Ahead of the third and final deadline within this hectic week of Premier League activity, we reveal who has earned a place in the Gameweek 32 Scout Picks.
With all the top six sides having favourable fixtures, there is simply no way our 84 million-budgeted XI can accommodate all the premium assets we want.
As a result, compromises have had to be made.
A key way we have freed up money is to turn to the value offered by Middlesbrough stopper Victor Valdes (4.6).
Granted, Steve Agnew’s troops let in four away to Hull City in midweek, but we think they will prove more resilient at home to Burnley. On their travels, the Clarets have scored just nine times, while Boro have four shut-outs on familiar turf.
Another who failed to impress in Gameweek 30 but we think is due a turnaround in fortunes is West Brom’s Gareth McAuley (5.3). He was substituted before the hour mark in the Baggies’ midweek defeat away to Watford and squares up to Southampton at The Hawthorns this weekend.
With six goals this term the towering centre-back, who is the second most popular Fantasy Premier League (FPL) defender, remains a constant menace at set-pieces and should prosper against a Saints side that has conceded six times in their last four.
The theme of selecting strong prospects who disappointed midweek continues with our final two defensive picks.
Antonio Valencia’s (6.0) rest for Gameweek 31’s home tie with Everton left his 17.4% ownership frustrated but means he should be refreshed for Manchester United’s trip to a beleaguered Sunderland side that last scored in the league in Gameweek 24.
With the Black Cats shipping 11 goals in their last six, the raiding right-back also gives us attacking coverage, having accrued three assists and a goal in the eight matches prior to his Tuesday night off.
Our final selection, Ben Davies (4.8), also failed to deliver in his last run-out, conceding in Spurs’ 3-1 away win at Swansea City.
But the 2.4%-owned left-back, who has created more chances than any other Spurs defender over the last six Gameweeks, has a far better probability of success this weekend when he welcomes suspension and injury-ravaged Watford to White Hart Lane.
Hornets boss Walter Mazzarri has even gone so far as to say his side will face Spurs “without a defence” due to injuries to Younes Kaboul and Sebastian Prodl and with centre-half Miguel Britos suspended.
This has ensured we triple up on Spurs assets by handing spots to both Dele Alli (9.1) and Christian Eriksen (8.8), who each scored and assisted at the Liberty Stadium.
While Dele Alli’s 12 goals and four assists since Gameweek 17 have ensured he is the FPL’s most popular midfielder, with a 32.5% ownership, this fixture could very well see his Danish team-mate emerge with a higher points total.
At White Hart Lane since Gameweek 14, the 16.9%-owned Eriksen has amassed five goals, eight assists and 12 bonus points compared to Alli’s six successful strikes, four assists and seven extra points.
To fund this duo, we have sought further savings across our five-man midfield, with Manuel Lanzini (6.4)’s home form proving irresistible ahead of West Ham’s London Stadium encounter with Swansea City.
Over his last four matches in front of his own fans he has earned a total of 43 points on the back of three goals, an assist and three sets of maximum bonus returns.
Another haul looks on the cards for this 3.2%-owned differential, given Swansea’s concession of 12 goals in their last six.
West Ham’s 14 goals shipped over the same period also makes Swans’ attacking assets attractive for this tie.
That has us look to set-piece specialist Gylfi Sigurdsson (7.7) to overcome his recent slump of three straight blanks for this encounter. In terms of underlying statistics, he looks overdue a goal as he’s had 19 shots without finding the net in his last five outings.
The Hammers also provide another factor potentially in the midfielder’s favour – only Hull City (11) have conceded more penalties than West Ham’s eight this season.
Another budget-friendly midfielder we’ve opted for is Theo Walcott (7.4), who is far cheaper and more productive on recent evidence than Arsenal’s top scorer Alexis Sanchez (11.7). He travels to Crystal Palace on Monday after scoring twice in his last two matches, while his Chilean team-mate has failed to deliver from a left wing berth over the same period.
With a mere 5.2% ownership, the winger looks an enticing differential for the season run-in, which includes two double Gameweeks for the Gunners.
We’ve taken the bold move of shunning Zlatan Ibrahimovic (11.4), who is third in our Captains Poll, ahead of his trip to that porous Sunderland backline.
His two goal tally over his last six starts looks too meagre for us compared to Sergio Aguero’s (12.7) form ahead of Hull City’s visit to the Etihad and Romelu Lukaku’s (10.4) home advantage.
Manchester City’s talisman has scored in all but one of his last five run-outs and collides with a Tigers backline that has conceded 12 times in their last six matches and last kept a clean sheet in Gameweek 24.
The home form of the Everton marksman, who is FPL’s most popular player with an ownership of 45.5%, makes him a shoo-in – he has ten in his last six outings at Goodison Park.
Visitors Leicester City have been in strong attacking form under Craig Shakespeare, but their defensive resilience away is still undetermined. In their only away league run-out under his management, they shipped two goals to West Ham in Gameweek 29.
He may not have played in Manchester City’s last three league games, but with a trio of matches in this busy week we think Pep Guardiola will hand a starting berth to backline utility man Aleksandar Kolarov (5.8), who has earned four clean sheets in his last five appearances and can play at either left-back or centre-half.
Visitors Hull have scored just once in their last four road trips to further strengthen his cause for inclusion on our bench.
Nine goals in his last ten makes sure Josh King (5.8) gets a mention, even though his Bournemouth side face a tough clash with leaders Chelsea at the Vitality Stadium. But with no shut-outs in their last six, our faith in Antonio Conte’s defence has taken a serious dent and further strengthens our confidence in the 13.6%-owned midfielder.
Our final substitute, Liverpool’s Divock Origi (6.2), looks set to continue his run in the starting XI for the foreseeable future, given the announcement this week that Sadio Mane will miss the rest of the season through injury. With attacking returns in four of his last five appearances, the young striker has strong form ahead of the Reds’ trip to Stoke City. His 5.9% ownership makes the Belgian another attractive differential among our selection.
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.
The current champion to beat is Boris Bodega, who achieved a 33-point margin of victory over us in Gameweek 15.
Last Gameweek’s champion Jay was beaten 62-53 by the Scouts.
This week’s champion Mikeharbrw has selected a 3-4-3 line up of: Valdes; Alonso, Alderweireld, Evans; De Bruyne, Hazard, Son, Lanzini; Negredo, Ibrahimovic, Vardy.
