FPL Gameweek 29 early Scout Picks: Elanga in Free Hit XI

A little later than usual, we’ve created our Scout Picks ‘bus team’ for Blank Gameweek 29 of Fantasy Premier League (FPL).

In this selection, we select a first draft of our regular picks. We will then finalise and publish them much closer to Saturday’s deadline.

We’ve kept things relatively brief in this article as a lot of the content this week is/will be based around the Free Hit. This is, after all, essentially what the Scout Picks are.

We are, as ever, limited by certain restrictions:

• An £83.0m budget for our starting XI
• An overall squad limit of £100.0m
• No more than three players per team

GAMEWEEK 29 FIXTURES

Above: The Gameweek 29 fixtures sorted by difficulty on our Season Ticker

THE LIKELY LADS

We’re generalising here but many Free Hit teams are going to have a core of one Tottenham Hotspur defender, at least one representative of the Brentford backline, a couple of Spurs midfielders/forwards, Jarrod Bowen (£8.0m), Ollie Watkins (£9.0m) and Ivan Toney (£8.1m).

The Gameweek 29 ‘transfers in’ column (also featuring the blanking Ben White (£5.7m)…) mostly reflects this:

Sergio Reguilon (£4.4m) is our go-to Brentford defender if he’s fit. He’s registered seven shots and six chances created in his six starts for the Bees, decent stats for a defender – especially considering he’s faced Manchester City twice and Liverpool in those games. He’s been on set plays, too.

If Reguilon is still hamstrung by his hamstring, there’s always opposite wing-back Mads Roerslev (£4.4m). An unsung performer, he doesn’t offer the same threat as Reguilon but did find the net in Gameweek 27. He’s also likelier to get further forward against Championship-bound Burnley than he did in any of his other recent runouts against the Premier League big guns.

There’s an argument for Yoane Wissa (£5.6m) over Toney. Ask any Brentford fan and they’re likely to be lukewarm on the latter’s recent performances and more enthusiastic about Wissa’s. The cheaper Bees forward has scored in each of his last three runouts, while Toney has blanked. Wissa also outshot Toney 8-2 over their last two starts together (ludicrously small sample siren: activated). Still, the 90-minute man on penalties and direct free-kicks will take some opposing.

As will James Maddison (£8.0m) and Son Heung-min (£9.9m) after their Gameweek 28 heroics cemented their spots in many Free Hit sides. Brennan Johnson (£5.8m), unbeaten by any teammate for penalty box touches, shots or big chances upon his return to the Lilywhites’ starting XI on Sunday, is a late contender. The minutes are generally a worry with him, mind. While he’s very possibly done enough to keep his place for Gameweek 29, you just know he’d be one of the first ones hooked if things aren’t going to plan at Craven Cottage.

As for Destiny Udogie (£4.9m) v Pedro Porro (£5.8m), we’ll save the wider analysis and our final Scout Picks decision for an upcoming Members article. Udogie gets the nod for now…

• READ MORE: FPL Gameweek 29 Free Hit dilemmas: Bowen v Kudus

IN CONTENTION

So, onto the handful of other unclaimed slots.

The goalkeeper is one of the problem positions this week, with no standout candidate. Brentford are the bookies’ favourites for a clean sheet this time but they aren’t exactly in a rich seam of defensive form, having kept just one shutout in their last 18 league matches. Reguilon at least has the goal potential at the other end of the field.

And it’s likely attacking threat that’ll get our other defender(s) the nod, with clean sheets difficult to anticipate. The absurdly offensive Alfie Doughty (£4.7m) will be in the mix again, while all eyes will be on the Aston Villa teamsheet on Thursday night to see if we can glean any starting XI clues for Sunday. Lucas Digne (£4.6m) v Alex Moreno (£5.2m), for instance, just isn’t worth the risk right now.

Are Fantasy managers overlooking the Fulham attack this week? Of the four hosts in Gameweek 29 action, the Cottagers have scored the most home goals (26 in 14 matches) this season. Opponents Spurs meanwhile had kept just one clean sheet in 17 league fixtures before Sunday’s thrashing of Villa.

Rodrigo Muniz (£4.5m) is leading the charge in the ‘third forward’ race, trailed by the likes of Wissa, Carlton Morris (£5.2m) and David Datro Fofana (£5.0m). The availability of Armando Broja (£4.9m) and the imminent return to fitness of Raul Jimenez (£5.0m) are concerns, however. You’d think he’d have enough credit in the bank for Gameweek 28’s blank not to cost him his place but options off the bench may impact on his minutes.

Of the forwards available in Gameweek 29, Muniz has had the most shots and efforts in the box in his last six matches.

The midweek match at Bournemouth was classic Luton. Often exhilarating going forward, a shambles at the back. A whopping 101 goals have been scored in matches involving the Hatters this season; only Newcastle have a higher goal involvement figure.

Luton and Nottingham Forest attackers enter the chat for Gameweek 29, then. Anthony Elanga (£5.1m) and Morgan Gibbs–White (£5.7m) will be hoping to capitalise on a demoralised Luton backline that has to get Bournemouth’s comeback win out of their system in less than 72 hours. Elanga was benched last weekend but it was a tactical decision designed to swamp Brighton’s central midfield, so we’d be expecting him to return to the starting XI this weekend. He’d had seven big chances in his just four Gameweeks prior to that benching, and his pace could be deadly against a deflated Hatters side.

GAMEWEEK 29 EARLY SCOUT PICKS