Wolves assets get a Fantasy Premier League reprieve in Gameweek 4, as they take up three spots in the latest Scout Picks line-up.
Despite a disastrous 4-0 defeat at West Ham last time out, this weekend pits Nuno Espirito Santo’s men against a poor Fulham outfit.
As ever, our Scout Picks selection draws on the Scout Squad submissions by David, Neale, Tom and Andy earlier this week.
The most recent line-up comes in the traditional 3-4-3 formation and £0.1m inside our £83.0m budget.
Goalkeeper
Arsenal’s midweek penalty-saving hero Bernd Leno (£5.0m) was a popular choice among the Scout Squad before he’d even taken to the field against Liverpool. The Gunners face a Sheffield United side inside the bottom two for shots on target so far this season, who still haven’t got on the scoresheet either. Leno has also made nine saves in the first three Gameweeks, averaging at three per match, the amount required for one save point.
Defenders
Trent Alexander-Arnold (£7.5m) was unfortunate not to come out of Gameweek 3 with a hatful of assists; such was the persistence of his excellent crossing delivery against Arsenal. While Aston Villa’s defence has improved in recent months, Alexander-Arnold could be the key to unlocking Dean Smith’s men. Over the first two matches, they have conceded double the number of chances down the left-hand side as they have on the right.
Conor Coady (£5.0m) is the most nailed-on Wolves defender to start their Gameweek 4 hosting of Fulham. While it was a disastrous showing for the back-three at the London Stadium, we are backing Nuno Espirito Santo to put things to right. Only two teams have a lower goal conversion rate than Fulham so far this season, who have already blanked twice in the first three matches.
James Justin (£4.7m) looks as if he can still offer some value in comparison with team-mate Timothy Castagne. After the first three matches of the season, the Englishman is ahead of the Belgian for shots, crosses and final-third touches and, of course, offers a cheaper price-tag too.
Midfielders
It was a tough call between Mohamed Salah (£12.1m) and Sadio Mané for Gameweek 4, with each Liverpool asset getting two votes each in the Scout Squad. As Tom and Andy selected him as their first-choices, the Egyptian won the tie-breaker and, of course, offers penalties in this season which seems to favour spot-kicks. Furthermore, he could also benefit from Villa’s weakness to chances created on their left-flank. Indeed, no Liverpool player registered more assists than Salah in away matches last season.
Kevin De Bruyne (£11.6m) is another Fantasy asset that benefits from the penalty factor. Leeds have already conceded three spot-kicks this season so we could see the Belgian in action from 12 yards once again in Gameweek 4. But, even from open play, De Bruyne offers plenty of points potential. West Bromwich Albion are the only team to have conceded more shots in the box and big chances than Leeds over the first three Gameweeks.
No player in the Premier League has managed more shots on target than Harvey Barnes (£7.0m) since the start of the campaign. All of his attacking returns (one goal and one assist) have come at the King Power Stadium this season, where West Ham will visit in Gameweek 4. The Hammers have kept just one clean sheet from a possible three so far.
Ahead of a meeting with Fulham’s disorganised defence, we have selected Pedro Neto (£5.5m) as our midfield representative for Wolves. With Daniel Podence still facing a late fitness test, Neto looks the most likely of the two to start, especially as one of the rare shining lights from the defeat at West Ham. So far this season, no Wolves player has created more chances than Neto, who has recently had a hand in set pieces. Fulham currently sit inside the bottom three for shot conceded from dead-ball situations.
Forwards
Due to the woeful form of Fulham’s defence, Raúl Jiménez (£8.6m) simply had to make the final cut for the Scout Picks too. Unsurprisingly, the Mexican is top among his colleagues for shots in the box, big chances and shots on target this season.
Danny Ings (£8.4m) may have only had one shot against Burnley but he is likely to be afforded a lot more against West Bromwich Albion on Sunday afternoon. Having scored from each of his last three attempts on goal, facing a side bottom of the league for shots in the box conceded, big chances conceded and expected goals conceded (xGC) is the perfect match-up for Southampton’s penalty taker.
It is getting to the point where each week we have to provide less and less in the way of justification for including Dominic Calvert-Lewin (£7.5m) in the Scout Picks XI. Not only does he have five goals in the opening three matches, but he is also one of three players tied at the top of the league for big chances and shots on target.
Substitutes
Alex McCarthy (£4.5m) was name-checked by every Scout Squad pundit for Gameweek 4 as Southampton host West Bromwich Albion. Ralph Hasenhüttl pulled his Saints into a tighter formation against Burnley and, after some time focussing on defence since the Spurs game, they look a little more secure at the back.
Reece James (£5.1m) is currently the second-highest among all FPL defenders for chances created this season and could capitalise on that in Chelsea’s meeting with Crystal Palace.
Rob Holding (£4.5m) represents a cheaper route into the Arsenal defence for their favourable home meeting with Sheffield United.
Andros Townsend (£6.0m) is yet to blank this season and could help exploit Chelsea’s problems defending set-pieces as Crystal Palace’s current corner taker.
THE CAPTAIN
We chose the Scout Picks captain using a four-way vote between our Scout Squad pundits.
Because the use of Fantasy Football Scout data is used so heavily in this process, the skipper we choose each Gameweek is known only to those with a valid Fantasy Football Scout subscription and revealed to the public only when the deadline has passed.
Here’s how we voted for Gameweek 4:
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 team by the largest margin will win a £100 Amazon Voucher and a place in our Moderators and Contributors League for the following season.
DAZZ helped the Community Champions take a 2-1 lead in Gameweek 3, beating the Scout Picks by a 50-41 scoreline.
Gazpilicueta takes on the Scout Picks for Gameweek 4, opting for a 3-5-2 line-up of Leno; Robertson, Semedo, Holding; De Bruyne, Mané, Havertz (c), Foden, Traoré; Calvert-Lewin, Jiménez.
AA33 is the current early leader, defeating the Scout Picks by a 53-point margin in Gameweek 2.
