After the Scout Squad submissions, it’s time to finalise our Scout Picks for Double Gameweek 36 of Fantasy Premier League (FPL).
As ever, we are limited by certain restrictions:
- An £83.0m budget for our starting XI
- An overall squad limit of £100.0m
- No more than three players per team
GAMEWEEK 36 SCOUT PICKS
GOALKEEPER
Who knows what Oliver Glasner has up his sleeve as he ponders his teamsheets for Double Gameweek 36, but Dean Henderson (£5.1m) is hopefully a secure starter whoever lines up in front of him. With clashes against Everton (h) and Manchester City (a) over the Gameweek, Henderson offers a potential clean sheet on home turf, with perhaps a couple of save points thrown in at the Etihad Stadium. Those two fixtures are enough to promote the Crystal Palace goalkeeper into the Scout Picks.
DEFENDERS
A trip to West Ham United sees Gabriel Magalhaes (£7.2m) drafted in. Arsenal have conceded just six goals across their last seven away games, and over the season, are the best team in the division for clean sheets, goals conceded and expected goals conceded (xGC). If Mikel Arteta’s men fail to keep a clean sheet, Gabriel is the man most likely to pick up the points at the other end of the pitch from Arsenal’s defensive options, given his set-piece threat.
In all likelihood, Palace will do well to record one clean sheet from their upcoming encounters against Everton and Man City. However, Maxence Lacroix (£5.2m) has done more than enough to warrant a place in our Scout Picks. The centre-back has banked defensive contribution (DefCon) points in each of his last four matches, with a 62.5% DefCon success rate over the season. Like Gabriel, he also poses a threat from set-pieces:
Above: Defenders sorted by shots from set plays in 2025/26
Palace, meanwhile, have kept three clean sheets in their last four matches at Selhurst Park, offering hope for Sunday’s visit of Everton.
Nico O’Reilly’s (£5.2m) selection was never in doubt. The unanimous top defender pick among our Scout Squad panel, O’Reilly’s eye for goal helps him get the nod ahead of home clashes against Brentford and Palace, having found the net four times across his last eight league outings. Only Arsenal have kept more clean sheets on home turf than Manchester City in 2025/26.
Jan Paul van Hecke (£4.6m) gets to face relegated Wolverhampton Wanderers in Gameweek 36. Rob Edwards’ men are the division’s lowest scorers on the road, with only seven goals scored in 17 away matches. They’ve also conceded five set-play goals in four Gameweeks, which should interest van Hecke, given his aerial ability in the opposition box. The Dutchman has met the DefCon threshold in six of his last nine matches.
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