The Scout Picks are back for Gameweek 11 with another Manchester City triple-up.
Pep Guardiola’s men host a Southampton side that was humiliated in Gameweek 10 – and we’re expecting a similar story at the Etihad Stadium.
After deliberating over David, Neale, Paul and Geoff’s Scout Squad submissions, we have come up with our favourite starting XI for this weekend.
This time around we line up in the 3-5-2 formation, coming in at £82.6m, £0.4m under our budget of £83.0m.
Goalkeeper
Despite losing his clean sheet to Sheffield United in Gamewee 10, West Ham goalkeeper Roberto (£4.4m) gets a second stab at the Scout Picks. He was selected by all four of our pundits for a home match against Newcastle United. The Magpies come to the London Stadium bottom of the league for shots, shots in the box, big chances and shots on target over the last four away matches.
Defenders
Over the last four Gameweeks, no player has created more chances than Trent Alexander-Arnold (£7.2m). That tells us attacking returns should return very soon and a trip to an Aston Villa side that has conceded more shots in the box than any other side since Gameweek 7 seems the perfect time for it.
With Oleksandr Zinchenko and Angeliño both suffering from injury problems recently, we have to make the most of a nailed-on Benjamin Mendy (£5.9m). In Gameweek 11, the Frenchman should start at left-back against a Southampton side that, even before their 9-0 loss to Leicester, had conceded more chances down the right than any other Premier League club this season. That should play into Mendy’s hands who displayed his exceptional creativity and advanced positions in a run of games last season.
It brings us great pleasure to welcome John Lundstram (£4.7m) back into the Scout Picks for a Gameweek 11 clash with Burnley. Already cemented into Fantasy folklore, his rapidly increasing price-tag is not quite enough to put us off just yet. The Blades remain the joint-best defence in the league (eight goals conceded) while Burnley may struggle to change that if Chris Wood is not deemed fit. Meanwhile, Lundstram has more successful passes in the final third than any of his colleagues in the last four at Bramall Lane.
Midfielders
Pep Guardiola’s rotation roulette is often very hard to call but every now and then we are thrown a little bone. In Gameweek 11, the midweek rest for Raheem Sterling (£12.1m) means he looks nailed-on to start against Southampton, who conceded nine times last time out. While that performance was very out of keeping with their usual defensive displays, Ralph Hasenhüttl might struggle to turn things around at the Etihad Stadium given the calibre of the home side. Furthermore, Sterling, joint-second in the league for shots in the box over the last four matches, should also enjoy facing the Saints’ brittle right, whose frailties we also referenced when explaining Mendy’s involvement in our selection.
All four of our Scout Squad pundits asked for Liverpool attack once again and, for the second Gameweek in a row, Sadio Mané (£11.9m) emerges based largely on cost. However, we do think that a trip to Aston Villa does play into the Senegalese international’s hands or rather, his head. Since the season began only two teams have allowed more headed efforts than Dean Smith’s men, while Mané was top for producing these among midfielders in 2018/19. Furthermore, over the last four matches, no Premier League side has allowed more shots in the box than Aston Villa.
Kevin de Bruyne (£10.2m) completes our triple-up on Manchester City assets for their favourable meeting with Southampton. He was an unused substitute against the Saints in the EFL Cup on Tuesday night so, as per usual, looks very likely to start the next Premier League encounter. De Bruyne has been a reliable source of points at the Etihad Stadium this season, registering attacking returns in all of his four league starts there, making for three double-figure hauls. Furthermore, none of his colleagues can boast a better minutes per chance created over the last four Gameweeks.
Pascal Groß (£6.4m) duly delivered for the Scout Picks in Gameweek 10 so he earns a second successive call-up to the starting XI. This week Brighton go up against a Norwich defence that has conceded the joint-highest number of big chances in the last four matches. Meanwhile, just three players in the Premier League have created more chances than Groß in that time, so we’re expecting some assists from the mid-price midfielder.
Also producing some impressive creative figures in recent weeks is West Ham’s Andriy Yarmolenko (£6.0m). Over the last four matches, he has fashioned more big chances than even de Bruyne and Sterling. The Ukraine international has averaged 7.0 points per home game this season, which bodes well ahead of Newcastle’s visit to the London Stadium.
Forwards
Watford may have shown some defensive improvement at home recently, with 0-0 draws against Sheffield United and Bournemouth, but Chelsea could prove a tougher prospect for them. Tammy Abraham (£7.8m) goes into Gameweek 11 with more attacking returns away from home (seven) than any other player this season and has registered the same number of shots in the box as Jamie Vardy over the last four Gameweeks (10).
Neal Maupay (£6.0m) completes our Brighton double-up as they prepare to host a Norwich defence that has conceded an average of two goals per away match this season. The centre-forward himself has scored in each of his last three at the Amex Stadium and, in the last four Gameweeks, is joint-second for shots in the box among forwards priced under £6.5m.
Substitutes
Dean Henderson (£4.6m) was a popular choice for the Scout Picks this week with Sheffield United hosting a Burnley side potentially without Wood. Unfortunately for him, Lundstram offers greater attacking potential and Roberto was a little bit cheaper.
Watford’s improvements since Quique Sanchez Flores arrived have largely been defensive rather than going forward. For that reason, Chelsea clean sheet potential still looks good this weekend, hence Fikayo Tomori‘s (£4.8m) appearance on the bench.
Issa Diop (£4.5m) provides a decent alternative way to cover the West Ham defence this weekend.
Aaron Connolly (£4.6m) is a budget alternative to buying into Brighton’s attack for a very appealing home match against Norwich. The budget forward has four attacking returns in the last three matches.
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.
Here’s how we voted for Gameweek 11:
Community Champion
Representing the community against the Scout Picks in Gameweek 11 is Tea & Busquets.
They have gone for a 3-5-2 of Roberto; Alexander-Arnold, Mendy, Lundstram; Salah, Sterling, De Bruyne, Yarmolenko, Trossard; Vardy, Connolly.
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 win for AK in Gameweek 10, the 60-43 score-line equalling the current winning margin of 17 points recorded by irfansheikh in Gameweek 7.
