The Scout Squad: Our top picks for FPL Gameweek 26

For the first time in a month, there’s no ‘Double Gameweek-itis’ influencing the Scout Squad selections.

We’re back to a bog-standard 10-fixture round in Gameweek 26, with some intriguing clashes to come – notably Manchester City v Liverpool.

Our in-house panel of Marc, Sam, Neale and Tom are back to sort the Fantasy wheat from the chaff.

Each of them explains their key nominations and omissions below.

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 26 PICKS

Most popular picks: David Raya, Bart Verbruggen, Gabriel Magalhaes, Antonee Robinson, Mohamed Salah, Ethan Nwaneri, Alexander Isak, Ollie Watkins, Yoane Wissa (four), Djed Spence, Dean Huijsen, Kaoru Mitoma, Beto (three)

MARC SAID…

My players are spread across 11 clubs this time because Manchester City, Liverpool, Chelsea and Newcastle United have tough fixtures. But Arsenal’s isn’t too bad, making them one of three triple-ups. I was pleased to have the Gabriel Magalhaes and David Raya duo for last week’s clean sheet at Leicester City and they could deliver again versus West Ham United, who lack a goal threat outside of Jarrod Bowen. FPL’s cheap midfielder price point is booming and Ethan Nwaneri is the latest addition.

Faith is also being placed in Brentford, whose contrasting early home and away form has swapped around. They’ve just won three consecutive trips and get to kick off proceedings on Friday at Leicester. Bryan Mbeumo has one attacking return in five but was unlucky not to score at West Ham – he set up goalscorer Kevin Schade and almost tapped in the original shot’s rebound before it was clawed away. I might captain him but probably don’t have the courage to, completely swayed by the early kick-off curse that may or may not be real.

Colleague Yoane Wissa is goalless in four but had two ruled out in east London. Meanwhile, centre-back Nathan Collins’ seven attacking returns are only beaten by three other defenders and he ranks joint-fourth in this position for big chances (five).

It’s hard to call Brighton and Hove Albion these days. They lost at home to Everton and were humiliated at Nottingham Forest but bounced back with two wins over Chelsea. As if that’s deemed an achievement. Kaoru Mitoma’s form certainly is, coming just in time for their game at Southampton. The winger has four goals and an assist from six matches, in all competitions. His strike against Chelsea included a glorious first touch from Bart Verbruggen’s long ball – the sixth goalkeeper to set up a goal this season, someone with strong clean sheet prospects at St Mary’s Stadium. The Seagulls’ other two past Chelsea were set up by Danny Welbeck, who is a safer pick than Joao Pedro right now.

It means Enzo Maresca’s side are without a win in five away games and have only two clean sheets from 20, so I think Ollie Watkins will have a good time facing that defence, after scoring in both parts of Double Gameweek 25.

Mohamed Salah did the same and gets picked regardless of fixture, especially after seeing how Man City fared versus Real Madrid. He won’t be intimidated, back to being a double-digit machine after a tiny lull by his standards. In fact, the only team City have looked good against recently is Newcastle, a distracted side whose fading Champions League hopes massively need a win over Forest, something they achieved in Gameweek 11 thanks to Alexander Isak’s haul.

They’ll be encouraged to see that the Tricky Trees have lost their previous two away matches to Bournemouth and Fulham. A whopping 2.56 million bought Justin Kluivert between Gameweeks 23 and 25. He has five goals, three assists and 50 points in his last five outings but probably won’t match the hat-trick of penalties from the reverse clash with Wolves. That day’s other strike came from Milos Kerkez, part of the league’s best home defence so far.

As for Fulham, they’ve won three from four and full-back Antonee Robinson has racked up 10 assists. Although I back Jean-Philippe Mateta to score past them, an individual that has netted seven in six. More here can help Oliver Glasner claim Assistant Manager table bonus points.

• READ MORE: Who to pick as Assistant Manager in FPL Gameweek 26?

Rounding things off, Djed Spence has been great since starting for Tottenham Hotspur and he’s against an Ipswich Town side with the fewest shots (227). Jordan Pickford’s owners will be confident of a clean sheet versus low-scoring Manchester United.

SAM SAID…

Finally, after back-to-back doubles, a regular Gameweek of just the 10 fixtures. However, several of those fixtures – such as the matches at the Etihad, St James’ Park and Craven Cottage – are difficult to predict this week.

In goal for the second week running, I am backing Arsenal to keep a clean sheet. David Raya returned seven points for a shut-out and a save point last time out and I am expecting similar at home to West Ham, who have struggled for goals this season, even after Graham Potter’s arrival.

Bart Verbruggen and Brighton also kept a clean sheet in Gameweek 25, with the Albion ‘keeper registering a monster haul thanks to his assist and bonus point against Chelsea. Verbruggen faces a Southampton side who have scored the fewest goals in the Premier League this season.

My final goalkeeper option is Jordan Pickford. Everton have now won four and drawn one of their last five matches and in that time they have kept two clean sheets. Everton now face a Manchester United side struggling for players as well as goals. United have scored just seven goals in the last six Gameweeks; that’s the same as Southampton.

Doubling up on the Arsenal defence feels like it could pay dividends again over the next few Gameweeks. It’s not just clean-sheet potential for Gabriel Magalhaes: West Ham have conceded 98 attempts from set pieces this season, an area of the pitch in which Gabriel thrives.

Dean Huijsen and Bournemouth were unlucky not to keep a clean sheet against Southampton last weekend. However, I am hopeful of one against Wolverhampton Wanderers in Gameweek 26. I have opted for Huijsen over Milos Kerkez as Huijsen has had more shots in the box this season than the left-back, despite starting 11 fewer fixtures.

Djed Spence has become an ever-present in the Spurs defence in recent weeks and his attacking threat gives him the potential for returns at both ends of the pitch this weekend. In the last six Gameweeks, Spence has had three attempts on goal, created three chances and supplied nine crosses. With Spurs starting to get attacking players back from injury, such as James Maddison and Brennan Johnson, Spence’s potential for assists is greater ahead of the trip to Ipswich.

Antonee Robinson offers plenty of attacking threat, too, despite looking unlikely to keep a clean sheet against an in-form Jean-Philippe Mateta. The American is already on 10 assists for the season.

My final spot goes to Jan Paul van Hecke, who, like Verbruggen has a good opportunity to register back-to-back clean sheets this weekend away at Southampton.

Mohamed Salah picks himself! The man is on fire and looks set to break all FPL records for points scored in a season. Even a game against Manchester City is not enough to put me off captaining the Egyptian, especially after the Cityzens’ Champions League defeat.

Alongside him, Dango Ouattara has proved an excellent asset for those who have invested already. With returns in three of the last four Gameweeks, Ouattara should do well against a Wolves defence who have been leaky this season.

With 36 points in the last five matches, Kaoru Mitoma has refound the form that we all loved him for a couple of seasons ago. I fully expect him to extend his points tally against Southampton in Gameweek 26, especially considering the Saints’ defensive vulnerabilities.

Spurs bias? Maybe! Mathys Tel was top for xG underachievers of the single Gameweek players in Gameweek 25 and was top for shots with seven. I think we might see his first Premier League goal against Ipswich at the weekend.

Finally, from the other side of north London, Ethan Nwaneri picked up an assist and all three bonus points against Leicester last time out. With Arsenal’s growing injury list, he looks set to continue on the right wing for the Gunners against a leaky West Ham defence.

Whilst Alexander Isak was a disappointment against Man City last time out, I am expecting him and Newcastle to bounce back from a disappointing result. Between Gameweeks 14 and 21, Isak had returned in every league match. In addition, he also registered a double-digit haul in Gameweek 23.

The hindsight ‘right move’ last week was to swap Isak for Ollie Watkins; potentially this is the week to own both. Watkins faces a Chelsea side who haven’t kept a clean sheet since Gameweek 17. J

Jean-Philippe Mateta is my favourite FPL player at the moment. His blank in Gameweek 29 means no one is buying him, so he is proving to be an outstanding differential for my own FPL team. Mateta has returned in five of Palace’s last six Premier League matches, delivering 51 points in that time.

I actually think Leicester might get something out of the game against Brentford this week but Yoane Wissa‘s goal threat against a porous Foxes defence shouldn’t be underestimated. The forward had two goals ruled out for offside last weekend; if they’d have stood a lot more managers would be investing in him.

My final pick is Everton’s Beto. Maybe I’m a couple of weeks too late given how well he has performed since the double in Gameweek 24 but the budget forward is helping to drag Everton away from those relegation places. Off the back of 21 points in the last two Gameweeks, Beto has a good fixture against a struggling Manchester United side. There are also three presentable fixtures beyond this weekend, including a favourable one against West Ham in Gameweek 29, so investing now for the next few weeks could be a sage move especially. He is still only owned by 2.8% of managers.

TOM SAID…

Whittling down the options in midfield was the trickiest part of assembling my squad this week. Cole Palmer and Mathys Tel, for example, are excellent picks who didn’t even make my long-list.

Instead, Arsenal, Brentford and Brighton and Hove Albion players make up half of my selection, so let’s start with Mikel Arteta’s side.

I’ve opted for a defensive double-up, courtesy of David Raya and Gabriel Magalhaes, mostly because sides with decent clean sheet potential are harder to find than viable midfielders and forwards. Arsenal have only conceded one goal in the last three Gameweeks, fewer than any other side.

I’ve also nominated Ethan Nwaneri, who was absolutely superb at Leicester City last week. He hit the woodwork twice at the King Power Stadium, produced a sublime assist for Mikel Merino’s opener and backed it up with some decent underlying numbers, combining four shots with two key passes.

As for Brentford, recent away wins to West Ham United and Crystal Palace were impressive and now they get to visit a Leicester City outfit who have lost five home games in a row to nil. Bryan Mbeumo and Yoane Wissa should therefore top up their goal tallies against a Foxes defence that has given away chances for fun even to the likes of Everton recently. Mark Flekken also features for his clean sheet potential.

Fully backing Brighton feels a bit risky, considering they’ve lost two of their last three matches. However, they are away at Southampton, the worst side for both goals scored and goals conceded. Bart Verbruggen is selected between the sticks, Kaoru Mitoma is on three goals and one assist in his last five matches and Danny Welbeck should pose a threat with his ability to stretch play and make dangerous runs in behind.

Elsewhere, Ollie Watkins and Beto are coming up against shaky backlines. The Aston Villa striker will be facing a Chelsea defence that has conceded nine goals in their last four away matches, not to mention a league-worst 16 big chances. Ruben Amorim, meanwhile, has lost eight of his 14 Premier League games since arriving from Sporting CP.

Finally, Tottenham Hotspur’s Djed Spence is a budget enabler I’m keeping an eye on. Priced at £4.4m, the left-back has claimed the maximum bonus in each of his last two appearances ahead of the visit to Ipswich Town. He also offers a cut-price route into a defence that’s racked up back-to-back clean sheets, with key players slowly starting to return.

NEALE SAID…

In a Gameweek not overspilling with outstanding clean sheet opportunities, Arsenal probably just about have the best chance. While there are reservations about the Gunners’ attack (they made heavy, heavy work of getting past Leicester City last weekend), last season’s most impressive defence have edged their way back to the ascendancy. Top for lowest xGC and fewest actual goals conceded, they’re also now just one clean sheet behind Liverpool and Nottingham Forest. I’ve consequently gone with both Gabriel Magalhaes and David Raya, even against Emirates specialist Graham Potter.

While the Arsenal attack as a collective was limp at Leicester, Ethan Nwaneri was a real bright spark. He’s got that swagger that youth brings, the polar opposite of Raheem Sterling, who looks like he’s carrying the weight of the world on his shoulders. The teenager was centimetres from scoring – twice – in Gameweek 25, and his maximum bonus points were richly deserved. While it remains to be seen if Mikel Arteta throws in Mikel Merino from the off, Nwaneri looks assured of a start.

Brentford are the only other side I’ve tripled up on this week. It’s four clean sheets in seven games for Mark Flekken on the road, who gets to face a Leicester side without a goal on home soil since December 8. Cue Jamie Vardy…

The Foxes are also on a stinking run of 18 matches without a clean sheet, so I’ve opted for both Yoane Wissa and Kevin Schade. It’s not just Schade’s 23-point haul in the reverse fixture that led to this nomination: he’s found the net in three successive away matches going into Friday’s game. Not only that, the German has had an eye-catching 10 shots in the box since his return to the Brentford starting XI in Gameweek 23 – that’s as many as Bryan Mbeumo and Wissa combined. Really, though, it’s all a bit Kluivert/Dango/Semenyo, where you can pluck out any stat you want to justify your Bees attacker of choice.

Speaking of which, Justin Kluivert gets the nod this week after Gameweek 25’s dalliance with Dango. Wolves rank bottom for goals from spot-kicks conceded (three of them despatched by Kluivert!) and goals from set plays conceded in 2024/25, so the penalty-converting, corner-taking Dutchman seems like a good fit. Maybe the towering Dean Huijsen can get on the end of one of those dead-ball deliveries. There’s also no concern about another kind of delivery affecting Kluivert this Gameweek.

There are two more double-ups to report, on Brighton and Hove Albion and Everton.

Yankuba Minteh looks a prospect when Fabian Hurzeler fancies him, which hasn’t always been the case. His numbers back up those impressive recent displays: six shots, a whopping 26 penalty area touches and seven chances created in his last three starts alone. I’ve also gone with Bart Verbruggen off the back of arguably Brighton’s best performance of the season but Southampton do have an annoying habit of busting clean sheets, as they have done in each of the last five Gameweeks.

As for the Toffees, you’ve got a team in top form and brimming with the feelgood factor up against a side emphatically the opposite. The injuries are the cherry on the stool when it comes to Manchester United. Beto‘s a man in confident mood (four big chances, four goals), while Everton and James Tarkowski could very feasibly be out on their own at the top of the clean sheet table after the visit of an Amad-less, plodding attack.

The rest of the Scout Squad is made up of players who are there on pedigree, if not for their fixtures. Mohamed Salah and Ollie Watkins won’t be cowed by the defences of Manchester City and Chelsea, mind, both of which conceded three goals in their last outings.

Chris Wood and Alexander Isak might be encountering each other’s backlines at opportune times, too. Newcastle have conceded 11 goals in their last four league games, while it’s 10 in five for Forest. In a straight choice, I’d side with Wood (immutable law of the ex, hat-trick on Tyneside last season, inherent Newcastle-supporting pessimism etc).

Pedro Porro and Antonee Robinson round off my defensive selections despite nagging suspicions that they may have their clean sheets breached this weekend. Still, their offensive numbers are strong: both are among the top five defenders for attacking returns, as well as chances created, in 2024/25.

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