We’ve put together our Scout Picks ‘bus team’ for Gameweek 27 of Fantasy Premier League (FPL).
In this early selection, we select a first draft of our regular picks. They will then be finalised and published much closer to Saturday’s deadline.
Plenty can change between now and then, of course, with West Ham United v Brentford, the FA Cup fifth round and a whole host of press conferences still to come.
But in the meantime, this ‘bus team’ article will discuss the players who are likely to be in the mix.
We are, as ever, limited by certain restrictions in our selections:
- An £83.0m budget for our starting XI
- An overall squad limit of £100.0m
- No more than three players per team
GAMEWEEK 27 FIXTURES
Above: The Gameweek 27 fixtures sorted by difficulty on our Season Ticker
THE LIKELY LADS
The Premier League’s current top five all have very decent fixtures in Gameweek 27, with favourable match-ups for Liverpool (nfo), Manchester City (MUN), Arsenal (shu), Aston Villa (lut) and Tottenham Hotspur (CRY).
Arsenal’s trip to Bramall Lane is one of those fixtures where investment at both ends of the pitch looks a no-brainer.
Bukayo Saka (£9.2m) was excellent at the Emirates on Saturday, taking his tally to eight goals in his last seven matches. He’ll almost certainly be in the Scout Picks this week, with one of David Raya (£5.0m), William Saliba (£5.7m), Gabriel Magalhaes (£5.2m) or Ben White (£5.6m) joining him.
Sheffield United have shipped 15 goals in their last four home matches, so doubling up on Arsenal’s attack via Martin Odegaard (£8.5m) or Gabriel Martinelli (£7.7m) is another consideration.
Man City also feature prominently in our plans. It’s not just form on their side but the fixture, too, with Phil Foden (£8.1m) looking superb in a central role at Bournemouth on Saturday and Erling Haaland (£14.4m) a shoo-in for selection for the Manchester derby. The Norwegian racked up 23 points in the corresponding fixture last season.
Elsewhere, who takes the coveted Liverpool slots is another topic altogether.
For now, we’ve opted for budget goalkeeper Caoimhin Kelleher (£3.7m) over Virgil van Dijk (£6.4m), simply for budgetary reasons, while Luis Diaz (£7.5m) is our attacker of choice. Should Mohamed Salah (£13.0m) or Darwin Nunez (£7.6m) be passed fit, they automatically become serious options, given how vulnerable Nottingham Forest have looked at the back under Nuno Espirito Santo.
As for Spurs and Aston Villa, the initial thought is towards Son Heung-min (£9.6m) and Ollie Watkins (£8.8m).
Finally, Burnley were easily beaten 3-0 by Crystal Palace on Saturday and are winless in their last eight, a period which has seen them score just seven goals and concede 22. The perfect match-up, you’d think, for Marcos Senesi (£4.5m) and Dominic Solanke (£7.1m), then.
IN CONTENTION
Midfielders Cole Palmer (£5.7m) and Pascal Gross (£6.5m) could potentially muscle their way into contention against Brentford and Fulham respectively.
Separated by just one point (124/123), the pair have racked up a combined 31 attacking returns this season. The match-up looks particularly promising for Gross, given that Fulham sit among the worst two sides for efforts from set plays conceded over the last six Gameweeks.
Elsewhere, Ivan Toney (£8.2m) is in very good form, with four goals and one assist in the six matches he’s played since returning from suspension. 20 shots and eight big chances have arrived during that time, while Chelsea’s dearth of clean sheets on the road (none since Gameweek 7) is another reason to invest.
A Luton Town player, be it Alfie Doughty (£4.6m), Ross Barkley (£5.0m), Carlton Morris (£5.1m) or Chiedozie Ogbene (£4.9m), could also be on the cards, given Aston Villa’s mounting problems at the back: Pau Torres (£4.6m) had to come at half-time in the 4-2 win over Nottingham Forest on Saturday, while Ezri Konsa (£4.5m), Diego Carlos (£4.4m), Tyrone Mings (£4.1m) and Boubacar Kamara (£5.0m) are also flagged.
A Man City defender ought to be in the conversation, too. Manuel Akanji (£4.9m), off the back of 17 points in his last two matches, is certainly in the running, as well as Ederson (£5.5m), Kyle Walker (£5.5m) and Nathan Ake (£5.1m).
Ongoing reservations about Newcastle United means that Kieran Trippier (£6.9m), Anthony Gordon (£6.1m) and Alexander Isak (£7.5m) are all in the undecided pile.
You could easily see Gary O’Neil’s Wolverhampton Wanderers side causing problems on the counter-attack at St James’ Park, too, so Hwang Hee-chan (£5.6m) or Pedro Neto (£5.8m) could very well end up making a Scout Picks appearance, despite flopping in Gameweek 26.
Jordan Pickford (£4.6m) and Jarrad Branthwaite (£4.2m) also come into the conversation at the back: the former is third for projected points in his position in the upcoming Gameweek.
THE LONG SHOTS
It’ll be a tough ask for any of Jarrod Bowen (£7.7m), Mohammed Kudus (£6.8m), Jordan Ayew (£5.4m) or Abdoulaye Doucoure (£5.5m) to force their way past others in Gameweek 27, but they could perhaps become shouts as the week progresses.
Ayew, for example, could get some joy up against Spurs’ high defensive line, having plundered 19 points in his last two matches, while Bowen and Kudus may well be boosted by the return of influential playmaker Lucas Paqueta (£6.0m).
Still, Everton are fourth for fewest expected goals conceded (xGC) all season, so it could be a tight affair at Goodison Park, which is precisely why we’ve plumped for Branthwaite in our ‘bus team’.
Rodrigo Muniz (£4.4m) and Dominic Calvert-Lewin (£5.8m) carry some potential but won’t dislodge current forwards Haaland, Watkins and Solanke.
GAMEWEEK 27 BUS TEAM
