The Scout Squad’s best FPL players for Blank Gameweek 30

The best Fantasy Premier League (FPL) goalkeepers, defenders, midfielders and forwards for Blank Gameweek 30 are debated by our regular panel.

With only four Premier League matches taking place, there are double-ups and triple-ups aplenty as well as inescapable conflicts of interest.

ABOUT THE SCOUT SQUAD

Fantasy Football Scout contributors Az, Sam, Neale and Tom each propose an 18-man squad of Fantasy players with the focus solely on the upcoming Gameweek.

Their selections serve as a long list for the Scout Picks, as the players nominated will then be narrowed down to a squad of 15 (with the starting XI not exceeding a total cost of £83.5m) for our final weekly selection ahead of Saturday’s deadline.

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

*If you didn’t see it previously, we’ve started doing a ‘bus team’ Scout Picks earlier in the week in order to share our initial selection thoughts with Fantasy managers who perhaps couldn’t be around closer to the deadline – but we’ll still be publishing our final squad as we were before.

SCOUT SQUAD’S PICK OF THE BEST FPL PLAYERS FOR BLANK GAMEWEEK 30

Most popular picks: Jose Sa, Matthew Cash, Harvey Barnes, Harry Kane, Ivan Toney, Alexandre Lacazette (four), Aaron Ramsdale, Kasper Schmeichel, Ricardo Pereira, Sergio Reguilon, Son Heung-min, Philippe Coutinho, Ollie Watkins, Raul Jimenez (three)

AZ SAID…

Ah, Blank Gameweek 30. What a truly awful bunch of fixtures we are left with. What else can we do but try and pick the best options and find a hidden gem? In truth, however, there are very few players who I think have a chance of hitting double digits this week.

The top three players for me are quite simple. Harry Kane is back, and is statistically the best performing player of all Gameweek 30 options with a minutes-per-non-penalty-xGI of 122.3. He now has seven goals in as many games and in my mind, only a brave manager would head into the final stretch of fixtures without him.

I also like the look of Harvey Barnes this week, with Leicester v Brentford potentially offering the best chance of goals at either end of the pitch. The absence of Jamie Vardy harms Leicester as an attacking force but Barnes has found a way, with a goal and an assist preceding the blank against Arsenal. With Brentford conceding a chance every 5.8 mins over their last six matches (statistically the second-worst in the league), Barnes is an intriguing differential.

Elsewhere, I’ve gone for Dejan Kulusevski over Son Heung-min, with the Korean looking a bit out of sorts lately and dropping deeper to try to influence things. “Deki” now has attacking returns in five out of his last six games, an impressive tally for someone priced just £6.2m – that’s a whopping £4.7m less than Son.A lot of Son’s underlying numbers do remain marginally better than Kulusevski over the last six Gameweeks but the Swede is having a shot more often (41.8 v 45.7 mins) and boasts a better minutes-per-point average than his teammate (12.9 v 15.2).

To try and find some differentials in this uninspiring Gameweek, I’ve gone for the likes of Ivan Toney and Daniel Podence in attack. Podence has created a very respectable 11 chances in his last six outings, to go with 12 shots over the same timeframe. Toney meanwhile boasts the best minutes per point (6.9) of all players in the league in that time.

SAM SAID…

With just four fixtures this weekend, and all of them tricky to call, it is a challenge picking the best FPL options.

With both Liam Cooper and Kalvin Phillips back in training and available for the weekend we could see a very different Leeds team, one that was already boosted by the last-minute win over Norwich in Gameweek 29. Raphinha returned an assist in Gameweek 29 and could have had a whole lot more, so I think he could do better than some are expecting in Gameweek 30. Since Gameweek 22, only Bruno Fernandes has created more chances than the 26 supplied by the Brazilian. However, I also suspect that Wolves will score in this fixture as Leeds have conceded 65 goals this season, more than any other team. With Hwang Hee-chan an injury doubt, Raul Jimenez looks a good option, as does Conor Coady, who has found the back of the net on three occasions so far in 2021/22.

Arsenal v Aston Villa could be a very open game. Leaving Philippe Coutinho out of my midfield picks was a difficult decision but Matty Cash and Ollie Watkins were easy choices. Cash has returned three double-digit hauls in his last four matches for Villa and over the course of the season so far, has registered three goals, three assists and 11 clean sheets. Since Gameweek 22, only three defenders have created more chances than Cash’s 11 and his xGI ranks him in the top ten defenders in the league. Watkins averages 7.67 points per game against Arsenal, meanwhile, returning in both fixtures against them last season. Even though the striker has blanked in Villa’s last two Premier League games, he still ranks fourth for threat amongst forwards. Alexandre Lacazette is one of the more in-form strikers in the league, meanwhile, having returned in five of Arsenal’s last six Premier League fixtures.

Leicester have kept just two clean sheets since Gameweek 20 and in that time have conceded 12 goals. They have allowed 22 attempts from set-pieces since Gameweek 26 alone; only Norwich and Spurs have conceded more. This makes Christian Eriksen a very attractive differential option this weekend. Thomas Frank eased the Dane into the team slowly following his cardiac arrest last summer but he has now played 90 minutes in the last two Premier League fixtures and returned an assist against the Canaries last weekend. Eriksen’s set-piece threat makes him a great differential for this Gameweek, while Ivan Toney is also refinding his form with five goals in the last two matches and will be boosted by Eriksen’s creativity from deep.

For Leicester, Harvey Barnes looks the best attacking option in the absence of Jamie Vardy. Since Gameweek 25, Barnes has had 16 attempts on goal, more than any of his Leicester City teammates and the same as Bruno Fernandes in 90 minutes less game-time. His total of 117 touches in the final third is second across the Leicester team and is more than the likes of Mason Mount has managed.

London derbies always throw up interesting results and with Sunday’s fixture between Spurs and West Ham likely to have a big impact on the European spots for next season, this is a difficult game to predict. The Hammers will be without Jarrod Bowen, and FPL managers are waiting for an update on Michail Antonio’s availability. There have only been two clean sheets in the last nine meetings between these sides in all competitions and there is an average of 3.88 goals scored per match. Indeed this fixture has seen four or more goals nine times since 2015. As a result, tripling up on the Spurs attack seems wise. Son Heung-min has returned in Spurs’ last two home matches against West Ham in the Premier League. He averages 5.64 points per match against the Hammers and has only blanked once against them. Like Son, Harry Kane has also returned in Spurs’ last two home meetings with West Ham in the league. He averages 5.38 points per match against the east Londoners, which rises to 8.8 when at home.

TOM SAID…

Given the lack of standout clean sheet opportunities in Gameweek 30, I’ve mostly opted for attack-minded options at the back.

Since Antonio Conte took charge, Sergio Reguilon’s rate of 0.53 expected goal involvements (xGI) per 90 minutes is the best among defenders (for context, Trent Alexander-Arnold’s is 0.49 across the season), whilst he has also contributed two goals and two assists in 11 starts. In light of Ryan Sessegnon’s injury, he perhaps feels a little more nailed than Matt Doherty on the opposite flank, and given the obvious upside, is my top defender pick in a week of limited options.

Elsewhere, the consensus amongst Wolverhampton Wanderers fans – at least on the forums I’ve visited – is that Rayan Ait-Nouri is due a start on Friday, given the intensity of Leeds United’s attack. The Frenchman has shared minutes with Marcal of late, but produced an assist in his last Molineux appearance, whilst a share of set-pieces duties is another appealing factor behind his selection.

However, there isn’t such rotation concerns for Matty Cash, who is second among defenders for penalty box touches in 2021/22 and has delivered four attacking returns in as many matches over the past few weeks. 

Pontus Jansson, meanwhile, will likely concede, but could at least take advantage of Leicester City’s vulnerabilities at dead-ball situations.

Cut-price midfielder Dejan Kulusevski is a tempting midfield pick, given his attacking output since his January arrival from Juventus, but I’ve opted for Son Heung-min here. Despite disappointing in Double Gameweek 29, the South Korean has 12 attacking returns in 14 matches from Gameweek 14 onwards, while opponents West Ham United have been more prone to conceding chances and crosses from their right in 2021/22, which has been even more prominent in the last six matches.

Harvey Barnes is an appealing midfield differential, having produced three goals and six assists in his last 13 Premier League appearances, two of which were as a substitute. The winger has now completed 90 minutes in four of the Foxes’ last five matches, and given James Maddison’s new-found rotation risk status, is the standout attacking option for their home clash against a Brentford side that has conceded 24 goals in their last 10 away matches. Further forward, Patson Daka or Kelechi Iheanacho could also enter the conversation, although I’d like to see Thursday’s UEFA Conference League tie before committing. The same goes for Ricardo Pereira, who seems unlikely to start at the weekend if he gets the nod against Rennes.

Gabriel Martinelli was excellent in Arsenal’s Gameweek 29 double-header and has a better minutes-per-xGI figure than all of the Arsenal midfield regulars in 2021/22, including Bukayo Saka, which isn’t bad considering he costs £1.3m less. Yes, he isn’t completely nailed with Emile Smith Rowe lurking, but he has now started the last 13 Premier League matches he has been available for, producing four goals and two assists. Arsenal’s match-up at Aston Villa is far from straightforward, but Alexandre Lacazette joins the Brazilian, having produced three goals and eight assists in his last 12 starts.

NEALE SAID…

There’s no getting away from the fact that we will be pitting more than one Fantasy asset against another from an opposing side in Gameweek 30, such is the decimated pool of players we have to choose from. On top of the small number of fixtures taking place, there are also few stand-out clean sheet opportunities leaping from the page – so the bulk of the picks this week are selected for their attacking threat.

At the back, there are few Gameweek 30 defenders more attacking than Sergio Reguilon and Matt Doherty. I’ve plumped with Reguilon in the end as he’s actually outperformed the Irishman for penalty box touches, shots, big chances and key passes in his last six outings, with two clear openings against Brighton on Wednesday underscoring his goal threat. West Ham have also allowed almost twice as many chances to be created from their right flank as their left in their last half-dozen matches, which also just about persuades me to stick with Son Heung-min over Dejan Kulusevski. Budget isn’t an issue with the Scout Picks this week, incidentally, given the lack of Messrs Salah, Alexander-Arnold, Cancelo and co.

Matty Cash, second for penalty box touches among defenders this season, also makes the cut after his recent attacking heroics. Arsenal’s midweek exertions and 63-hour turnaround between the Liverpool and Villa games also makes me more confident than usual in the Villans, who haven’t yet beaten anyone in the top nine under Steven Gerrard. Ollie Watkins, whose underlying stats and game-time are trumping those of strike partner Danny Ings, and Philippe Coutinho also get the nod but just to show how much bet-hedging is going on in this borderline slapstick Gameweek, there is also a long-list triple-up on the Gunners. Gabriel Martinelli really caught my eye in Gameweek 29, particularly against Liverpool, and he would be my midfielder of choice from the red half of north London, whilst acknowledging the risk involved with game-time.

As is the case with the above fixture, the scheduling of Leicester v Brentford favours the bookies’ underdogs. The Foxes are in France on Thursday evening before facing the Bees at the weekend, so Thomas Frank’s side may fancy their chances at the King Power. I’ve selected Christian Eriksen and Ethan Pinnock, along with the in-form Ivan Toney, due to their dead-ball prowess and Leicester’s tendency to concede from set plays, with Pinnock’s superior rate of baseline bonus points compared to his defensive colleagues also a factor. The on-song Harvey Barnes perhaps stands more of a chance than any of them to make the Scout Picks cut, however, given that Brentford haven’t kept an away clean sheet since Gameweek 5.

Alongside Jose Sa and Raul Jimenez, I’ve gone with Jonny Castro Otto as my third Wolves pick for the Leeds game. Injuries to Ki-Jana Hoever and Nelson Semedo would seemingly ensure Jonny’s place for Gameweek 30 at least, with the Spaniard ranked joint-third and fifth among defenders for chances created and final-third touches respectively since his return to the starting XI in Gameweek 28.