A somewhat truncated Gameweek 30 sees the bottom three square up to title-chasing candidates over the next few days. We triple up on Spurs and Leicester, then, and also call upon a couple of options from Stoke and Man City ahead of the upcoming five league fixtures.
Stoke’s Jack Butland gets the nod between the sticks as Southampton roll up to St Mary’s. With Ryan Shawcross potentially back on board, he’ll be confident of rebuffing an attack that’s scored just three times in their last seven on the road.
Leicester’s Christian Fuchs entertains a Newcastle outfit that’s netted just seven times on their travels this term – fewer than any other side. The Foxes left-back has served up five clean sheets and eight bonus points in his last six King Power appearances, whilst his penchant for attacking points has seen him register assists against the likes of United, Spurs and City so far this season.
The top scoring defender in Fantasy Premier League (FPL), Tottenham’s Toby Alderweireld visits an Aston Villa outfit that’s notched just four times in the last seven Gameweeks. The Belgian’s threat in the box came to fruition again in last week’s north London derby, taking his attacking tally to three goals and as many assists ahead of Sunday afternoon’s encounter.
We’re backing Vincent Kompany as City make their way to Carrow Road. A 4-0 win over Villa last time means that the Etihad side have eight clean sheets in 11 league outings with their skipper in the starting XI, and he now faces a Norwich attack that’s netted just three times in the last six league matches.
Swansea’s in-form Gylfi Sigurdsson retains his Scout Picks place on the back of last week’s winner against Norwich. The Icelandic international has played a part in five of his side’s eight strikes (four goals, one assist) since Francesco Guidolin took the helm and is the man most likely to deliver away to a Bournemouth outfit that’s conceded 21 times in front of their own fans – only four sides boast inferior home records.
Christian Eriksen is our preferred Spurs option in the centre of the park. The Dane leads all midfielders for shots on target (nine) in his last four matches and with 12 chances also created over that period, his all-round threat will pose Villa’s backline problems aplenty.
Riyad Mahrez welcomes Newcastle to the King Power on the back of last week’s match-winner at Watford – a goal that earned him an eleventh double-figure haul of the season. Up against a defence that’s conceded in each of their last eight road trips, the in-form wide man may well be the party-pooper in Rafa Benitez’ first match in charge of the Magpies.
Stoke’s Marko Arnautovic comes in for the visit of Southampton. The Austrian’s recent home brace against Villa means he’s scored six of his last seven goals at the Britannia and with Jose Fonte suspended for the Saints, Mark Hughes’ men could be in line for a fifth win in seven in front of their own fans.
Our front three pretty much pick themselves this week. Despite missing a spot-kick against Villa last week, Sergio Aguero still found time to bag a third brace in his last seven appearances ahead of a trip to Carrow Road. Considering the Canaries have shipped 12 goals in four in front of their own fans, there’s no surprise to see the Argentine far ahead of the pack in this week’s Captain Poll.
Afforded a brief second-half run-out in last night’s loss to Dortmund, Harry Kane will be unleashed from the start as Spurs roll up to Villa Park on Sunday. With four goals in as many road trips, the Spurs frontman could run riot against a defence that’s conceded 15 times in their last four league outings.
Jamie Vardy will also be licking his lips for Leicester’s home encounter with Newcastle. Despite blanking in back to back appearances, the Foxes frontman has been highly consistent in front of his own fans, producing a goal or assist in 11 of his 14 King Power appearances.
Charlie Daniels warms the bench for Bournemouth’s home clash with Swansea. With two goals, three assists and a trio of clean sheets in his last eight appearances, the Cherries left-back offers a strong shout for points at either end of the pitch.
We also call upon Josh King for the Dean Court head-to-head. The 4.3-priced midfielder racked up 13 points from the central support berth last weekend and welcomes a Swansea outfit that’s managed a single shut-out on their travels all season.
Southampton’s fit-again Shane Long is our final selection. Having scored five times in his last 11 league outings, the Irishman rolls up to the Britannia in decent form tomorrow afternoon.
The Community Champions
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.
Red Devil leads the way after beating the Picks by 25 points in Gameweek 17.
Gameweek 29’s Community Champion BabyB was defeated 73 points to 41 by the Scout Picks.
We’ve failed to hear back from Gameweek 30’s Scout Picks Community Champion, so site moderator andy85wsm kindly stepped in at the last minute to select the Community Picks instead. His XI is as follows: Schmeichel; Daniels, Walker, Kolarov; Mahrez, Sterling, Shaqiri, Eriksen, King; Aguero, Kane.
