The Scout Squad – Gameweek 34

The king is dead, long live the old one.

Well, Mohamed Salah isn’t actually pushing up the Fantasy daisies, nor pining for the non-existent Egyptian fjords, he’s merely devoid of a Double Gameweek 34 to demand selection by our panel of Fantasy Football Scout regulars Mark, Paul and Jonty and Career Hall of Fame number one Peter Kouwenberg.

In his stead, up steps last year’s free-scoring midfield points-hoover Alexis Sanchez, who finds himself the number one pick of three of our four Scouts, with Paul ploughing a lone furrow by ignoring him completely.

At least there’s universal agreement that Harry Kane and Romelu Lukaku should double up in attack, with Jamie Vardy the unanimous third choice should 3-4-3 be the formation du Gameweek.

Peter seems to have blown much of the rest of his budget offering up both David De Gea and Thibaut Courtois for the goalkeeper selection (with his third choice, Kasper Schmeichel, not exactly cheap at 5.1 either), and a good deal of cash is also likely to be splurged on the quartet’s top defensive pick, Marcos Alonso.

The budget enablers that will be needed to fund all this extravagance is likely to be the hottest topic of debate among our panel.

We’ll be back later in the week to see which of their selections make the final cut for Double Gameweek 34, and in the meantime, here are their reasons why they’ve said no to Mo along with their other, rather less vexed, considerations.

Peter Says…

To start with the bleeding obvious, with eight teams enjoying a Double Gameweek (catnip to the discerning Fantasy manager) it’s going to take something pretty special (or cheap) for a player with a single match to break into our 18-man squads.

Mohamed Salah certainly ticks that first box, having scored 83 points more than his nearest Fantasy Premier League (FPL) rival, and yet I have to omit him this week knowing that the budget is going to take a hefty pounding from the likes of Spurs, Manchester United and Chelsea.

Instead, the pocket-friendly trio of Andrew Robertson, Kiko Femenía and Marko Arnautović constitute my singleton makeweights, coming in at a combined £16.3 million and facing up to Bournemouth, Huddersfield and Stoke City respectively.

Also helping to balance the books are Kasper Schmeichel, Matt Lowton, Chris Wood and Glenn Murray, the latter facing a somewhat mixed double of Crystal Palace and Spurs but, along with Wood, surely representing the best value striker in the sub-6.5 category this week.

And so to the big guns from Stamford Bridge, the King Power Stadium, Wembley and Old Trafford, who will likely make up the lion’s share of most active managers’ squads this weekend.

David De Gea looks a great bet for 12+ points as United host the forlorn Baggies before heading to the Vitality Stadium.

Indeed, West Brom and Bournemouth are two of five sides who have conceded the most (12) goals in their last six matches, which is enough to justify in-form Alexis Sanchez and Romelu Lukaku joining the Spaniard in my picks.

Of course, whether José Mourinho lets his horses run free, particularly with one eye on the FA Cup semi-final, remains to be seen.

My nine remaining slots are filled by FPL stalwarts such as Christian Eriksen, Riyad Mahrez, Jamie Vardy and Harry “who stole my goal?” Kane, all of whom require no further explanation.

In contrast, although Chelsea’s Marcos Alonso and Willian will carry the hopes of many an FPL manager, I would understand it if funds were diverted towards other assets in the final selection.

Despite the Spaniard’s meagre average return of 1.5 points over his last six matches and Willian’s recent profligacy in front of goal, they both still make my cut.

Paul Says…

I’ve loaded up on Double Gameweek 34 players, with slight concerns over Salah’s minutes against Bournemouth enough to force me to look elsewhere.

If any budget defence is worthy of a double-up, it’s Burnley – hence the reason for the inclusion of two of their back four, along with goal threats Alonso and Harry Maguire.

As discussed in our recent Big Numbers article, the Clarets are ranked fourth most resilient for goals against (seven) since Gameweek 25 onwards, and fifth for big chances conceded (12).

Eriksen is the only Spurs player to already record points against both his upcoming opponents. Furthermore, the Dane is joint-top for both shots and key passes over their previous four and therefore is my midfield pick from Mauricio Pochettino’s contingent.

Lukaku’s flat-track bully record is more than persuasive – 14 of his 15 league goals have been scored against teams outside the top eight. Yet Paul Pogba’s upturn in output and underlying threat, as covered in today’s Monitor piece on Alexis Sanchez, could be the value option.

United host a Baggies defence with just a single clean sheet in their last 15 road trips, while midweek opponents Bournemouth have managed one shut-out in 13 attempts at the Vitality. After defeating City to prevent them taking the title, Jose Mourinho’s men will head into their pair of matches brimming with confidence.

As evidenced by his impact off the bench at Arsenal, Charlie Austin’s contribution will be vital if Southampton are to beat the drop.

He’s played a part in 70% of the Saints’ goals when on the pitch and has found the net every 100 minutes this season – only Sergio Aguero has scored at a quicker rate.

Jonty Says…

The Wildcard template picks have proved far from lucrative ahead of double Gameweek 34.

Brighton’s Pascal Gross, Chelsea’s Willian and Alonso and Leicester City’s Riyad Mahrez have now blanked for two matches in a row, much to the annoyance of their new owners.

Despite their recent failures, I believe the Double Gameweek offers them the chance of redemption. This is, after all, why they were recruited in the first place.

That Chelsea pair, Leicester’s playmaker and Spurs’ Son Heung-min all earn another nod from me.

But I’ve finally lost patience with Gross, who fails to make the cut. The Seagulls’ derby encounter with Crystal Palace is tough to call, while their Spurs match-up is simply too tough.

I like the look of United pair Lukaku and Sanchez, as well as the Golden Boot-chasing Kane.

But as I’ve found out with my own team, owning all three is tricky given their lofty price-tags. Reluctantly, I’ll back any of my colleagues who want to shun Sanchez as I believe Kane and Lukaku, as the focal point of their sides’ attacking play and the expected top captaincy picks, are vital for our selection.

Another issue is whether to include a single Gameweek asset.

Salah’s goal against Man City in the Champions League on Tuesday proves he is fit enough to start against Bournemouth. After delivering a 29-point haul in his last home league match, against Watford, he has an ample chance to outgun his Double Gameweek counterparts.

Burnley looks the perfect destination for budget enablers, so I think one of Ashley Barnes or a defender, with Matt Lowton my favoured option, may be needed if we are to squeeze the Double Gameweek’s pricier assets into our 84m budget.

I’ve also put forward Southampton’s Cedric Soares and Austin for consideration, after the former picked up two assists and the latter a goal in the Saints’ visit to Arsenal on Sunday.

Mark Says…

Having just come round to captaining Salah, I’m now fully signed up to Jonty’s fan club for the Egyptian, so I’ll be fighting hard to get him re-installed in Friday’s Picks line-up.

Today’s reaction to the decision to award Kane “his” goal illustrates that this Golden Boot malarky matters to both players.

Salah will be buoyant after Tuesday’s result and his sublime finish. Meanwhile, Bournemouth might just provide a perfect target for any frustration aimed at the goal accreditation panel.

The unpredictable Cherries could either shock us all and smash and grab a 1-0, or capitulate spectacularly to the Liverpool tide and allow Salah to fill his boots. The latter seems more likely, which is why the 39-goal man is ranked third in my midfield selection.

I honestly feel that he can hold his own in the Double Gameweek circus with just 70 minutes against Eddie Howe’s obliging defence. Let’s face it; he is that good.

This doesn’t mean I’m turning my back on Kane. Somewhat controversially for some, I’ve placed him at the top of the striker pile, though Lukaku and Vardy look shoo-ins alongside him.

If we have to cheapen up the frontline, then I’ll push hard for Austin’s inclusion.

He might only get a sniff or two against Chelsea and Leicester, but that’s all he needs. He has six goals from his last six starts and has scored every 100 minutes.

Not even my Harry can match that.

The Community Champion

Representing the community against the Scouts in Gameweek 30 will be veteran poster Effe. He is in his 11th season, with 2010/11’s impressive finish of 240 his best to date.

The community champion who has the best lead over the Scouts during 2017/18 will win a £100 Amazon voucher (currently we can only offer Amazon.co.uk or Amazon.com vouchers).

Last week’s champion Big Red Dog beat the Scouts 81-74

The one to beat remains Gregor, who achieved victory over the Scouts by a 33-point margin in Gameweek 5.