We’ve created our Scout Picks ‘bus team’ for Gameweek 21 of Fantasy Premier League (FPL).
In this selection, we select a first draft of our regular picks. We will then finalise and publish them much closer to Tuesday’s deadline (14 Jan).
Plenty can change between now and then, of course.
One more Gameweek 20 fixture, domestic cup ties, Scout Squad nominations and a whole host of press conferences will no doubt further influence our thinking and maybe change our minds.
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 21 FIXTURES
Above: The Gameweek 21 fixtures sorted by difficulty on our Season Ticker
THE LIKELY LADS
We’ve pretty much run out of superlatives for Mohamed Salah (£13.6m).
The 18-goal Egyptian has blanked in just one of his last 15 starts, with his ability to impact games in the final third unparalleled: he has already reached 31 attacking returns this season, one better than he managed across the whole of 2023/24.
Even against Nottingham Forest, one of the division’s best defences for actual and expected goals (xG) conceded, you wouldn’t bet against Salah delivering yet again.
Newcastle United and Manchester United representation also looks likely.
Eddie Howe’s side are in a rich vein of form, with six wins in a row in all competitions:
Graphic courtesy of WhoScored
Lewis Hall (£4.9m) and Alexander Isak (£9.3m) are included in our ‘bus team’, but others could follow, such as Anthony Gordon (£7.5m) or Jacob Murphy (£5.1m).
We should have more clarity on that after watching opponents Wolverhampton Wanderers in action on Monday night.
As for United, there was a vast improvement against Liverpool on Sunday, with Bruno Fernandes (£8.3m), Amad Diallo (£5.3m) and Diogo Dalot (£5.0m) the standout performers.
Have they now turned a corner under Ruben Amorim? It’s too early to say, but Southampton look destined for relegation, having conceded five goals in three separate games since the start of December.
For that reason, we’re happy to include Fernandes, who is on a run of nine attacking returns in 10 games since Erik ten Hag was sacked, and Amad, who is more prominent in the box under Amorim.
The Saints have also failed to score in half of their Premier League games this season, boosting the appeal of wing-back Dalot.
53% of United’s attacks came down his flank on Sunday, and with Kobbie Mainoo (£5.2m) and Manuel Ugarte (£4.9m) exerting more control in midfield, a United defender is probably worth punting on in Gameweek 21.
IN CONTENTION
Going without a Manchester City attacker in our ‘bus team’ seems odd after they put four past West Ham United on Saturday. It’s just that Erling Haaland’s £14.8m price tag is once again prohibitive, especially if we want to include Salah, Cole Palmer (£11.4m) and Isak in our team.
We could, of course, plump for Kevin De Bruyne (£9.4m) or Phil Foden (£9.2m), perhaps even Savinho (£6.5m), but no team except Liverpool have won more points on home turf than Brentford this season, so there is plenty to consider.
Sticking with the fixture at the Gtech Community Stadium, Bryan Mbeumo (£7.8m) and Yoane Wissa (£6.2m) are serious options given that the champions’ defensive issues were still apparent against West Ham United on Saturday. Indeed, Julen Lopetegui’s side produced 17 shots to City’s 10.
Elsewhere, David Raya (£5.6m), Gabriel Magalhaes (£6.4m), Jurrien Timber (£5.7m), Martin Odegaard (£8.4m), Gabriel Jesus (£6.9m) and Kai Havertz (£7.9m) are all in the thinking for the north London derby.
Injury-hit Tottenham Hotspur have conceded 33 big chances since the start of December, the most of any club bar Southampton and West Ham, so the appeal of an Arsenal attacker is clear. Jesus is second among forwards for non-pen xG in the last four matches.
In the end, we opted for Emiliano Martinez (£5.0m) over Raya in goal. Tottenham are bound to go on the attack at the Emirates, while Everton look incapable of doing so, having failed to score in eight of their last 10 matches.
Daniel Munoz (£4.7m), Eberechi Eze (£6.6m), Ismaila Sarr (£5.9m) and Jean-Philippe Mateta (£7.2m) will be keenly eyeing up the meeting with a Leicester City side that is second-bottom for shots conceded under Ruud van Nistelrooy.
Mateta, in particular, will be licking his lips at the prospect of facing the Foxes, who have conceded a league-high 70 headed chances in 2024/25.
The aforementioned Nottingham Forest v Liverpool fixture is an intriguing encounter, as Liverpool – with 11 goals conceded in six matches – have struggled from a defensive perspective recently, denting the appeal of Trent Alexander-Arnold (£7.2m) and Ibrahima Konate (£5.1m).
Luis Diaz (£7.6m) and Cody Gakpo (£7.3m) are unlikely to be daunted by the trip, but the Tricky Trees, who rank third for StatsBomb xG conceded at home, have the potential to make life difficult for Liverpool’s attackers, so this probably isn’t the week for a double-up with Salah.
Teams ranked by xG conceded per 90 minutes in 2024/25 (home matches only)
Finally, Nicolas Jackson (£8.1m), Raul Jimenez (£5.6m), Liam Delap (£5.6m) and Joao Pedro (£5.7m) are other forwards in the mix, but Isak, Mateta and Jesus are currently ahead.
THE LONG SHOTS
Josh Acheampong (£4.0m) performed well alongside Levi Colwill (£4.6m) at Selhurst Park on Saturday, but Chelsea only have one clean sheet at home all season. They also face one of the division’s in-form teams, Bournemouth, who tend to score quite a few goals on the road (18 in 10 matches this term).
Further forward, the likes of Mohammed Kudus (£6.2m), Antoine Semenyo (£5.6m), Morgan Rogers (£5.5m), Matheus Cunha (£7.0m), Chris Wood (£6.8m) and Jamie Vardy (£5.5m) all have their merits without being stand-out Scout Picks candidates.
Tottenham attackers will also struggle to get a look-in, with Arsenal conceding just 0.57 xG per match since the start of December. Yes, Spurs are more than capable of busting the clean sheet, but there are surely better matchups to target this week.
GAMEWEEK 21 BUS TEAM
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