Double Gameweek 34 Scout Picks – Brighton defence makes the final cut

The Scout Picks has gone for a double-up on Brighton defensive players for Double Gameweek 34.

The Seagulls face two appealing home matches over the next few days, inspiring our team selection.

We have looked over the submissions from our Scout Squad pundits Paul, Joe, Neale and Peter to come up with what we believe is the best XI for this round of fixtures.

The team lines up in a 3-4-3 formation and comes in at £83.4m, £0.1m under budget.

Goalkeeper

It was hard to look beyond Mat Ryan (£4.4m) for the goalkeeper position this weekend with Bournemouth and Cardiff both coming to the Amex Stadium in Double Gameweek 34. Brighton have two clean sheets in their last four at home, while Bournemouth and Cardiff both average less than one goal per away match this season. The Bluebirds especially look unlikely to score considering they are joint-bottom for big chances in the last four away games, and joint-second bottom for shots on target in such matches.

Defenders

Ben Davies (£5.6m) is our chosen representative from the Tottenham Hotspur defence before they face Huddersfield on Saturday lunch-time. The Terriers remain the division’s lowest scorers this season, and have the third-worst goal conversion rate over the last four matches too. Meanwhile, Davies looks likely to start against Huddersfield after Champions League action, with Danny Rose playing the full 90 minutes on Tuesday night.

Shane Duffy (£4.8m) was the overwhelming favourite defender for Double Gameweek 34 among the Scout Squad pundits. Not surprisingly, he was chosen as the number one in this position by all four of them. We’ve already covered his clean sheet potential when detailing the case for goalkeeper Ryan. Here we can bring you a bit about his goal threat. In the last four home matches, Duffy has registered 10 shots in the box, more than any other Brighton player or any other defender in that time too. Furthermore, Cardiff are the joint second worst for attempts from set plays conceded in the last four away matches.

Brighton aren’t the only side with a Double Gameweek this weekend, with Cardiff City also enjoying two fixtures. Sean Morrison (£4.7m) is our chosen representative from the Bluebirds for similar reasons to Duffy. Brighton are second-bottom of the league for big chances in the last four matches so a clean sheet is possible on Tuesday night. Prior to that Cardiff travel to Turf Moor to face a Burnley side that has struggled with set pieces this season.

Midfielders

Having featured only from the bench against Spurs, Kevin de Bruyne (£9.7m) looks the most likely Manchester City midfielder to start against Crystal Palace on Sunday afternoon. For that reason, we think he’ll do well against an Eagles side currently experiencing a few shortages at the back. In his last four appearances, de Bruyne has averaged a key pass every 18 minutes, better than any of his colleagues. He also scored in his last Premier League outing, averaging a shot on goal every 30.2 minutes.

Name-checked by all four Scout Squad pundits, Christian Eriksen (£9.3m) is the first of two Tottenham Hotspur midfielders chosen for Double Gameweek 34. Injuries to Harry Kane have historically improved the prospects of his colleagues in this position and the Danish international was a beneficiary last time he was out. Offering both goal threat and creativity, Eriksen has great points potential against a Huddersfield side with one clean sheet on the road since Gameweek 14.

Son Heung-min (£8.7m) completes the double-up on Spurs options for this match. Obviously, he will benefit from the same poor defence as Eriksen and although the Dane has looked more likely to do well in recent weeks, Kane’s absence could push Son back into a centre-forward’s role. On the subject of rotation worries, we believe that both the South Korean and Eriksen will start for Spurs. With Kane ruled out and Dele Alli unlikely to be risked with the Champions League looming, at least two players would have to come in for them. If we assume that these replacements are Fernando Llorente and Lucas Moura, that does not leave much room to also bring someone in for Eriksen or Son.

Victor Camarasa (£4.5m) is our budget midfielder for Double Gameweek 34 on account of his two fixtures. He has created more chances than any Cardiff player over the last four matches and is doing well for goal threat too. Compared to his colleagues, Camarasa is joint-top for shots in the box over the last four matches, and top of the pile for shots on target. Meanwhile, his role in set pieces could come in handy – Burnley are in the bottom three for attempts conceded from set plays in the last four home matches.

Forwards

We are expecting Sergio Aguero (£11.7m) to start against Crystal Palace on Sunday afternoon after he was withdrawn around the 70-minute mark against Spurs. Like de Bruyne, he will face an Eagles’ defence that will be missing James Tomkins and Mamadou Sakho and given that only four players have managed more shots on target than Aguero in the last four matches, he is in a good place to capitalise. He has attacking returns in three of his last five away matches too.

No player has recorded as many shots on target as Romelu Lukaku (£10.8m) in the last four matches, who is also top for shots in the box and big chances. This weekend West Ham come to Old Trafford, with Huddersfield the only side to have allowed more shots in the box in their last four away trips. Meanwhile, Lukaku has an excellent scoring record against the Hammers, with nine goals in his last 10 Premier League meetings with them.

Jamie Vardy (£9.2m) is in the form of his life as Leicester chase down a European place in the final weeks of the season. He is behind only two players for shots on target in the last four matches, while Lukaku is the only one to have been afforded more big chances than the Leicester man in that time. With those underlying statistics, it would be hard to suggest his scoring run will end at home to a Newcastle side without a clean sheet on the road since Gameweek 17.

Substitutes

A clean sheet for the Red Devils, and Victor Lindelöf (£5.0m), seems on the cards given West Ham’s form of late. With little left to play for this season, the Hammers have not been offering much going forward. In the last four away matches, Manuel Pellegrini’s men are joint second worst for shots in the box, joint second worst for shots on target, inside the bottom five for big chances and bottom of the pile for goal conversion.

Abdoulaye Doucouré (£5.9m) looks to be the most reliable Watford midfielder for those putting together a squad for Double Gameweek 34. He has had more shots in the box than any of his colleagues in the last four matches, while Arsenal are still without a clean sheet on the road this season.

For that reason, Troy Deeney (£5.9m) also makes it onto the bench this week. Although not completely nailed on in the Watford side he has just one fewer shot on target than Mohamed Salah and Harry Kane in the last four matches and is level with Eden Hazard in that respect. Deeney can also offer decent creativity too, just two forwards playing more key passes in the last four matches than him.

Community Champion

Representing the community against the Scout Picks in Blank Gameweek 33 is Jazz. They have opted for a bold 4-5-1 formation of Ryan; Duffy, Dunk, Morrison, Vertonghen; Moura, Son, Martial, Sané, Sigurdsson; Lukaku.

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.

Circusmonkey was beaten 65-46 in Blank Gameweek 33. fclackless‘s winning margin of 33 points (77-44) in Gameweek 10 is still the current target to beat.