The Scout Squad: Our top picks for FPL Gameweek 24

Which six Everton/Liverpool players would you have in a Gameweek 24 Free Hit?

Our in-house panel of Marc, Sam, Neale and Tom effectively get to make such a call as they nominate their Scout Squad picks for the first Double Gameweek of 2024/25.

MORE ABOUT THE SCOUT SQUAD

In this article series, our team discuss who they think the best 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 24 PICKS

Most popular picks: Jordan Pickford, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Leif Davis, Mohamed Salah, Cole Palmer, Bryan Mbeumo, Morgan Rogers, Alexander Isak, Iliman Ndiaye, Yoane Wissa (four), Vitalii Mykolenko, Chris Wood (three)

MARC SAID…

Naturally, I’ve used the three maximum slots for both Merseyside outfits. It was much easier to pick a Liverpool trio, even though they have a couple of tricky trips. First up is Bournemouth, who’ve conceded this season’s fewest home goals (seven) and are in scintillating form. Then it’s Everton – no team has let in fewer overall strikes since Gameweek 6 ended (13) and they’ve collected five clean sheets from the last seven home derbies, hence the Jordan Pickford and Vitalii Mykolenko double-up.

Still, it’s hard to go against Mohamed Salah, a leader in many metrics even though the hauls have started to dry up. I was delighted to buy Cody Gakpo last week and he’s therefore probably my favourite FPL transfer of this campaign but he played 52 minutes in Eindhoven, so I’ll go for a fully-rested Luis Diaz instead.

Attacking full-back Trent Alexander-Arnold is the best Liverpool defender to get – he has a couple of double-digit scores from his last five outings and it might’ve been three had Ipswich not bagged a late consolation. As for the Toffees’ Iliman Ndiaye, he stepped up to take a penalty after Dominic Calvert-Lewin’s injury.

It’s always frustrating to see the players you own go ballistic in Europe. Morgan Rogers scored a Champions League hat-trick on Wednesday and now travels to a Wolves side that has lost eight from 11. Team-mate Emiliano Martinez gets the nod in goal as the West Midland side has just one goal in four, something that helped Gabriel Magalhaes secure a clean sheet last week. Not that I see Arsenal keeping Man City out, it’s more that I have a vision of the Brazilian heading home a set-piece.

Elsewhere, there are a couple of Brentford attackers versus Tottenham, whose run of four points in 10 matches has them down in 15th place. Rubbing salt into the wounds, their backline recently conceded three to Everton, so they’ll certainly not like facing Bryan Mbeumo and Yoane Wissa again. Between them, their last five appearances against them brought six goals and two assists.

Another double-up features Newcastle. Alexander Isak reacted to the end of his scoring streak by netting a brace at the weekend. The Magpies actually lost 3-1 to Fulham in Gameweek 5 but Lewis Hall is the joint-best defender for successful corners (18) alongside Leif Davis. Very little is said about the Ipswich full-back these days and his FPL popularity has dipped, being without an attacking return since Gameweek 10. He’s only once exceeding two points in that time but next up is a home clash with Southampton.

Chris Wood may be the most-sold player since the latest deadline but I’d still back him to score against Brighton – one of his many former clubs. Nottingham Forest will be determined to bounce back from that shock 5-0 thrashing at Bournemouth.

Finally, I’m reluctantly going for a Chelsea trio, mainly because it’s a tough week for picking out goal scorers and clean sheets. It feels bizarre to back Nicolas Jackson, considering he has one goal in nine. But West Ham will be visiting Stamford Bridge and the Senegalese forward has had 11 shots on target and eight big chances in that time – surely the burst is coming.

I’m not worried about Cole Palmer’s successive blanks. When adding shots to creativity, no player has been involved in more chances (141), not even Salah. Mind you, I don’t even know if Robert Sanchez will play after his most recent howler. Not many sub-£5.0m goalkeepers have a nice-looking fixture.

SAM SAID…

Double Gameweek fever is about to hit. It’s always a dilemma working out how best to balance investing in double and single Gameweek players. This time, with the uptick in Everton’s form, I have opted to go all-in on both the Toffees and Liverpool with three picks per club.

In goal, Jordan Pickford is the second-highest-scoring goalkeeper in the game with 95 points so far, just four fewer than leading man Matz Sels. Pickford has eight clean sheets to his name this season, again only one fewer than Forest’s Belgian custodian. The Everton #1 has thrown in 64 saves and 14 save points into the bargain, while he is the only goalkeeper to have also saved two penalties in 2024/25.

As for the supporting cast, I’ve gone with Emiliano Martinez and Robert Sanchez. Both Villa and Chelsea have nice-ish fixtures against Wolves and West Ham respectively in a week where are there a few real enticing match-ups at the back.

Trent Alexander-Arnold unsurprisingly leads the defence. He has had two double-digit returns in the last five weeks and was unlucky not to register another in Gameweek 23 when the clean sheet was lost at the end of the game.

Sticking with the doublers, Vitalii Mykolenko has had the most attempts on goal of the Everton defenders with 11. If the clean sheets are lost, he hopefully has the biggest attacking upside of the Toffees’ defence.

Away from Merseyside, Trevoh Chalobah now has four attacking returns this season and faces a West Ham United team lacking in firepower. Leif Davis is also included: he is another attacking defender who faces rock-bottom Southampton.

In most weeks, I would have had all of Daniel Munoz, Antonee Robinson and Lewis Hall in my squad. However, this week I only had space for one: Munoz. The Palace right-back boasts an almost peerless attacking threat, with 22 attempts on goal, 29 chances created and 5.41 expected goal involvement (xGI).

Mohamed Salah… nothing more needs to be said! So what about the third Liverpool pick? Well, having seen Luis Diaz left at home for a rest in the Champions League, he gets the nod. Whilst the majority of managers are looking at Cody Gakpo, I wonder whether Diaz might be given more space if the Bournemouth and Everton defences double up on Salah, as we have seen in other fixtures this season.

Cole Palmer has three double-digit hauls in the last six Gameweeks and despite a disappointing couple of weeks for the Chelsea midfielder, a fixture against West Ham is the perfect platform for him to bounce back to form.

Bryan Mbeumo has now scored 14 goals this season following last weekend’s retaken penalty at Selhurst Park. Whilst Spurs had Micky van de Ven return in the Europa League, they are still struggling with injuries and Mbeumo could, and likely will, exploit a decimated backline.

My last midfielder spot goes to midweek hat-trick hero Morgan Rogers – I am hoping for another of those in the Premier League this weekend!

Alexander Isak feels, much like Salah, as a must-have in FPL at the moment. The Swede has only blanked once since Gameweek 16.

Alongside him, Chris Wood is being heavily sold leading into Gameweek 24 but I think this might be a mistake. Wood failed to deliver in Gameweek 23 but prior to that he had returned in the four previous matches. Those games included two double-digit returns. He also notched against the Seagulls earlier in the season.

Back at Brentford, Yoane Wissa is putting up some impressive numbers. Since Gameweek 9 Wissa has had 36 attempts on goal, of which 16 have been classified as big chances.

Iliman Ndiaye might be the very definition of Double Gameweek fever but with back-to-back goals in the last two Gameweeks, he is worth a shot if you have the likes of Joao Pedro or Raul Jimenez festering in your third forward slot.

My last forward is good old Nicolas Jackson. The Senegalese forward has been incredibly wasteful in front of goal in recent weeks and constantly appears in the Gameweek xG underachievers. At some stage, he will return on those underlining numbers – and I think it might be against the Hammers in Gameweek 24.

TOM SAID…

A number of Liverpool players have claims for inclusion in Double Gameweek 24.

The top picks, Trent Alexander-Arnold and Mohamed Salah, are impossible to look past, but the third spot is much more complicated.

I definitely prefer an attacking double-up rather than a defensive one, largely for the reasons I outlined here last week, but Cody Gakpo, Luis Diaz and Dominik Szoboszlai are all viable options.

Gakpo is averaging 7.2 points per match over his last six starts and has stepped up massively under Arne Slot, so that’s who I favour for now. I also think his out-to-in diagonal runs have the potential to cause problems for makeshift right-backs Lewis Cook and Jake O’Brien, if that is indeed where they are stationed.

I personally don’t see massive points potential at Everton this week but Jordan Pickford can at least compensate for any clean sheet loss with save points, while Leicester have conceded the second-highest number of headed opportunities under Ruud van Nistelrooy, so the set-piece presence of James Tarkowski makes the cut.

Iliman Ndiaye is the Double Gameweeker I’m least convinced about in my selection, given the lack of creativity that currently surrounds him, but I’ve seen glimpses of what he can offer under David Moyes and is on penalties if Dominic Calvert-Lewin is ruled out.

Elsewhere, the defensive deficiencies of Tottenham Hotspur – second-bottom for xGC and big chances conceded since the start of December – lead me to Brentford’s Bryan Mbeumo and Yoane Wissa. Either is fine for the Scout Picks but Wissa has as many attacking returns as league starts (10) at home this season, so he’s marginally my preferred pick of the two.

I’m also more than content to double up on Newcastle United and Aston Villa’s attacks, with Anthony Gordon and Alexander Isak joined by Morgan Rogers and Ollie Watkins. Gordon and Isak have remarkably delivered 24 attacking returns in the Magpies’ last 10 matches, while Wolves look far from assured at the back under Vitor Pereira and will be without Joao Gomes and Mario Lemina.

Finally, Cole Palmer loves a match against West Ham United, with goals in each of the last two clashes.

NEALE SAID…

When you see Idrissa Gana Gueye threatening to enter the top 10 of the most-bought midfielders of the round, you know there’s a Double Gameweek coming.

But in fairness, punts on Everton players – especially when the focus is only on one Gameweek, as it is in the Scout Picks – are made that bit more enticing by the shortage of stand-out fixtures elsewhere.

Arsenal and Manchester City players aren’t easy selections as they face each other at the Emirates. Two teams we usually chase hauls against, Southampton and Ipswich Town, square off in Suffolk. And what about the supposedly favourable fixtures on the ticker? You would not be surprised if Manchester United are defeated by Crystal Palace. Aston Villa, who face Wolves, have failed to win their last six post-Europe fixtures. Newcastle were comprehensively outplayed by, and lost to, Fulham earlier in the campaign.

Suddenly, Jordan Pickford, Vitalii Mykolenko and Iliman Ndiaye don’t seem so absurd as one-week-only Hail Marys. Even if the Liverpool fixture wasn’t happening, we’d still likely be entertaining the idea of 1/2 Everton players in the Gameweek 24 Scout Picks.

I’d favour a line-leading striker over Ndiaye on the left flank but with Dominic Calvert-Lewin injured, Beto potentially moving to Torino midway through a Double Gameweek and David Moyes courting a new forward in the transfer market, the penalty-taking Ndiaye is the safer bet for minutes. As for Mykolenko, he’s not the most threatening of left-backs but a slightly more advanced role under Moyes (the back-four/wing-back hybrid system) and an absurd number of goalscoring chances created from Leicester’s right flank led me to the Ukraine international. In fact, Everton’s left-back and left-winger – Ashley Young and Ndiaye – combined for a goal at the King Power earlier in 2024/25.

As for the Liverpool contingent, Virgil van Dijk is the only name that really needs explaining. It’s not much to do with Cody Gakpo’s 52-minute appearance in midweek; he’ll still likely start at Bournemouth, although his game-time might be reduced a little. I just see these fixtures being tighter affairs. In 11 home matches this season, the Cherries’ goals conceded tally reads: 1, 1, 1, 0, 1, 2, 0, 1, 0, 0, 0. It’s not like they’ve had all easy fixtures, either, with Manchester City, Arsenal, Chelsea, Newcastle United, Tottenham Hotspur and Nottingham Forest visiting the south coast already. As for Virgil, I’d fancy at least a clean sheet against Everton, while both of Liverpool’s Gameweek 24 opponents rank in the bottom seven for set-piece chances conceded.

Onto the single Gameweekers, there are tentative double-ups on Chelsea, Brentford, Newcastle, Nottingham Forest and Ipswich despite the earlier caveats.

The Cole Palmer selection didn’t require much brain power but Marc Cucurella isn’t a name you see often around these parts. The Spaniard is picking up some eye-catching positions in this inverting role, however, registering 10 shots in the last eight Gameweeks. He’d had one all season before that!

I fancy Nuno Espirito Santo to go back to basics with his well-drilled troops after last week’s mauling, hence the Chris Wood and Matz Sels picks. Forest had a rougher patch than this in November/December and responded with an eight-game unbeaten run. Brighton have had real trouble breaking down deep blocks all season, so I wouldn’t be surprised to see a Forest clean sheet.

Meanwhile, much-coveted Brentford pair Bryan Mbeumo and Yoane Wissa – 25 goals between them – face a Spurs side that has conceded 18 goals in seven league matches. With Radu Dragusin now injured, Cristian Romero not ready and Micky van de Ven half-fit, the Bees could deepen Ange Postecoglou’s woes.

Southampton nearly beat Ipswich earlier in the campaign so I’m not sure which team this fixture favours most. I’ve gone with the Tractor Boys, with the new attacking intake (Julio Enciso and Jaden Philogene) hopefully helping eight-goal Liam Delap up top. Saints have conceded more chances from set plays than any other team, too, so the poor man’s Alfie Doughty, Leif Davis, may get some belated joy.

As an inherently pessimistic Newcastle fan, I fear the Fulham game being as treacherous as the Bournemouth match. Nevertheless, you’d back Alexander Isak against pretty much anyone right now. The Magpies are towards the top of the Gameweek 24 clean sheet odds table, too, not that I think they should be as high. Adama Traore is a bit more profligate than the injured Harry Wilson, at least.

The remaining two spots are taken by budget-friendly hat-trick heroes Amad Diallo and Morgan Rogers, whose teams are as likely to wilt as go on the goalscoring trail this weekend. Rogers at least faces a Wolves side on a run of 12 goals conceded in five matches, with the absence of Joao Gomes a further blow to their backline.