Obinna almost got the spot again; he’s been bubbling along nicely without returning the points that his performances have promised. As mentioned though, I worry that Newcastle will turn up to frustrate which could lead to a game of few opportunities and goals. With that in mind I’ll double up on Blackpool’s assets and back DJ Campbell to come good against his former club at St Andrews. I can see a 2-2 in that one. I also wonder if Diomansy Kamara will come back to haunt West Brom when he arrives with Fulham. Having picked Carson in my goal, I’ve chosen to shelve that particular hunch.