Two premium forwards in Gameweek 6 Scout Picks selection

Premium attackers from Manchester City, Liverpool and Arsenal have all made it into the Gameweek 6 Scout Picks XI.

After a tough week of deliberating over David, Neale, Paul and Geoff’s Scout Squad submissions, we have come up with our team.

This week it comes in bang on the £83.0m budget and we line up in a 4-3-3 formation.

Goalkeeper

Mat Ryan (£4.6m) is our goalkeeper for Gameweek 6 after all of our Scout Squad pundits included him in their submissions. Brighton were unfortunate not to keep a clean sheet at home to Burnley last week and will fancy their chances of registering one when they face a goal-shy Newcastle side this weekend. The Magpies have found the net in just one of their two home matches so far this season.

Defenders

While Liverpool’s backline is still yet to hit the heights of last season, Trent Alexander-Arnold (£7.1m) remains the most creative defender in the Premier League after five matches. His role in corners and free-kicks should help him stand out once again when the Reds travel to face Chelsea this weekend.

Over the last four Gameweeks, Lucas Digne (£6.2m) has ranked second among defenders for chances created, suggesting he still has something to offer Fantasy managers even if Everton’s defence has not delivered as expected. That said, a home match against Sheffield United, who have laboured in attack at times this season, could be a chance for Digne to add a clean sheet onto some attacking returns.

Wolves have not started the 2019/20 Premier League campaign too strongly and were particularly wasteful in front of goal on Thursday night too. Therefore, Gary Cahill (£4.5m) comes into the Scout Picks to represent the Crystal Palace defence. The Eagles have clean sheets in both of their home matches so far this season while Wolves are in the bottom three for total shots and efforts on target after the first five matches.

We are backing a 0-0 result at St James’ Park on Saturday afternoon as Newcastle defender Jamaal Lascelles (£4.5m) also makes the grade. Only four teams have registered fewer shots than Brighton in the first five matches of the season.

Midfielders

Sadio Mané (£11.6m) comes into the Scout Picks this week as a saving compared to Liverpool colleague Mohamed Salah. His inclusion should not necessarily be considered insistence that the Senegalese international is a better option than the Egyptian long-term, who was part of all Scout Squat pundit selections for Gameweek 6 bar Geoff’s. We simply went for Mané so that we could accommodate lavish spending elsewhere. Obviously, we still think that the cheaper Liverpool midfielder is not a bad option, having already scored twice and assisted once on the road this season while Chelsea are yet to keep a clean sheet.

Following a benching in Gameweek 5 and just 77 minutes against Shakhtar Donetsk midweek, Kevin de Bruyne (£9.8m) looks certain to return to the Manchester City starting line-up for the visit of Watford on Saturday afternoon. Despite missing much of the game at Norwich, de Bruyne is still second in the whole division for key passes over the last four Gameweeks while no player has fashioned more big chances in that time either. Meanwhile, Watford are yet to keep a clean sheet this season, conceding an average of two goals per game.

Just like his centre-forward colleague, Todd Cantwell (£4.9m) is starting to become a fixture-proof option after scoring against Manchester City in Gameweek 5. For options priced under £5.0m, no player has more points than the Norwich midfielder (27) and his form seems somewhat sustainable even with Burnley coming up this weekend. The Clarets have kept just one clean sheet this season, on opening weekend, while Cantwell himself has been afforded the same number of big chances as Mané, Vardy and Haller this season, whilst also creating nine chances.

Forwards

Sergio Aguero (£12.1m) was handed a complete rest as Gabriel Jesus led the Manchester City attack for 90 minutes in their Champions League win over Shakhtar Donetsk, which means he is almost certain to start Gameweek 6. Across the first five matches of the Premier League season, Aguero has scored seven goals and is yet to blank as well. Over the last four matches, the Argentinian is also top of the league for shots in the box. With such impressive form, it seems unlikely that a Watford defence (whose problems we have already highlighted) will be able to keep him out at the Etihad Stadium.

Another premium forward yet to blank this season is Arsenal’s Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (£11.0m). He may have played 90 minutes in the Gunners’ Europa League win on Thursday night, but manager Unai Emery currently has no viable alternative up-front. With a start against Aston Villa all but confirmed, he will fancy his chances at continuing a scoring run. While Aston Villa have kept a clean sheet in each of their last two at home, they have shipped four goals in two away matches this season. Even if it’s not a thrashing at the hands of Arsenal, Villa should be expected to let them through at least once and given Aubameyang’s form, he is likely to be involved.

Ashley Barnes (£6.7m) has disappointed his owners in recent weeks but he has faced some tough fixtures. Gameweek 4 pitted him against Liverpool’s defence, while Brighton specifically tailored their defence to negate aerial threat last time out. Norwich do not strike us as a team capable of doing that, more intent on playing their own game. For that reason, we’re backing Barnes to hit back with a bang this weekend, having netted four goals in the first three matches of the campaign.

Substitutes

Vicente Guaita (£5.0m) was a popular option in the Scout Squad submissions on account of Palace’s home defensive record so far this season. He was too expensive to get in the Scout Picks XI but we still had room for the goalkeeper on our bench.

Aston Villa have blanked two matches in a row now which is why Ainsley Maitland-Niles (£5.1m) received some attention in the Scout Squad. Two assists in the last five matches and midweek rest both bode well for him ahead of Gameweek 6.

Dwight McNeil (£6.0m) is our cheaper alternative into the Burnley attack ahead of the visit of Norwich’s porous defence to Turf Moor. He has two assists so far this season.

Teemu Pukki (£7.1m) continues to be in excellent form with six goals and two assists in the first five matches but this week we did not have enough money to get him into the starting XI.

The Captain

The Scout Picks now has a captain for the 2019/20 campaign.

This skipper is chosen using the conclusions of the latest Captain Sensible article and a four-way vote between David, Neale, Paul and Geoff.

Because the use of Fantasy Football Scout data is used so heavily in this process, the captain we choose each Gameweek will be known only to those who have signed up to Membership for the 2019/20 season.

It will be revealed to the public only when the deadline for the Gameweek has passed.

Community Champion

Representing the community against the Scout Picks in Gameweek 6 is irfansheikh.

They have gone for a 3-4-3 of Dubravka; Aurier, Pieters, Willems; Salah, De Bruyne (c), D Silva, McNeil; Aguero, Rashford, Abraham.

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.

It was a draw for the Scout Picks in Gameweek 5 as Warby84 tied us to a 43-43 scoreline.

That means InsaneFC‘s winning margin of 11 points in Gameweek 4 remains the score to beat for the 2019/20 season.