FPL Gameweek 1 early Scout Picks: Four double-ups, no Salah

We’ve put together an early draft of our Fantasy Premier League (FPL) Scout Picks for Gameweek 1.

As ever, we will finalise our selection much closer to Friday’s deadline.

Plenty can change between now and then, of course, with Scout Squad nominations and a whole host of press conferences still to come.

If you’re new to this feature, there are certain restrictions for our picks:

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

GAMEWEEK 1 FIXTURES

Above: The Gameweek 1 fixtures sorted by difficulty on our Season Ticker

THE LIKELY LADS

We’re targeting all three newly-promoted clubs in our early draft.

Luton Town, Burnley and Sheffield United conceded a whopping 267 goals between them last season, suffering relegation straight back to the Championship.

This year’s newcomers – Leicester City, Ipswich Town and Southampton – might fare better, but there are legitimate concerns.

The Saints, for example, only managed to keep 12 clean sheets in last season’s promotion campaign, conceding 63 goals.

Newcastle United’s Alexander Isak (£8.5m) could be the best captain pick in Gameweek 1, then. The Swede was particularly prolific at St James’ Park in 2023/24, averaging a goal every 78.4 minutes.

Could team-mate Anthony Gordon (£7.5m) join him? He only got his first pre-season minutes at the weekend but if we’re confident he’ll start, he’ll surely be in the mix.

: Alexander Isak and Anthony Gordon’s goal threat in 2023/24 compared (home matches only)

As for Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur, they are set to visit Ipswich and Leicester respectively.

Diogo Jota (£7.5m) and Dominic Solanke (£7.5m) free up some cash, but Mohamed Salah (£12.5m) and Son Heung-min (£10.0m) won’t be far from our thoughts.

However, Jota had the best minutes per goal ratio at Liverpool in 2023/24 (116.9) and has looked sharp in pre-season, while Ange Postecoglou doesn’t see any reason why Solanke “wouldn’t be available” in Gameweek 1:

“Yeah, I don’t see any reason why he shouldn’t be. He’s played most of the pre-season. Slight knock in the last game Bournemouth played, but, of course, we’ll have a look at him during the week. But I think that considering he’s done most of pre-season, I see no reason why he wouldn’t be available.” – Ange Postecoglou on whether Dominic Solanke will be ready to start against Leicester City

Crucially, the £7.5m saved opens up a spot for Bukayo Saka (£10.0m).

The England international’s Gameweek 1 prospects look good after a 75-minute run-out against Lyon on Sunday, where he posed a real threat, doing everything but score.

David Raya (£5.5m) or one of the Arsenal defenders in front of him are also likely to make the Scout Picks cut.

Further defensive coverage is supplied by Trent Alexander-Arnold (£7.0m), Pedro Porro (£5.5m) and Lewis Hall (£4.5m), who has racked up more pre-season minutes than any other Newcastle player.

All four of our current selections at the back feature right at the top of G-Whizz’s weekly clean sheet odds list.

IN CONTENTION

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