As they prepare to face Burnley at the Etihad Stadium, three Manchester City players form the spine of our Gameweek 8 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
After a promising second half of last season yielded nine clean sheets from 23 games, three of which arrived in the final five, Arsenal have conceded just once in the four games since Aaron Ramsdale (£4.6m) was installed as first-choice goalkeeper. During that time, they have kept three clean sheets and given up just two big chances, fewer than any other Premier League side, while Ramsdale’s +1.10 expected goals (xG) prevented total ranks fourth amongst all goalkeepers so far. Now, the England stopper will be keen to build on that against Patrick Vieira’s Crystal Palace on Monday.
DEFENDERS
With the news that he is available for Saturday’s early kick-off following injury, Trent Alexander-Arnold (£7.5m) is clearly one of the best defender picks on offer in Gameweek 8, with potential for a clean sheet and attacking returns. A possible route to points may come via set-pieces, with opponents Watford allowing 2.7 xG from dead-ball situations so far this season, while they also rank 18th for crosses conceded from their left-flank. Given that Alexander-Arnold’s 17 successful crosses and 2.56 expected assists (xA) are both league-leading totals amongst all defenders in FPL, he could be set for another big week.
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