The Scout Squad: Our top picks for FPL Gameweek 12

The Taylor/Serrano to the Scout Picks’ Paul/Tyson: it’s the Gameweek 12 Scout Squad.

Sam, Marc, Tom and Neale are back to nominate their 18-man squads, with the long lists perhaps even more needed this week given the lingering injury doubts from the international break.

There is consensus about six players, with another half-dozen assets getting three votes apiece.

MORE ABOUT THE SCOUT SQUAD

In this article series, our in-house panel discuss who they think the best Fantasy Premier League (FPL) players are for the upcoming round of fixtures in isolation. Therefore, there’s no medium-term planning involved.

The players who get the most votes are much more likely to make Friday’s Scout Picks.

Each of our writers must meet the following requirements for this feature:

• At least one sub-£5.0m goalkeeper
• At least one sub-£5.0m defender
• At least one sub-£6.0m midfielder
• At least one sub-£7.0m forward
• No more than three players from the same club

SCOUT SQUAD: GAMEWEEK 12 PICKS

Most popular picks: Gabriel Magalhaes, Mohamed Salah, Cole Palmer, Bruno Fernandes, Erling Haaland, Alexander Isak (four), Andre Onana, Robert Sanchez, Lewis Hall, Virgil van Dijk, Lucas Digne, Ollie Watkins (three)

MARC SAID…

It feels like there are so many good options this week and I’ve not been able to find room for Matheus Cunha or Anthony Gordon. Sorry, lads. The priority needs to be a triple-up for both Liverpool and Chelsea for their trips to promoted sides.

I definitely think Mohamed Salah and Cole Palmer are Gameweek 12’s leading captaincy choices. The latter has created the season’s second-most big chances (10) and taken the fourth-most shots (36) – we’ve seen how explosive he can be – but it’s hard to ignore Salah’s top-versus-bottom battle, a player who is already on over 100 points thanks to seven double-digit hauls from just 11 occasions.

They’re both joined by another attacking team-mate. Nicolas Jackson has nine returns and one of the best expected goals (xG) tallies, with the logic behind Cody Gakpo being that he’s Liverpool’s one non-Salah option who is neither injured nor travelling back from South America.

At the back, Robert Sanchez is there purely because of his fixture, as Chelsea have been quite leaky, but Virgil van Dijk is about collecting both clean sheets and the occasional set-piece goal.

Elsewhere, I assume Man City v Tottenham to be high-scoring which is why, naturally, I’ve briefly sold Erling Haaland and will be benching Dominic Solanke. Being without the Norwegian for two deadlines feels uncomfortable, despite a whopping 76 players bettering his 19 points since Gameweek 6 – defensive colleague Josko Gvardiol has scored three times in this period.

Yet there is monstrous data underneath the couple of Haaland goals. For example, his latest three outings have featured 18 penalty area shots, nine big chances and an xG of 4.59. The output isn’t justifying his price but the stats are.

A forward who is in brilliant form is Newcastle’s Alexander Isak, having netted in four successive games in all competitions. You’d back him to do it again versus West Ham, considering he grabbed a brace in both of last season’s meetings.

Between the sticks, Nick Pope has that sweet spot between clean sheet potential and being forced into saves, with my third shotstopper being Andre Onana for Ruben Amorim’s first match in charge of Man United. I think there’ll be a new manager boost, where the 3-4-3 system lets Bruno Fernandes play an advanced role. As a non-owner, I fear the damage he could inflict at Ipswich.

I’ve gone for Arsenal duo Gabriel Magalhaes and penalty-taking Bukayo Saka but the Nottingham Forest home fixture certainly isn’t the banker we thought it’d be several months ago. Last season’s best backline hasn’t kept a clean sheet since Gameweek 4, while Forest’s rearguard is the one that’s allowed the fewest overall big chances (15).

The next best in this area is Fulham (17), making cheap centre-back Joachim Andersen a nice option at home to Wolves. Furthermore, Emile Smith Rowe will be confident of scoring in consecutive matches because he’s against the side that’s conceded most often.

My fifth defender is attacking left-back Lucas Digne. I was surprised to see he’s started all 11 league games and therefore less shocked to notice his eight big chances created is joint-most in his position. Although Aston Villa are on a run of one win in six, he could be productive at home to Crystal Palace.

Finally, Brentford’s Yoane Wissa is on six strikes from seven starts. Of all Premier League players to be named in at least one line-up, he has the best minutes per goal rate (94.3) after Haaland. Why have I sold Haaland, again?

SAM SAID…

There are a few teams this week that FPL managers would ideally look to double or even treble up on if they could. Liverpool away at Southampton, Villa at home to Palace, Manchester United away at Ipswich, Chelsea against Leicester and Brentford against Everton all feel like matches you could easily bag a haul or three from.

I’m expecting the arrival of Ruben Amorim to have an immediate impact on Manchester United and therefore Andre Onana gets the nod between the sticks. Onana is currently the highest-scoring goalkeeper in the game and if Amorim persists with the back three that we saw at Sporting, that should offer him a bit more security.

As for the supporting cast, both Robert Sanchez and Nick Pope look like great options for this Gameweek with fixtures that should bring clean sheets against Leicester City and West Ham United respectively.

Despite facing an in-form Chris Wood, Gabriel Magalhaes is still my first-choice defender. The attacking threat that he offers means that, even if the clean sheet doesn’t stick, the points could still flow. He’s had more attempts in the six-yard box than any other Premier League player bar Erling Haaland this season!

Virgil van Dijk is currently the highest-scoring defender in the game and has an attractive fixture against a Southampton side who have scored the fewest goals in the league. Virgil is also a threat from set pieces, while Southampton having conceded 17 big chances from dead-ball situations this campaign.

Lucas Digne and Rayan Ait-Nouri both offer plenty of attacking threat from left-back, with Ait-Nouri having registered the most attacking returns of the defenders in the game so far. Lewis Hall is perhaps not quite as gung-ho (he’s not had a shot this season) but he’s creating plenty and now faces a West Ham United team struggling for goals and form, so there’s another opportunity for at least a clean sheet. It could be a high-scoring week for defenders!

Into midfield, where of course Mohamed Salah is the top pick. On a century of points already, he has a great record against opponents Southampton, whose attacking, possession-based system should leave plenty of space for Salah to get in behind. I think if you have it still this week, the Triple Captain chip could be a great option.

Cole Palmer, Bruno Fernandes and Bryan Mbeumo have outstanding fixtures this weekend, too. Palmer has been seen in training having missed international duty with England, while Bruno continued his goal-scoring form away with Portugal before getting a nice little breather. Mbeumo has been given the green light to feature against Everton, too, despite his own injury scare.

Finally, obligatory sub-£6.0m midfielder Morgan Rogers. It’s a great fixture against injury-hit Crystal Palace, who have failed to keep a clean sheet away from home all season. Rogers is likely to be hyped from his first England call-up and not too fatigued either, with only two substitute appearances for the Three Lions.

Alexander Isak is the player I wish I owned most ahead of his Monday night match. He continued his excellent scoring form on international duty and was unlucky to see another goal contentiously ruled out for offside. I am even thinking about losing my only Spurs asset to bring him into my team this weekend!

Alongside the Swede, Ollie Watkins – like Rogers – could really exploit that Palace defence. Of the forwards, only Haaland has had more big chances than the 15 Watkins has registered so far this season. Haaland himself should easily exploit the Spurs defence, as they will undoubtedly leave space in behind with their attacking football – even more so as Micky van de Ven remains sidelined and Cristian Romero is a doubt.

Yoane Wissa has the best minutes per goal (80.9) rate of any player who has started a match this season, while the final forward slot belongs to Joao Pedro. The Brazilian may not start but as we saw last weekend, he can be explosive even off the bench.

TOM SAID…

Liverpool enjoy perhaps the best-on-paper fixture of Gameweek 12.

I’ve gone with Ibrahima Konate at the back. Southampton are the worst team in the league at defending set-pieces, at least according to expected goals (xG), so it could be a match made in heaven for the Frenchman, given his aerial ability: the towering centre-half has attempted more headed efforts than any other Liverpool player in 2024/25, scoring twice in all competitions.

Mohamed Salah also gets the nod, while I’ve gone for Darwin Nunez over Luis Diaz/Cody Gakpo for the sole remaining Liverpool slot. Despite reservations about his potency, the Uruguayan has produced two goals and one assist in four league starts under Arne Slot, a decent return.

Aston Villa also have favourable opposition this weekend, even if they aren’t exactly firing on all cylinders themselves.

While there are legitimate concerns over rotation for Lucas Digne in future weeks, he is one of Villa’s leading chance creators this season, while Morgan Rogers’ budget-enabling price tag should see him in with an excellent chance of making the Scout Picks on Friday. I like the look of Ollie Watkins for this clash, too: the England international has had three big chances in his last two outings, despite facing Tottenham Hotspur and Liverpool.

Bruno Fernandes is my sole Manchester United representative against Ipswich Town as I wait to see what impact Ruben Amorim can have on the Red Devils, but I’ve got no such reservations about going all-in on Arsenal. Confidence is perhaps a little shaken in the Gunners, but the return to fitness of Martin Odegaard gives them the perfect platform from which to bounce back.

David Raya and Gabriel Magalhaes owe us a clean sheet after a succession of blanks, while Bukayo Saka has haul potential with Odegaard back in the starting XI, if passed fit of course.

Elsewhere, I’ve kept faith with Erling Haaland as I’ve seen little in Spurs’ backline to convince me that they could shut out City when they meet at the Etihad Stadium. I’ve also backed Alexander Isak and Lewis Hall to do the job against West Ham United on Monday. 

NEALE SAID…

There’s an abundance of attractive options this week, which is just as well as injury could rule a few big names out on Friday. Already, though, we’ve seen that plenty of the yellow flags – Bryan Mbeumo, Cole Palmer etc – have predictably turned out to be non-injuries.

One player we did see ruled out on Thursday was (surprise, surprise) Reece James, which leads me to Malo Gusto. Chelsea’s defence hasn’t convinced this season, nor has Gusto in an advanced role. But, as was the case with Marcos Alonso, we FPL managers prioritise returns over plaudits. Gusto has had 12 shots in his last five run-outs alone, inverting deep into opposition territory like a poor man’s Rico Lewis. One of those was a glorious chance to score against Arsenal in Gameweek 11. With James out and injury-hit Leicester short of attackers, I’ll gamble on Gusto to deliver.

The only defender to beat Gusto for penalty box touches in those five Gameweeks is Antonee Robinson, a marauding full-back himself. He’s supplied nine assists since the start of last season, while opponents Wolverhampton Wanderers have conceded more crosses from their right flank than any other team. Fulham are an impressive, well-drilled side. Wolves are a more chaotic bunch. The Cottagers really ought to comfortably beat Gary O’Neil’s side – who rode their luck to beat Southampton – and I’m backing Emile Smith Rowe to time one of his ghosting runs to perfection against a disjointed visiting defence.

One of the reasons for opting for Smith Rowe is that Raul Jimenez’s late return from the Americas lends a little bit of doubt over who starts up top for Fulham. There’s a ‘go with what we know’ influence with several other of my picks, too.

I’ve selected a rested, in-form Evanilson, for example, over Antoine Semenyo. We’ll find out soon enough from Andoni Iraola if there is anything in the “overload of games” reason for Semenyo’s withdrawal from the Ghana squad – and in the lack of Semenyo’s presence in a midweek training gallery. As impressive as Brighton have been, Bournemouth have been excellent on home soil this season. That game could be a great watch, with two of the league’s most intense pressing sides going head-to-head at the Vitality.

Given the uncertainty over which set-up and personnel Ruben Amorim will prefer at Manchester United, I’ve also gone safety first with the low-risk Andre Onana and Bruno Fernandes. Does Amorim go with his usual 3-4-2-1 as training suggests? Will the wingers challenge Diogo Dalot and Noussair Mazraoui for the wing-back roles? Will Marcus Rashford be up top? There are too many unknowns to stray from the beaten path of Onana and Fernandes, who will surely be a fixture of this new-look team. I’m assuming we’re going to see Fernandes as one of the two ’10s’, which will be an interesting watch.

On a similar-ish theme, I’ve tried to play the xMins game with Darwin Nunez over Cody Gakpo/Luis Diaz. It’s mostly been an either/or with the latter two, although we have seen them together in the cups. Darwin’s half-time withdrawal in the midweek game for Uruguay, Diogo Jota’s absence and the extra day of recovery with it being a Sunday game was enough to convince me to add him to Mohamed Salah and Virgil van Dijk as part of a Liverpool triple-up. The main reason for Virgil’s inclusion is nice and simple: the league’s worst defence for set-piece goals conceded against the Dutch corner-magnet.

Misfiring and/or injury-hit attacks influenced the selections of Emiliano Martinez, Mark Flekken (that clean sheet is coming soon!) and Lewis Hall. The two goalkeepers can combine shut-outs with save points against two of the three lowest-scoring attacks in the division, while a corner-taking Hall and a resurgent Newcastle can put another nail in Julen Lopetegui’s coffin. Ollie Watkins and Alexander Isak join their defensive colleagues in my selection but I’ve stopped short of a Brentford attacker, with Everton slowly getting back to their stingy best at the back. They’ve beaten the Bees 1-0 in their last two meetings on Merseyside.

Finally, a ‘gut’ pick in the form of Martin Odegaard. Really impressive on his comeback in Gameweek 11, his vision and guile from midfield may be needed against a Forest side who have been successful in denying space to Liverpool and Chelsea’s pacier attackers this season. Craft, and not celerity, may be needed at the Emirates.

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