We’ve put together an early draft of our Fantasy Premier League (FPL) Scout Picks for Gameweek 20.
As ever, we will finalise our selection much closer to Saturday’s deadline.
Plenty can change between now and then.
The upcoming Scout Squad nominations will help shape the final Scout Picks. The pre-match press conferences will also influence our thinking.
There are certain restrictions for our picks, however:
- An £83.0m budget for our starting XI
- An overall squad limit of £100.0m
- No more than three players per team
GAMEWEEK 20 FIXTURES
Above: The Gameweek 20 fixtures sorted by difficulty on our Season Ticker
THE LIKELY LADS
Alexander Isak (£9.2m) will yet again be pushing hard for inclusion in the Scout Picks ahead of Gameweek 20.
FPL’s leading points scorer among forwards has 14 attacking returns in his last 11 appearances, a period which has seen him average 8.3 points per match.
It’s not beyond the realms of possibility that we end up with two Newcastle United attackers in our side this week, with Anthony Gordon (£7.4m) – who is on a run of four matches without a blank – also in the running.
Opponents Tottenham Hotspur have, after all, shipped 12 goals in their last three home matches.
They also head into 2025 without Guglielmo Vicario (£4.8m), Cristian Romero (£4.9m), Micky van de Ven (£4.5m), Ben Davies (£4.3m) and Rodrigo Bentancur (£4.9m), with Destiny Udogie (£4.9m) likely to miss out too.
And so, to the inevitable: Mohamed Salah (£13.6m)
Registering 11.2 points per match this season and delivering only two blanks in his 18 starts, he’s on a different level to every other FPL asset right now.
Luis Diaz (£7.6m) and Cody Gakpo (£7.3m) are other stand-out picks in the Liverpool attack.
Trent Alexander-Arnold (£7.2m) looks less sure of inclusion in Gameweek 20, but Manchester United have failed to score in each of their last three matches. He’ll also be licking his lips at the prospect of facing a side who have such issues defending crosses into the box.
A Brentford attacker also feels like a nailed-on pick, with Bryan Mbeumo (£7.6m) and Yoane Wissa (£6.2m) in the mix against Ivan Juric’s Southampton.
IN CONTENTION
It remains to be seen if Erling Haaland (£14.8m) and Cole Palmer (£11.4m) can squeeze into our final selection, as they tussle with the other heavy hitters.
With the likelihood that we’ll want to include Salah and Isak, their price tags could prove too prohibitive.
Instead, we’ve opted for Phil Foden (£9.2m) and Ollie Watkins (£8.8m) in our ‘bus team’, both of whom are much cheaper.
Foden claimed an assist last time out and, over his last six matches, has racked up 18 shots and 12 key passes. Kevin De Bruyne (£9.4m) and Savinho (£6.4m), who impressed at the King Power Stadium, are alternatives in the Manchester City ranks.
As for Watkins, he stepped up in Jhon Duran’s (£5.8m) absence earlier this week, with a goal and an assist against Brighton and Hove Albion. Unai Emery will lean on him more than ever on Saturday, with Duran and now Morgan Rogers (£5.5m) suspended.
The Villans’ defensive form is poor but Lucas Digne (£4.6m) is a candidate for inclusion. The Frenchman is fourth among defenders for key passes this season, with 26.
Other defensive options in the mix include:
- Kepa Arrizabalaga (£4.5m)/Dean Huijsen (£4.4m) v Everton (h)
- David Raya (£5.6m)/Gabriel Magalhaes (£6.4m)/Jurrien Timber (£5.7m) v Brighton (a)
- Josko Gvardiol (£6.0m) v West Ham (h)
- Antonee Robinson (£5.0m)/Timothy Castagne (£4.2m) v Ipswich (h)
- Rayan Ait-Nouri (£4.8m) v Nottingham Forest (h)
Opposition weaknesses may help us pick between them.
Fulham’s opponents Ipswich Town are fourth-bottom for key passes conceded down their right flank in the last six Gameweeks, for example, boosting Robinson’s appeal.
Staying with the Cottagers, Alex Iwobi (£5.9m) and Raul Jimenez (£5.5m) are possible candidates further forward.
Elsewhere, the likes of Antoine Semenyo (£5.6m), Gabriel Martinelli (£6.8m), Martin Odegaard (£8.4m), Gabriel Jesus (£6.8m) and Nicolas Jackson (£8.2m) could pick up a bit of support from the Scout Squad panel.
In Arsenal’s case, let’s see how they get on against Brentford on New Year’s Day first.
THE LONG SHOTS
Matz Sels (£4.8m), Ola Aina (£5.2m) and Nikola Milenkovic (£4.7m) probably deserve to be higher up this article based on their excellent defensive form this season, with only Arsenal and Liverpool conceding fewer goals in the top-flight.
Wolverhampton Wanderers do look in better nick under Vitor Pereira, however, even if they will be without the suspended Matheus Cunha (£7.1m).
There probably won’t be too many takers in Daniel Munoz (£4.7m), Eberechi Eze (£6.6m) and Ismaila Sarr (£5.9m) but they could perhaps capitalise on Chelsea’s poor recent form.
Cheap forward options like Chris Wood (£6.7m), Evanilson (£5.9m), Joao Pedro (£5.7m), Liam Delap (£5.6m) and Jamie Vardy (£5.5m) also merit mentions, but they are a tough sell compared to our current trio.
Finishing back where we started with Newcastle v Tottenham, there’s a cut-price appeal to Lewis Hall (£4.8m), but with no Fabian Schar (£5.4m) due to suspension, you’d probably back one of Spurs’ attackers to bust the clean sheet.
GAMEWEEK 20 BUS TEAM
