After yesterday’s Scout Squad article detailed our thinking for the weekend’s fixtures, it’s now time to reveal the 14 players who make our final selection.
Bournemouth’s trip to Newcastle gives us hope of clean sheet points from Magpies keeper Rob Elliot (4.2), who has conceded just four goals and kept two shut-outs at St James’ Park this season.
The Cherries are among the worst attacking units on the road, scoring only three times – only Swansea City (25 to 36) have had fewer shots on their travels. Eddie Howe’s men have blanked in six of ten Gameweeks so far.
With Fantasy Premier League (FPL) bonus on two occasions and save points in five matches, Elliot also offers us a broad spread of returns.
Spurs also look a likely source of clean sheet returns at home to Crystal Palace – going back to last season, the Eagles have failed to score in their last seven away league matches.
Rotation concerns around the full-back positions have prompted us to select centre back Jan Vertonghen (6.0), who also offers the prospects of bonus points and is top among the Spurs backline in the Bonus Point System (BPS).
Bonus potential is proving a running theme among our rearguard, with Huddersfield’s Christopher Schindler (4.6) earning a place ahead of West Brom’s visit.
The German is among the top ten defenders in the BPS, where he has earned more points (16) than any other defender for tackling. We are also hopeful of clean sheet points as the Baggies have scored just three goals on the road and rank bottom for shots over the last six Gameweeks on 41.
Price rises overnight meant we had to take Virgil van Dijk (5.4) out of our selection and replace him with his cheaper Southampton team-mate Cedric Soares (5.0) for Burnley’s trip to the south coast.
The Clarets have struggled for a cutting edge of late – over the last six Gameweeks, they have netted just four times, failing to score more than a single goal in a match during that stretch.
Christian Eriksen’s extra assist point potential means he is our preferred Spurs midfielder of choice against Palace. The Dane was back in the goals against Real Madrid and we reckon that Spurs will move to a 4-2-3-1 on Sunday, allowing him to play in a more advanced role once again.
The Eagles defence conceded a total of nine away to both Manchester Clubs under Roy Hodgson, while no other side has conceded more than their 34 shots on target on the road.
We are backing Mohamed Salah (9.3) to recover from last week’s spot-kick miss against Huddersfield when Liverpool visit West Ham. The Hammers have shipped a total of six goals in their last three home matches and are struggling with injuries and suspensions at the back.
Salah’s strike against Maribor in the Champions League on Wednesday further underlines his potential, with three of his five league goals arriving on the road. He has ten goals in his last 16 outings in all competitions.
Watford’s Richarlison (6.4) was another to disappoint in our Gameweek 10 Scout Picks, receiving a yellow card and failing to even muster a shot on target at home to Stoke City.
But his sensational away form earns an instant recall for the Hornets’ trip to Everton.
The winger, who sits in 16.4% of teams, has provided three goals and two assists on the road and is joint-top with Harry Kane for shots (22) away from home.
With ten goals conceded in five at Goodison, the Toffees defensive record justifies the Brazilian’s selection for a second successive Gameweek.
Potters midfielder Eric Choupo-Moting (5.7) earns a call-up in light of his recent return to a central striker role under Mark Hughes.
The Cameroon international, who hosts a Leicester side with just a single clean sheet on their travels, has supplied two goals and a pair of assists in his last four at the bet365. Choupo-Moting is joint-top among FPL midfielders along with Salah for shots (20) and efforts in the box (15) at home.
Our latest attempt to second guess Pep Guardiola’s teamsheet hands places to David Silva (8.5) and Sergio Aguero (11.8) for the visit of Arsenal.
Security of minutes sees us turn to the Spaniard, who was rested for most of the Sky Blues’ Champions League midweek win in Napoli. He has also started all Man City’s league matches.
Although a goal against Stoke in Gameweek 8 is Silva’s only attacking return in four, he continues to post impressive underlying statistics – over that period, only Richarlison (19) and Alexis Sanchez (18) have had more goal attempts among midfielders than the City playmaker’s 13.
Aguero’s substitution at the 76-minute mark in midweek gives us confidence City’s all-time top scorer – who has three goals and two assists in his last three at home in the league – will earn a start against the Gunners.
Harry Kane (12.7) is a shoo-in as Aguero’s strike partner in a 3-5-2 formation after he recovered from a hamstring injury to start against Real Madrid on Wednesday night.
Having ended his Wembley league drought with two goals and an assist against Liverpool, the Spurs frontman now has four lots of double-digits in his last six league outings.
Swansea City defender Alfie Mawson (5.0) earns a place on our bench as Brighton visit to the Liberty Stadium. Although the Seagulls scored three in their last road trip at West Ham, they have only found the net once in their previous four away matches. Mawson also gives us the chance of points at both ends of the pitch – he scored in his side’s last league match in front of their own fans, Gameweek 9’s encounter with Leicester City.
The Foxes own Riyad Mahrez (8.4) also sits in our reserves. He has the form to trouble hosts Stoke from his new central role having produced a goal and three assists in the last three Gameweeks. He will look to extend that streak against a Potters defence that’s conceded nine times in their last four at the bet365.
Swansea’s Tammy Abraham (5.9) claims the final spot on our bench have scored three goals and six bonus points in his last trio of Liberty Stadium matches. There may well be few goals in the Swans encounter with Brighton but, having contributed to 75% of the Welsh club’s efforts so far, we’re backing Abraham to be involved.
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 YMA, who has opted for a 3-4-3 formation of: Vorm; Walker, Bertrand, Mawson; De Bruyne, Alli, Mahrez, Richarlison; Jesus, Firmino, Vardy.
6 years, 6 months agoUtterly crazy to consider a -12 (you read that right) to get in Kane? Terrible planning saw me make an utterly useless couple of transfers and miss his price rise earlier in the week. Bricking it over the thought of him delivering against Palace. Can't afford another red arrow as it goes.