The Scout Squad – FPL Gameweek 1

Five weeks is a long time in Fantasy football. The likes of Leroy Sane, Henrikh Mkhitaryan and a Manchester City-bound Riyad Mahrez were much-vaunted as squad picks upon the launch of Fantasy Premier League in early-July, but much has changed in that intervening period.

Not one of that midfield trio received a single nomination from our expert panel ahead of Gameweek 1, while big-hitters such as Harry Kane, Eden Hazard and Kevin De Bruyne are predictably absent following their World Cup exertions and late returns to pre-season training.

For the uninitiated, the Scout Squad feature is a prelude to our Scout Picks article which is posted closer to the Gameweek deadline.

In this piece, a panel of four FPL experts (our word, not theirs) list their favoured 18-man squads for the weekend’s Premier League fixtures and explain the reasoning behind their selections.

The 72 nominations will then be whittled down to a squad of 15 (with the starting XI not exceeding £83m) ahead of the Gameweek 1 deadline at 19:00 BST on Friday.

This week’s panel need little introduction, with Scoutcast/site regulars Paul, Joe and AZ (fresh from a top 1,000 overall rank in 2017/18) joined again by three-times top 300 finisher Peter Kouwenberg.

Liverpool’s plum-looking home fixture against West Ham United on Sunday has seen universal support for Andrew Robertson and Mohamed Salah, with Roberto Firmino and Sadio Mane also receiving some backing. That Marko Arnautovic, who has five pre-season goals to his name, is without a single vote says much about the Hammers’ uphill task at Anfield.

Our panel have high hopes for a goal-fest at the Emirates on Sunday, with Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Sergio Aguero and Bernardo Silva popular choices among our Scout sages.

A consensus has formed over the goalkeeper picks, with three names getting as many nominations from our experts, while Bournemouth and Watford assets are well-liked ahead of their home meetings with Cardiff City and Brighton & Hove Albion respectively.

Most Popular Picks: Andrew Robertson, Mohamed Salah, Sergio Aguero (four); David de Gea, Ben Foster, Asmir Begovic, Christian Eriksen, Diogo Jota, Bernardo Silva, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Joshua King (three)

Paul said…

This summer’s World Cup casts a considerable shadow over the likely starters in Gameweek 1.

That may somewhat dilute the pool of big-hitting talent to choose from, yet there’s still plenty to chew over in light of the pre-season friendlies.

Pierre Emerick-Aubameyang, Bernardo Silva, Josh King, Ryan Fraser and Wilfried Zaha have already shown strong form heading into Friday’s deadline.

Liverpool are the only side that supply three outfield players on my list, though – they put four past West Ham both home and away last season.

Among the differential options, the Watford defence could be worth backing at home to Brighton.

From the point of Javi Gracia’s first match in charge in Gameweek 25 last season, the Hornets were ranked third behind Man City and Liverpool for the least shots conceded.

Meanwhile, no side scored fewer goals on their travels than Brighton’s ten.

With that in mind, Ben Foster and Christian Kabasele get a place in my selection. The Belgian, in particular, could be worth a gamble – he has four goals in 34 starts over the last two seasons.

Conversely, Watford’s poor defensive record under former manager Marco Silva helps Diogo Jota find a place as Wolves welcome Silva’s Everton to Molineux.

Watford were ranked in the bottom three for both goals against and big chances conceded with Silva at the helm from Gameweek 1-24.

Jota’s total of 120 shots was ranked second in last season’s Championship on his way to scoring 17 goals.

Joe said…

For the last two campaigns we have ignored assets in a lucrative clash between Arsenal and an attacking side. Last season Arsenal’s opening 4-3 thriller against Leicester was a case in point. So too the Gunners’ 2016/17 curtain-raiser with Liverpool, which ended 3-4.

Arsenal face Manchester City this time around and I’ll be pushing strongly for us not to make the same mistake again. Top of my shopping list is Sky Blues striker Sergio Aguero, who scored a brace in the Community Shield on Sunday. For the Gunners I want to see Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang included, especially after noting that he has netted six times and assisted a further three goals in pre-season.

Granted this duo eats up a sizeable chunk of our budget, but there are bargains to be had this week to help us balance the books.

Bournemouth, who welcome newly promoted Cardiff to the Vitality Stadium, look a great team for bargain hunting. Josh King, with four pre-season goals, and £4.5m defensive pair Steve Cook and Asmir Begovic all offer value.

Wolves could be another source of cheap points when they host an Everton side that has endured a woeful pre-season. Over their last four friendlies the Toffees have shipped 11 goals, including three against Blackburn Rovers.

Although Wolves are new to the Premier League this season, they have top-flight quality personnel and I think assets such as Diogo Jota and Portugal international goalkeeper Rui Patricio are worth a punt. Defender Willy Boly’s goal against Villarreal in the Midlands side’s last friendly of the summer has also caught my eye.

Both Manchester United and Leicester’s ranks have been depleted by the World Cup, but I fancy Jose Mourinho’s B-side to prosper over the Foxes’ second string. If we can’t stretch to David de Gea’s £6.0m price tag, Luke Shaw (£5.0m) may just offer a cut-price alternative this week. Marcos Rashford is another Red Devil I’ve mentioned, with a start likely and seven goals, five assists and 11 bonus points accrued in just 1,799 minutes last season.

AZ said…

With so many players arriving back late, I wouldn’t be surprised to see some shocks this weekend; I’m expecting a plethora of goals for a start.

Liverpool, to me, have the standout fixture this Gameweek and are up against a West Ham who have made some fantastic signings, but may take their time to gel. I’m expecting a comfortable win for Liverpool here who have made some great signings of their own, and who I expect to be Manchester City’s only real threat to retaining their title.

Along with Mohamed Salah, the standout captaincy pick this week, I’ve gone for Alisson, Andrew Robertson, Sadio Mane and Roberto Firmino in my pics. Robertson and his set-piece delivery is always a threat, and he will be looking to carry on where he left off after getting 18 points on the final day of the 2017/18 season. Allison may also be an option in between the sticks at £0.5m less. Many are tipping this to be Mane’s year, and his pace will cause West Ham all kinds of problems. Firmino is quite a way down on my list as I’m not completely sure he’ll start, but he may be a good option over Mane for the start of the season and Liverpool’s good run.

As Jonty mentioned on last night’s Scoutcast, Arsenal v Man City looks like it has goals written all over it. Bernardo Silva has the manager’s backing and impressed in the Community Shield and I am expecting Sergio Aguero and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang to both do well in this fixture. Which side are you on?

I’ve then gone for a couple more left-field picks; Patrick van Aanholt has had an excellent pre-season and seems to have lost none of his attacking drive. He’s up against Aleksandar Mitrovic, a player who looks to be right at home at Fulham after scoring 12 goals in 17 appearances in the Championship. I think both could get some attacking returns in this game.

On paper the Newcastle v Tottenham game looks very good for the Lilywhites. But with a host of their players just returning to training, we may see a very different starting XI for them compared to what we are used to. That said, off-field troubles are mounting at Newcastle who do not look like a happy camp. Ben Davies, Lucas Moura and Christian Eriksen all look like certain starters, and I still think a comfortable win for Spurs is likely.

Peter said…

Expectation, tension and anticipation intertwine on the eve of a season in which I will be seeking redemption following last year’s tragedy. Overall though (as Stephen King wrote in his own novel about redemption), I feel the excitement only a free man can feel, a free man at the start of a long journey whose conclusion is uncertain. Which players, though, can set us free in this post-World Cup wilderness, with no current season statistics upon which to pin our hopes and choices?

The Emirates, whilst not quite a fortress, is usually sturdy enough to repel most visitors, yet the Citizens are no conventional assailants and their Community Shield performance did enough to secure my faith in Benjamin Mendy and Sergio Aguero. Debate will continue to rage about that third Sky Blues Brother but this week I’m more interested in a Reds’ treble of Andrew Robertson, Sadio Mane and everyone’s favourite Egyptian, Mohamed Salah. At the time of writing an average of 20% of the FPL world concurs with the selection of that famous (and quite expensive) five.

I can’t resist the lure of a goal-scoring defender (we’ll ignore my steadfast support of Ben Mee last season), so am gambling on a start for Daryl Janmaat and am also hoping Patrick van Aanholt and his cheaper OOP team-mate, Jeffrey Schlupp, can help the Eagles soar in Gameweek 1.

Further up the pitch, I’m unashamedly jumping on some pre-season bargain bandwagons with double Cherries (Ryan Fraser and Joshua King) and double Wolves (Diogo Jota and Raul Jimenez). Ultimately, I’m not convinced that Alexis Sanchez will justify his premium price tag in Jose Mourinho’s turgid Red Devils team, but I’ve compromised on the budget for my attackers (welcome Andre Gray and Charlie Austin) to squeeze in the Chilean because Claude Puel’s visiting Leicester side was one of the leakiest travellers last season.

The Community Champion

Representing the Community against the Scout Picks in Gameweek 1 will be LosBlancos, whose rank of 67,940 in 2017/18 was his best in three seasons of playing FPL.

The Community Champion who has the best lead over the Scouts during 2018/19 will win a £100 Amazon voucher (currently we can only offer Amazon.co.uk or Amazon.com vouchers).

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