This afternoon we unveil those players under consideration for a place in this Friday’s Scout Picks.

This article aims to give a greater insight into the decision-making process behind our selection, as Mark, Paul and I list the 18 players we feel offer the best potential for Gameweek hauls, before arguing the case for our selections.

The discussions and disagreements that will take place behind the scenes are then showcased, as each of us looks to back our players for a place in the Scout Picks, as well as Saturday’s Spot the Differential article.

Finally, we will also reveal the Community Champion who has been selected by our lottery to represent the community and be in with a chance of winning a £100 Amazon voucher.

Goalkeepers

Lee Grant (4.1) gets unanimous backing ahead of Stoke City’s home encounter with a travel sick Burnley side that has mustered a single goal on the road this season.

While the 3% owned Potters’ keeper may soon be edged out by regular number one Jack Butland, Grant’s shut-out at Watford last time out will surely be enough for him to retain a starting role for the weekend.

Home keepers against weak sides dominate the rest of our selection.

Mark is favouring the 5.2% owned Victor Valdes (4.5)’ chances of a clean sheet when Hull City visit Middlesbrough. The Tigers turn up at the Riverside Stadium having scored just five goals in their six away trips so far in the campaign.

Meanwhile, Paul and I feel that West Brom’s 15.5% owned Ben Foster (4.7) will get the better of a travelling Watford side that is in the bottom four teams in terms of goal attempts on the road.

All three of us also fancy the 14.6% owned Jordan Pickford (4.1)’s chances of returns when champions Leicester City visit the Stadium of Light.

The Foxes have scored just five goals on their travels but, by registering a respectable 62 attempts, they appear to offer the Sunderland stopper an opportunity to rack up both a clean sheet and save points.

Defenders

His third goal of the campaign last week, away to Hull, propels West Brom’s set piece specialist centre-back Gareth McAuley (4.8) to the top of all three of our selections, ahead of Watford’s visit.

Only Bournemouth and Stoke have conceded more headed goal attempts on the road than Walter Mazzarri’s troops and, with injuries and suspensions ravaging their squad, McAuley looks almost certain of a Scout Picks call-up.

Spurs’ Danny Rose (5.9) also looks assured of a place in Friday’s selection, having claimed second choice in all three of our squad line-ups. The 5.3% owned full-back continues to overshadow team-mate Kyle Walker in terms of chance creation, crossing and accurate shooting over the last four Gameweeks.

If money is especially tight, Paul may prevail in convincing us to select Antonio Barragan (4.5) should a Middlesbrough defender make the Picks.

But Mark and I think Ben Gibson (4.7) has the slight edge as he has the highest FPL Bonus Point System tally of any ‘Boro player.

“The Opta data brings Antonio Barragan onto my long list for Middlesbrough’s home clash with Hull. The Tigers have conceded more chances down their left-hand side (40) than any away team this season, which boosts the prospects of ‘Boro’s raiding right-back on Monday evening” – Paul.

Crystal Palace are on a terrible run of six defeats in a row, with both Mark and myself backing Cedric Soares (4.9) and the Southampton defence to stifle the Eagles’ attacking instincts at Selhurst Park. While Alan Pardew’s men are the fourth best side in terms goal attempts on the road, they are ranked sixth worst in home matches and will face a confident Saints’ outfit.

The 1.6% owned Portuguese right back also has the chance of inflicting damage at the other end of the pitch, with only Rose creating more chances among defenders over their last four matches.

Meanwhile, Paul will be looking to convince Mark and I that Patrick Van Aanholt (5.0) deserves consideration. With an assist and clean sheet in Sunderland’s last home game, the 4.2% owned Dutchman certainly has recent history on his side.

Erik Pieters (4.5) gets the nod from both Paul and myself as an alternative Stoke defensive option, should we decide against Grant in goal.

Elsewhere, Mark fancies the 6.6% owned Dejan Lovren (5.1)’s chances of a clean sheet when Liverpool travel to Bournemouth.

“My theory on Liverpool is that Jurgen Klopp may now look to switch emphasis slightly in the absence of Philippe Coutinho. Already we’ve seen improvement from the Reds in defensive areas and I just wonder if Klopp will now look to instil better management of matches which will see his side earn more shut-outs rather than concede sloppy goals, safe in the knowledge that Coutinho is there to help inspire victories.” – Mark

With the lowest amount of shots conceded in the Premier League, the underlying numbers suggest that the Reds have been unfortunate not to have more than three clean sheets so far this term.

Midfielders

Even though he will set us back 11.3, Alexis Sanchez is the undisputed frontrunner for a place in Friday’s Scout Picks, garnering top spot in all of our selections ahead of Arsenal’s trip across London to West Ham.

The 23.6% owned Chilean has scored five of his eight goals on the road, while the Hammers have conceded nine times in front of their own fans.

Roberto Firmino (8.8) is another with strong support from all three of us, as the Liverpool schemer prepares to visit Bournemouth.

But with the 19% owned Brazilian picking up a knock at the end of last weekend’s 2-0 home victory over Sunderland, we will be seeking reassurances from Jurgen Klopp that he’ll play before committing. Sadio Mane (9.2) could be an alternative Reds midfielder considered in Friday’s shake-up should Firmino look likely to miss out.

Things get more contentious in our choice of Spurs midfielder ahead of their home meeting with Swansea City.

The visitors have conceded 11 goals in their last four league matches, underlining the importance of Spurs attacking assets ahead of Gameweek 14.

Paul and I are backing Christian Eriksen (8.1), who scored his first goal of the campaign last weekend, away to Chelsea. The Dane has strong underlying statistics to back our case, sitting alongside Rose at the top of Spurs’ chance creation table over their last four matches.

Meanwhile, Dele Alli (8.1), who has Mark’s backing, assisted Eriksen’s goal but has struggled to score himself recently. The England international’s last successful league strike came in Gameweek 8.

“I’m still not yet completely sold on Eriksen over Alli. It’s very close but I just want to give Alli more time. We’ve seen what he’s capable of and I believe, once Kane is fully up and running, Alli will also flourish in the role up in support. Fitness has also been an issue but I feel he’s had time to come out of this now to ultimately offer a greater goal return than Eriksen.” – Mark

A raft of differential options make up the rest of our centre of the park picks, with Mark and I backing Matt Philips (5.3) to continue his fine run of form, against Watford.

The Scot has accrued 32 FPL points on the back of two goals and a couple of assists over his last three matches to add weight to our argument.

Mark has also put forward Middlesbrough’s 0.7% owned Gaston Ramirez (5.3) for consideration against a hapless Hull side that, along with Crystal Palace, has conceded a league-worst 16 goals away from home.

Stoke City midfielders have caught the eye of Paul and I, ahead of Burnley’s visit to the bet365 stadium.

The Clarets could be without regular stopper Tom Heaton, who has made the most saves in the Premier League this season but is currently troubled by a calf problem. Meanwhile, the Sean Dyche’s men have also shipped 13 goals on the road in a dismal run of away form.

In nominating Stoke’s Charlie Adam (4.7) I’ve turned to my Members goals imminent table for inspiration after it successfully predicted goals from five players last weekend. With a place in the current table and, having come close to opening his account at Watford last weekend, I just feel the need to back a hunch with Adam.

Marko Arnautovic (7.2) is Paul’s favoured route into the Potters’ attack, who sees the weak Burnley away defence as the perfect opportunity for the Austrian to add to his goal and assist so far this season. Both these Potters midfielders have an FPL ownership below 1%.

Bargain priced Liverpool midfielder Emre Can (4.8) also gets a mention from Paul, on the back of some strong recent form that has seen him score twice in his last four league matches.

“I’ve turned to this week’s Big Numbers article for some inspiration by selecting Emre Can for Liverpool’s trip to Bournemouth. With Philippe Coutinho ruled out, the German looks a secure pick – he’s started the last six anyway and produced the same number of shots inside the box as the Brazilian over that period. At 4.8m, he could emerge as the value festive midfielder” – Paul.

Forwards

The Captain Poll’s undisputed leader Harry Kane (10.9) is also top of all of our forward lists ahead of Swansea’s visit.

The Tottenham striker is surprisingly still only in 8.3% of FPL teams, but if, as we hope, he prevails against Swansea, his ownership will surely soar. With five goals in as many outings, he looks a shoo-in for this week’s Scout Picks.

Jermain Defoe (7.6) and Charlie Austin (6.9) are also heavily backed.

Both face obliging defences with the 15.9% owned Southampton striker visiting a Crystal Palace side that has conceded 10 goals on home turf. Meanwhile, the 19.3% owned Defoe welcomes a Leicester outfit that has struggled on it’s travels, conceding 16 goals to this point.

There are mixed feelings about including 44.1% owned Sergio Aguero (13.1), who this weekend welcomes a Chelsea with six clean sheets out of their last seven Gameweeks.

While Paul gives him second billing, he only manages fourth spot for Mark, while I’ve opted to omit him from the reckoning.

Instead, I’ve opted for 25.6% owned Zlatan Ibrahimovic (11.1) as my heavy-hitting forward recommendation for Gameweek 14.

The big Swede’s three goals in his last two league starts demonstrate strong form, compounded by two more goals in the EFL Cup last night.

A visit to Everton also gives him the ideal fixture: the Toffees have conceded 11 goals and mustered just one shut-out in their last four fixtures.

His brace against Leicester last week was Middlesbrough striker Alvaro Negredo (6.2)’s goals first since Gameweek 1. But with a porous Hull defence visiting Teesside, Mark and I are backing the 12.7% owned Spaniard to continue his revival in front of goal.

Paul and 6.2% of FPL managers are sticking by Christian Benteke (7.5) in spite of Crystal Palace’s problems. Indeed, with a goal and assist in the Eagles 5-4 away loss to Swansea last weekend, he could just squeeze into the reckoning.

Community Champion

Representing the Community against the Scout Picks in Gameweek will be Prichardson311, who is ranked 36,380 and is in his second season.

The community champion who has the best lead over the Scouts during 2016/17 will win a £100 Amazon voucher (currently we can only offer Amazon.co.uk or Amazon.com vouchers).

Last Gameweek’s champion Krul Runnings beat the Scout Picks 46-31.

The current frontrunners are Ziro and VS10_, who have a 32-point margin of victory over us.