We turn out attentions to the upcoming round of fixtures now and roll out the Scout Picks for Gameweek 36. Arsenal and West Ham supply us with a pair of players apiece, whilst we keep faith in City and Tottenham’s top scorers as the race for the Golden Boot heats up.
A home clash with relegated Villa offers Heurelho Gomes the chance of further returns. The Watford number one is the top-scoring keeper in Fantasy Premier League and has served up eight of his 11 clean sheets at Vicarage Road. Furthermore, he faces an attack that has scored just a single goal in their last six road trips.
Hector Bellerin is a nailed-on candidate for Arsenal’s home match with travel-sick Norwich. The Gunners’ raiding right-back looks their best prospect for points at both ends of the pitch – he’s racked up a goal, three assists and four clean sheets in the last seven matches and faces a Canaries outfit that, like Villa, have scored just once in their last six away fixtures.
A goal and assist in his last three league outings highlights Aaron Cresswell’s recent upturn in output. The left-back has a chance to play his way into our double Gameweek 37 plans tomorrow as he heads to the Hawthorns to face a Baggies side with just three goals in their last seven top-flight fixtures.
We’re backing Dejan Lovren to retain his starting place as Liverpool visit a Swansea side with a single goal in their last three. With Mamadou Sakho suspended, Jurgen Klopp may well look to the Croatian to offer some stability at the back as the Reds attempt to build momentum ahead of next Thursday’s Europa League return against Villarreal.
Runaway leader of this week’s Captain Poll, Alexis Sanchez will be looking to put Norwich to the sword at the Emirates tomorrow. The Chilean has produced points in seven of his last eight appearances, including two double-figure hauls in his previous three home appearances, and is up against a defence with a single clean sheet on their travels all season.
We can’t ignore Riyad Mahrez as Leicester travel to Old Trafford looking for the win that would clinch the title. Back in the goals in last week’s clash with Swansea, the Algerian has already served up seven double-figure hauls on his travels and with Jamie Vardy still suspended, looks the man most likely to breach United’s resilient rearguard.
Newcastle’s home clash with Palace brings Andros Townsend onto our radar. With two goals and a pair of assists in the last five, the winger has played a crucial part in the Magpies’ recent renaissance under Rafa Benitez and his contribution looks vital if the hosts are to get one over former boss Alan Pardew and fire their way out of the drop zone.
Four goals in his last seven league outings brings Josh King into the Picks as a late replacement for Stoke’s Marko Arnautovic ahead of Bournemouth’s trip to Everton. With the Toffees hit hard by injury and suspension at the back, the Cherries’ 4.3-priced midfielder looks a viable out of position candidate again this week.
A trip to the Hawthorns should hold no fear for the in-form Andy Carroll. The Hammers’ striker has bagged six goals in his last five appearances – netting against the likes of Chelsea, Arsenal and Leicester –and his aerial dominance will be a key weapon as Slaven Bilic’s side look to strengthen their prospects of a Europa League slot.
Tottenham’s title tilt may be all but over but we’re still backing Harry Kane to do the business at the Bridge on Monday night. Kane has netted in six of his last seven away matches – in a run that includes three braces – and will fancy his chances of keeping ahead of Sergio Aguero in the race for the Golden Boot, bearing in mind that Chelsea have a single clean sheet (against Villa) in their last ten league outings.
Sergio Aguero also remains in our thinking as City visit a Southampton side that have conceded in each of their previous nine. Granted, as we saw last week, the Argentine’s minutes may be managed ahead of City’s midweek Champions League clash with Real Madrid, but having scored in each of his last five, Aguero rolls up to St Mary’s in his most consistent form of the season.
Sunderland’s recent defensive improvement earns Patrick van Aanholt a bench role for the Black Cats trip to the Britannia. With five goals to his name already, the Dutchman offers the best chance of points at both ends of the pitch amongst Big Sam’s backline regulars.
Passed fit for the trip to Southampton, Samir Nasri looks likely to return to the City starting line-up as Manuel Pellegrini juggles his options with one eye on the midweek trip to Real Madrid. The Frenchman produced points in all three of his appearances earlier in the month before missing the last two matches with a minor muscle issue.
Sunderland’s visit to the Britannia earns Jermain Defoe the final place in our Gameweek 36 Scout Picks. Up against a defence that has conceded 14 times in four fixtures since Jack Butland’s season-ending injury, the Black Cats’ top scorer looks in line to add to his 13 goal-tally as Big Sam’s side look to remain clear of the bottom three.
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 35’s Community Champion Mark-o-Pirlo defeated the Scout Picks 56 to 46.
The Gameweek 36 Community Champion is Balders, who has selected the following team: Gomes, Koscielny, Evans, Monreal, Sanchez, Mahrez, Eriksen, King, Deeney, Sturridge, Defoe.
