We have put together an early draft of our Scout Picks for Gameweek 10 of Fantasy Premier League (FPL).
The selection will be finalised nearer Saturday’s deadline, shaped by the upcoming Scout Squad nominations and pre-match press conferences.
But this early selection, at the very least, offers an insight into the players who will be under consideration.
ABOUT THE SCOUT PICKS ‘BUS TEAM’
There are, as ever, 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 10 FIXTURES
Above: The Gameweek 10 fixtures sorted by difficulty on our Season Ticker.
The match at Anfield is tough to call, as the two sides are in opposing form. Liverpool have lost four in a row, and Aston Villa are on the same number of successive wins.
Tottenham Hotspur v Chelsea could go either way, while second-place Bournemouth are having a great time but must visit Manchester City.
THE LIKELY LADS
Meanwhile, Arsenal and Newcastle United have attractive trips to Burnley and West Ham United, but these come just days before Champions League action. That could mean rotation.
Gabriel Magalhaes (£6.4m) and Jurrien Timber (£6.0m), FPL’s leading pair of defenders, should still start at Turf Moor. The Gunners are seeking a fourth consecutive clean sheet, having allowed just five big chances in nine matches.
As for Newcastle, Dan Burn (£5.1m) feels like a secure starter while their other left-back options are injured. West Ham keep conceding from set-pieces, so this 6ft 6in aerial threat could deliver at both ends.
Sticking with tall Magpies, the availability of four wingers makes Nick Woltemade (£7.5m) the safest route into their attack. He cracked the upright with a gilt-edged opening on Saturday, denying him a fifth goal in six league outings.
Another in-form blanker was Erling Haaland (£14.7m) – still the only Man City player who’s scored more than once in the league. He kind of feels non-negotiable at this point.
Elsewhere, despite Bruno Fernandes (£8.9m) being on penalties and solid for defensive contribution (DefCon) rewards, it’s hard to ignore his teammate Bryan Mbeumo (£8.1m) right now. The latter’s strike at Liverpool was followed by Saturday’s brace versus Brighton and Hove Albion.
The 26-year-old may be FPL’s second-best midfielder for points, but he’s his position’s number one for efforts (23) and shots on target (12). A trip to Nottingham Forest seems brilliantly timed.
IN CONTENTION
Settling on an Arsenal attacker is admittedly tough. Both Bukayo Saka (£10.0m) and Viktor Gyokeres (£9.0m) are on successive blanks – five for the latter, with his midfield colleague coming off after 65 minutes to manage his game time.
Instead, it was Eberechi Eze (£7.6m) who won Sunday’s game against Crystal Palace, his strike bringing a fourth attacking return in six matches.
Speaking of his former club, the Eagles’ 19-match unbeaten streak in all competitions has been followed by three defeats from four. But a great run of fixtures begins at home to Brentford, likely ensuring Jean-Philippe Mateta (£7.7m) will be a very popular Gameweek 10 replacement for either Gyokeres or Joao Pedro (£7.5m).
Only Haaland has more attempts (29), shots on target (16) and expected goal involvement (xGI, 8.37) than him, while wing-back Daniel Munoz (£5.6m) is the league’s best defender for the latter two. As this Bus Picks XI costs comfortably under £83.0m, the Colombian is an affordable luxury.
Bernd Leno (£5.0m) is between the sticks because he’s at home to Wolverhampton Wanderers, and we don’t yet know the status of injured defender Joachim Andersen (£4.5m). Issa Diop (£4.4m) could deputise.
Over at Everton, Iliman Ndiaye (£6.5m) is an all-round midfielder. He takes penalties, is beaten only by Mohammed Kudus (£6.8m) for take-ons (46), ranks number one throughout the league for expected assists (xA, 2.16), likes to shoot, and has delivered DefCon rewards on three occasions. The winger’s problem is that Beto (£5.3m) keeps fluffing things up!
THE LONGER SHOTS
This time, Ndiaye comes up against Sunderland’s solid defence, of which Nordi Mukiele (£4.1m) currently seems the best pick.
Raul Jimenez (£6.2m), facing his former club Wolves has potential, having bagged an assist at the weekend. But there are several forwards ahead of him in the pecking order.
It’s also wise to never rule out Antoine Semenyo (£8.1m). Sunday’s quiet performance was just his third blank in nine matches, and it’s not like Man City’s backline is one to fear.
Finally, Yankuba Minteh (£6.0m) is an intriguing differential. Nobody has more penalty area touches (63) so far, and he secured an assist in Gameweek 9. Brighton are at home to Leeds United.
GAMEWEEK 10 EARLY SCOUT PICKS
