Players from Manchester City and Everton form the spine of our Double Gameweek 26 Scout Picks XI.

In a side chosen by David, Neale, Tom and Andy, we have included two players from both clubs ahead of a bumper round of fixtures.

We line up a in a 3-4-3 formation again, which comes in bang on our budget of £83.0m.

GOALKEEPER

Fulham’s Alphonse Areola (£4.5m) regains his place in goal for the Scout Picks XI. Fulham face-off against two of the worst attacks in the league on recent form, with Crystal Palace and Tottenham Hotspur at the bottom of the expected goals (xG) table for the last six games. Fulham’s defence has also improved in recent weeks, with the Cottagers only conceding five goals in their last six games.

DEFENDERS

Ruben Dias (£6.1m) is the Manchester City defender most immune to Pep Guardiola’s rotation, so he makes the Scout Picks. The Portuguese international has been at the heart of City’s defensive improvements, with them only conceding 15 goals in 25 games. Their recent numbers are just as impressive, with only two big chances conceded in their last six games.

Full-back Lucas Digne (£6.1m) makes his return to the Scout Picks ahead of a juicy Double Gameweek for Everton. Only Aaron Cresswell (£5.8m) has created more goals than Digne this season, and has had nine more starts. The Toffees also face off against West Brom, who have conceded the most goals this season, and Southampton, with no recognised first team right-back available.

Budget player Ahmed El Mohamady (£4.3m) takes up the final spot in defence. Due to an injury to Matty Cash (£5.0m), Aston Villa manager Dean Smith confirmed El Mohamady will be getting a run of games at right-back. At a rock-bottom price and with his place assured in the team, El Mohamady should bring in a decent haul from games against Southampton and Leeds.

MIDFIELDERS

Mohamed Salah (£12.6m) continues to produce some of the best attacking numbers in the league, despite Liverpool’s slide down the table. The Egyptian has had the most big chances of all midfielders in the last six games, scoring four goals in that time. With two fixtures in Double Gameweek 26 including one against bottom of the league Sheffield United, Salah looks set to add more attacking returns to his impressive tally.

A staple in the team of nearly every Fantasy manager, Bruno Fernandes (£11.6m) retains his place in the Scout Picks. Fantasy Premier League’s highest scoring player has the most assists of any midfielder in the league, and Salah is the only midfielder to score more goals. Manchester United’s second game sees them travel to Palace, who have the worst expected goals conceded (xGC) rating of all Premier League teams in the last six matches.

The in-form Harvey Barnes (£6.9m) takes up the third slot in our midfield. Barnes has taken his game to another level this season, scoring an impressive nine goals from midfield. Salah and Sadio Mané (£11.8m) are the only midfielders to have had more shots in the box than Barnes this season, so we’re backing the Leicester star to continue the form which has seen him deliver double-digit hauls in his last two games.

Ilkay Gundogan (£6.1m) takes up the final slot in our midfield. The German still offers incredible value in midfield, getting on the end of six big chances in his last six games, as well as having the highest xG and expected goal involvement (xGI) of all midfielders over that time period.

FORWARDS

Harry Kane (£11.1m) returns to lead the line for the Scout Picks in what could be a make or break Gameweek for Spurs’ season. Even after missing several games through injury, Kane is still joint-top goalscorer for forwards and has also had the most attempts on goal. Since returning from injury, the England international has also had the most shots in the box in the last three games.

Dominic Calvert-Lewin‘s (£7.7m) return to fitness sees him take up a spot in the Scout Picks. Calvert-Lewin has two plum fixtures against the league’s worst defence in West Brom, and against a Southampton side who have conceded 19 goals in six games. The England international had scored in consecutive games before his injury and will be a strong captaincy option for some.

With an ownership of just 0.5%, West Brom striker Mbaye Diagne (£6.0m) is a cracking differential option for Double Gameweek 26. Strong early displays have seen Diagne get on the end of five big chances in five games, and he has the highest xG rating of all forwards from the last four Gameweeks. If Diagne can start converting his impressive numbers into more goals against Brighton and a leaky Everton defence, then he will prove to be a powerful differential.

Substitutes

• Sam Johnstone (£4.5m)
• Luke Shaw (£5.1m)
• Ola Aina (£4.5m)
• Pedro Neto (£5.7m)

THE CAPTAIN

We choose the Scout Picks captain using a four-way vote between our Scout Squad pundits.

Because we use Fantasy Football Scout data 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 Double Gameweek 26: