Six teams – Brighton and Hove Albion, Chelsea, Manchester City, Manchester United, Newcastle United and Tottenham Hotspur – will all play twice in Double Gameweek 37.
These clubs provide 11 players for the Scout Picks ‘bus team’, led by a Man City triple-up as they chase down the title.
In this early selection, we cobble together a first draft of our regular picks. We will then finalise and publish them much closer to Saturday’s Fantasy Premier League (FPL) deadline.
Plenty can change between now and then, of course. There is one more Gameweek 36 fixture, Scout Squad nominations and a whole host of press conferences still to come.
As ever, we are 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 37 FIXTURES
Above: The Gameweek 37 fixtures sorted by difficulty on our Season Ticker
THE LIKELY LADS
We have a large pool of ‘doublers’ to choose from this week.
In all likelihood, players from these clubs will supply 10 or 11 picks in Friday’s final selection.
Chelsea probably have the best-looking fixtures at first glance. Delving into the underlying numbers, you’ll find that Nottingham Forest have the fourth-best expected goals conceded (xGC) figure since Nuno Espirito Santo took charge.
However, it hasn’t translated into clean sheets (one in 19 under Nuno) and Saturday’s display was their worst at the back for some time. There is an appealing trip to Brighton to factor in, too.
Cole Palmer (£6.2m) is nailed on for Scout Picks duty, then.
Given Chelsea’s improving form, Djordje Petrovic (£4.6m) and Nicolas Jackson (£6.9m) also have good shouts for inclusion. The latter has racked up four goals and three assists in his last five outings.
An inverting Marc Cucurella (£4.8m), fit-again Malo Gusto (£4.3m) and Noni Madueke (£5.3m) also carry appeal. Picking a defender who plays twice is a bit of a minefield, however.
For Newcastle, Nick Pope (£5.3m) was back on the bench at Turf Moor, so it’s unclear how long Martin Dubravka (£4.3m) continues between the posts.
A safer bet might be a defender. Should Kieran Trippier (£6.6m) be ruled out of both Double Gameweek 37 fixtures, Tino Livramento (£4.0m) will be nailed. Even if fit, the former Southampton man could still move over to the left.
As noted in Neale’s Scout Notes round-up, Livramento had as many penalty box touches (six) as Alexander Isak (£8.4m) on Saturday and had a big chance of his own saved. Dan Burn (£4.6m) is another attractive, more secure, option.
Further forward, Anthony Gordon (£6.3m) and Isak are the main two candidates. Callum Wilson (£7.8m) presents an intriguing alternative, albeit a riskier one given that he’s only just back from injury.
Meanwhile, rotation at Man City isn’t as much of a concern now. No matter what the results next weekend, there’ll be something riding on the trip to Tottenham the following Tuesday.
Ederson (£5.5m) has made a swift return from injury but it’s difficult to look past Josko Gvardiol (£5.1m) as the superior pick right now. Over the last six Gameweeks, he’s racked up nine shots and five key passes.
We’re also backing Erling Haaland (£14.2m) for obvious reasons. One of Phil Foden (£8.4m) or Kevin De Bruyne (£10.5m) will no doubt join him.
As for Spurs, they are a mess defensively, with just two clean sheets in their last 26 Premier League games. Pedro Porro‘s (£5.8m) inclusion is all about his attacking threat, while Guglielmo Vicario (£5.3m) could at least supply save points.
We also need to make a decision in midfield. Son Heung-min (£9.9m) looked much better coming in off the left at Anfield on Sunday and is a bit of a no-brainer, but do we double up with Richarlison (£6.8m)?
The Brazilian has scored 10 goals and provided one assist in his last 16 appearances. If we are confident about his minutes, there is an argument to include him alongside Son, especially with Burnley up first.
IN CONTENTION
The other ‘doublers’, Brighton and Man Utd, could supply one or two picks, although the fixtures aren’t great.
For example, Albion will find it tough to keep a clean sheet against Newcastle and Chelsea. Those two teams rank fourth and sixth respectively for goals scored over the season.
Pascal Gross (£6.1m) and Joao Pedro (£5.2m) could potentially find the net at the other end, but it’s not easy to accommodate either, given the appeal of others in their positions.
As for Man Utd, Harry Maguire (£4.3m) has sustained a muscle injury. With an ongoing injury crisis, it’s only really Andre Onana (£5.0m) or Diogo Dalot (£5.2m) who appeal at the back. Even then, there are surely more secure defences to target.
In midfield, we’ll save a place for Bruno Fernandes (£8.5m) if fit. Alejandro Garnacho (£5.0m) and Rasmus Hojlund (£7.1m) are alternative shouts.
Away from the Double Gameweek clubs, there is one stand-out fixture to target for a clean sheet: Everton v Sheffield United.
Jordan Pickford (£4.8m), Jarrad Branthwaite (£4.4m) and James Tarkowski (£4.6m) are all in contention, given that the Toffees are currently on a run of four shut-outs in a row at Goodison Park.
THE LONG SHOTS
Man Utd v Arsenal is one of the more intriguing clashes of Gameweek 37.
The Gunners’ defence this season has been next level but the fixture itself probably isn’t quite attractive enough to put David Raya (£5.2m), Ben White (£6.1m) or Gabriel Magalhaes (£5.4m) in, given that United have scored in every league fixture in 2024.
It’s hard to look past the doublers in Gameweek 37 but Bukayo Saka (£9.0m) or Kai Havertz (£7.5m) are perfectly placed to exploit United’s previously mentioned defensive injuries at the other end, not to mention some concerning underlying numbers at the back. You would not put it past one of the Arsenal boys to outscore some of the ‘likely lads’ above.
The likes of Mohamed Salah (£13.4m), Jarrod Bowen (£7.6m), who hit the post three times at Stamford Bridge on Sunday, and Hwang Hee-chan (£5.4m) all have merits, too, without being stand-out Scout Picks candidates.
GAMEWEEK 37 SCOUT PICKS: BUS TEAM
