The Scout Squad sees our in-house team discuss who they think the best Fantasy Premier League (FPL) players are for Blank Gameweek 34.

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Staff writer Marc, general manager Sam, deputy editor Tom F and emergency sub Alex/FPL Scoop (in for the absent 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 34

• MOST PICKS: David Raya, Gabriel Magalhaes, Virgil van Dijk, Pedro Porro, Bruno Fernandes, Ollie Watkins, Jarrod Bowen, Igor Thiago (four), Konstantinos Mavropanos, Mohamed Salah, Dominic Solanke, Beto (three)

MARC SAID…

Without six teams to pick from, which boast some of the most appealing FPL players, I’ll admit there’s a bit of barrel scraping going on here. For example, I’ve nominated Kai Havertz, despite just scoring his first league goal in this injury-ravaged season. But he’s had six big chances in two matches, and any forward about to face this version of Newcastle must be selected.

There’s also the rarity of picking multiple players from each side of the West Ham v Everton clash, as both defences and attacks are backed.

Beto is on four strikes from three matches, whereas the Hammers’ defence is also doing well, collecting three clean sheets from five. Furthermore, centre-back Konstantinos Mavropanos has a trio of goals in this period. He grabbed a mammoth 21 points in Gameweek 32, a night when Jarrod Bowen assisted three times.

Although goalless in nine, Bowen simultaneously set up seven for others. So I see West Ham getting at least a point versus the Toffees, whether it’s via him or Crysencio Summerville. The Dutchman has found the net five times in his last 10 outings, while the blank occasions accumulated 1.54 expected goals (xG). However, we know Jordan Pickford is capable of foiling this duo.

The only goalkeeper with more points is David Raya. I think he and Gabriel Magalhaes can hop back onto the clean sheet train after a recent drop in form brought just two in eight. Overtaken by Man City on goals scored, Arsenal have a chance to switch the momentum by playing twice before Pep Guardiola’s lot next do.

Meanwhile, in stoppage time of last Sunday’s Merseyside derby, Pickford was beaten by Virgil van Dijk’s headed winner. That’s three from eight for Liverpool’s captain.

Though I’m not predicting the Reds to score many against Crystal Palace, an opponent that has recently participated in two 0-0 draws, I still intend to cover their attack on my Free Hit activation. Mohamed Salah and Cody Gakpo combined for the derby’s opener and should get starts over a visibly unfit Alexander Isak.

Nobody beats Gakpo’s 22 shots from Gameweek 28 onwards, and he’s actually second throughout the whole campaign (78). What lets him down is a bad 7.7% goal conversion rate. An ever bigger risk is placing trust in Tottenham guys, considering they are winless in forever and have conceded 29 times in their last 13.

Still, Wolves have just lost 3-0 and 4-0, meaning there’s logic in Pedro Porro and Xavi Simons that goes beyond simply chasing last week’s goal scorers. Especially the attacking full-back, who is FPL’s leading defender for chances created (41) and the best in all positions for crosses (202).

Spurs’ relegation rivals, Nottingham Forest, travel to Sunderland on Friday. Expecting an ugly game, I will double up on their rearguard via Matz Sels and in-form Neco Williams. The latter delivered several clean sheets and attacking returns over his last four.

A couple of us chose Morgan Gibbs-White last time, just before his hat-trick, and I would’ve done so again but ran out of midfield slots. Because there’s no way Bruno Fernandes won’t make the cut. The playmaker has assisted at least once in six successive matches, also ending six of his last seven home games with double-digit hauls.

Then again, Fernandes missed a penalty in late September’s reverse meeting against Brentford, an afternoon when opponent Igor Thiago bagged a brace. Owners shouldn’t worry about his trip to Old Trafford. Finally, fellow forward Ollie Watkins. He secured 16 points last week, and I think he’ll get something at Fulham.

SAM SAID…

From a Double Gameweek straight into a Blank Gameweek – these are the periods in FPL that feel most chaotic, with the biggest potential to be season-defining. With no Man City, Bournemouth, Brighton, Burnley, Chelsea and Leeds, there is an opportunity to be bolder and more differential with some of the picks, especially for those managers on a Free Hit. 

For the first time in a while, the Arsenal defensive double-up looks a viable strategy. Since Gameweek 22, David Raya has kept five clean sheets, tied at the top with Gianluigi Donnarumma and Mads Hermansen. So, despite Arsenal having failed to keep a clean sheet in the last two, Raya still feels like the best goalkeeper option.

Gabriel Magalhaes, alongside Bruno Fernandes, is likely to be the most heavily owned player for Gameweek 34. The defender is already found in 43.2% of teams, and I expect all Free Hitters will own him, too. I did consider a third Arsenal player ahead of the home fixture against Newcastle; however, their attacking options feel risky both in terms of form and potential rotation. 

This is potentially the last time many managers will pick Mohamed Salah in FPL, and, depending on how he performs in Gameweek 34, it could be the last time I select him in my Scout Squad. Salah has now scored in his last two Premier League matches and has three goals and an assist in his last five in all competitions. He also has nine goals and five assists in 17 Premier League appearances against Palace, and with this game set to be one of his last three at Anfield, he has extra motivation as well as the team needing the points to secure Champions League football for the next season.

I have doubled up on the Liverpool attack with Dominik Szoboszlai. He is Liverpool’s top-scoring player in recent matches, racking up a team-leading 33 points across the last six Gameweeks, and with his set-piece threat, I think he is the best second Liverpool attacker over the likes of Cody Gakpo and Alexander Isak. My third Liverpool slot belongs to Virgil van Dijk.

Right, maybe this season has finally caught up with me, but for only the second time in 2025/26, there are three Spurs players in my picks. Do I trust this Spurs team? Not fully, no. However, there was fight, passion and some pride against Brighton, and they were a team playing attacking football. This week, the opponents are Wolves, who have had the fewest shots in the league in the last six Gameweeks. At the other end of the pitch, they have conceded 25 big chances in this period, the most of any team.

Pedro Porro scored his first goal of the season in Gameweek 33 and is now back on set-pieces under Roberto De Zerbi. He is also being asked to play a different role now. The Spaniard is no longer hanging on the touch line, and is instead cutting inside, putting him in good goal-scoring positions as well as increasing his assist potential from crosses.

I have paired him with Xavi Simons and Dominic Solanke in a Spurs attacking double-up. Simons registered a goal and an assist against Brighton, and De Zerbi has talked about a special relationship with his No 10s, as that was the position he used to play. With Xavi cutting in from the left, and Yves Bissouma and Rodrigo Bentancur back in the middle, he is now more focused on ball progression, which bodes well for us in FPL this weekend. 

Up top, it’s in-form strikers galore. Ollie Watkins has six goals in his last five matches in all competitions, whereas Jarrod Bowen has points returns in each of his last five home matches. Igor Thiago is still in the race for this season’s Golden Boot and scored a brace and picked up all three bonus points in the reverse of this fixture back in Gameweek 6. As for Beto, he’ll hopefully be fit to start.

TOM F SAID…

There is an obvious group of players included in my squad for Gameweek 34’s reduced fixture list.

Arsenal’s David Raya and Gabriel Magalhaes are likely to populate many Free Hit teams, but further forward, I think Eberechi Eze is being overlooked. He hit the post on Sunday afternoon and looked a real threat drifting infield from the left. If I could be certain of a start, I’d be interested in Kai Havertz, too.

Bruno Fernandes is top of my midfielders list, while I wouldn’t be averse to Matheus Cunha making the cut alongside the Portuguese playmaker. However, I’d put Mohamed Salah and Morgan Gibbs-White, who’s either scored or assisted in four of his last six matches, slightly ahead.

Enzo Le Fee is also included as I’m obliged to select a name below £6.0m. He recorded an assist, bonus and DefCon at Aston Villa last time out, and you’d think a Nottingham Forest side without Murillo will be much weaker at the back, hence the inclusion of teammate Brian Brobbey.

The composition of the West Ham United triple-up was fairly easy to decide on, with Mads Hermansen and Konstantinos Mavropanos the go-to budget options for many Free Hit squads this week. The Hammers have been impressing at the back recently, with no team recording more clean sheets since the start of February. Mavropanos has racked up 42 points in his last four matches, too.

As for Jarrod Bowen, he’s my top forward pick, partly because he has so many routes to points. He hasn’t scored since Gameweek 24, yet has still averaged 5.1 points per start in the nine matches since, thanks to a combination of assists, bonus and DefCon. He’s also on penalties.

Ollie Watkins could potentially join him in the Scout Picks. I doubt very much whether you’ll see 90 minutes from him, but like the rest of the Aston Villa squad, he’s been in fine form since the return of Youri Tielemans and John McGinn from injury. He’ll be up against a Fulham side who haven’t kept a home clean sheet all year.

I have reservations about Tottenham Hotspur players this week, but relegated Wolverhampton Wanderers are even worse, so Dominic Solanke could still get a bit of joy at Molineux. His inclusion is mostly due to a lack of convincing options elsewhere, however. Igor Thiago, who has scored more away goals than any other player except Erling Haaland this season, is perhaps a safer bet.

Finishing up at the back, Virgil van Dijk, Pedro Porro and Michael Keane get the nod. I think Liverpool, Spurs and Everton all probably concede this weekend, but with attacking threat and DefCon potential, they could still produce the points.

ALEX SAID…

Much has (fairly) been made of Arsenal allowing Manchester City back into this Premier League title race, but the Gunners still boast the country’s best defence. That, and the fact that the first task en route to potentially making things right is to face a Newcastle group who have been awful away from home, means I’ve gone for David Raya between the posts.

I’m otherwise a little conflicted. I think it’s hard to see shut-outs in many of this weekend’s match-ups, but Sunderland’s Robin Roefs has ticked over nicely by combining clean sheets (six of them at home) with save points (23) this season. His opponents, Nottingham Forest, are unbeaten in five league matches, but they have been overperforming their expected goal (xG) figures.

Liverpool’s budget-friendly ‘keeper Freddie Woodman has a big afternoon ahead of him on Saturday as he fills in between the posts for the Reds at Anfield, but he’ll be happy to hear that visitors Crystal Palace – who are likely to start rotating their squad with one eye on the Conference League – have fired off fewer shots than any club except Wolves over the last six Gameweeks.

Virgil van Dijk, the Merseyside derby difference-maker last time out, has racked up more Opta-defined ‘big chances’ (nine) than any other FPL defender this season, and he’ll fancy his chances of a shut-out against low-threat Palace, too.

I’ve gone for Gabriel Magalhaes to complete an Arsenal defensive double-up. Despite an overall poor display against City last weekend, the Brazilian came within a post’s width of scoring, such is his continued threat from set plays. Now, Newcastle at home is – on paper – a much less dangerous match at the moment than facing Pep Guardiola’s perennial winners on the road.

Down the other end of the table, Gameweek 33 goal-scorer Pedro Porro could profit against an already-relegated Wolves side who sit at or near the bottom of the division for many defensive statistics and are particularly woeful at defending set pieces, which this free-roaming Spanish full-back has been taking for Tottenham.

West Ham’s Konstantinos Mavropanos boasts three goals in his last four appearances, but I’m going to back his Everton counterpart, Michael Keane, instead. The Englishman looks set for another run in David Moyes’s team, a unit that is unbeaten in seven of its last eight away games, while Keane’s last extended spell in the first XI saw him score several times as well as banking defensive contribution (DefCon) points in 13 of his 21 starts.

I’ve chosen Lucas Digne in my final spot in defence. The Frenchman has delivered a pair of assists in his last four appearances and is expected by multiple Aston Villa-focused outlets to start Saturday lunchtime’s trip to Fulham.

In midfield, starting with the one that requires probably the least explanation, Bruno Fernandes will probably be my own captain when United host Brentford.

Proposing the selection of Cody Gakpo over Mohamed Salah may be a little controversial, but allow me to explain. It’s mighty tempting to go with the Egyptian – who has scored in each of his last three starts – for one last FPL hurrah, but Gakpo actually leads all players for shots (22) and all those who play this weekend for shots in the box (15) over the last six Gameweeks. Gakpo could also be handed some minutes up front whenever Alexander Isak is subbed off, further boosting his appeal.

I’m also going for Morgan Rogers, who has registered attacking returns in three straight matches ahead of a trip to middling Fulham. Morgan Gibbs-White, meanwhile, scored a first-ever career hat-trick last time out and now has six goals in six games. Finally, Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall is my chosen sub-£6.0m midfielder having scored three goals and assisted three more across his last nine appearances for European hopefuls Everton.

Completing a Villa triple-up, Ollie Watkins earns his spot having registered eight attacking returns across his last six matches in all competitions. While I’m wary of dishing out some famous last words, I don’t think Europa League-focused rotation should be too much of an issue here, given the Saturday-Thursday turnaround to Villa’s semi-final first leg.

No team has conceded more big chances in the last six Gameweeks than Wolves, despite the Old Gold playing on only five occasions in that time, which helps Dominic Solanke receive a hesitant nod from me this week. Spurs simply have to win at Molineux, Solanke seems to be the clear first choice up top with few threats to his minutes at present, and seven shots on target in his last six outings – plus 10 total from inside the penalty box – suggest he could have some joy against Rob Edwards’ down-and-out crew.

For my budget-friendly striker this week, I’d probably prefer in-form Everton frontman Beto – five attacking returns in his last three matches – if he is passed fit to face West Ham after coming off in the Merseyside derby with an apparent head injury.

Rounding things out with a couple more straightforward picks, the highly-owned Igor Thiago bagged a brace against United in the reverse fixture and still has plenty to play for as Brentford target Europe, while multi-route points scorer Jarrod Bowen hosts Everton as he fights to skip West Ham to survival.