Tottenham Hotspur, Everton and Aston Villa assets form the spine of our Gameweek 28 Scout Picks line-up.
Following David, Neale, Tom and Andy‘s Scout Squad submissions, we have chosen our final XI of best players for the latest Double Gameweek.
We line-up in a classic 3-4-3 formation which comes in at £82.1m, £0.9m under our budget of £83.0m.
GOALKEEPER
Fantasy Premier League’s top-scoring keeper Emiliano Martinez (£5.4m) makes his return to the Scout Picks ahead of a plum tie against Newcastle. The Magpies will be without the three first-choice attackers as they were for the game against West Brom, where they finished the game with an expected goals (xG) rating of 0.47, and created no big chances. Aston Villa’s defence is also in good form, keeping clean sheets in two of their last three matches.
DEFENDERS
Lucas Digne (£6.2m) takes a spot in defence for the Scout Picks as one of the most creative defenders in FPL. Only Aaron Cresswell (£5.8m) has more assists this season, and has played eight more games than the Frenchman. Digne also comes with out-of-position potential, with Ancelotti fielding him further up the pitch on occasion this season. Even when he doesn’t assist, Digne usually brings in bonus points when Everton keep a clean sheet, with three in his last three fixtures.
After a rest for the Southampton game, Joao Cancelo (£6.2m) looks assured of a start for against Fulham. Sometimes deployed as an auxiliary midfielder when Manchester City are in possession, no defender has had more attempts on goal than Cancelo in the last six Gameweeks. If the full-back can finally finish off one of the many chances he gets, he could bring in his second double-digit haul of the season in Gameweek 28.
West Brom’s Ainsley Maitland-Niles (£4.6m) retains his place in the Scout Picks. Although classed as a defender, Sam Allardyce elects to play Maitland-Niles in a midfield two, so he finds himself much higher up the pitch. The improving Baggies face a Crystal Palace side with the worst xG in the league, a full two goals behind second-bottom Newcastle.
MIDFIELDERS
Bruno Fernandes (£11.5m) punished the doubters with a customary penalty and double-digit score against Man City. Despite blanking in the two games prior to the Manchester derby, Fernandes was still delivering some impressive numbers, with 18 shots on goal and four big chances created in the last six Gameweeks.
The Welsh wizard Gareth Bale (£9.5m) is nailed-on for the Scout Picks this week after another double-figure haul against Crystal Palace. Bale appears to be gelling well with those around him and was rested during a midweek Europa League win. As well as chipping in with assists, Bale looks a real goal threat, ranking second among all players for big chances and xG in the last three Gameweeks.
Mason Mount (£7.0m) is our pick of the Chelsea midfielders, with the English international the most likely to take a place in the team. Previously written off as Frank Lampard’s boy, Mount has shown great form in Thomas Tuchel’s system, scoring three times and delivering two double-digit hauls for his new manager. Chelsea face a Leeds side that has struggled to defend all season, and sit second-bottom for xGC (expected goals conceded) over the entire campaign.
The one shining light for Wolves in what has been a disappointing season has been the emergence of Pedro Neto (£5.7m). The Portuguese winger has put in more crosses than anyone in the Premier League this season, creating a healthy number of chances as a result. With Liverpool’s defence looking shaky, especially at centre-back, these crosses and chances could well be finished off.
FORWARDS
Harry Kane (£11.4m) leads the line for the Scout Picks for one of his favourite fixtures, the North London derby. Kane has a superb record against Arsenal, scoring 11 goals in 13 appearances against the Gunners. The Spurs striker also comes into this fixture in great form with Mourinho fielding a more attacking side, having six more shots than any other forward in the last four Gameweeks. We are not too concerned about the knock he sustained against Zagreb considering Mourinho’s positive response on Thursday night.
Since Carlo Ancelotti shifted him into a more advanced role, Richarlison (£8.0m) has caught the FPL eye. The results have seen the Brazilian score in three of Everton’s last four games, and get on the end of four big chances. In the same games, Calvert-Lewin has had half Richarlison’s number of big chances and scored no goals.
Despite possibly being the most frustrating asset in FPL, Ollie Watkins (£6.6m) makes a return to the Scout Picks XI. The Villa forward has looked good all season despite not delivering the points to show for it, with Patrick Bamford (£6.8m) being the only striker to have had more shots in the box. We’re back Watkins’ luck to turn against a hapless Newcastle defence, who have conceded 10 goals in their last six games.
Substitutes
- Sam Johnstone (£4.5m)
- Antonio Rüdiger (£4.6m)
- Daniel Amartey (£3.9m)
- Anwar El Ghazi (£5.3m)
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 Gameweek 28:
