It’s time for Gameweek 6 of this season’s Scout Picks, where every Friday, myself, Mark, Jonty and a different member of the Community pick an XI for the upcoming round of fixtures. Each week, our line-ups go head-to-head and over the course of the season we’ll be keeping a tally of the points as we go along.
Similar to the last three Gameweeks, we’ve kept the budgets at 83.5m apiece for our starting line-ups.
The Community – Managed by Giggs Boson
Calculated risk is the essence of this game. There are some players, Diego Costa for instance, that hold such potential for points that the risk of going without far outweighs the reward of a potential replacement. Although I like to maintain a high risk strategy, there are a core of players for this Gameweek who should not be excluded for the sake of a low percentage gamble.
I have decided to double on the Burnley defence for obvious reasons. Three 0-0’s in a row cannot be ignored, especially when they face West Brom, a team who have scored just one goal since Gameweek 1. In my opinion, a “flimsy defence” is an illusion as 4.0m defenders can easily snatch four points for a clean sheet, just like an expensive defender, given the right fixture.
I initially had Papiss Cissé in the team, a top player who was once 9.0m. But after Magpies boss Alan Pardew said the striker, who is also carrying a knock, would be eased in I decided to remove him for Graziano Pellé. His Southampton team mate Sadio Mané is untested in the league, but his pace and eye for goal made him a punt I could not resist in the face of a tasty home tie with QPR – his speed will surely trouble the R’s Rio Ferdinand. I wanted some Arsenal in the team for the notoriously high scoring North London Derby, so I decided to pick Mesut Özil who seems to be rising in form, and has a share of set-pieces.
Jonty
Fixtures, form, the members tables and some persuasive analysis by community writer The Puntmaster have driven my decisions this week. With just one goal this season and striker Danny Ings injured, Burnley look incapable of scoring which has prompted me to double up on West Brom’s defence with Ben Foster in goal and Craig Dawson in my backline.
Puntmaster’s persuasive analysis of Dawson’s set piece threat was instrumental in my selection here. Meanwhile, Southampton’s Ryan Bertrand and Chelsea’s Branislav Ivanovic offer both attacking threat and clean sheet promise when QPR and Aston Villa visit.
In attack, Southampton’s Graziano Pelle has notched up the most shots in the box this season, while Diego Costa, who was rested in midweek, has scored seven times and is another essential player this week. The Merseyside derby is always full of goals and Liverpool’s Raheem Sterling and Everton’s Romelu Lukaku should be involved. Both are in the top ten for shots in the box this season and have five goals between them. Lukaku is another Puntmaster pick as well. Both Manchester United’s Angel Di Maria and Cesc Fabregas feature after riding high in my chances created table for midfielders over the last two Gameweeks.
Finally, Mark’s favourite and yet another of the Puntmaster’s selections, Victor Moses, is included after I noticed he has delivered more successful crosses than any other midfielder so far this season.
Mark
For me, it’s another Gameweek where risk-taking is difficult to justify. Backing Chelsea and Southampton looks a necessity, with Diego Costa and Grazianno Pelle picking themselves. I’m going to double on the Saints attack with Dusan Tadic in midfield because I just don’t have confidence in the QPR rearguard and Ronald Koeman’s team are bouyant – I’m expecting a merciless display from them.
Ryan Bertand also finds a place in my three-man defence, with the obligatory selection of Branislav Ivanovic – every inch the right-winger at Stamford Bridge. Phil Bardsley completes the rearguard, just because he’s shown a threat and I fancy him to raise his game against Newcastle, being a former Black Cat. Burnley’s lack of firepower is reflected by my selection of Ben Foster in goal.
I’ve tried to have variety in midfield. I fancy Gylfi Sigurdsson to silence any creeping doubts with a haul at Sunderland, while I can see plenty of goals at Selhurst Park, with Jason Puncheon my weapon of choice in the Palace ranks against Leicester. I wanted to take a risk on Alexis Sanchez but there’s still doubts whether he’ll get the start against Spurs so I’ll have to revert to Raheem Sterling – it’s hard to see the Merseyside derby being tight given the defensive records on show.
Up front, I’ll retain Wayne Rooney – simply because I still value pitch time over the promise of Radamel Falcao and I want to see how Louis van Gaal sets up at Old Trafford.
Paul
I’m tripling up on Chelsea for a plum home clash against Villa. Branislav Ivanovic (10 shots inside the box so far), Cesc Fabregas (18 chances created) and Diego Costa (eight big chances) all look the perfect combination of form and fixture against Paul Lambert’s side.
A couple of Southampton players also make the cut. Ronald Koeman’s side have afforded opponents a mere 19 efforts inside the box – lower than any side – and that convinces me to bring in Ryan Bertrand. Graziano Pelle also comes in on the back of three goals and an assist in the last three.
Elsewhere in defence, West Brom’s Ben Foster faces a Burnley side without a goal in three matches, whilst Vincent Kompany travels to Hull – the team with the least number of close-range attempts this term.
Further up the park, the form of Raheem Sterling and Angel di Maria cannot be overlooked. Sterling, in particular, looks a strong shout against Everton’s porous defence – his 10 shots in the box and seven on target is top amongst midfielders. I’ve taken the advice of our Captain Sensible article for my final two picks, bringing in Jason Puncheon as Palace square up to Leicester’s dodgy defence and selecting Danny Welbeck due to Arsenal’s attacking form ahead of the north London derby.
The Scores So Far
In a low scoring Gameweek 5 , Mark led the way on 52 points thanks to key differentials Romelu Lukaku and Steven Caulker. I picked up 49 points, whilst The Community – as managed by Doosra – pipped Jonty to third by 41 points to 40. This means that after five rounds of fixtures, I have 281 points, Mark has 262, Jonty has 240 and The Community has 236.
