With so many mouth-watering home games this weekend, we’ve done the unthinkable and left out Wayne Rooney from the Scout Selection Committee picks. Our standard 4-4-2 formation means the Man United forward is just edged out as we opted for the home comforts of another couple of big-money options instead. After a productive Gameweek 5, we’re hoping for more of the same so, without further ado, here’s who we’ve plumped for this time round:
Patrick Kenny earns his place between the posts after chalking up two back-to-back clean sheets. There’s an added solidity to QPR in light of Neil Warnock’s late summer splurge and with Aston Villa scoring just two goals and yet to chalk up a win on their travels, a Loftus Road showdown bodes well for last year’s Championship winners.
Jose Bosingwa is a nailed-on pick. Chelsea have yet to earn a clean sheet since the opening day of the season, but Bosingwa has picked up an assist and a goal in his two home games so far. Added to the fact that visitors Swansea have scored in just one game this season and the right-back looks a solid option.
Liverpool will be desperate to bounce back from two consecutive league defeats on the road and a home clash with Wolves should give them the perfect chance to rectify this. Mick McCarthy’s side have looked a little toothless of late and have now failed to score in their last three league games. Jose Enrique offers security at the back and plenty going forward, as he threatens down the left flank for Kenny Dalglish’s side.
The tightest defence in the Premier League, up against Blackburn Rovers? We can’t say no to this one and while Davide Santon remains sidelined, Ryan Taylor looked a dead cert pick for Newcastle. The top-scoring FPL defender so far this season, Taylor’s dead-ball ability sees him steal ahead of namesake Steven and earn himself a starting role in the Scout Picks.
With so much rotation going on around him, Vincent Kompany seems the safest pick when eyeing up the Man City defence. The return of Kolo Toure in midweek for the Carling Cup match with Birmingham only adds to the possible permutations and with Roberto Mancini rotating his full-backs seemingly at will, the City skipper gets the nod as Everton visit the Etihad Stadium.
It was simple as this – we needed Man United cover in the eleven and with no Wayne Rooney up front, it was left to Nani and Ashley Young to battle it out for a place in our midfield. The Portuguese winger’s consistency and outstanding display against Chelsea won us over; he offers us further goal potential as United make their way to the Britannia on Saturday evening.
We never thought we’d see the day where Shaun Wright-Phillips come into our Fantasy thoughts again. However, the transfer to QPR has revitalised the little man, and with a free role in Neil Warnocks’s new-look side, his two appearances so far have been reminiscent of his early days at Man City. Wright-Phillips looks in the mood to wreak havoc and we’re backing him to come good against Aston Villa.
As the influence of Frank Lampard on Chelsea continues to rapidly recede under the stewardship of Andre Villas-Boas, Juan Mata becomes more prominent by the Gameweek. As mentioned in the Watchlist piece, last time round he made more scoring chances for his team-mates than any player across the ten fixtures – Swansea present a chance for the Spaniard to weave his magic once again.
Out final midfield slot goes, unsurprisingly, to David Silva. Second-top scoring Fantasy midfielder so far only to Ashley Young, though Silva has shown the greater consistency – only one week has he returned less than 5 points so far. With 19 points in his two home games, an Etihad clash with Everton provides the perfect platform for Silva to rack up the points once more.
The threat of rotation will always hang over Man City’s forwards but Roberto Mancini’s midweek Carling Cup selection made up our minds. Sergio Aguero sat on the bench for the game with Birmingham and with five goals in his last two league games, Mancini will be looking for three points after the disappointment of throwing away a two-goal lead at Craven Cottage last weekend.
The final place is our eleven was decided by penalties; Robin Van Persie takes them, Luis Suarez doesn’t. Both have strong home ties with Bolton and Wolves respectively but despite the Gunners poor recent domestic form, the Trotters have been even worse and with spot-kick duties in the bag, the Dutchman gets the nod as the Gunners look to bounce back from last week’s disaster at Blackburn.
