The Scout Squad sees our in-house team discuss who they think the best Fantasy Premier League (FPL) players are for Gameweek 35.

This week’s panel are staff writer Marc, general manager Sam, deputy editor Tom F and editor Neale.

MORE ABOUT THE SCOUT SQUAD

Our contributors 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 35

• MOST PICKS: David Raya, Karl Darlow, Gabriel Magalhaes, Nico O’Reilly, Bruno Fernandes, Rayan Cherki, Erling Haaland, Dominic Calvert-Lewin, Igor Thiago (four), James Hill (three)

MARC SAID…

Well, that run of chips was underwhelming. I’m only slightly higher than when Gameweek 31 ended. But I’m still happy to have used the Wildcard in Gameweek 32, because a lot of these picks are in my current squad, causing a benching headache!

A triple-up on Man City’s journey to Everton feels excessive but each individual has merit. Erling Haaland is the game’s top scorer in terms of goals and points, while Nico O’Reilly is in freakish form for an FPL defender. Four goals and four clean sheets in his last seven league matches, with various cup heroics sprinkled in.

He should have done even better in Gameweek 33 because of a huge sitter missed at Burnley, set up by Rayan Cherki. That Turf Moor blank saw the Frenchman rack up eight shots and eight chances created, following two matches that both ended on 10 points. The Toffees are good, but I’m struggling to leave out any of this trio.

I’ve also gone for three Arsenal names. David Raya and Gabriel Magalhaes are in the league’s best backline, one that would love to scrape a bunch of ugly wins together and secure the title. That’s what happened versus Newcastle, where Eberechi Eze scored the sole goal. It’s hard to predict which Gunners attacking midfielder is nailed on, but the 27-year-old is a good shout.

Another ‘all-in’ situation is Leeds at home to Burnley. Karl Darlow has kept three clean sheets in five, and the already-relegated Clarets have just two goals in six. There’s a slight doubt over Noah Okafor’s availability, but Daniel Farke will do everything he can to start someone who has recently hauled 15 and 14 points.

Picking Dominic Calvert-Lewin always feels reluctant. While nobody has accumulated more expected goals (xG, 11.90) or big chances (23) from Gameweek 13 onwards, he’s spurned 12 of his latest 14 key moments. That continues a history of underachievement, though he’s been unlucky when it comes to comparing goals with the location of where non-penalty attempts ended up (-2.51).

Speaking of trolls, Aston Villa’s Ollie Watkins and Morgan Rogers. Over 1.8 million bought the forward last week, so of course he blanked in a 1-0 defeat. As for Rogers, this season’s second most frequent shooter (79) had a 13-game run involving only one big chance. But three have happened in his latest four, hinting at an upward curve coinciding with Tottenham coming to town.

Just as good a fixture is Brighton’s trip to Newcastle, especially knowing they’re unbeaten in six versus the Magpies in all competitions. Three of the last four away games saw Bart Verbruggen keep a clean sheet, whereas Danny Welbeck netted twice in October’s reverse meeting.

Someone who can’t stop producing is Bruno Fernandes. Fixture-proof, the playmaker has set up goals in seven successive matches, twice scoring for himself. He’s very close to equalling the all-time Premier League assists record.

Man United went against Brentford’s Igor Thiago and Nathan Collins on Monday night. I’m still gobsmacked that the Brazilian didn’t score, considering the number of times he was either played through on goal or narrowly missed a cross. Centre-back Collins has five headed attempts from his latest four outings.

Bournemouth’s Marcos Senesi isn’t just about DefCon. He assisted and hit the crossbar in a chaotic half against Leeds. He next gets to host a distracted Crystal Palace that has recently been rotating attackers.

Joint-second with Senesi for defenders creating big chances (seven) is Nordi Mukiele. It’s been a leaky couple of games for Sunderland, but they get the honour of visiting Wolves on Saturday.

SAM SAID…

After the doubles and blanks of the last fortnight, it actually feels nice to be looking at a Gameweek with just the regular 10 fixtures scheduled.

This week, there are some really attractive goalkeeper options, with Karl Darlow facing a Burnley side who have just parted company with Scott Parker, David Raya at home to Fulham, and Robin Roefs coming up against a Wolves outfit that has struggled in front of goal for much of 2025/26. All three have good chances of clean sheets this weekend, with the added potential for bonus if they are involved in low-scoring games. That certainly seems to be the case with Arsenal, these days…

As is the case most weeks, Gabriel Magalhaes is my top defender pick for the weekend. He doesn’t need much justification (DefCon potential, goal threat etc) but it’s also worth pointing out that Fulham have scored just 16 goals on the road this season; only Wolves and Sunderland have found the net on fewer occasions on their travels. With Bukaya Saka available again, this should only aid Gabriel’s threat from set pieces. Saka has assisted six of Gabriel’s 20 Premier League career goals. 

Elsewhere in defence, Nico O’Reilly is the top-scoring defender so far this season with five goals. He is frequently in and around the penalty area, regardless of whether he’s stationed at left-back or in midfield.

Newcastle have been struggling in attack in recent weeks, so opting for an in-form Brighton defender could pay dividends. Jan Paul van Hecke has averaged 5.6 points per start over the last six Gameweeks.

James Hill comes up against a Crystal Palace side that will be at the midway point of their Europa Conference League semi-final, with the anticipated rotation boosting Bournemouth’s prospects of a clean sheet.

Finally, at the back, Pedro Porro. Despite my not seeing a clean sheet for Spurs away at Villa, Porro is the most creative asset available to Spurs after the ACL injury to Xavi Simons in Gameweek 34.

Bruno Fernandes could break the assist record this weekend – and he is not far away from the FPL assist record, either. Bruno is in particularly excellent form in home matches, having returned in all seven fixtures at Old Trafford since recovering from injury in January.

The Portuguese playmaker is joined by Rayan Cherki, who has two double-digit hauls in his last three Premier League matches, and Saka. ‘Starboy’ may be a bold pick given that he hasn’t started a game yet since returning from injury but Arsenal looked a lot more creative on Wednesday once Saka came on, and threat from midfield is something they’ve been sorely lacking in his absence.

The midfield selection is completed by Pascal Gross and Morgan Gibbs-White. Both are in excellent form and, despite not having the best-on-paper fixtures, the rearguards of Newcastle and Chelsea are far from watertight at present.

Erling Haaland picks himself: he is City’s top scorer, and they may need him to score heavily in their final five matches, with the league title potentially coming down to goal difference.

Igor Thiago is just three goals behind Haaland in the race for the Golden Boot this season and particularly enjoys home comforts, netting on 12 occasions at the Gtech. In fact, in home fixtures this season, Thiago has a better expected goals tally than Haaland (11.71 v 11.53). Jarrod Bowen faces Thiago in the same game; his continued good attacking form is crucial if West Ham are to stay in the Premier League.

Elsewhere at the bottom of the league, Dominic Calvert-Lewin faces a Burnley side without a manager going into the Friday night fixture.

Finally, Richarlison will likely lead the line for Spurs as Dominic Solanke is out injured. Hopefully, he will increase his ratio of three attacking returns in the last six matches.

TOM F SAID…

Arsenal and Manchester City, who face Fulham and Everton respectively, supply six of my Gameweek 35 squad.

The Gunners have more clean sheets to their name than any other team this season, so David Raya and Gabriel Magalhaes get the nod from me. In midfield, Bukayo Saka is only just back from an Achilles injury, but he immediately lifted the attack against Newcastle United last weekend. He probably needs to start on Saturday to restore some match sharpness after a couple of cameos off the bench.

As for City, they’re on a roll with six successive wins in all competitions, so Nico O’Reilly, Rayan Cherki – who has scored once and supplied three assists across his last four starts – and Erling Haaland feature in my 18-man squad.

Everton have kept a very decent six clean sheets at the Hill Dickinson Stadium in 2025/26, yet somewhat surprisingly, are ranked 18th for big chances conceded on home turf. They are 17th for key passes conceded from the middle-third, too, solidifying my selection of Cherki.

Thursday night’s European semi-final very likely means Unai Emery will rotate a few positions this weekend, but I still think Aston Villa will be more than a match for injury-hit Tottenham Hotspur. Ezri Konsa subsequently makes a rare Scout Squad appearance at the back, while a midfield spot goes to Morgan Rogers, whose performances have been much improved since Youri Tielemans and John McGinn returned from injury. He scored in the reverse fixture, too.

I’m expecting heavier rotation to occur at Crystal Palace, who play in Poland on Thursday night, which piques my interest in Bournemouth players. It’s important not to inflate expectations too much – Palace know how to defend, and Oliver Glasner might not even rotate his backline – but I still fancy Marcus Tavernier, who has combined 20 shots with 15 chances created in his last seven matches, to get something. You’d expect James Hill to bank defensive contribution (DefCon) points at the very least, too.

Elsewhere, Burnley haven’t kept a clean sheet in their 17 away matches, so Jayden Bogle and Dominic Calvert-Lewin are stand-out options from Leeds United. The former could well be up against the unconvincing Quilindschy Hartman, while Calvert-Lewin’s inclusion is partly based on Burnley conceding the second-most number of headed chances in away matches this season.

Alexander Isak may raise a few eyebrows, but he’s exactly the type of daring differential I like at this stage of the season. Rather obvious picks abound elsewhere up front, with Igor Thiago and Joao Pedro both included against teams near the bottom of the table.

NEALE SAID…

It’s all a bit Gameweek 33 this week, with Leeds United, Bournemouth, Brighton and Hove Albion and Chelsea all having decent-to-good fixtures, and most tripling up on Manchester City regardless of Everton’s strengths.

The ‘good time to play Nottingham Forest’ narrative is in danger of being overblown; the Tricky Trees have so far prioritised Premier League survival over European exploits, and they’ve not lost any of their last four post-Europa League domestic fixtures. Still, I liked what I’ve seen of Enzo Fernandez under Calum McFarlane across his two spells as interim coach – two goals in three games, operating as a ’10’, plenty of penalty box prominence – and he’s an interesting differential proposition this week.

It’s been a ‘good time to play Newcastle United’ for a while, and though last weekend’s performance at Arsenal was better, I fear an emboldened display at home will leave spaces for a canny, in-form Brighton side that has proven to be a bogey team for the Magpies. It’s no wins in six against the Seagulls. Danny Welbeck bagged a brace in the reverse fixture, too.

Crystal Palace, like Nottingham Forest, have actually done okay when returning to domestic action after midweek ties on the continent. But we’re expecting rotation, with potentially an all-new, second-string Eagles attack taking to the field. Defenders have racked up 50 DefCon points facing Palace this season – only Liverpool have proven to be more obliging opposition – so James Hill gets the nod. Marcus Tavernier, among the top four midfielders for both shots and chances created over the last seven Gameweeks, joins him.

Burnley ditching Scott Parker doesn’t seem to aid Leeds players’ appeal; the Clarets were drifting listlessly towards the Championship under him. Mike Jackson started his last caretaker spell in fine form, too. It’s made me think twice about Karl Darlow, Jayden Bogle (Leeds will likely be doing far more attacking than DefCon-ing) and Dominic Calvert-Lewin, and the latter is a chronic waster of chances regardless. Surely, against a side without an away clean sheet all season, Calvert-Lewin can end the drought? You wouldn’t bet on it.

There are fairly predictable triple-ups from the top two. Zophar covers Rayan Cherki‘s new-found goal threat succinctly in this piece, and the Frenchman seems to have usurped Antoine Semenyo as the go-to City midfielder. Can Eberechi Eze become just that at Arsenal, especially with Declan Rice in an off-puttingly deep ‘six’ role in midweek? Eze, to me, has looked like the only Gooner capable of conjuring something up in recent weeks, unfortunate to strike the woodwork against City before scoring against Newcastle. A midweek substitute role, likely influenced by last Saturday’s muscle niggle, suggests a Gameweek 35 start. I’ll be on Saka-watch this weekend, too.

One of the big conundrums I have with my own team this week is whether to ditch one/both of Igor Thiago/Jarrod Bowen on a Wildcard. They’ve been such reliable 90-minute men over recent weeks and months, with Bowen managing to repeatedly return despite a 10-match goal drought. Do I make the mistake I so very nearly made in Gameweek 32 and remove one/both of them, when I still consider them among the five best forwards of the week? A sleepless Thursday night beckons.

Finally, a word on two footnotes who I’m not expecting to make the Scout Picks. Indeed, they’re the bottom goalkeeper and defender picks in my selection. Emiliano Martinez nevertheless faces a Spurs attack potentially fatally blunted by the injury to Xavi Simons, while corner magnet Dan Ballard gets to face not only the league’s lowest scorers but also the side who have conceded four set-piece goals in three Gameweeks. If only Sunderland themselves hadn’t just shipped nine goals in two matches…