The Scout Squad picks for FPL Double Gameweek 29

Many Fantasy managers will face a dilemma or two as they prepare for a hastily arranged Double Gameweek 29, with Manchester City and Arsenal’s postponed Gameweek 28 clash now set to take place next Wednesday.

Assets from Pep Guardiola and Mikel Arteta’s sides unsurprisingly feature prominently in this week’s Scout Squad selection, although there are still a significant number of appealing Fantasy Premier League assets with a ‘single Gameweek’ for our panel to consider in this weekly precursor to the Scout Picks.

Regular readers will know the format of this recurring feature but for the uninitiated, staff members Paul, David, Neale and Geoff each propose an 18-man squad of players for the approaching Gameweek and explain their notable inclusions/omissions below.

The 72 nominations listed will then be narrowed down to a squad of 15 (with the starting XI not exceeding a total cost of £85m) for the weekly Scout Picks selection ahead of the earlier-than-usual Gameweek 29 deadline at 11:30 GMT on Saturday.

There are requirements for at least one sub-£5.0m goalkeeper, at least one defender costing £5.0m or less, at least one midfielder listed at £6.5m or below and at least one forward priced at £7.5m or lower.

Each panelist is restricted to no more than three players from the same team, as is the case in FPL.

We will again be adding a captaincy to the Scout Picks, with details of that revealed on Friday.

Most popular picks: Dean Henderson, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Matt Doherty, Kevin De Bruyne, Mohamed Salah, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (four), Alex McCarthy, Marcos Alonso, Enda Stevens, Diogo Jota, Dominic Calvert-Lewin (three)

DAVID SAID…

I’m backing the Sheffield United defence to come back with a bang in Gameweek 29 as Norwich come to Carrow Road.

Over the last four matches, only three teams have conceded fewer big chances than the Blades, while, over that same period, Norwich are joint-bottom for shots in the box.

For that reason, I’ve selected Dean Henderson and Enda Stevens, who I expect to be fit in time to face the Canaries – but definitely wait for Chris Wilder’s next press conference, of course.

I’ve also included a defensive double-up on Southampton, despite their poor display at West Ham. In Gameweek 29, they host a Newcastle outfit that have fashioned the joint-fewest big chances over their last four.

Matt Doherty is starting to look like an important asset at both ends of the pitch. Over their last four matches, Wolves are second only to Manchester City for fewest big chances conceded and the player himself is in the top two for touches and shots in the box among defenders during that time.

Kevin De Bruyne and Nicolas Pépé are my top two midfielders in light of the Double Gameweek 29 announcement.

The former is the only Manchester City asset I would ordinarily feel comfortable predicting two starts in the space of a few days (providing he’s fit, in light of Wednesday’s news!), while Pépé has been in excellent form of late.

Over the last 10 matches, the only Arsenal player with more goals than the Ivory Coast international is Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, while none of Pépé’s colleagues has more assists than him in that time.

West Ham’s presence at the wrong end of the table for defensive statistics, is why I’m more confident in an Arsenal double-up than a Manchester City one, the latter without Aymeric Laporte still, which could see Mikel Arteta’s side nick something at the Etihad Stadium.

Despite the 3-0 defeat at Watford, Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mané still make it into my selection this week as Bournemouth come to Anfield.

The Cherries lost both of their last away trips at Liverpool 3-0 and look just as vulnerable in the build-up to Gameweek 29. In their last four matches, Eddie Howe’s men have conceded more shots in the box than every Premier League side other than West Ham.

During that period, Salah is in the division’s top five for goal attempts in the penalty area and Mané has goals in three of his last four at Anfield.

Dominic Calvert-Lewin continues to tear up the Premier League, scoring more goals since Carlo Ancelotti took over at Everton than any other player. Chelsea continue to have issues defending at home, so I’m expecting the division’s form player to exploit that to his, and his owners’ advantage.

Finally, with Raúl Jiménez and Diogo Jota looking as good as each other right now, rather than agonise of which of them to chose, I’ve simply asked the question: ‘why not both?’

NEALE SAID…

I’m still digesting Tuesday’s Double Gameweek announcement and in something of a quandary as I consider the host of Fantasy options not just for the Scout Picks but also my own FPL squad.

Will Kevin De Bruyne be fit after the revelation about his shoulder injury? Can any other Manchester City outfielder guarantee us two starts in Gameweek 29? What does Sergio Aguero’s game-time at Sheffield Wednesday in midweek mean for his minutes over the coming week? And is any Arsenal player worthy of consideration apart from Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang? I can see why some Fantasy managers are lukewarm about this mini-Double Gameweek.

Amid the clamour for Arsenal and City assets, it’s easy to overlook that Liverpool, as below-par as they have been of late, have arguably the best standalone fixture of Gameweek 29, with an improved but still porous Bournemouth side visiting Anfield on Saturday.

Trent Alexander-Arnold, Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane cost a pretty penny and, with De Bruyne and Aubameyang well-backed by the panel, I’ve one eye on the budget when excluding the likes of Aguero and Nicolas Pepe.

Instead, I’ve plumped for Bukayo Saka. It’s easy to get carried away with his Fantasy potential, as he’s ultimately a left-back that doesn’t get clean sheet points and his three most-recent assists came from his only key passes of the last six Gameweeks; hardly sustainable, you’d think.

Still, a £4.6m-rated budget-freeing option who is often the fifth man in the Arsenal attack and who is potentially (Kieran Tierney’s fitness permitting) looking good for two starts in Gameweek 29 ought to be in the conversation.

My stubbornness knows no bounds as I plump for fixtures over form in the guise of Jamie Vardy, James Maddison and, perhaps to a lesser extent, Danny Ings.

We’re really in last-chance saloon territory with the two Leicester assets: the visit of an Aston Villa side who have shipped more goals than anyone else this season (no-one has kept fewer clean sheets, either) gives them little excuse not to deliver this time.

The Oli McBurnie pick perhaps needs a bit of elaboration.

Sheffield United’s burly striker, who has started six league matches in a row up top, has been posting some eye-catching numbers for the Blades.

When FPL assets are filtered by their last half-dozen appearances, McBurnie is joint-sixth for big chances and top for headed opportunities.

Only Arsenal have allowed more chances in the air than Norwich City, Sheffield United’s opponents this weekend, when clubs are sorted by their last six matches.

All five of my defenders could supplement clean sheets with attacking returns in plum home fixtures this weekend, while Bernd Leno tops my goalkeeping picks: the Arsenal shot-stopper, joint-second for saves made this season, has two clean sheets to his name in the last three Gamewees and will have ample opportunity to claim further save points at the Etihad.

PAUL SAID…

Ultimately, the set-up of our Scout Picks will be determined by the extent to which we invest in the Double Gameweek 29 sides.

While Kevin De Bruyne and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang are, fitness-permitting, surely nailed on in the XI, the likes of Buyako Sako and Eddie Nketiah could justify their selection against West Ham alone.

Sako has belied his role as a left-back by providing an assist in each of Arsenal’s last three home league matches.

Nketiah, meanwhile, has started each of the Gunners’ last three domestic matches, scoring in back-to-back encounters with Everton and Portsmouth.

Both cost under £5.0m and, with ownerships under 3%, could be very handy differential enablers.

Wolves look like one of the strongest go-to options among the single-Gameweek sides.

Matt Doherty and Diogo Jota welcome Brighton on the back of successive double-digit returns, yet both are very much differentials and sit around 6% ownership.

No defender surpassed Doherty’s five shots in the box in the previous two Gameweeks, with the Irishman producing a goal or an assist in each of his last four in all competitions.

Six goals and an assist in his previous three in all competitions is enough to earn Jota the nod over his team-mate Raul Jimenez.

I expect Wolves to revert to a 3-5-2 formation against the Seagulls, allowing Adama Traore more time to fully recuperate from his ongoing shoulder complaint.

Marcos Alonso’s return to the Chelsea team-mate could also be worth our consideration.

Three goals in the last two Gameweeks have helped him to 24 points, despite the Blues conceding in both those matches.

Alonso fired produced 10 shots in that period, more than any other player in FPL.

Meanwhile, his six chances created were bettered by just three other players.

The Spaniard has produced attacking or defensive returns in all eight of his starts this season, yet sits in only 3% of squads.

GEOFF SAID…

Arsenal’s two fixtures in Gameweek 29 prompt a triple-up in my picks, as I look to Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Nicolas Pepe and Bernd Leno. While the West Ham fixture should help these players to strong returns I can also see them performing well against a sometimes leaky Manchester City side that are without Aymeric Laporte.

City’s two matches look more difficult and, while they can score well against anyone, one or both of these games could be tight. I’ve opted for two instead of three City players with Sergio Aguero and Kevin De Bruyne looking, to me, the surest bets.

It’s rare for only two Liverpool players to make my picks, particularly with a favourable home match, but against Bournemouth, I’ve excluded Sadio Mane and instead opted for Mohamed Salah and Trent Alexander-Arnold.

Matt Doherty has three attacking returns in the last two Gameweeks and three clean sheets in the last four, while Marcos Alonso has the attacking stats with three goals in the last two Gameweeks, coming close to scoring more.

While Doherty and Alonso provide attacking returns, I look at two cheaper options for my final two defensive picks in Caglar Soyuncu and Romain Saiss, who both have favourable home fixtures. My final two goalkeeper spots also go to players with strong home fixtures in Gameweek 29: Dean Henderson and Alex McCarthy.

I round out my picks with three mid-priced forward selections: Diogo Jota, Dominic Calvert-Lewin and Danny Ings.

THE COMMUNITY CHAMPION

Each week, one of the Fantasy Football Scout community takes on the Scout Picks by pitting their chosen XI against ours.

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 Moderators and Contributors League for the following season.

In Gameweek 28, ZoumasBloomers lost 32-47 to our Scout Picks.

gwitbrock‘s winning margin of 23 points in Gameweek 25 is the target to beat.

Our Scout Picks article on Friday will have further details on who is representing the community this week.