The Scout Squad’s best FPL players for Gameweek 10

The best Fantasy Premier League (FPL) goalkeepers, defenders, midfielders and forwards for Gameweek 10 are discussed by Fantasy Football Scout contributors Az, Sam, Neale and Tom.

For those new to this feature, it’s a weekly piece that always takes the form of a ‘Free Hit’-type selection for the upcoming Gameweek.

All of our panelists propose an 18-man long-list of Fantasy players, explaining their notable inclusions and omissions in the article below.

The Scout Squad also serves as a precursor to the Scout Picks, as the players listed will then be narrowed down to a squad of 15 (with the starting XI not exceeding a total cost of £83.0m) for final our weekly selection.

Each writer must meet the following requirements:

• At least one goalkeeper costing £5.0m or less
• At least one sub-£5.0m defender
• At least one midfielder listed at £6.5m or below
• At least one forward priced at £7.0m or lower
• No more than three players from the same club

SCOUT SQUAD’S PICKS OF THE BEST FPL PLAYERS FOR GAMEWEEK 10

Most popular picks: Ben Chilwell, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Mohamed Salah, Phil Foden, Ivan Toney, Michail Antonio (four), Illan Meslier, Ben Foster, Edouard Mendy, Joao Cancelo, Kai Havertz, Harry Kane (three)

AZ SAID…

After a chaotic Gameweek 9, I’m not anticipating things slowing down this weekend, with in-form Liverpool, Manchester City and Chelsea all enjoying decent games on paper. Not that it seems to matter at this point, given the disparity between these clubs and the rest of the league this season.

I’m still favouring the premium defensive triple up of Trent Alexander-Arnold, Joao Cancelo and Antonio Rudiger, and think it will be a tough ask for Brighton, Palace or Newcastle to breach these defences. Rudiger looks a certain starter after having some time off in midweek, and Tino Livramento is off the mark now, knocking on the door for a start for many of us FPL managers.

In midfield, I’ve adopted a similar strategy to my defensive picks with Mohamed Salah, Phil Foden and Kai Havertz my go-to options to tap into the attacks of the terrific trio. I’m also hoping Bryan Mbeumo can shake off his minor hamstring to be fit for Burnley, and I’m backing Spurs to pile more pressure on Olé Gunnar Solskjaer, with Son Heung-min the main man in attack.

Up front, I’ll be keeping my eye on the Jamie Vardy news – a lengthy lay-off and Patson Daka could be a superb differential given his recent form. I’m also backing the budget options in Joe Geldhart and Armando Broja, who have come into their respective sides and done a great job.

SAM SAID…

With Chelsea, Man City and Liverpool all having great fixtures on paper this week, it makes sense to invest heavily in those teams. Mohamed Salah and Trent Alexander-Arnold are essentials, in my view, so they make my picks alongside the Man CIty duo of Joao Cancelo and Phil Foden and a Chelsea triple-up of Edouard Mendy, Ben Chilwell and Mason Mount.

Outside of those games, Marcelo Bielsa seemed to suggest that Raphinha should be ok for the weekend and with Leeds playing Norwich, even though they are not in the best form themselves, he seems like a great option. With Patrick Bamford still out injured, Rodrigo up top could be a decent option, especially after his penalty goal last week. And given Norwich’s lack of attacking threat, Illan Meslier looks to be a great goalkeeper pick for Gameweek 10.

With David Raya out for four to five months and Alvaro Fernandez likely to make his Premier League debut, I have some concerns about Brentford’s clean sheet potential, therefore Maxwel Cornet could be a nice differential for the weekend.

With so much rumour and uncertainty around Manchester United at the moment, I am expecting both sides to be nervous at the weekend and that might just give Harry Kane the space he needs to attack well and turn his season around, so he makes my picks.

TOM SAID

Chelsea have now kept 17 Premier League clean sheets since Thomas Tuchel took charge, at least three more than any other side, and though it’s sometimes hard to pinpoint exactly which of their wing-backs will be handed successive starts, it feels like a risk worth taking given their points potential. This week, I’ve opted for Ben Chilwell, who has now scored in three successive league appearances for the Blues, and paired him with the excellent Edouard Mendy and Kai Havertz, who I’m tipping to deliver.

Meanwhile, Brentford have had an encouraging start to life in the Premier League and look a good team for bargain hunting this week. Their opponents Burnley have been poor so far and are still searching for their first win. As a result, they unsurprisingly rank 19th for expected goals (xG), and 17th for expected goals conceded (xGC). That leads me to Rico Henry at the back, plus Bryan Mbeumo and Ivan Toney further forward, providing the former is passed fit of course.

Elsewhere, West Ham United supply two picks, Kurt Zouma and Michail Antonio, with Aston Villa’s ongoing issues defending set pieces in my thoughts. With that in mind, the last team you want to face is David Moyes’ Hammers, whose approach is largely based around crossing. Antonio will also ask plenty of questions of Tyrone Mings, having bagged his sixth Premier League goal of the campaign on Sunday.

After being completely outclassed by Liverpool in Gameweek 9, Manchester United will be low on confidence, especially defensively, which could be good news for Tottenham Hotspur duo Son Heung-min and Harry Kane this weekend. Both players struggled to make an impact last time out, but I think this match will be a more entertaining, open affair, as it was last season, with the attacking players benefitting most.

NEALE SAID

Just as FPL squads are starting to form around a core of Chelsea, Manchester City and Liverpool assets, the Scout Picks will surely be doing similar for the foreseeable future.

State-the-bleeding-obvious selections from these clubs abound, as they have to if we’re honestly picking out who we think will excel in the upcoming Gameweek, but it’s worth perhaps explaining my own preference for Aymeric Laporte and Kai Havertz this time.

I’m again looking at opposition weaknesses here, with Crystal Palace actually a rather tight defensive unit other than possessing an Achilles heel at dead-ball situations. The match at Anfield was the perfect example of this, with all three of Liverpool’s goals coming from corners or free-kicks. In fact, the Eagles have the second-best expected goals conceded (xGC) from open play in 2021/22 – and the joint-worst xGC from set plays. Laporte, second among FPL defenders for shots in the box this season, gets my vote, although we could easily switch to Ruben Dias if the EFL Cup teamsheets suggest a benching for the Spain international on Saturday.

My selection of Havertz may have a whiff of “don’t back down, double down” about it after Gameweek 9 but Crystal Palace’s aerially mobile attacking spearhead, Christian Benteke, caused havoc among the Newcastle backline last week, racking up seven attempts – four of them from inside or just outside the six-yard box. The Magpies have conceded seven goals from fewer than six yards out this season and these are more Havertz areas than Mount territory, so I’m backing the much-maligned German despite his Norwich blank. Mount, incidentally, has only delivered one attacking return or fewer in 76 of his 80 Chelsea league appearances, so he tends not to make a habit of explosive hauls.

Brentford’s aerial dominance and Burnley’s surprising concession of multiple headed goal attempts (only Leicester have allowed more) leads me to the vertically talented double-up of Ivan Toney and Pontus Jansson, the latter of whom has had three big chances in just the last four Gameweeks.

Max Kilman has matched Romain Saiss for efforts in the box this season, meanwhile, so with Rafael Benitez’s zonal marking system exposed against Watford, and with Wolves much less gung-ho than they were at the season’s start, I’m edging towards a low-scoring home win at Molineux in the Monday night game. Rayan Ait-Nouri would be my preferred selection but with Marcal set to return from injury, there’s too much uncertainty at left wing-back.

The Hornets are still without a clean sheet in 2021/22, so I’ve gone with two possible routes into the Southampton attack in my picks. Armando Broja is grabbing all the headlines with his two goals in as many Gameweeks but his strike partner, the out of position Nathan Redmond, has racked up more shots and key passes (nine of each) in that time and also gets my nomination.