It’s time for the tenth Scout Picks of the 2015/16 season this evening. We continue with a 3-5-2 formation and opt to double up on Arsenal and Leicester ahead of home encounters against Everton and Palace respectively.
We’ve now increased the initial budget from 82.5 to 83.0 to factor in price rises over the first eight rounds of fixtures.
Stoke’s home clash with Watford hands Jack Butland a spot between the sticks. The Potters stopper has registered back-to-back shut-outs in recent outings and faces a Hornets side that’s scored a mere six times this term – less than any other team in the top-flight.
Arsenal’s Hector Bellerin comes into contention for the home encounter with Everton. The Gunners have five clean sheets in the last seven Gameweeks and are up against a Toffees attack that’s drawn blanks in two of their previous three road trips. Bellerin’s propensity for points at both ends of the pitch is also a major factor – he’s now served up three assists in his last five in all competitions after supplying the pass for Mesut Ozil’s midweek strike against Bayern.
Craig Dawson is drafted in as West Brom make their way to Carrow Road. The Baggies have produced three clean sheets in four away matches to date, whilst Dawson has already demonstrated his attacking sensibilities by grabbing a goal in the Gameweek 7 clash against Everton.
Alberto Moreno’s raids down the Liverpool left flank bring him into our three-man backline. Despite limited pitch time, the Spaniard has created more chances than any defender in the top-flight this term – an average of 28.8 minutes per key pass is on a par with Arsenal’s Santi Cazorla, for example. The Reds grabbed a clean sheet in their first match under Jurgen Klopp and now entertain a Southampton side that’s failed to score in two of their last three away outings.
Tottenham’s Christian Eriksen rolls up to struggling Bournemouth in fine form. The Dane has scored or assisted in three of four appearances since returning from injury and racked up a 15-point haul at Swansea in his previous road trip. With the Cherries managing just a single clean sheet all season, the 4%-owned Eriksen is shaping up to be a fine differential this Sunday.
Kevin de Bruyne’s stunning displays for City earn him another slot in our Picks. Three goals and as many assists in four starts for the league leaders sums up his instant impact ahead of the Manchester derby, with De Bruyne also chipping in with a midweek winner against Sevilla. If Manuel Pellegrini’s men are to breach the United backline, there’s every chance their summer signing from Wolfsburg will be involved.
We’re backing Georginio Wijnaldum to spoil Big Sam’s first home match in charge of Sunderland. We’d handed the Newcastle winger a place on last week’s bench after he delivered points against Chelsea and City in the previous two, and his four-goal display against Norwich looks ominous for Allardyce ahead of the season’s first Wear-Tyne derby.
Alexis Sanchez welcomes Everton to the Emirates on the back of three successive double-figure hauls. The Chilean has racked up six goals and eight bonus points over that period and, despite slight concerns over fatigue, he looks far too essential to Arsenal’s title tilt to be given the day off.
After impressing off the bench against Southampton, we reckon that Riyad Mahrez is in line for a first-team return tomorrow afternoon. The Algerian has served up three double-figure hauls in four home appearances ahead of a visit from Palace and with Eagles’ boss Alan Pardew suggesting there will be “plenty of goals”, Mahrez could be in line to prosper.
We’re also calling upon Jamie Vardy for the King Power clash. With a goal or assist in all but one of the opening nine matches, the Leicester striker has been the most consistent player in the top-flight this term. Vardy bagged 12 points against Arsenal in his previous home appearance and is in the form of his life for the Eagles head-to-head.
With Eden Hazard’s security of starts now in question, Diego Costa looks the safest route into Chelsea’s attack. The Spain international racked up 12 points against Villa last time out and pays visit to a West Ham defence that’s conceded at least twice in all but one of their first four home fixtures under Slaven Bilic.
Norwich’s Martin Olsson makes the bench for the home showdown against West Brom. The left-back – available for a mere 4.4 – served up two assists in last week’s loss at Newcastle, whilst the Baggies have scored just two goals on the road so far, boosting the Canaries’ chances of a rare clean sheet.
Jeremain Lens makes the bench ahead of the Wear-Tyne derby. Having played a part in five of his side’s eight goals this season, the Dutchman’s output could prove pivotal if Big Sam is to get the better of former club Newcastle on Sunday.
Bournemouth’s Glenn Murray also earns a place amongst the subs. The veteran has proven an able deputy for the injured Callum Wilson and has scored in each of his two starts for Eddie Howe’s side. The Cherries have notched in each of the last seven now and will be relying on Murray’s eye for goal to breach Tottenham’s resilient rearguard this weekend.
THE COMMUNITY CHAMPION
Having scrapped the weekly vote idea from last season, we now operate a lottery system to pick our weekly candidates. The community member who beats our picks by the biggest margin over the campaign will win a £100 Amazon Voucher and a place in our Contributors and Moderators League for the following season.
In Gameweek 9, Community Champion Meinhoff beat the Scout Picks by 59 points to 50. Massive still retains top spot, however – he beat us by 16 points in Gameweek 6 and stays in the lead to claim the £100 Amazon voucher.
This week’s Community Champion is Boris Bodega. He’s also gone for a 3-5-2 set-up but has chosen just four of the same starting XI: Butland, Bellerin, Alderweireld, Evans; Bolasie, Walcott, Payet, Eriksen, Sterling; Vardy, Kane.
