As they prepare to face Aston Villa on Saturday, three Chelsea players form the spine of our Gameweek 4 Scout Picks.
After Sam, Az, Neale and Tom submitted their Scout Squad selections earlier this week, we have chosen our best players ahead of tomorrow’s 11.00 BST deadline.
We line up in a 4-4-2 formation and come in at £82.9m, just under our £83.0m budget.
GOALKEEPER
David Raya (£4.6m) is our chosen goalkeeper ahead of Brentford’s home fixture against Brighton and Hove Albion in Gameweek 4.
The Bees stopper has already accumulated 17 Fantasy Premier League (FPL) points, picking up additional save points against both Arsenal and Aston Villa.
He’s also on top of the Baseline Bonus Points System (BBPS), in part due to his distribution when playing out from the back.
Thomas Frank’s side have restricted their opponents to just two big chances so far, and with Albion up next, will be confident of another shut-out in Gameweek 4.
DEFENDERS
Luke Shaw (£5.5m) may not have quite hit his 2020/21 heights so far this season, but still ranks amongst the top five defenders for chances created, and carries significant assist potential against Newcastle United this weekend.
His crossing ability from both dead-ball situations and open-play attacks will be key, while United’s clean sheet prospects look a whole lot stronger with the addition of Raphael Varane (£5.5m).
Lucas Digne (£5.4m) helped Everton record their first shut-out of the campaign against Brighton last time out, and is sure to benefit from new manager Rafa Benitez’s approach, which is largely based around crossing.
Up next for the Toffees is Burnley, who have conceded 15 headed attempts so far this season, more than any other side in the division. With corner-taking duties another route to points, Digne could be in for a big week.
Antonio Rudiger (£5.5m) is the first of our Chelsea picks. The German international has started and completed 90 minutes in all three Premier League matches this season, while opponents Aston Villa have managed just nine shots on target across their opening three fixtures. Add in at least a couple of missing first-teamers, and it’s no surprise that Chelsea top the bookies’ odds for a clean sheet this week.
Marcal (£4.5m) takes up the final spot in our backline. Over the opening three Gameweeks, he has attempted 19 crosses from the left-flank (the joint-fifth highest among all defenders), while Wolves have conceded just 20 shots in the box despite some tougher fixtures.
MIDFIELDERS
Mohamed Salah (£12.5m) is the first of our two premium midfield picks this week, having already combined two goals, two assists and 30 FPL points this season. The Egyptian’s total of 13 goal attempts ranks second amongst all players, while he has also supplied a league-leading three big chances for his team-mates.
Opponents Leeds United have tightened up at Elland Road in 2021, but Salah, who is just one goal shy of reaching a century in the Premier League, will surely fancy his chances against Marcelo Bielsa’s backline.
With Ole Gunnar Solskjaer planting seeds of doubts in our heads around how many minutes Cristiano Ronaldo (£12.5m) will be afforded against Newcastle United, we’ve opted for Bruno Fernandes (£12.0m) in this week’s Scout Picks XI. Despite back-to-back blanks, United’s playmaker hit an open-play hat-trick to earn a career-high 20 FPL point haul in his last Old Trafford appearance.
Mason Mount (£7.5m) has enjoyed a productive start to the season, bagging assists against Crystal Palace and Arsenal. Amongst all midfielders, he ranks top for expected assists (xA), with this weekend’s opponents – Aston Villa – missing first-choice goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez (£5.5m).
Adama Traore (£6.0m) has been the topic of many a Fantasy discussion over the international break, with Wolverhampton Wanderers about to embark on a kind run of fixtures. While his end product is perhaps in question, he’s top for chances created and joint-second for shots amongst all FPL midfielders from Gameweeks 1 to 3.
FORWARDS
Passed fit by manager Thomas Tuchel earlier this afternoon, Romelu Lukaku (£11.5m) looks like an excellent option for our forwards lines this week. The Belgian has started well at Chelsea, scoring against Arsenal in Gameweek 2, and has also reacked up 10 goal attempts and nine shots in the box across his opening couple of appearances.
West Ham United’s Michail Antonio (£7.9m) is the top-scoring player in FPL so far, and is one of just three players to have scored in each of the first three rounds. Opponents Southampton have kept just one clean sheet in their last 24 attempts in the Premier League, while West Ham have won six of their last seven meetings between them.
THE CAPTAIN
We choose the Scout Picks captain using a four-way vote between our Scout Squad pundits.
Bruno Fernandes was handed the armband by our quartet this time, with Romelu Lukaku picking up the vice-captaincy.
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.
Our champion is week BobMcMayday, who has gone with a maverick 5-2-3 line-up of Pickford; Tierney, White, Shaw, Reguilon, Duffy; Salah, Jota; Aubameyang, Kane, Lukaku (c).
The Scout Picks are 3-0 up on the community this season.
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