After the pre-match press conferences and plenty of different Scout Squad submissions, it’s time to nail down the Scout Picks.
Four teams will be without a fixture in Blank Gameweek 34 due to the FA Cup semi-finals: Arsenal, Aston Villa, Crystal Palace and Manchester City.
As ever, we are limited by certain restrictions:
- An £83.0m budget for our starting XI
- An overall squad limit of £100.0m
- No more than three players per team
GAMEWEEK 34 SCOUT PICKS
GOALKEEPER
Liverpool’s home clash against an out-of-sorts Tottenham Hotspur looks conducive to their clean sheet potential on Sunday.
With question marks over the make-up of Ange Postecoglou’s starting XI ahead of Thursday’s UEFA Europa League semi-final, we’ve opted for Alisson Becker (£5.5m) as a route into a Liverpool defence that was widely backed by our Scout Squad panel.
The Reds have been breached just four times in their last six home matches, conceding under 1.0 expected goals (xG) on each occasion.
Above: Liverpool’s last six home matches – xG conceded tallies in green
It bodes well for Alisson, who has produced 26 points since Gameweek 26, at an average of 5.2 points per start.
DEFENDERS
Kieran Trippier (£5.6m) offers a decent chance for points at both ends of the pitch this week.
The right-back hosts Ipswich Town, who have struggled to make much of an attacking impact all season.
Kieran McKenna’s side have also conceded a league-high seven goals from set pieces in the last nine Gameweeks, further lifting the dead-ball specialists’ appeal.
No defender has racked up a higher expected goal involvement (xGI) tally in their last six matches than Rayan Ait-Nouri (£5.0m), who is also second in his position for shots and chances created in the same period.
Opponents Leicester City have failed to find the net in nine of their last 10 fixtures, too.
Ryan Sessegnon (£4.1m) earns a call-up to the Scout Picks line-up after an impressive display against Chelsea last time out.
The defender, who has recently been deployed out of position on the right wing, is averaging a goal or assist every 60.6 minutes over the last seven Gameweeks, so even with limited game time, could still make an impact.
Southampton are also 19th for xG in 2025, so like our other defensive selections this week, Sessegnon brings points potential at both ends of the pitch.
MIDFIELDERS
Liverpool can wrap up the Premier League title on Sunday, and they’ll surely want to clinch it in front of their own fans.
Mohamed Salah (£13.8m) may only have one assist in his last four matches, but facing Tottenham in Blank Gameweek 34 could be the ideal chance for him to get back amongst the goals.
Arne Postecoglou’s side are without a clean sheet in eight league matches, while they also shipped six goals to the Reds in the reverse fixture.
Salah is joined by team-mate Luis Diaz (£7.5m), who is in a rich vein of form, having plundered five attacking returns in his last six matches.
A centre-forward role perhaps beckons on Sunday, a position he thrived in against Spurs back in December, which led to a brace of goals and a 13-point haul.
Above: Liverpool scored six goals and racked up 11 big chances in the reverse fixture against Tottenham
Many Fantasy managers will be hoping the fortunes of Cole Palmer (£10.6m) finally change in Blank Gameweek 34.
The midfielder has failed to score in 16 consecutive appearances in all competitions and is evidently lacking confidence, so this pick won’t be for everyone.
There are factors in his favour this week, however.
Despite his goal drought, Palmer is playing at home, where he has still produced three assists in his last five matches. He’s on penalties, too.
And perhaps most importantly, Everton could be without key defender James Tarkowski (£4.9m).
Newcastle United’s home clash with Ipswich brings Jacob Murphy (£5.2m) onto our radar.
With three goals and three assists in his last five, the winger has played a key part for the Magpies recently, and his contribution could once again be crucial on Saturday: over the last six matches, no club has allowed more chances to be conceded from their left flank than the Tractor Boys.
FORWARDS
Our front three pretty much pick themselves this week.
Despite blanking last time out, Alexander Isak (£9.5m) still has 11 attacking returns in 13 appearances since the turn of the year, the most of any player except Salah and Bryan Mbeumo (£8.0m).
Considering Ipswich have shipped 21 goals in their last eight matches, it’s no surprise to see the Swede only narrowly behind Salah in the Captain Poll.
Matheus Cunha (£6.9m), who was restored to Vitor Pereira’s starting XI in Gameweek 33, returns to the Scout Picks on the back of four goals and one assist in six appearances.
A bonus magnet, the Brazilian faces off against relegated Leicester, who roll up to Molineux in rotten form, having lost nine of their last 10 games by an aggregate score of 2-24.
With positional rival Rodrigo Muniz (£5.5m) set to miss out through injury, Fulham’s Raul Jimenez (£5.3m) takes the final forward spot.
The penalty-taking Mexican may only have one double-digit haul from 25 starts this season, but now faces Southampton, one of the worst teams in Premier League history.
The Saints have mustered just one clean sheet at St Mary’s Stadium in 2024/25, conceding 43 goals across the other 15 home matches.
SUBSTITUTES
- Kepa Arrizabalaga (£4.6m): Bournemouth host a Manchester United side who have scored just one goal in four league matches.
- Marc Cucurella (£5.4m): Five of the Spaniard’s six attacking returns this season have come at Stamford Bridge, including four goals across his last nine home starts.
- Nelson Semedo (£4.5m): Opponents Leicester have scored just four goals since Gameweek 21
- Justin Kluivert (£6.0m): The penalty-taker, who has already found the net 12 times this season, faces Man Utd, who could have one eye on Thursday’s Europa League semi-final.
THE CAPTAIN
We chose the Scout Picks captain using a vote between our Scout Squad panel.
- Marc: Salah, Isak, Cunha
- Sam: Salah, Isak, Cunha
- Tom: Salah, Isak, Cunha
- Neale: Salah, Isak, Cunha
We’re handing Mohamed Salah the armband this week, with Alexander Isak named as the vice-captain.
COMMUNITY CHAMPION
A Fantasy Football Scout community member takes on the Scout Picks each week.
The community member who beats our team by the largest margin will win a £100 Amazon voucher. They’ll also get a place in our Moderators and Contributors League for the following season.
Boleyn Boy’s 80-44 victory in Gameweek 6 gave them the biggest win (36-point difference) of 2024/25 so far.
Our champion this week is former FFS Cup winner Trigg, whose team will be announced shortly.
The Scout Picks are 20-10 up on the community this season.
FOLLOW THE SCOUT’S WEEKLY TRANSFER PLANS
We’re running a Scout FPL community team this season, with regulars like TopMarx, Tom Freeman, Marc Jobling and more contributing to the weekly decisions.
And we’re not just looking one week ahead like we are with the Scout Picks but instead planning in advance for the weeks and months to come.
You can follow our team via the Premier Fantasy Tools Pro Planner, which you can read more about here.
