We now reveal who has made the cut from our midweek squad list to earn a coveted place in the Gameweek 2 Scout Picks.
With top billing from Mark, Paul and myself, Tom Heaton (5.0) is assured of our goalkeeper berth as his Burnley side prepare to welcome West Brom to Turf Moor.
Six shut-outs at home – with just 18 conceded in 18 starts – gives us hope of a clean sheet point. However, we may have to rely on save points from last season’s top scoring FPL stopper given that the Baggies’ recorded 16 goal attempts against Bournemouth last weekend.
We are happy to spend a little extra to secure Ryan Bertrand (5.5) as our Southampton defender of choice after seeing him claim two bonus points and clean sheet returns against Swansea City last weekend.
The 16.6%-owned full-back also offers the chance of points at the other end of the pitch at home to West Ham. He racked up four chances created in Gameweek 1 – joint-top among defenders with Crystal Palace’s Patrick van Aanholt
The Hammers’ 4-0 defeat away to Manchester United offers further weight to his selection.
There is also enough within our 83 million budget to splash out on Manchester City defender Kyle Walker (6.5) for Everton’s visit to the Etihad on Monday night.
Despite being restricted to just one chance against Brighton last weekend, we feel this home fixture will offer an improvement in attacking threat for a 22.7%-owned player who returned six assists at Spurs last season.
Mark has won this week’s instalment of the Nathan Ake versus Charlie Daniels (5.0) Bournemouth defender debate after spotting a fragility down Watford’s right flank.
The Hornets are set to be without regular right back Daryl Janmaat through injury when they drop by the Vitality Stadium, and they also conceded seven chances on that flank against Liverpool last weekend.
This sets the scene for Daniels, who scored four and assisted a further three last season, to prosper.
So convinced are we by Watford’s weakness on the right that we have also included Cherries’ left sided midfielder Ryan Fraser (5.5) in our 3-4-3 formation. A favourite of Eddie Howe, the Bournemouth boss has started Fraser in 17 of the last 21 Premier League matches. With 1.4% ownership, he could prove to be a lucrative differential for those looking to replace injured Crystal Palace winger Wilfried Zaha.
The selection of Mo Salah (9.1) required little debate, with the Liverpool midfielder handed top spot from Mark, Paul, myself and also Career Hall of Fame number one Peter Kouwenberg, who completes our four-strong Scout Squad panel this season.
The Egyptian enjoyed a sensational Premier League debut against Watford, racking up a goal, assist and a bonus point. The visit of a Palace side that were humbled 3-0 at home to Huddersfield Town last Saturday looks an enticing match for the winger, who has been snapped up by more than 155,000 FPL managers this week.
We’re backing Kevin De Bruyne (10.0) to deliver attacking returns when Everton drop by the Etihad on Monday night. Even though he failed to find the net in City’s 2-0 away victory at Brighton last Saturday, his four goal attempts give us room for optimism. However, another blank could dent his 28.9% ownership, with 71,000+ already handing him his marching orders this week.
Spurs’ encounter at their temporary Wembley home against Chelsea looks set to offer goals, given they have scored 15 times between them in their last four match-ups. Christian Eriksen (9.5), who is in 17.3% of FPL sides, earns the nod as the most likely to be involved in attacking returns – he assisted both Spurs goals in their victory over Newcastle United last Sunday.
A brace on his Premier League debut for Manchester United makes FPL’s most popular player, the 52.6%-owned Romelu Lukaku (11.6), a shoo-in. He travels to a Swansea City side that conceded 11 chances in central areas against West Brom last weekend – an unwelcome Gameweek 1 record the Welsh side shared with Leicester City.
But while the Foxes defence was questionable in their 4-3 away defeat to Arsenal, the accuracy of their striker Jamie Vardy (8.6) is not in doubt. He scored with both of his efforts and earns a place in this week’s Picks as he welcomes a promoted Brighton to the King Power Stadium.
With over 180,000 transfers-in, Vardy is the most popular striker in FPL’s transfer market this week.
Huddersfield Town’s Steve Mounie (6.1) takes our final striker spot after registering a brace and maximum bonus returns at Palace last weekend. He welcomes a Newcastle side that allowed Spurs 10 close-range shots last Sunday. The forward has already attracted 117,000+ new owners.
Trent Alexander-Arnold (4.5) is unlucky to miss the cut after scoring from a stunning free-kick against Hoffenheim in Liverpool’s Champions League qualifier midweek. But even with set-pieces in his locker, we are still uncertain the 2.8%-owned full-back will be able to keep a clean sheet against Palace, given the Reds’ concession of three goals against Watford in Gameweek 1.
Another who is forced to settle for a bench role is the 11.1%-owned Manchester United midfielder Henrikh Mkhitaryan (8.1). He earned two assists against West Ham at Old Trafford last time out, but with the visit to Swansea the Red Devils’ first away trip, we are hesitant to double up on their attacking assets just yet.
Burnley’s Sam Vokes (6.0) takes our final bench spot after impressing with his brace against Chelsea. An encounter at home with a West Brom outfit that could only muster two away clean sheets last season looks tailor made for this cut-price differential forward.
The Community Champion
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.
This week’s champion is Urchin, who has opted for a 3-4-3 formation of: Begovic; Stephens, B Davies, Fuchs; Ince, Mane, Tadic, Alli; Jesus, Kane, Rashford.
