The Scout Squad sees our in-house team discuss who they think the best Fantasy Premier League (FPL) players are for Double Gameweek 36.

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 36

• MOST PICKS: Dean Henderson, Emiliano Martinez, Nico O’Reilly, Maxence Lacroix, Gabriel Magalhaes, Bukayo Saka, Bruno Fernandes, Erling Haaland, Danny Welbeck, Richarlison (four), Jan Paul van Hecke, Pedro Porro, Rayan Cherki, Jack Hinshelwood, Ollie Watkins, Viktor Gyokeres (three)

MARC SAID…

For most of us, Erling Haaland and Nico O’Reilly are straightforward picks. FPL’s top scorer has netted in three successive matches, and Man City are chasing big wins in the hope that Arsenal either draw or lose in this closing stage. As for the versatile O’Reilly, four of his last seven Gameweeks ended on at least 13 points, which is pretty ridiculous. He’s had 18 penalty area shots in that time, where the next-best FPL defender is way back on 11 (from two more appearances).

Yet the big Double Gameweek debate is about the Citizens’ midfielders: should a sideways transfer take place? One of my saved-up five could certainly switch Antoine Semenyo to Rayan Cherki. The former is on five blanks – each without a big chance – and comes off early, while the latter is having a great time. Four returns in four, a time of 17 shots and 14 chances created.

It’s a shame we can only pick three players from Pep Guardiola’s team, as I’d love to reallocate some Crystal Palace spots towards them. I’ll go with Maxence Lacroix’s defensive contributions record and some Dean Henderson saves, but think both Everton and Man City will score past them. That, plus lots of recent rotation, is why I don’t see myself buying any Eagles player for this double.

Especially when there’s already a Brighton triple-up at home to Wolves. Four clean sheets in nine is good for Ferdi Kadioglu. Just one defender has made more successful final third passes (323), and he’s joint-fourth in this position for shots on target (12). Furthermore, Jack Hinshelwood and Danny Welbeck seem to have a good understanding. Last Saturday at Newcastle was the fourth time from Gameweek 27 onwards that one has assisted the other.

Though Eddie Howe’s side picked up a much-needed victory that closes all lingering relegation nervousness, up next is a trip to in-form Nottingham Forest, whose run of four wins in five has an overwhelming 16-3 aggregate score. It’s currently hard to predict their outfielders in front of Matz Sels, but rare starter Taiwo Awoniyi could get the nod again, should Vitor Pereira prefer other forwards for Thursday’s vital Europa League semi-final.

Awoniyi, like Viktor Gyokeres, bagged a brace, assisted and delivered 16 points to become Gameweek 35’s joint-top scorers.

The Swede suddenly finds himself on 14 league goals during this debut Arsenal campaign. Teammate Bukayo Saka is also rediscovering his groove at the right moment, scoring twice in a row. However, the problem is that he still isn’t reaching the hour mark. But Sunday is five days after Atletico Madrid, and gaps are good from now on.

Gabriel Magalhaes hasn’t found the net for a while, but Gameweek 35 was his season-long best for shots (three) and expected goals (xG, 0.64). Neither he nor Bruno Fernandes needs much explanation these days. Like the Portuguese playmaker, centre-back Marcos Senesi has multiple routes to points, showcased last week and potentially again when Bournemouth travel to Fulham.

Another European semi-finalist, Aston Villa, seem distracted in the league. But, against Burnley, I back Morgan Rogers and Emiliano Martinez to provide an apology to worldwide football fans for what they let happen last Sunday.

A Richarlison header let Spurs pick up three crucial points at Villa Park. That’s four returns for the Brazilian in seven matches, where minutes were low, so he should retain his starting status at home to Leeds.

SAM SAID…

The final Double Dameweek of the season is here!

Normally, in a ‘double’, it’s a given that we’ll have three picks from each of the clubs playing twice. This time, however, I am not feeling the Crystal Palace hype. Last weekend, Oliver Glasner’s rotation and subs changed my mind on potential investment in the Eagles for their fixtures against Everton and Man City. Whilst I do think things may be different in the final three Gameweeks of the season, given that the UEFA Conference League final is a few days after Gameweek 38, his actions have made me wary.

Dean Henderson is likely to get a start in both fixtures, at least, so he makes my picks. I don’t see a clean sheet in either of the fixtures, so I am opting for him in the hope of save points, which he has been good for this season, picking up an extra 21 of those; only Martin Dubravka and Robin Roefs can better that. I have also included Maxence Lacroix for the defensive contibution potential but he is my fifth-choice defender, as I favour the single Gameweek fixtures for the likes of Arsenal, Aston Villa, Brighton and Spurs.

Unsurprisingly, I have tripled up on Man City. Erling Haaland picks himself; he registered seven and 13 points in the reverse of his two Double Gameweek fixtures earlier in the season. He has also now scored in each of his last three Premier League matches.

The other two slots were more difficult. Nico O’Reilly’s position and attacking threat mean that he is my choice of defender, but the midfielder was more debated. Antoine Semenyo has had a dip in form, being subbed off early in four of the last six matches and failing to register a single attacking return in this time. So, it’s Jeremy Doku v Rayan Cherki, each of whom has four attacking returns in the last half-dozen Gameweeks. Cherki has the best xG/xA of the three in that time but it is Doku who is currently scoring FPL points at a quicker rate. I was impressed by the Belgian winger against Everton on Monday evening, so I have opted for the differential Doku as my third City asset.

Yes, Arsenal don’t have a Double Gameweek, but the Gunners feel like the team to target for the last three weeks of the season. City’s draw on Monday evening hands Mikel Arteta’s side the advantage in the title race and the Gunners’ progression to the Champions League final will surely give them an extra boost this week.

Gabriel Magalhaes is essential, of course. I did consider the defensive double-up (I will do that next week in all likelihood) but opponents West Ham also need to win this fixture, and Jarrod Bowen is in excellent form at the London Stadium. So, in case of a clean sheet wipeout, I have opted for their two in-form attackers. Bukayo Saka returned to the starting XI against Fulham and, despite only playing 45 minutes, managed a goal and an assist. He then added to that with the winning goal in the Champions League on Tuesday. Meanwhile, Viktor Gyokeres has found his form over the last three matches, striking up a nice understanding with the fit-again Saka.

I didn’t see the Brighton Gameweek 35 result coming but having watched the highlights, they were unlucky not to get something from their trip to Newcastle. Jan Paul van Hecke, Pascal Gross and Danny Welbeck form an Albion triple-up in my picks for the match against Wolves. Welbeck has managed 14 attacking returns this season, while Pascal Gross is the league’s joint-second-most creative player since his ‘second’ full Brighton debut in January. Not only have Wolves kept the fewest clean sheets this season, which bodes well for Welbeck and Gross, but they have scored the fewest goals in the league (23), which is hopefully a positive omen for van Hecke.

Okay, hear me out on the Spurs double-up. If West Ham lose to Arsenal on Sunday, Spurs have the opportunity to go four points clear of the drop zone when Leeds – who will be safe if the Gunners win -visit on Monday evening. In the four matches under Roberto De Zerbi, Spurs have conceded just four goals, a vast improvement on the four fixtures that went before (nine conceded). They have also had more possession, more possession in the opponents’ half and more of the ball in the final third, as well as more open-play goal attempts and more big chances. Pedro Porro has created more chances than any other defender across the league, while Richarlison is Spurs’ most attacking player this season with 14 attacking returns. With Dominic Solanke very likely out, the Brazilian will continue to lead the line for the Lilywhites.

Despite their poor performance in Gameweek 35, I have doubled up on the Aston Villa attack with both Ollie Watkins and Morgan Rogers for their match against struggling Burnley.

And, of course, Bruno Fernandes makes the line-up as he looks to push as far past the assist record as possible. He can hopefully break the FPL assist record, too!

TOM F SAID…

I’ve not just tripled up on Man City and Arsenal players this week, but those from Brighton too.

Fabian Hurzeler’s men have been in really decent form lately, demolishing Chelsea to nil and triumphing 2-1 over Liverpool, both at the Amex. Even when they lost to Newcastle last week, I thought they were the better team.

Jack Hinshelwood probably should have scored a hat-trick at St James’ Park, and I think he’ll play further forward again. The midfielder can be wasteful, granted, but a total of 4.42 expected goal involvement (xGI) in his last six matches hints at his potential. I’ve also included Danny Welbeck (Wolves have kept just one clean sheet away from home all season) and Jan Paul van Hecke, who has met the defensive contribution (DefCon) threshold in six of his last nine matches.

Nico O’Reilly, Rayan Cherki and Erling Haaland all feature for Man City, predictably.

As for Crystal Palace, a triple-up for Double Gameweek 36 would probably have been deemed a no-brainer had we been asked last week, but we’ve since seen mass rotation from Oliver Glasner, even at the back.

Dean Henderson and Maxence Lacroix should hopefully be secure starters. At least with Lacroix, you’ve got the very real prospect of DefCon points (among defenders, only Marcos Senesi and Joachim Andersen have more) even if the clean sheets go up in smoke. Moving further up the field, the threat of rotation looms large, and I don’t really see massive points potential, with my preferred attacker, Ismaila Sarr, maybe getting most of his minutes at the Etihad.

At Arsenal, I’ve opted for Gabriel Magalhaes, as well as the two attackers with the best rate of minutes per xGI this season, namely Bukayo Saka and Viktor Gyokeres. Doubling up on the defence is always a decent idea given the Gunners’ clean-sheet count, but Saka usually runs West Ham ragged at the London Stadium (35 points across his last two visits!), while Gyokeres finally looks to be finding his feet in north London.

Elsewhere, eight shots and 10 chances created in five matches are really promising numbers for Pedro Porro to build on at home to Leeds. I’m willing to punt on Richarlison, too, who, in my opinion, looked like Spurs’ brightest spark against Aston Villa last week.

Staying with Unai Emery’s men, they’ll go much stronger on Sunday than Gameweek 35, when most of the first team were rested around the UEFA Europa League. Emiliano Martinez and Ollie Watkins duly make the cut. Burnley have shipped 13 goals across their last five matches, so Morgan Rogers should be considered too.

NEALE SAID…

This was a fairly straightforward selection this week. We rarely have as many 10 players getting unanimous support in the Scout Squad, which suggests others were on the same page.

It feels like a lot of things have fallen into place ahead of Gameweek 36, with fixtures and form aligning. Rayan Cherki has added goal threat to his assist potential and suddenly looks the stand-out City midfielder alongside Scout Picks shoo-ins Nico O’Reilly and Erling Haaland. Jack Hinshelwood is finally delivering on the midfielder-leading xG numbers we’ve been banging on about for ages. Danny Welbeck no longer has midweek matches (which almost always result in benchings) to worry about. Sporadic set-piece threat Jan Paul van Hecke gets to face a goal-shy Wolves side that has also conceded five set-play goals in four Gameweeks. Bukayo Saka looks back to his fleet-footed best and is gradually building up his minutes ahead of a ticker-topping run-in for Arsenal. It looks like one of those Gameweeks that promises to deliver much – so prepare for the inevitable anticlimax!

Aside from the names already mentioned above, and the Scout Picks’ in-house band that is Bruno Fernandes and Gabriel Magalhaes, there are a few things to discuss.

Starting with the ‘other’ doublers, Crystal Palace, I’ve limited myself to just Dean Henderson and Maxence Lacroix. The Eagles’ attackers (and some of their defenders) may get 100-120 minutes at best in Gameweek 36, and the bulk of those minutes may even come against Manchester City. With Oliver Glasner admitting “the tank was empty” at Bournemouth, there’s not much incentive to stock up on Palace picks with fixtures so good elsewhere this week. I’ve gone for Henderson, with his save points, and Lacroix, with his DefCon accumulation and threat from set plays, hoping that they continue to avoid the rotation that rages elsewhere and that Glasner’s troops can play out a drab stalemate against Everton.

I’m not getting carried away and advocating a Spurs triple-up; far from it. Antonin Kinsky makes the cut purely to fill the sub-£5.0m ‘keeper requirements (I’d have had David Raya in there without the price restrictions), while Richarlison is low down my forward list. I doubt he’ll make the Scout Picks. The Brazilian does have a very decent points-per-start average in 2025/26, however, and his game-time prospects look good with Dominic Solanke likely to miss out again. Pedro Porro would probably be my Spurs asset of choice, if I had to pick only one. Both he and Destiny Udogie were eye-catchingly advanced against Aston Villa, while Porro has retained a share of set-piece duties despite the recent managerial change. It’s also worth mentioning that the Lilywhites have the league’s lowest xGC total since Roberto De Zerbi took over.

I’ll monitor Aston Villa this evening before deciding if any of their players are worth bothering with for the plum away fixture at Burnley. Villa’s defenders carry such little upside (they are the worst club for winning DefCon points) that I’m happy to side with Emiliano Martinez and just swerve the teamsheet unpredictability at the back, but Ollie Watkins might be worth a gamble at Turf Moor. I might be wrong, but I can’t see Unai Emery repeating last week’s decision to play a woeful Tammy Abraham up top, not that he was a lone culprit by any stretch.

Finally, while many of us are giving Liverpool v Chelsea a wide berth, I’d be happy to field Cody Gakpo or Joao Pedro based on Gameweek 35’s evidence; both clubs conceded three goals. The Blues in particular are in a sorry state, on their longest Premier League losing run in over 30 years, and Gakpo may be leading the Liverpool line (unless Arne Slot goes with two false nines again!), with Alexander Isak not seen in training this week. The Netherlands international is the joint-leading midfielder for shots in the last six Gameweeks.