This week’s Scout Picks sees a trio of Toffees called upon as Everton welcome Swansea to Goodison on Sunday. The rest of the top six supply our starting XI with just one player apiece as we move back to a 3-4-3 ahead of the Gameweek 23 deadline.
David de Gea is handed the goalkeepers’ gloves as United welcome Southampton to Old Trafford. The Red Devils boast the tightest home defence in the top-flight, having conceded just four times in 10 matches in front of their own fans, whilst the Saints have netted just twice in their previous four road trips ahead of tomorrow’s head-to-head.
Our old favourite Leighton Baines takes his place as Everton prepare to host Swansea. The raiding left-back served a timely reminder of his attacking abilities by providing a pair of assists at Stamford Bridge last weekend and with the Swans scoring twice in their last five away matches, Baines could be in line for a third clean sheet in five appearances.
West Brom’s home clash with midlands neighbours Villa brings Craig Dawson into contention. The right-back – who has notched twice this term and supplied the assist for Salomon Rondon’s midweek cup winner – will be looking to nullify an attack that’s found the net just three times in their last five on the road.
Tottenham’s trip to Selhurst Park boosts Toby Alderweireld points potential this weekend. The Eagles have failed to score in their last five now and continued to be blighted by injuries in the final third, whilst the Spurs centre-half – with two goals and three assists – has registered more attempts inside the box (six) than any defender in the last four Gameweeks.
Passed fit to face Chelsea on Sunday after recovering from a foot injury, Mesut Ozil returns to our four-man midfield. The German has scored or assisted in seven of his last eight appearances at the Emirates and will fancy his chances against a defence that shipped five goals in the last two Gameweeks.
Roberto Firmino’s explosive potential earns him the nod as Liverpool make their way to Carrow Road. With Christian Benteke handed a midweek start against Exeter in the cup, the Brazilian looks set to reprise his “false nine” role at Carrow Road – over the last four Gameweeks, he sits third amongst midfielders for shots (12) and fourth for key passes (11), with a recent brace against Arsenal underlining his goal-getting abilities.
Everton’s Ross Barkley comes in for the visit of Swansea. Although he’s failed to find the net in the last eight, the Toffees playmaker has still provided three assists in as many matches at Goodison, whilst the Swans have a single clean sheet on their travels this term.
We’re backing Dimitri Payet for West Ham’s Saturday evening encounter with Man City. Slaven Bilic’s men are unbeaten in the last eight league matches in front of their own fans and have already triumphed over their weekend visitors at the Etihad, with Payet grabbing an assist in a 2-1 Etihad win back in September. The Frenchman’s home record also persuades us – prior to limping off against Everton in Gameweek 12, he’d scored or assisted in four of his five starts at Upton Park.
Romelu Lukaku is an obvious candidate for our three-man frontline. Neck-and-neck with a certain Argentine at the top of this week’s Captain Poll, the Everton frontman has picked up points in each of his last six at Goodison and produced double-figure hauls on three of those occasions ahead of Sunday’s home encounter with Swansea.
Having signalled his return to form with a 16-point haul at home to Palace, Sergio Aguero retains his spot as our City attacker of choice for the trip to West Ham. The Hammers have managed just one clean sheet in their last five league outings and with Aguero looking back to his best, few would bet against him tomorrow evening.
With Riyad Mahrez hauled off spot-kicks, we’re turning to Jamie Vardy as Leicester welcome Stoke to the King Power. Granted, he’s not at his best following groin surgery but bearing in mind that the Potters have conceded five times in their last two away matches, the Foxes frontman could be back amongst the points this weekend.
Three goals in as many matches sees Patrick van Aanholt warm the Scout Picks bench. The Sunderland left-back has averaged five points per appearance under Big Sam and welcomes a Bournemouth side that have failed to score in their last couple of away fixtures.
Tottenham’s Dele Alli comes in for the trip to out-of-sorts Palace. The 5.5-priced youngster has scored in three of his previous four away appearances and has also earned an assist and five bonus points in those fixtures.
A home clash with Newcastle affords Odion Ighalo the chance to arrest his Fantasy demise. Having failed to net in each of the last three, the Nigerian faces a injury-riddled defence that’s been breached in all but one of the last ten Gameweeks.
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 addition to a shot at the £100 Amazon prize, FantasyBet are offering a chance for further prizes to Community Champions that are eligible to play their games. More details can be found here.
Gameweek 17’s Community Champion Red Devil is the leader so far, having beaten the Scout Picks by 69 points to 44.
Gameweek 23’s Community Champion as selected by our lottery, is FrankietheGent. His picks are as follows:De Gea, Baines, Fuchs, Evans, Deulofeu, Firmino, Mahrez, Henderson, Lukaku, Agüero, Rooney.
