Returning from a three-week break, like the rest of our regular content, it’s the Scout Squad.

As ever, our panel will be sharing their thoughts on the best Fantasy Premier League (FPL) picks for the upcoming Gameweek in isolation.

MORE ABOUT THE SCOUT SQUAD

Staff writer Marc, general manager Sam, deputy editor Tom F and editor Neale each take turns explaining their picks.

With the focus only on the upcoming Gameweek, there’s no medium-term planning involved.

The players who get the most votes are much more likely to make the Scout Picks. However, the final XI can’t exceed £83.0m – so occasionally, we have to source cheaper alternatives.

Each of our writers must meet the following requirements for this feature:

• At least one sub-£5.0m goalkeeper
• At least one sub-£5.0m defender
• At least one sub-£6.0m midfielder
• At least one sub-£7.0m forward
• No more than three players from the same club

SCOUT SQUAD: BEST FPL PLAYERS FOR GAMEWEEK 32

• MOST PICKS: Gabriel Magalhaes, Bruno Fernandes, Erling Haaland, Danny Welbeck, Jarrod Bowen (four), Senne Lammens, David Raya, Jan Paul van Hecke, Dominik Szoboszlai, Anthony Gordon, Antoine Semenyo (three)

MARC SAID…

Of the many thousands of words written over this three-week lull, a surprisingly high proportion of mine have been dedicated to Jack Hinshelwood. I’m surprised that the youngster isn’t being mentioned in Brighton triple-ups, because he’s started six in a row as an attacking midfielder, racking up 10 close-range shots and two big chances.

Furthermore, all three assists in this period have been for Danny Welbeck, showing that the duo have a good understanding that could cause damage against Burnley. Game time might be a problem for the veteran during Double Gameweek 33, but the brace versus Liverpool ensures he’s having his best-ever season for goals.

Completing my Seagulls quota is Bart Verbruggen. Recently, they’re either keeping clean sheets or conceding just once, and no team has gifted fewer big chances (five) to opponents over their last six.

I’m also going all-in on both Manchester outfits, as I’m not scared off by City’s trip to Chelsea. The Blues have a mere one clean sheet in 15 outings, so I have no qualms about selecting Erling Haaland and Antoine Semenyo after they destroyed Liverpool in the FA Cup. Nico O’Reilly assisted twice that day, soon after his pair of EFL Cup final goals.

However, there’s a slight hesitance about committing to two Manchester United attackers, knowing Leeds have back-to-back clean sheets. But the essential Bruno Fernandes is on a six-match streak of home hauls and Matheus Cunha scored in Gameweek 20’s reverse fixture. As for Diogo Dalot, it’d be rude not to pick someone facing a team that’s goalless in four.

Staying at the back, I feel like Arsenal – in response to two cup defeats – are about to enter their ugly 1-0 mode, doing whatever it takes to win this elusive league title. That’ll be good for David Raya and Gabriel Magalhaes owners. No side boasts a lower number of conceded goals (22), attempts (242), shots on target (70) or big chances (37).

West Ham kick things off on Friday night at home to Wolves and, quite simply, they must win. During Mads Hermansen’s spell between the sticks, the team has kept three clean sheets in seven, where the Dane ended each success on either nine or 10 points. Talisman Jarrod Bowen is consistently delivering attacking returns, also hitting the woodwork twice in the Hammers’ cup quarter-final. Hopefully, he’ll remain on penalties after his shootout miss.

Elsewhere, I don’t have much faith in Virgil van Dijk, to be honest, knowing that Liverpool v Fulham is between both Paris Saint-Germain legs. While less exciting than his attacking colleagues, Dominik Szoboszlai tends to play all 90 minutes, which is useful. A good all-round midfielder, the Hungarian has produced in three of his last four at Anfield.

As someone who sold Igor Thiago right before he slipped a January hat-trick past Everton, I won’t be making that mistake again, whatever the chip strategy. Not only that, during the 0-0 at Leeds, he became the third forward to ever pick up defensive contribution (DefCon) points.

Similarly, Ollie Watkins scored past Nottingham Forest last time, as Matty Cash assisted against his former club. I’m cautiously backing both at the City Ground, knowing that Watkins also netted in Gameweek 31.

SAM SAID…

A final single Gameweek ahead of the chaos of the Double/Blank Gameweeks means that many managers will already have all their attention focused on Gameweeks 33 and 34.

That’s not a bad thing if attention is focused on Brighton, as the Seagulls have a plum fixture against Burnley in Gameweek 32. As such, my Scout Squad, for the first time this season, contains the maximum allowance from Brighton. Jan Paul van Hecke is Brighton’s top-scoring FPL asset this season, with five attacking returns and a decent number of DefCon returns supplementing his clean sheets, of which he has three in the last six Gameweeks. Alongside him, I have opted for two attackers in the form of Danny Welbeck and old FPL favourite Pascal Gross. Welbeck has registered 12 goals this season, with four coming in the last six matches. Since returning to Brighton in January, Gross has three attacking returns to his name, with both of his assists coming in the last six matches. A solid if not spectacular pick, he is Albion’s leading chance creator since he rejoined the club.

I have also opted for three assets from another Gameweek 33 doubler, Manchester City, despite a difficult-on-paper fixture against Chelsea. The Blues, however, are without a clean sheet in nine Gameweeks, so there is potential for City assets to prosper on Sunday, especially the attackers. Erling Haaland has been rediscovering his form with a hat-trick against Liverpool in the FA Cup, while Antoine Semenyo, who, for me, is the player of the season, has already met Chelsea at Stamford Bridge this campaign, registering an assist when Bournemouth travelled to west London. Finally, while a clean sheet may be hard to come by at the Bridge (hence why I’ve also backed Joao Pedro), Nico O’Reilly‘s brace in the FA Cup win highlights his almost peerless attacking threat among FPL defenders.

Up front, I have opted for a couple of relative differentials in Jarrod Bowen and Richarlison. Both of these forwards are fighting for their Premier League lives and carry much of their teams’ responsibility for scoring goals. The pair are averaging a healthy 4.6 and 4.9 points per start respectively. Bowen has multiple routes to points through set pieces and DefCon, while Richarlison will be hoping to profit from some much-needed new manager bounce at Sunderland. That’s why I’ve also plumped for Micky van de Ven.

Bruno Fernandes feels like the most important pick for this Gameweek, and he is likely to be my captain. His total of 25 attacking returns is the most of any midfielder in the game, while no player in his Fantasy position can better him for double-digit hauls, bonus and overall points.

Anthony Gordon and Dominik Szoboszlai also make my midfield slots. Gordon is likely to play ‘out of position’ up front again for Newcastle against Palace, less than 72 hours after the south London club contest a European fixture. Meanwhile, Szoboszlai is Liverpool’s in-form asset, having registered either a clean sheet, defensive contributions or an attacking return in each of the last five Gameweeks.

Rounding off my outfield picks this week are two centre-halves. Gabriel Magalhaes was fit to start in the Champions League and kept a clean sheet, which bodes well for the weekend, while James Tarkowski has returned 21 points in his last two matches.

TOM F SAID…

I’m tipping a double-up on West Ham United’s defence at home to Wolverhampton Wanderers, with El Hadji Malick Diouf more than capable of a hefty haul in Friday’s Gameweek 32 opener. Wolves’ tendency to concede a lot of key passes/crosses from their right flank (the most over the last six matches) leads me to the Senegalese full-back. Jarrod Bowen, with his tally of four attacking returns in as many home matches, gets the nod further forward, although he has had only one non-penalty ‘big chance’ in his last 12 appearances.

Elsewhere, David Raya and Gabriel Magalhaes are part of a rather obvious defensive double-up at Arsenal. Saturday’s visitors to the Emirates, Bournemouth, have only found the net three times in their last five matches.

Jan Paul van Hecke, Trai Hume and Neco Williams complete my selections at the back. I can see the much-improved Brighton and Hove Albion defence keeping a clean sheet at Burnley, while Hume and Williams, who are fourth and first respectively for shots among defenders this season, have decent-ish clean sheet opportunities against teams ranked in the bottom five for expected goals (xG) over the last six matches.

In midfield, Kaoru Mitoma is a real differential, and I think he’ll deliver a return against Burnley on Saturday. He’s a risky one given his fitness issues, but he’s played 116 minutes for Japan over the international break, so I think he’ll start at Turf Moor. His inclusion is partly based on Scott Parker’s side conceding the second-highest number of crosses from their right flank over the last six matches. Danny Welbeck appears in my preliminary selection, too: in his last five games, he has delivered four goals and 33 points.

Meanwhile, Bruno Fernandes makes the cut for obvious reasons, while Morgan Gibbs-White caught the eye once more prior to the international break. His total of 19 chances created from Gameweek 24 onwards ranks second among FPL midfielders, while he’s also had 20 shots of his own in that time.

I’ve also opted for Anthony Gordon. On a run of three goals in as many matches, he should be encountering Crystal Palace at an opportune time, as the south Londoners have UEFA Conference League quarter-finals against Fiorentina on either side of Gameweek 32. Sunderland’s Enzo Le Fee is my budget midfield pick as I’m obliged to select a name below £6.0m: opponents Tottenham Hotspur are admittedly under new management but haven’t kept a Premier League clean sheet since New Year’s Day.

Finally, Erling Haaland (away at Chelsea) and Igor Thiago (at home to Everton) are my two favoured forwards, while I’ve also gone with Kai Havertz following his goal-scoring cameo against Sporting CP in midweek.

NEALE SAID…

Before the ‘quantity vs quality’ debate of Double Gameweek 33, a trickier-to-read standard Gameweek. Will form count for much after a three-Gameweek pause or will the pre-break momentum continue for the likes of Everton, Brighton and Wolves? There aren’t too many stand-out clean sheet opportunities this week, either, partly thanks to two of the bottom four facing each other.

Those two relegation-threatened clubs, West Ham and Wolves, meet on Friday. While Rob Edwards’ side are not the pushovers they were pre-Christmas, the Hammers themselves are much improved in 2026. Friday’s squad should be much stronger than the one that bowed out of the FA Cup last weekend, so I’m not reading too much into that shootout defeat. Konstantinos Mavropanos will be back; he’s delivered DefCon points in 70% of his starts in 2025/26. Jarrod Bowen, meanwhile, keeps ticking by with returns – be it DefCon, set-piece assists or penalties – despite not posing a great deal of open-play threat. He’s blanked in just two of the last 10 Gameweeks.

Brighton have one of the better-on-paper fixtures, despite Burnley’s irritating knack of spoiling clean sheets (only Arsenal, Everton and the Seagulls themselves haven’t conceded to the Clarets this season!). Jan Paul van Hecke, who has stepped up his DefCon game in the last five Gameweeks, is probably sufficient coverage of the defence, with my other two Albion assets plucked from further upfield. An in-form Danny Welbeck may not get two starts in the Double Gameweek (does it really matter?) but there’s scant chance of him not starting at Turf Moor, unless Fabian Hurzeler is sitting on injury news. I have reservations about Jack Hinshelwood as a medium-term pick – it would probably only take a loss or two for Hurzeler to start wielding the axe, and he’s well stocked with midfielders – but I’ll take the budget Brighton man for this one-week-only contest, what with him picking up some eye-catchingly advanced positions alongside Welbeck in the last six Gameweeks.

In terms of clutching at clean sheet straws elsewhere, Senne Lammens and Manchester United face a Leeds United side that hasn’t scored in four Gameweeks. They’ll also now be deprived of chief creator Anton Stach. I fancy Brentford v Everton to be low-scoring, too, despite the Bees running riot in the reverse fixture. Everton away are a different prospect to Everton at home; the Toffees have statistically the lowest block in the division (according to Statsbomb) on the road. I’ve gone with James Tarkowski and, not buying into the Bees’ centre-half lottery, Caoimhin Kelleher from that fixture. Nottingham Forest have also scored just one goal in their last six home games, hence the Emiliano Martinez inclusion.

Had there not been a management change at Tottenham Hotspur, I’d have been tipping up someone like Omar Alderete this weekend. As it is, and with the Lilywhites blessed with the element of tactical surprise under new boss Roberto De Zerbi, I could see Cristian Romero and co nicking a result on Wearside, where Sunderland have lost their last three home games. We shall see.

Convincing cup wins for Manchester City over the last three weeks have rekindled interest in players from Pep Guardiola’s squad, particularly with a tactical tweak benefitting Erling Haaland. Another plus is that City face a troubled Chelsea side that are on the Premier League’s second-longest current clean sheet drought (nine matches) and trying to deal with some dissension among the ranks. Joao Pedro still looks the part and could yet get some joy on Sunday, although he’s behind Welbeck, Bowen and Haaland in my forward pecking order this week.

Finally, alongside Scout Squad staples Bruno Fernandes and Gabriel Magalhaes, the selections of Anthony Gordon, Dominik Szoboszlai and, given that I’ve backed Tarkowski and won’t hedge my bets with Igor Thiago, Jorgen Strand Larsen. Strand Larsen is suspended in Europe and will almost certainly start on Sunday, with a half-fit Jean-Philippe Mateta getting a run-out against Fiorentina instead. Newcastle have kept just one clean sheet in 17 games. That being said, I think the Magpies are one club who could have a decent run-in, free from domestic and European distractions and with the squad looking healthier again. Gordon is already on a three-Gameweek scoring run heading into the final stretch. As for Szoboszlai, he’s delivered an attacking return or DefCon points in seven of his last eight outings. Liverpool aren’t far off being a one-man team thanks to his consistent excellence, and the Hungarian doesn’t have the minute-management albatross that is hanging around the necks of Hugo Ekitike and others.