The first Fantasy Premier League (FPL) deadline of 2026 is nearing – so it’s also time for the first Scout Picks of the calendar year.
As usual, 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 20 SCOUT PICKS
GOALKEEPER
Bart Verbruggen (£4.5m) earns a place in the Scout Picks on account of Brighton and Hove Albion’s home meeting with Burnley. Not renowned for their impressive underlying defensive stats, Fabian Hurzeler’s side have nevertheless kept four clean sheets in 10 matches since the start of November. Verbruggen has also been racking up the save points of late, with seven to his name in as many outings, the most of any goalkeeper. Burnley, meanwhile, have scored just three times in their last three road trips.
DEFENDERS
Gabriel Magalhaes’ (£6.4m) aerial prowess could prove key at both ends of the pitch for Arsenal’s away encounter at Bournemouth. The Cherries have conceded 12 non-penalty goals from set-pieces this season, the joint-most of any team. They’ve also scored just one goal in their last three home matches. Arsenal are consequently one of the bookies’ favourites to keep a clean sheet in Gameweek 20, as below.
James Tarkowski (£5.6m) hosts Brentford on the back of six clean sheets in nine matches. Keith Andrews’ side, who will have had two fewer days of rest, have struggled to find the net on their travels, too, scoring in only two of their last five away games. Additionally, Tarkowski has the edge over every other FPL defender except Marcos Senesi (£4.9m) when it comes to defensive contributions (DefCon), with an average of 10.89 DefCons per 90 minutes.
Suspended for the midweek trip to Arsenal, Matty Cash (£4.8m) looks set to return for Aston Villa’s home showdown with Nottingham Forest. The corner-taking right-back has three goals and one assist in 18 appearances this season. He’s joint-fifth for shots and joint-14th for chances created among all Fantasy defenders, too. As for Forest, only West Ham United and Wolverhampton Wanderers have fashioned fewer big chances than the Tricky Trees in 2025/26.
MIDFIELDERS
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