Just ahead of Thursday’s deadline, our weekly Scout Squad piece tries to identify who will be the best Round 8 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.
CHECK OUT RSL FANTASY (SAUDI PRO LEAGUE)
N.B: Scout is not being paid to promote this game, either by the RSL or Saudi Pro League (SPL).
SCOUT SQUAD: BEST SAUDI LEAGUE PLAYERS FOR ROUND 8
Focusing only on the upcoming Round, the Scout Squad doesn’t require any medium-term planning.
| AMER | LOUIS | MARC | |
|---|---|---|---|
| GK | Yassine Bono | Yassine Bono | Yassine Bono |
| Milan Borjan | Koen Casteels | Milan Borjan | |
| Orlando Mosquera | Mailson | Orlando Mosquera | |
| DEF | Theo Hernandez | Joao Cancelo | Theo Hernandez |
| Wesley Hoedt | Inigo Martinez | Inigo Martinez | |
| Yoann Barbet | Yoann Barbet | Chris Smalling | |
| Mohammed Al Shamat | Mohammed Al Shamat | Bart Schenkeveld | |
| Ali Al Salem | Waleed Al Ahmed | Waleed Al Ahmed | |
| MID | Joao Felix | Joao Felix | Joao Felix |
| Sadio Mane | Ruben Neves | Jason Remeseiro | |
| Konstantinos Fortounis | Konstantinos Fortounis | Konstantinos Fortounis | |
| Yannick Carrasco | Yannick Carrasco | Yannick Carrasco | |
| Angelo Fulgini | Angelo Fulgini | Angelo Fulgini | |
| FWD | Cristiano Ronaldo | Cristiano Ronaldo | Cristiano Ronaldo |
| Marcos Leonardo | Ivan Toney | Marcos Leonardo | |
| Mateo Retegui | Mateo Retegui | Mamadou Sylla | |
| Joshua King | Joshua King | Joshua King | |
| Roger Martinez | Roger Martinez | Roger Martinez |
- THREE PICKS: Cristiano Ronaldo, Joshua King, Roger Martinez, Joao Felix, Konstantinos Fortounis, Yannick Carrasco, Angelo Fulgini, Yassine Bono
- TWO PICKS: Mateo Retegui, Marcos Leonardo, Theo Hernandez, Inigo Martinez, Yoann Barbet, Mohammed Al Shamat, Waleed Al Ahmed, Milan Borjan, Orlando Mosquera
AMER SAID…
Defence
On three consecutive clean sheets, Al Hilal get to face one of the weakest attacking outfits: Al Najmah. This gives Yassine Bono a great chance of more points. Also between the sticks is Orlando Mosquera, because opponents Al Okhdood have the fewest team touches inside the penalty area.
Completing an Al Hilal double-up is attacking full-back Theo Hernandez, plus there’s the strong set-piece threat of Al Shabab’s Wesley Hoedt. He ranks second amongst defenders for overall attempts.
Meanwhile, Yoann Barbet is a strong option versus Damac, a side that doesn’t like dealing with set-pieces. He’s solid for defensive actions and firing out some shots.
Mohammed Abu Al Shamat should be confident of a clean sheet against Al Kholood, and differential pick Ali Al Salem nearly netted his first goal of the season.
Attackers
In midfield, Joao Felix is a default pick, as no player is particularly close to his 92-point tally. I like teammate Sadio Mane too, as Neom struggle defensively on their left flank. He has a big chance to get on the scoresheet.
A whopping 24 points came in for Konstantinos Fortounis in Round 7, taking him to second place in midfield. He creates plenty and is the third-best in his position for taking shots.
Cristiano Ronaldo loves to fire some out and we know he’s on Al Nassr’s penalty duty. Whereas Joshua King is the league’s joint-top scorer with nine goals.
Al Taawoun forward Roger Martinez has contributed to goals in each of his last three league matches. But things aren’t quite the same for Mateo Retegui. He’s blanked four times in a row, yet remains a top-quality option.
LOUIS SAID…
Yassine Bono versus rock-bottom Al Najmah looks great, as the hosts haven’t been able to secure a single point in seven games.
Second-placed Al-Taawoun have been excellent, so I wouldn’t be surprised to see Mailson deliver, and there’s a similar confidence in Al Qadsiah’s Koen Casteels, at home to Al Kholood.
Now fully fit, Joao Cancelo returned in style by registering an assist in his latest outing. Those wanting a route into table-topping Al Nassr’s backline against Neom should go for Inigo Martinez, while I also like Al Taawoun’s Waleed Al-Ahmed, scorer in his latest league match.
In midfield, Ruben Neves is Al Hilal’s penalty taker and boasts a steady flow of reliable points. It’s similar for Joao Felix, who feels like a must-have asset, and the three goals and seven assists of Konstantinos Fortounis. The latter is a shoo-in against a poor Al Hazem, and I expect success from Al-Shabab’s Yannick Carrasco.
Cristiano Ronaldo goes without saying, as does the in-form Joshua King. Over at Al Ahli, it’s a tricky clash at home to Al Ittihad, but that won’t deter Ivan Toney, someone with five goals to his name.
MARC SAID…
I agree with Amer and Louis on quite a few of these Round 8 Saudi Scout Squad picks. We all like the cheap midfielder Angelo Fulgini, who takes corners and has goals in consecutive matches, while Yannick Carrasco has scored in all of his previous four home outings, averaging 11.75 points each time.
Defenders Bart Schenkeveld and Chris Smalling are mostly fixture-based, as the former isn’t racking up many points. But the latter’s Al Fayhaa teammate, Jason Remeseiro, scored in Round 7 past Al Nassr, meaning he’s blanked just once in four matches.
Then there’s Al Riyadh duo Milan Borjan and Mamadou Sylla, at home to second-of-last Damac. One is excellent at making saves, the other has four goals and an assist in his latest six games.
As for Marcos Leonardo, the forward is a genuine captaincy candidate. It’s someone with six goals in four matches, all ending in double-digit hauls, about to face a weak defence.
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.
