The Scout Squad: Our top picks for FPL Gameweek 17

Marc, Sam, Tom and Neale are back for the round-table discussion that is the Gameweek 17 Scout Squad.

There is consensus about eight players this week, with a further four 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 Gameweek in isolation. In other words, there’s no medium-term planning involved.

The players who get the most votes are likelier 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 16 PICKS

Most popular picks: David Raya, Antonee Robinson, Lewis Hall, Mohamed Salah, Cole Palmer, Alexander Isak, Chris Wood, Raul Jimenez (four), Gabriel Magalhaes, Bukayo Saka, Jarrod Bowen, Jamie Vardy (three)

MARC SAID…

In FPL, I usually have the mindset of not picking Newcastle players because I’m already cheering them on as a supporter. So let’s root for as many players as possible throughout the league, minimising the sadness. But, admittedly, when Lewis Hall crossed for Alexander Isak to make it 3-0, I wasn’t exactly jumping on the sofa in celebration. And there was simply no need for Jacob Murphy to make it four from Isak’s pass. Oh well. I tip the duo to do well at Ipswich and cause further damage to the overall rank.

Meanwhile, I’ve tripled up on west London sides Fulham and Chelsea. Cole Palmer is the league’s best for chances created (44) and ranks third for both shots (57) and big chances (24). Defender Levi Colwill makes the cut yet I’m hesitant about buying Nicolas Jackson this week, knowing he’s on four yellows and has Christopher Nkunku waiting for a festive runout but think he starts at Goodison Park and will grab his 10th goal.

I’m less sure about Raul Jimenez making Fulham’s line-up as Rodrigo Muniz came on last week and impressed. Let’s see if Jimenez gets one more go. Team-mate Antonee Robinson’s Anfield assists were well-timed now that Rayan Ait-Nouri is suspended – no defender has more attacking returns (six) and he’ll be at home to last-placed, managerless Southampton. That’s why Bernd Leno is here too.

Another player facing opposition dugout disruption is Jamie Vardy, who gets a go at a Wolves backline conceding the most goals so far. However, Brentford are the worst for allowing attempts (299) and shots on target (105), hence the additional selection of Chris Wood.

Knowing how high-scoring the Bees’ home games are, I’ll also opt for Bryan Mbeumo from that match. He’s someone I, unfortunately, benched for his goal at Chelsea and quickly sold on Saturday night before early price changes. That already feels like a regret, knowing he takes penalties, is joint with Yoane Wissa for most home goals and has played more minutes than any other midfielder. Between the sticks, clean sheets are tough to call but you can always rely on Mark Flekken to make lots of saves.

I think Arsenal could keep out an improving Crystal Palace but feel less confident in their attackers. David Raya and Gabriel Magalhaes get the nod, as does Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah – he could have fun versus unpredictable Tottenham, a team that thrashed the Saints but is that really an achievement right now? Gameweek 16 was Salah’s first tally below nine points from his latest eight outings.

Owners of West Ham talisman Jarrod Bowen received a double-digit haul in Gameweek 15 but were very unlucky in surrounding matches. Monday night saw him hit the crossbar and not take their late penalty, while the trip to Leicester was a blank despite 1.62 expected goal involvement (xGI).

A couple of Manchester United assets finish off these picks. Diogo Dalot has a tricky home clash with Bournemouth but the team collected clean sheets from two of their last three at Old Trafford. They’ve conceded this season’s third-fewest chances (177) but meet an attacking Cherries, whose 29 shots versus West Ham keep them second overall (270).

It’s hard not to choose Amad Diallo as my cheap midfielder. He’s accumulated one goal and six assists from five recent starts, making him almost undroppable when combined with the off-field Marcus Rashford and Alejandro Garnacho situations.

SAM SAID…

Wow, it’s Gameweek 17 already and we are hurtling towards the midway point of the season really fast. This weekend’s Spurs v Liverpool fixture always seems to appear before Christmas, just in time for an explosive afternoon in the Bonfield household – hopefully, we’ll have made up by Christmas Day! I’ve avoided this game with the exception of Mohamed Salah who at this point feels inevitable.

In goal Bernd Leno has the best fixture of the week against Southampton, however, we did see some fight from them under their interim boss during the League Cup defeat to Liverpool on Wednesday. Leno has a good chance of a clean sheet as well as additional points. The Fulham keeper has made 46 saves this season, only six goalkeepers have made more and from these, he has earned nine points. He has also picked up a couple of bonus points. Alongside Leno, I have opted for two premium keepers in David Raya and Andre Onana. Both have attractive fixtures against Palace and Bournemouth. Both these shot-stoppers have kept six clean sheets this season, only Liverpool have kept more with seven.

I sold Antonee Robinson on my WIldcard back in Gameweek 11 and I regret that decision so much right now. He will almost certainly be my transfer in this week, especially against a Southampton side who have scored the fewest goals in the league this season. Robinson’s attacking threat is superb; he has created 17 chances for his team-mates this season and supplied 66 crosses. With good potential for a clean sheet as well Robinson feels like the perfect under £5m defender to invest in.

Money isn’t an issue in the Scout Squad and so maybe I am foolish for picking Jurrien Timber over Gabriel Magalhaes. However, their underlying numbers look very similar and, in fact, Timber’s 13 chances created is far superior to Gabriel’s five, whereas Timber’s 10 attempts on goal are not far behind either.

Diogo Dalot is in my team and I am enjoying his pitch position under new manager Ruben Amorim. However, he has been frustrating with just one clean sheet in the last four Gameweeks. In that period, he has supplied 14 crosses and so hopefully one of these will lead to an attacking return in the next few matches. Lewis Hall and Nathan Collins both have outstanding attacking threat. Hall is on corner-taking duties for Newcastle and his 15-point haul last weekend makes him an easy pick this week, especially against a struggling Ipswich side. Nathan Collins has had seven attempts on goal in home matches this season and his six attacking returns at home is more than any other defender in the game.

Salah picks himself – even against Spurs. I have also opted for both Cole Palmer and Bukayo Saka. Although both Everton and Palace have the players to nullify those two assets I think they are important owns for the weekend. Jarrod Bowen is high on my Christmas wishlist. The West Ham fixtures are turning for the better and Bowen could be a long-term hold. Bowen is top for all attacking metrics across the Hammers team this season and his 40 attempts on goal is more than the likes of Brennan Johnson and just six less than Saka. Finally, in form wonderkid Amad Diallo. It was a tough decision to pick between him and Bruno Fernandes however his position on the pitch means that I think managers could save significant budget here. This is something that I am considering doing myself.

Into the forward line and, outside of Salah, Alexander Isak is probably the standout captaincy option this weekend. Isak is now on 11 attacking returns for the season – only Erling Haaland and Nicolas Jackson have more across that forward line. Jackson himself is my second pick. Whilst Everton can be solid as we saw against Arsenal in Gameweek 16, Chelsea are the best attacking team in the league with 37 goals scored so far and therefore I suspect they will break them down. Raul Jiminez is a risk as Rodrigo Muniz is likely to get some game time over Christmas but it’s too nice a fixture not to pick the Fulham forward against the worst defence in the league. My final two picks Chris Wood and Yoane Wissa play each other, but both are in great form and the Gtech is the ground where the most goals (home and away goals combined) have been scored this season.

TOM SAID…

I have low expectations for clean sheets this week, so it makes sense to mostly target defenders who can potentially compensate for any goals conceded with an attacking return.

Gabriel Magalhaes’ set-piece threat is well-documented but the corner-taking Lewis Hall has registered two shots and eight key passes in his last three matches and ought to get some joy at Ipswich.

Only two clubs (Leicester and Southampton) have recorded fewer shots than the Tractor Boys this season. They’ll also be without top-scorer Liam Delap and George Hirst, with Ali Al-Hamadi the only out-and-out striker available for Saturday’s clash.

I’ve also backed Trent Alexander-Arnold at Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday. He has a tougher-on paper fixture this week but created the first goal at Southampton on Wednesday and later showed his quality with a brilliant cross for Alexis Mac Allister, which almost resulted in a goal.

Antonee Robinson is the flavour of the week after a brace of assists at Anfield, with a favourable fixture in Gameweek 17 furthering his cause. Alex Iwobi could also thrive in the space between Southampton’s defenders and midfielders. As for Raul Jimenez, I think he probably starts on Sunday but there is a bit of concern, with Rodrigo Muniz impressing off the bench against Arsenal and Liverpool.

The home form of Jarrod Bowen (three goals and three assists in his last five appearances) convinces me to give him the nod against Brighton, while further forward, Jamie Vardy and Chris Wood should thrive against two of the leakiest defences (Wolves and Brentford respectively) in the division.

Finally, with Danny Welbeck ruled out, Joao Pedro should once again lead the line for Brighton at West Ham. Four points from their past two matches has eased pressure on Julen Lopetegui but the Hammers still struggle to establish control in games and look vulnerable defensively. That’s something Pedro can exploit, especially with his ability to ghost into goalscoring positions.

NEALE SAID…

Choosing defenders was a bit of a struggle this week as there’s quite the drop-off in clean sheet prospects from Fulham, Newcastle United, Chelsea and Arsenal to the rest. Southampton, Everton, Ipswich and Crystal Palace are the division’s four lowest scorers, although the Eagles are in resurgent form.

It’s for that reason that I’ve doubled up on defensive assets from three of those four clubs (not something I usually do in the Scout Squad), the only hindrance to doing so with Fulham being the two attacking assets I’ve gone with from the Cottagers. The Tractor Boys are without top scorer Liam Delap, too, which cemented my Newcastle selections.

Gabriel Magalhaes, Antonee Robinson and Lewis Hall offer the supplementary attacking threat: Gabriel with his set-piece prowess, the two left-backs with their assist potential.

Malo Gusto hasn’t been the gung-ho right-back of last season. There was a brief, exciting period when he was inverting as a ’10’, but he’s retreated since then to a back three in build-up. Nevertheless, against deep blocks – like Brentford last weekend and Everton this Sunday – he’ll still be asked to push forward and deliver crosses. He whipped over eight of them in Gameweek 16, more than any other defender. I do wonder how Enzo Maresca will set up without Marc Cucurella (Moises Caicedo inverting from right-back and Gusto on the left or something else?), so he’s very much behind Gabriel, Robinson and Hall in my pecking order.

As for Pervis Estupinan, he is starting to hit the attacking numbers of previous years. He’s registered seven shots and eight chances created in the last four Gameweeks alone, so in the absence of any other stand-out defenders this week, I’m giving him a whirl. I’m hoping that the return to fitness of Joel Veltman solidifies a Brighton backline that has lost its way in recent weeks.

Further forward, I’ve stopped short of a double-up on Chelsea attackers. Everton are in mean mood, with six clean sheets in nine, so I think including Nicolas Jackson alongside Cole Palmer is overkill. The Toffees beat Chelsea 2-0 in this fixture last season, indeed. Palmer put four past Sean Dyche’s side in their last meeting, so he makes the cut, but I’ll be handing Mohamed Salah and not the England international the armband in my own FPL team this week.

I think Raul Jimenez gets the Southampton game but there is definitely a minutes risk over Christmas, and it seems likely that Rodrigo Muniz will get at least one start in the next three Gameweeks. The Mexican is low down my forwards’ list as a result, and it’s why I’m content with Alex Iwobi as a Fulham representative against the managerless, porous Saints.

In the last six Gameweeks, Iwobi is Fulham’s leading player for shots (12), shots in the box (nine), chances created (nine) and expected goal involvement (xGI, 2.09). He also carries none of the game-time risk that Jimenez and Emile Smith Rowe do.

Now for the ‘too much egg nog’ midfield selection: John McGinn. I think I’ll be starting Morgan Rogers in my own FPL team this week, given that Manchester City have conceded two or more goals in six of their last seven league matches. Villa, for once, have had a nice week of rest before this fixture, and we all know how much their performances are predicated on intensity and energy.

Here’s my thinking with McGinn: over the last six Gameweeks, the Scot beats Rogers for xGI (2.27 v 1.81), shots (12 v 9), shots in the box (9 v 4), chances created (12 v 11) and big chances created (4 v 1). Matty Cash and Lucas Digne pushing high (effectively a 3-4-3/3-4-2-1 on the ball) squeezes McGinn and Rogers into the centre in this new tweaked system, and I’ve seen him popping up in some threatening positions in the last few weeks. A bit of a mad old punt, but it’s Christmas.

There’s some semblance of normality up front, with Alexander Isak in red-hot form (Ipswich’s defence has been quite decent of late, hence no Anthony Gordon or another Newcastle attacker) and Jamie Vardy about to encounter the league’s worst defence for goals conceded.

Chris Wood is my top forward pick, however. Yes, Brentford have the league’s best home record. But, and why it’s important to look beyond the ‘wins’ column, they’ve also conceded more home goals than 16 other teams and have yet to keep a clean sheet at the Gtech. With Sepp van den Berg and Ethan Pinnock now injury concerns from midweek, Wood could enjoy himself this weekend.

Finally, I’ve gone with Yoane Wissa over Bryan Mbeumo as I wonder if Frank returns to his 4-3-3 for this home encounter. While Mbeumo is still capable of producing the goods out wide (I’ve kept, and am keeping, him in my own FPL team), Wissa gets into the more threatening positions when it’s a three-man frontline rather than the strike partnership we saw at Chelsea. Since Wissa’s return in Gameweek 9, he’s had over twice as many shots in the box, twice as many big chances and twice the xG as Mbeumo.

SIGN UP HERE FOR ALL THE TOOLS YOU NEED TO WIN AT FPL!