Just ahead of Friday’s deadline, our weekly Scout Squad piece tries to identify who will be the best Round 5 players of Roshn Saudi League (RSL) Fantasy.
Looking at these fixtures in isolation, our team of Amer, Louis and Marc are discussing the best picks.
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SCOUT SQUAD: BEST SAUDI LEAGUE PLAYERS FOR ROUND 5
Focusing only on the upcoming Round, the Scout Squad doesn’t require any medium-term planning.
| AMER | LOUIS | MARC | |
|---|---|---|---|
| GK | Edouard Mendy | Edouard Mendy | Edouard Mendy |
| Samuel Portugal | Predrag Rajkovic | Samuel Portugal | |
| Juan Pablo Cozzani | Bento | Bruno Varela | |
| DEF | Mohamed Simakan | Mohamed Simakan | Mohamed Simakan |
| Theo Hernandez | Nacho Fernandez | Theo Hernandez | |
| Nawaf Boushal | Danilo Pereira | Danilo Pereira | |
| Ali Majrashy | Roger Ibanez | Ali Majrashy | |
| Koray Gunter | Koray Gunter | Muteb Al Mufarrij | |
| MID | Joao Felix | Joao Felix | Joao Felix |
| Kingsley Coman | Steven Bergwijn | Steven Bergwijn | |
| Musa Barrow | Musa Barrow | Musa Barrow | |
| John Buckley | Julian Quinones | Julian Quinones | |
| Valentin Vada | Riyad Mahrez | Valentin Vada | |
| FWD | Cristiano Ronaldo | Cristiano Ronaldo | Cristiano Ronaldo |
| Karim Benzema | Karim Benzema | Karim Benzema | |
| Roger Martinez | Roger Martinez | Ivan Toney | |
| Joshua King | Joshua King | Joshua King | |
| Ramiro Enrique | Mateo Retegui | Ramiro Enrique |
- THREE PICKS: Cristiano Ronaldo, Karim Benzema, Joshua King, Joao Felix, Musa Barrow, Mohamed Simakan, Edouard Mendy
- TWO PICKS: Roger Martinez, Ramiro Enrique, Steven Bergwijn, Julian Quinones, Valentin Vada, Danilo Pereira, Theo Hernandez, Ali Majrashy, Koray Gunter, Samuel Portugal
AMER SAID…
Goalkeepers
Edouard Mendy is the highest-scoring stopper, with an excellent schedule over the next three matches, while Samuel Portugal faces one of the weakest attacking teams in Al Hazem.
As for Juan Pablo Cozzani, he’s against an Al Najmah outfit that has created the fewest big chances so far – just two in four rounds. They’ve only scored three times, too.
Defenders
Al Nassr have an excellent schedule and have only let one goal past them. Having someone at the back like Mohamed Simakan feels essential, as he’s reliable for accurate passing, defensive actions and set-piece threat.
Despite missing the first round, Theo Hernandez is the third-highest scoring defender. He’s been outstanding, scoring twice in three matches.
On two occasions, Nawaf Boushal registered a double-digit score, and Koray Gunter ranks third in this position for shots on target (four). He’s created one big chance and comes fourth for defensive actions.
Midfielders
Al Nassr are the most potent attacking team and Joao Felix is the overall top scorer. Just behind him for Fantasy points is teammate Kingsley Coman, involved in six goals. Both benefit from a great-looking upcoming schedule, so owning at least one feels essential.
Musa Barrow is closest to them, on 43 points, about to face Damac and Al Fayha. I also like the cheap pick of John Buckley for Al Kholood’s fixtures, as the set-piece taker is expected to replace Myziane Maolida on penalty duty.
Forwards
Back to Al Nassr’s strong attack, Cristiano Ronaldo will be against Al Fateh. He leads the way for shots (28) and non-penalty expected goals (NPxG, 3.64).
Meanwhile, Karim Benzema is expected to give new head coach Sergio Conceicao a good start to life at Al Ittihad. His two matches have delivered three goals and bagged a brace in the previous meeting with Al Fayha.
Damac’s defence struggles against attackers, which is good news for Roger Martinez. I also like the idea of Ramiro Enrique, having scored and assisted in both Round 3 and Round 4. Opponents Al Najmah are conceding, on average, twice per game.
LOUIS SAID…
Al Nassr have an appetising fixture against Al Fateh this week, which suggests Bento could keep a clean sheet. I expect similar from Edouard Mendy and Predrag Rajkovic.
In midfield, Joao Felix appears to have recovered from a knock, making him a shoo-in. There’s an Al Ahli home fixture for Riyad Mahrez, plus I also need to mention the fantastic Musa Barrow. He’s scored five goals in his previous four matches for club and country.
Al Nassr’s dominance keeps Cristiano Ronaldo as one of the game’s best forwards, and Al Qadsiah’s Mateo Retegui seems to be fine after a recent injury, as shown by his several strikes for Italy.
Furthermore, Roger Matinez and Joshua King should continue being goal scorers.
MARC SAID…
Looking over the fixtures, I’ve tripled up on Al Nassr, Al Ahli and Al Ittihad players.
As of now, there doesn’t seem to be official word on Joao Felix‘s knock from international duty. Fingers crossed that RSL Fantasy’s top scorer becomes available to face Al Fateh.
Bruno Varela is the third-best goalkeeper, about to meet last-placed Al Okhdood. Then there’s Ali Majrashy, fresh from a stunning 23-point haul in Round 4.
I also back Al Ahli teammate Ivan Toney to respond positively to his England omission.
Al Ittihad duo Danilo Pereira and Steven Bergwijn get the nod, with the latter already on three goals. Fellow midfielder Julian Quinones matches that tally and netted an impressive 20 times last season.
The main man at Damac, Valentin Vada has registered a goal or assist in all four outings, costing only 5.0m. Then, there’s Joshua King, the leading forward on 39 points. He gets a go at Al Riyadh, who’ve not yet kept a clean sheet.
MORE ON RSL FANTASY
If you’re looking for more, you can see the latest up-to-date league table on the official website, read our introductory strategy guide, keep tabs on set-piece takers and join the FFS mini-league (with £500+ worth of prizes) here.
As usual, Premium FFS members get even more – you can browse all the underlying Statsbomb data tables relating to the game in a dedicated part of the Members Area, play around with an editable fixture ticker for forward planning, and look out for extra articles for each round.
