The Scout Squad panel return to offer their long-list of candidates to be considered for our regular Scout Picks selection later in the week.

The 72 nominations will be whittled down to a squad of 15 (with the starting XI not exceeding £83m and no club represented by more than three players) ahead of the earlier-than-usual Gameweek 8 deadline at 19:00 BST on Friday.

Az, Joe, Paul and Peter, who have more top 1,000 finishes to their collective names (five) than Alvaro Morata has had shots on target this season, explain their noteworthy squad selections and omissions in the article below.

This piece has been written and edited in advance of Wednesday night’s UEFA Champions League fixtures – so our panel will be hoping that the likes of Harry Kane, Kieran Trippier, Son Heung-min and Mohamed Salah come through their European exertions unscathed.

There is unanimous support for two assets from both Burnley and Wolves, while Alexandre Lacazette, Marko Arnautovic and Eden Hazard have been widely backed despite having away fixtures in Gameweek 8.

Most popular picks: Joe Hart, Rui Patricio, Kieran Trippier, Matt Doherty, Eden Hazard, James Maddison, Johann Berg Gudmundsson, Harry Kane, Alexandre Lacazette, Marko Arnautovic (four) Son Heung-min, Jamie Vardy (three)

Paul said…

Heavy investment in Spurs and Chelsea looks the likeliest scenario for our Gameweek 8 Scout Picks.

Along with the usual suspects, Son Heung-min retains a spot on my list, with his case at home to Cardiff strengthened by injuries to midfield team-mates.

At home for Spurs last season, Son was ranked second for both goals (nine) and assists (six) and played a part in 44% of their goals when on the pitch – more than Harry Kane’s 42%.

Manchester United options are hardly inspiring right now, yet you’d have to fancy their defence at home to Newcastle.

The Magpies have scored one goal in their three road trips and rank bottom for shots away from home (21).

Their apparent weakness down the right could benefit Luke Shaw at Old Trafford.

Only two teams have allowed more crosses down the right-hand side than Newcastle, which bodes well for Shaw’s runs down the hosts’ left flank.

Huddersfield’s aerial weakness also gives Johann Berg Gudmundsson the chance to maintain his run of form.

The Terriers rank third bottom for headed attempts conceded (20), which suggests that the Icelander’s delivery will again be a key weapon at Turf Moor on Saturday.

Joe said…

Fulham, Huddersfield and Cardiff are already shaping up to be this season’s whipping boys, having conceded a league-worst 16 goals each so far.

As a result, I’m keen to continue heavily backing teams up against these relegation candidates.

Cardiff’s trip to Wembley propels Spurs’ creator-in-chief Kieran Trippier, who has three double-digit Fantasy Premier League returns in his six league matches, to the summit of my defender picks. The London side’s rejuvenated forward Harry Kane, with three goals in his last two games, also takes top billing as my number one striker.

Selecting players up against Cardiff certainly proved fruitful last week, with Burnley’s Johann Berg Gudmundsson rewarding my selection with a 13-point haul away to the relegation certainties.

With Huddersfield dropping by Turf Moor he earns an instant recall, as does Clarets keeper Joe Hart, given that David Wagner’s side have proved equally poor up front, managing a record low three goals so far.

I think Arsenal are being unfairly overlooked this week, with only one of their players, Mesut Ozil, among the top 20 transfers in.

I’m hoping either he or one of my other two Gunner picks, Alexandre Lacazette and Hector Bellerin, makes the final cut given that they travel to that aforementioned woeful Cottagers backline.

Elsewhere, Leicester’s home tie against an Everton side with just one clean sheet this season sees me turn to the Foxes’ penalty-taking, sure-starting frontman Jamie Vardy as well as the man most likely to assist him, James Maddison, who has attacking returns in his last four run-outs.

A final mention goes to Liverpool’s hosting of Manchester City. If any player will shine in this game it is likely to be Reds winger Mohamed Salah, who has three goals in as many home starts. I’m backing him to annoy the 187,000 FPL managers who have jettisoned him this week.

Az said…

It looks like a good week for attack-minded defenders, with Kieran Trippier and Marcos Alonso enjoying favourable fixtures against Cardiff and Southampton – these two will be a shoo-in for the Scout Picks, surely.

Again, I can’t separate Jonny and Matt Doherty, who combined for Wolves’ second goal on Saturday, and they are playing a Palace team who are yet to score in front of their own fans, so I think attacking and defensive returns are likely. I also really like the look of Jose Holebas this week, who is creating chances and taking set pieces – a warning though that he’s one yellow card away from a one-match ban.

Of my selections, I found the midfielders the hardest to call, with some of the big names (Raheem Sterling, Mohamed Salah, Sadio Mane) playing against each other. It means Eden Hazard is by a considerable distance the stand-out pick and is surely in everyone’s team now as he carries on his relentless form.

Mesut Ozil, Son Heung-min and Johann Berg Gudmundsson are all flying under the radar, with less than 5% ownership and all have great fixtures this week, so if you are looking for a punt, these are the ones I’d consider.

James Maddison remains in my picks and is ticking over nicely – I can’t tell you how happy I am to see him with the star next to his name after starting the season with him!

Up front, Harry Kane showed his class against Huddersfield and I reckon anyone going without him this weekend will be fearing the worst. Cardiff are a mess, and he should have a field day even with some of his usual supply lines missing out.

I think my other four forwards could be put in any order really, as all look like good options. Roberto Firmino is my Liverpool player of choice at the moment and is looking the best of their mighty trio.

Alexandre Lacazette just keeps picking up points, while Marko Arnautovic is looking irresistible – I have brought him into my own team this week and am sad to say that I think he will do some real damage against the Seagulls on Friday night.

My last pick is Troy Deeney – perhaps not quite as glamorous as some of the others, but he should do the job against Bournemouth.

Peter said…

First, a quick tip of the hat to Paul’s analysis of the stats last week after he spent a prophetic paragraph focusing on “Newcastle’s weakness from dead-ball situations” and advocated a “double-up on Harry Maguire and James Maddison at St James’ Park”. Well played, sir.

And hopefully, I’m not chasing last week’s points by keeping faith in the Foxes this week as they entertain Everton. No defender has had more attempts in the box (eight) over the last four Gameweeks than Maguire, with team-mate Maddison having created the most chances (13) of any midfielder during that period – not quite a match made in heaven, though, with the Toffees surprisingly robust when defending set-pieces.

Meanwhile, Jamie Vardy (six) sits behind only Harry Kane (eight) and Raul Jimenez (seven) for shots on target in the last four Gameweeks and, of course, sat out the game against Liverpool through suspension.

A triple-up at Wembley also seems inevitable with Cardiff having conceded the joint-highest goals in the league (16) but having found the net only four times themselves – only Huddersfield are less potent. Like many (and subject to news from the Barcelona match), I’m getting behind England duo, Harry Kane and Kieran Trippier, and A.N. Other. My third choice comes in the form of Son Heung-min, with only Richarlison (five) having fired more shots than the South Korean (four) in the last two games, albeit with only one strike on target.

Any definitive statement about whether Ben Davies or Danny Rose will be favoured for the clash could change my mind though, with Davies’ attacking stats particularly intriguing prior to his spot being usurped by the Englishman for the last three matches.

Having already identified Newcastle’s set-piece frailties and with Luke Shaw gaining an assist from a corner in last week’s collapse against West Ham, the full-back is my sole selection from the Red Devils, despite an inviting fixture against a Magpies team with just one goal on their travels this season. Something is indeed rotten in the state of Stretford.

I can see why some managers (though not me) have decided to use their Free Hit chip this week, with the outcome of Sunday’s Manchester City’s visit to Anfield unpredictable. Liverpool’s visit to Stamford Bridge last Saturday was a warning as only Eden Hazard emerged with returns from the “popular” Red and Blue assets. The most prolific strike forces (36 goals combined) take on the most miserly defences (only six conceded between them) and I’m happy enough to watch the clash without any FPL interest.

The Community Champion

This week’s champion is Hazard is an FPL legend (ConteClub), who has finished inside the top 100k in both of his previous seasons playing FPL and currently lies just outside the top 50,000.

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).

Last week’s champion, Boris Bodega, lost out to our Scout Picks 79-59 with his 5-3-2 line-up of Hart (3); Walker (7), Laporte (6), Trippier (11), Delph (0), Tarkowski (1); Son (3), Hazard (10), Richarlison (3); Kane (13), Aubameyang (2).

Eden Wizard’s Gameweek 2 victory over the Scout Squad crew by a score of 77-68 remains the deficit to beat.

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