Arsenal and Brighton and Hove Albion are the key sources of investment for the Scout Picks in Gameweek 1.
Ahead of the new Fantasy Premier League (FPL) campaign, we have selected three players from each of these clubs in our first XI of the 2023/24 season.
As ever, we are limited by certain restrictions in our selection:
- An £83.0m budget for our starting XI
- An overall squad limit of £100.0m
- No more than three players per team
GOALKEEPER
Andre Onana (£5.0m), nominated by all four of our Scout Squad panel, gets the nod as our first Scout Picks goalkeeper of 2023/24, following his move from Inter Milan to Manchester United.
His upcoming opponents Wolverhampton Wanderers were the lowest scorers in the top-flight last term and have just parted company with their manager; not an ideal start to the new campaign.
United had the best home defence in 2022/23, conceding just 10 goals, so Onana has real potential, given that we expect him to blend saves and bonus points with clean sheets.
DEFENDERS
John Stones (£5.5m) was a key figure for Manchester City during last season’s run-in, often stepping into midfield, so a trip to newly-promoted opposition is enough for us to comfortably include a player with potential at both ends of the pitch.
The former Everton man is owned by 29.6% of managers at the time of writing, making him the fourth most-selected defender in the game.
Pervis Estupinan (£5.0m) and Gabriel Magalhaes (£5.0m) come in at the same price and enjoy favourable home fixtures against Luton Town and Nottingham Forest respectively.
The Hatters’ attack seems like the bluntest of the three promoted clubs, having scored just 57 times in 2022/23, while Steve Cooper’s side netted just 11 goals on the road last season, the fewest in the top flight.
Meanwhile, Estupinan and Gabriel were among the top 10 defenders for goal attempts in the campaign just gone.
MIDFIELDERS
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COMMUNITY CHAMPION
Each week, a member of the Fantasy Football Scout community takes on the Scout Picks.
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 this week is circusmonkey who has gone for the following: Steele; Estupinan, Dunk, Gabriel, Stones; Martinelli, Trossard, Fernandes, Grealish, Salah; Haaland (c)
FOLLOW THE SCOUT’S WEEKLY TRANSFER PLANS
We’re running a Scout community team in FPL this season, with regulars like TopMarx, Tom Freeman, Marc Jobling and more contributing to the weekly decisions.
And we’re not just looking one week ahead like we are with the Scout Picks but instead planning in advance for the weeks and months to come.
You can follow our team via the Premier Fantasy Tools Pro Planner, which you can learn more about here.
