The Scout Academy: West Ham assets and who to invest in for the run-in

With one of the nicest fixture swings for the Fantasy Premier League (FPL) run-in, West Ham United sit third on our Season Ticker when sorted by difficulty.

We asked the Scout Academy for their thoughts on the best West Ham picks for the final three Gameweeks of the season.

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Vladimir Coufal (£4.7m) is arguably the best FPL defender under £5m for the last three Gameweeks. West Ham travel next to a Brighton and Hove Albion side without Lewis Dunk (£4.9m) and Neal Maupay (£5.9m), which will bolster their clean sheet potential. West Ham may have been struggling defensively since Declan Rice (£4.7m) has been injured but Coufal’s points have continued to flow with four assists in the last six games. Rice’s possible return will also only increase West Ham’s chances of clean sheets.

Jesse Lingard’s (£6.6m) points-per-game average is the highest in FPL at 7.2. With Rice potentially back, Lingard’s play should revert to the more advanced role that afforded him so many attacking returns in previous Gameweeks.

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Since returning from injury in Gameweek 34, Michail Antonio (£6.4m) is tied first amongst forwards with 17 touches inside the box. He also leads West Ham for xG (1.38) in the same period. West Ham meet a Dunk-less Brighton in Gameweek 36, which adds to his appeal. When Brighton were without their captain in Gameweeks 6-8, they conceded 4.41 xGI in matches against West Bromwich Albion, Tottenham Hotspur and Burnley so there’s definitely big potential from West Ham’s big centre-forward who looks as fit as he has looked all season.

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FPL Shake n Bake

A player that has caught my eye in recent weeks is Pablo Fornals (£5.8m). Although the Spaniard hasn’t registered an attacking return in the last four Gameweeks, in that timeframe he has created a big chance every 42 minutes and lies second in both shots and shots on target for the Hammers. Owned by just 0.5% of teams, he could prove to be a shrewd differential over the final weeks of the season.

Michail Antonio (£6.4m) is always a great FPL choice when fit, and looks an ideal transfer for those that are ready to hop off the Kelechi Iheanacho (£6.3m) train ahead of his blank and as his fixture difficulty ramps up. Antonio, on the other hand, faces two of the leakiest defences in the league in his last three games and, as his double against Burnley showed, he’s returned from injury well.

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FPL Side Net

We are at that time of the season where you may be chasing in your mini-leagues. Sometimes a cheeky differential punt can make the difference. Jarrod Bowen (£5.9m), at only 2.8% ownership, could prove to be that player ahead of West Ham’s favourable end to the season. Bowen has, of late, often played out of position as a forward. If this continues, Bowen is well-placed to add to his eight goals and five assists this season as the Hammers chase Champions League football.

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FPL Talking Points

Lukasz Fabianski (£5.0m) finishes the season with West Brom away and Southampton at home, which currently rate as two of the easiest fixtures possible in the league. Combine that with West Ham being one of the few teams with something left to play for as the season winds down, and Fabianski looks to be a good option in between the sticks for the run-in. 

In the last five games, Vladimir Coufal (£4.7m) ranks second, only behind Liverpool’s Trent Alexander-Arnold (£7.6m) for xA. Given the upcoming fixtures, new owners should be able to confidently expect returns at both ends of the pitch. 

FPL Talking Points

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Vladimir Coufal (£4.7m) has eight clean sheets and eight assists to his name this season. West Ham’s last three Gameweeks include matches against Southampton and West Brom, who are both near the bottom of the league for goal attempts with 41 and 36 respectively. Over the last four matches, Coufal ranks joint-third with regards to the number of chances created on seven, which includes two big chances and an assist.

My second pick would be striker Michail Antonio (£6.4m). This stage last season saw Antonio register four goals against struggling Norwich. This time around, West Ham face Southampton and West Brom who have been defensively poor in the last few weeks. Add to this that Antonio scored a brace against Burnley in Gameweek 35 and, with the push for a top-four finish still on, Antonio has to play a very important role for his side. 

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FPL Focus

The West Ham fixtures mean that, for Aaron Cresswell (£5.6m), these are some great opportunities for clean sheet and assist potential in the last three Gameweeks. Since Gameweek 24, Cresswell has registered two assists, even though he missed three rounds through injury. Cresswell has the added bonus of set-piece responsibility as he is on corners and free-kicks.

Said Benrahma (£5.9m) has really impressed in the last few Gameweeks. Even during Ramadan fasting. he displayed so much energy and registered an assist against Burnley. He could have returned more FPL points had his teammates finished the chances he created. Benrahma could be an excellent differential as West Ham push for European football.

FPL Focus

FPL Hangover Podcast

With a strong set of fixtures to round out the season, it may be time to look back towards West Ham defensive assets. Craig Dawson (£4.5m) is a nailed-on starter and, with three goals to his name already this season, there is added potential beyond the clean sheet.

The return of Michail Antonio (£6.4m) has taken some of the limelight from a certain Man Utd loanee but 13 attacking returns in as many games suggests there’s little reason that Jesse Lingard (£6.6m) can’t finish out his loan spell as strongly as he began it. With set-piece potential also in his locker, Lingard becomes the clear choice for a Hammers midfielder.

FPL Hangover Podcast

Americans Talk FPL

Michail Antonio‘s (£6.4m) return after a few matches through injury has proved profitable for FPL points so far with his brace of goals against Burnley. As long as he’s fit, you can expect him to be front and centre in West Ham’s attack.

Vladimir Coufal (£4.7m) looks to be a great option for these final three Gameweeks as, although West Ham haven’t managed a clean sheet in their last eight matches, Coufal has continued to produce with four assists in his last six outings. Only one defender has created more chances than Coufal over that span.

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What’s happening in the Scout Academy?

FPL Hangover Podcast – The inaugural FPL Hangover Awards will be live on their YouTube channel on Monday 17th May at 21:00. They will be running through a list of this season’s best and worst FPL moments. Their usual weekly episodes are also available on YouTube and all audio platforms. 

FPL Focus – This month, FPL Focus has appeared on FPL Nymfria‘s YouTube Channel to talk about the European Super League. He also released a preview video for Triple Gameweek 35 and appeared on the Everything Football Channel talking Gameweek 35. FPL Focus is fast approaching 400 subscribers on YouTube, so remember to hit that subscribe button!

Fantasy Football Academy – The Fantasy Football Academy’s latest episode featured FPL Libero and looked at Triple Gameweek 35. 

FPL Talking Points – FPL Talking Points is finishing the season with a bang. To get everyone’s ears and teams ready for the run-in, they have added over 20 new podcasts and/or streams to their website, featuring content creators from five new countries that weren’t previously represented on the Podcast Map. This new content will be highlighted on social media to aid planning for the final three Gameweeks or for FPL managers to bookmark for the start of the 2021/22 season. with a fresh new outlook from the FPL community.

FPL Side Net – April was a busy month for FPL Side Net with four episodes produced and published, ranging from a wide list of topics like the rise of Kelechi Iheanacho, the dramatic circumstances surrounding the failed Super League and the usual bemoaning of luck and benched points. The show also changed format to a solo podcast with Dubs stepping away to focus more on his business pursuits and family time. Peter joined Sam from FPL Family on another episode of ‘Scout the Gameweek’ where we previewed Blank Gameweek 33 and reflected on the action from the previous Gameweek 32. 

FPL Shake n Bake – The FPL Shake n Bake Cup Competition has continued throughout April and reached the semi-final stages in Gameweek 35, with the final set to be played in Gameweek 36.

FPL Rabbi – FPL Rabbi and some of his friends have released a new podcast in Hebrew called Mofiím BeSafek 75% ⚠️ (free translation – Doubtful 75%).
For Hebrew-speaking FPL managers, they talk through all the key conversation points of FPL and the current Gameweek. Their most recent episode featured Israel’s all-time most successful FPL manager, Moshe Davidovich, as a guest.

Fantasy Football South Africa – You can find all of Fantasy Football SA’s FPL video content over on their YouTube Channel.