It’s time for our Scout Picks ‘bus team’, with the Gameweek 28 deadline of Fantasy Premier League (FPL) coming on Friday evening.
The upcoming Scout Squad nominations, pre-match press conferences and midweek European action will help shape our final Scout Picks.
But this initial draft, at the very least, offers an insight into the players and teams who will be under consideration.
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 28 FIXTURES
Gameweek 28 fixtures, sorted by difficulty on our Season Ticker.
THE LIKELY LADS
Although West Ham United are getting better, so are Liverpool. Yet Virgil van Dijk (£6.0m) and Hugo Ekitike (£8.9m) are in very different form.
It took a while for the captain’s first 2025/26 attacking returns to arrive, but now he has two goals and an assist in five matches, plus consecutive clean sheets.
As for the forward, he’s scored in one of seven recent starts, meaning no goals versus either Wolverhampton Wanderers, Burnley, Leeds United, Sunderland or Nottingham Forest. From Gameweek 15 onwards, he’s the league leader for attempts (42), box shots (35) and big chances (15), so surely that haul is coming.
Above: Leading players for big chances since the start of Gameweek 15
The sole player to outdo van Dijk over Gameweeks 26 and 27 is Manchester City’s 30-pointer Nico O’Reilly (£5.0m). An FPL defender, he’s not only playing in midfield, but as one of the most attacking ones. At this stage, it looks like it’s his place to lose.
Erling Haaland (£14.8m) doesn’t feel invincible anymore, but did assist O’Reilly’s second strike past Newcastle United. Just one of his latest nine starts has exceeded six points, bagging a mere one open play goal in 10. Leeds are in good form and almost won at Aston Villa, but Haaland scored twice when he last visited his birth city.
Another forward chosen despite poor form, five of Igor Thiago‘s (£7.1m) previous six outings were limited to two points. The other brought a goal, but still just a tally of five. He’s missed five big chances in that time, but netted a brace in Brentford’s reverse meeting with Burnley.
Elsewhere, the sixth name that feels nailed-on for our Scout Picks is Bruno Fernandes (£9.9m). Manchester United’s playmaker has so many routes to points, as part of the top-flight’s most frequent shooters. The individual with the most chances created by far (78) also takes penalties, and often gets defensive contribution (DefCon) rewards, making him fixture-proof.
IN CONTENTION
A bunch of players are competing for the remaining slots, including a couple from Bournemouth. James Hill (£4.0m) is becoming an FPL sensation, having scored at least six points in five successive matches. They all reached DefCon until Saturday’s 0-0, but that’s fine, he’ll just take the clean sheet instead.
No team has conceded fewer big chances at home (12), and opponents Sunderland have the season’s second-worst expected goals (xG, 24.69) tally.
Above: This season’s best home defences at stopping big chances
Rayan (£5.6m) is one of a few cheap midfielders whom sellers of Enzo Fernandez (£6.8m) will be targeting. The January arrival exploded into English football by producing two goals and an assist in his first three appearances. Even in the blank versus West Ham, he fired off another three shots.
- READ MORE: FPL notes – Summerville, Hill + Rayan good, Tavernier returns
- READ MORE: FPL notes – Mukiele injury latest, Le Fee pen + Wilson DefCon
Next up, Harry Wilson (£5.9m). Recent sellers remembered his talents on Sunday, bringing in an assist and even some DefCon. Our Fixture Ticker says Fulham have the best four upcoming fixtures, and nobody has gathered more points than Wilson since Gameweek 13 began (92).
That weekend, he punished Tottenham Hotspur, a team that has conceded at least twice in each of their last seven.
Fellow low-priced candidate Dango Ouattara (£5.9m) has plenty of appeal. Brentford face Burnley and Wolves in their next three, and we’ve already outlined why he’s potentially a better pick than Kevin Schade (£6.9m).
Of all midfielders who’ve played at least 750 minutes, only Cole Palmer (£10.6m) has more big chances per 90 minutes (0.79). And Gameweek 13’s Burnley clash was one of four double-digit hauls from 16 starts.
Above: Leading players when it comes to big chances per 90 minutes
Meanwhile, Caoimhin Kelleher (£4.6m) seems to be the best route into the Bees’ backline. Although their opponents tend to bust expected clean sheets – ask Trevoh Chalobah’s (£5.8m) owners – this goalkeeper also has three penalty saves to his name.
Back to midfield, Antoine Semenyo (£8.0m) blanked against Newcastle but accumulated three goals and an assist in his previous four. Playing a deeper midfield role, like in Gameweek 25, could concern owners, but he still dug out three shots and created two for others.
Across Manchester, Bryan Mbeumo (£8.6m) has been on fire since returning from the Africa Cup of Nations. He remains this season’s number one midfielder for big chances.
Crystal Palace come to Old Trafford next. They were winless in nine until two 1-0 wins in their latest three, though in between was a home collapse versus Burnley.
Some Aston Villa assets are worth a mention, too. Morgan Rogers (£7.7m) is incredibly frustrating to own, netting just once in his last 10. He has the confidence to shoot, but only one of the 28 in this period was an Opta-defined big chance.
Instinctively, managers will back him when facing last-placed Wolves, but, on Sunday, Rob Edwards’ lot very nearly secured a fourth clean sheet in nine. They’re generally improving and will be up for this local derby, which could dent hopes of a Matty Cash (£4.9m) and Emiliano Martinez (£5.1m) clean sheet.
THE LONGER SHOTS
It’s not often you’ll get this far until reading Gabriel Magalhaes‘ (£7.1m) name. Arsenal’s defence is still trusted, but are without a clean sheet in three. However, it’s hard to truly back against the Brazilian and his set-piece threat.
Investing in Liverpool’s attack certainly feels wise. Florian Wirtz (£8.4m) seems to have finally found his groove, only to get hurt in the warm-up at Nottingham Forest. Arne Slot sounded optimistic about Wirtz making Gameweek 28 but, as of now, he can’t really be picked here.
“We don’t think it is very serious, but he felt his back too much during the warm-up to start. He wasn’t able to be 100% or even close to 100%. I think after being in this league for six, seven or eight months, he now understands no matter how good you are on the ball, you need to be 100% at this level. So, we decided not to play him. We hope and expect he will be able to be with us again next week but you never know how things work out.” – Arne Slot on Florian Wirtz
Could Dominik Szoboszlai (£6.8m) be the alternative? He’s recently scored a couple of spectacular goals, but most attempts are long-distance. Plus, he might put in a shift at right-back.
If a fourth forward must be thrown in the mix, it should probably be Raul Jimenez (£6.1m). A brace on Wearside should ensure the Mexican starts against Spurs and, surprisingly, no Premier League player has more box shots (31) or xG (6.79) from Gameweek 17 onwards.
Above: Leading players for xG since the start of Gameweek 17
Also on the fringes is Newcastle centre-back Malick Thiaw (£5.0m). The Magpies don’t really deliver clean sheets these days, but he has five goals in all competitions, including two past Everton last time.
GAMEWEEK 28 EARLY SCOUT PICKS
