It’s Double Gameweek time, so Newcastle United and Crystal Palace players unsurprisingly feature prominently in our ‘early Scout Picks’ for Gameweek 32.
More careful consideration has to go to the supporting cast.
There are some truly excellent fixtures this weekend, with Aston Villa, Chelsea and Brighton and Hove Albion facing the wretched bottom-three clubs.
Liverpool, Arsenal and Nottingham Forest have very presentable home fixtures, too.
The problem? Huge teamsheet uncertainty. Arsenal, Villa, Chelsea, Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester United are in midweek European action, with the primary focus for at least three of them (Arsenal, Spurs and United) now being continental cups.
Even Villa and Chelsea, tussling for Champions League qualification places this season, rotated massively in Gameweek 31.
Midweek minutes will be vital in determining our final Scout Picks, then, so expect several changes from this ‘bus team’.
ABOUT THE SCOUT PICKS ‘BUS TEAM’
In this selection, we choose a first draft of our regular picks. We will then finalise and publish them much closer to Saturday’s deadline.
The upcoming Scout Squad nominations, as well as those midweek minutes, will help shape the final Scout Picks.
There are certain restrictions for our squad:
- An £83.0m budget for our starting XI
- An overall squad limit of £100.0m
- No more than three players per team
GAMEWEEK 32 FIXTURES
Above: The Gameweek 32 fixtures sorted by difficulty on our Season Ticker
THE LIKELY LADS
We’ve maxed out on assets from Newcastle and Palace, the only two clubs playing twice.
Jacob Murphy‘s (£5.1m) Monday night heroics and Anthony Gordon‘s (£7.4m) non-appearance give the former the clear head start in the race for Scout Picks inclusion. You’ll no doubt have seen or heard the below stat by now after the brace at Leicester City:
Jacob Murphy is in form 🔥
Only Mohamed Salah (28) and Alexander Isak (19) have been involved in more Premier League goals since the start of December than the Newcastle winger (14 – 7 goals, 7 assists). ⭐️#NUFC pic.twitter.com/8gtSzft8x8
— Match of the Day (@BBCMOTD) April 7, 2025
Alexander Isak (£9.5m) is another no-think selection. The Swede’s groin might be giving Triple Captainers the jitters but 70 minutes on Monday evening was at least reassuring; going into Gameweek 32 after a no-show at the King Power wouldn’t have been ideal.
Jean-Philippe Mateta (£7.7m) and Daniel Munoz (£5.2m) are the leading contenders from Oliver Glasner’s side, meanwhile. The Eagles have two tricky away fixtures, so there’d be legitimate questions over whether a Palace defender is even necessary this week, especially with better clean-sheet opportunities elsewhere.
But shut-outs are a small part of Munoz’s game. His goal in the A23 derby was a timely reminder of his attacking potential as a gung-ho wing-back. Would you believe it, he’s already scored against both Man City and Newcastle this season.
Above: Daniel Munoz leads all FPL defenders for StatsBomb xG in 2024/25
The main decisions from these two clubs will be which Newcastle defender and which Palace midfielder to plump for.
There’s not much in it between Kieran Trippier (£5.6m) and Tino Livramento (£4.6m). The former has set pieces in his locker, while the latter has been very threatening from open play since switching to left-back. It’s five v six chances created since the two started playing in the same side in Gameweek 28. If we want another premium midfielder (more of which soon), the million saving might be key.
As for Eberechi Eze (£6.8m) v Ismaila Sarr (£5.7m), there’s another tough call. Sarr boasts the better meaningful stats (xG, xA etc) but can be a bit feast or famine, while you know Eze is going to repeatedly chance his arm from distance with a low-xG shot (he’s scored once in 23 games, against Southampton) and be on set plays. Again, budget might play a part in the final call on Friday.
IN CONTENTION
Now, the great unknowns.
Cole Palmer (£10.7m) and, perhaps to a lesser extent, Bukayo Saka (£10.4m) would have been in the Scout Picks running on a normal week.
But a benching for Palmer against Brentford caught us out. Will Enzo Maresca do the same again amid a double-header against Legia Warszawa? Similarly, Mikel Arteta has been reintegrating Saka slowly after his recovery from injury. Assuming he starts both games against Real Madrid, will Arteta risk him in between against the Bees?
Thomas Frank’s side are maybe tough enough foes for us to look elsewhere anyway but even if we’re ignoring Palmer, some other Blues might come into the reckoning against a deflated Ipswich. For example, Reece James (£4.8m). He doesn’t tend to start two games a week so if he’s benched on Thursday after his Gameweek 31 start, he could come into contention against Ipswich.
As for Aston Villa, they have arguably the best fixture of all. Relegated, managerless Southampton are there for the taking – but who will inflict the damage? Unai Emery’s eight starting XI changes in Gameweek 31 were a portent for things to come on Saturday. Donyell Malen (£5.3m) is ineligible for Champions League duty so will surely get a Premier League start at St Mary’s, while a midweek benching for Marcos Asensio (£6.2m) would raise serious interest in him as a one-week punt. We at least know (surely!) Emi Martinez (£5.0m) will start. Morgan Rogers (£5.5m) also hasn’t been benched in the Premier League all season.
7 – Since his Aston Villa debut on February 9, Marco Asensio has scored more goals in all competitions than any Premier League player (8). Shrewd. pic.twitter.com/2kBjVWHiBP
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) April 2, 2025
Brighton aren’t in Europe but still there are question marks about their Gameweek 32 teamsheet. Joao Pedro (£5.6m) was a substitute on Saturday; was the strapping around his knee an indication of minute management? While we wait on Fabian Hurzeler to perhaps tell us more, others enter the conversation.
Leicester seem to concede goals time and time again from their right flank, with Livramento the latest left-sided player to claim an assist against the Foxes. Pervis Estupinan (£4.9m) and Kaoru Mitoma (£6.5m) could have a field day on Saturday. The Foxes are also goalless in over 12 hours of league football.
Above: Where Leicester City have conceded chances from this season
With all the rotation uncertainty elsewhere, Liverpool and Nottingham Forest should name settled sides – although the Tricky Trees do have injury issues in attack. Ibrahima Konate (£5.3m) and Neco Williams (£4.4m) will likely be the cheapest secure routes into the two defences with the best clean sheet records (13 each) in the league. Williams is also catching the eye going forward.
Mohamed Salah (£13.8m) has had his first real wobble in a while but with the minutes of Palmer and Saka uncertain, he may be our go-to premium midfielder regardless. Salah emerged with a 16-point haul from his last meeting with West Ham United.
THE LONGER SHOTS
With doubles and favourable fixtures abounding elsewhere, you’d be hard pushed to make a case for Fulham and Bournemouth players – even in-form Evanilson (£5.8m) – ahead of their tricky-to-call Monday night meeting.
Manchester City players may take a backseat, too, given that Pep Guardiola’s rotation is causing weekly headaches. He changed four of his front six in the derby. Omar Marmoush (£7.6m) has five goals and an assist from his last four home fixtures, with Palace’s potential centre-half shortage a glimmer of hope for him.
Could Wolverhampton Wanderers, in fact, be the weekend’s dark horses? Spurs will well and truly have their minds on Eintracht Frankfurt, and you would not be surprised to see Ange Postecoglou ring the changes in Gameweek 32. Jorgen Strand Larsen (£5.4m), with four goals in his last three, could very well catch the Lilywhites cold.
GAMEWEEK 32: EARLY SCOUT PICKS
