The Scout Squad sees our in-house team discuss who they think the best Fantasy Premier League (FPL) players are for Gameweek 37.

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 37

• MOST PICKS: Bernd Leno, Senne Lammens, Gabriel Magalhaes, Bukayo Saka, Bruno Fernandes, Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall, Erling Haaland, Igor Thiago, Viktor Gyokeres (four), James Tarkowski, Calvin Bassey, Richarlison (three)

MARC SAID…

On a weekend like this, it’s a shame there can only be three Arsenal spots for their home match against Burnley. While I’m very confident they’ll keep a clean sheet that rewards all defensive double-ups of Gabriel Magalhaes and David Raya, I like Viktor Gyokeres and don’t want to leave out Bukayo Saka. Many will captain the England international, even though I find him to be one of FPL’s biggest trolls.

Whereas Gyokeres has scored 14 goals this calendar year (all competitions) and is great at facing lower teams, netting 13 times versus those currently 10th or below. His latest three starts included seven big chances.

Title rivals Man City have a tougher-looking trip to Bournemouth’s strong home defence, so let’s only pick two, knowing that Pep Guardiola has found his freshly-dusted roulette wheel. We saw on Wednesday that Erling Haaland and Nico O’Reilly can be rotated, but the league’s top scorer is back in form, and O’Reilly’s last nine outings have brought four goals, five clean sheets and 71 points.

Elsewhere, an Everton trio at home to Sunderland. The Toffees have conceded at least twice in five successive games, but David Moyes’ side is chasing Europe while the goal-shy Mackems are ‘on the beach’.

We saw last week that James Tarkowski adds an attacking threat to being the second-best defender for DefCon. By setting up that goal, Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall made it four games in five with some sort of attacking joy. Since Gameweek 29 got underway, only two midfielders of any price are bettering his eight shots on target.

An extra million more of your FPL budget can buy teammate Iliman Ndiaye. Admittedly, the penalty taker is on a poor run, but ‘Goals Imminent’ says he should have netted 1.45 times in the latest four. Returns are coming.

Bruno Fernandes feels like a no-brainer, of course. The blank at Sunderland felt strange – a first in nine – emphasising just how good he’s been. With third place likely for Man United, their hosting of mathematically safe Nottingham Forest could be anything. I’ll veer towards low-scoring and pick Senne Lammens between the sticks.

Goalkeepers are also part of Brighton and Fulham double-ups. Bart Verbruggen boasts five shutouts in 10, as he and three-goals-in-a-row Jack Hinshelwood visit Leeds. Yet Bernd Leno and Calvin Bassey are more fixture-based, going to Wolves – they’ve handed out clean sheets to four of their last five opponents.

Despite one win in eight, Brentford remain up in eighth place. It’s therefore a good time to face a Crystal Palace side that is undoubtedly saving energy for the upcoming Conference League final. Promising news for Igor Thiago and Keane Lewis-Potter. The latter returned to Keith Andrews’ lineup in Gameweek 30 and has since racked up six box shots, three big chances created and a 2.14 expected goal involvement (xGI) that only O’Reilly can beat at the back.

One of Lewis-Potter’s clean sheets was against West Ham, but it involved the fortune of seeing Taty Castellanos twice hit the woodwork. The January arrival gets a lot of close-range shots, so I can see him scoring past Newcastle.

Finally, Joao Pedro. Not that it’s easy to predict Chelsea’s state, knowing they’ve secured a measly one point in seven matches, and Gameweek 37 follows a cup final. Then again, the Blues love beating Spurs at Stamford Bridge – especially if it has consequences. That dramatic Eden Hazard equaliser happened 10 years ago.

SAM SAID…

How is it Gameweek 37 already? The last few weeks of this season seem to be flying by! Normally, by this stage of the season, we have several teams who are ‘on the beach’ – and their players are consequently ones to avoid. However, with it all still to play for at the top, bottom and middle (the hunt for European football!), there are a lot of Scout Picks candidates this week.

Arsenal are not only one of the teams with the most to fight for, but they also have the best fixture of the week: Burnley at home. The difficulty with the Gunners is settling on just three picks. Gabriel Magalhaes is a shoo-in; I could even see him registering another double-digit haul on Monday evening and breaking the single-season defender points record with a game to spare. Aside from him, I have spent a disproportionate amount of time weighing up a defensive double-up versus attacking a Burnley backline that has conceded a league-worst 73 goals this season. In the end, I have opted for both Bukayo Saka and Viktor Gyokeres. I did struggle to leave out Leandro Trossard, however, given his outstanding performance in Gameweek 36.

I have also plumped for the triple-up on Everton. The Toffees currently sit just outside of the European qualification spots but with a good end to the season, they could squeeze themselves back into contention. James Tarkowski’s goal and assist in Gameweek 36 has moved him on to six attacking returns for the season, while he has also registered 11 clean sheets and 40 defensive contribution points. A true all-rounder who could return at both ends of the pitch. I have added two Everton attackers to my selections as well: Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall and Beto. Dewsbury-Hall has returned in four of his last five league matches, while he’s averaging 5.1 points per match over the whole of 2025/26. Beto, meanwhile, has delivered at last one attacking return in four of his last five Premier League matches.

I have also kept the theme of investing in players with things to fight for going across the rest of my picks. Bruno Fernandes has still not broken the Premier League assist record so, whilst Man United might have secured Champions League football, the Portuguese playmaker has his own fight to pick.

The other two midfielders in my selection come from Liverpool and Brighton. Dominik Szoboszlai and Jack Hinshelwood are the best attacking options from their two clubs, who are both trying to secure Champions League football for the 2026/27 season.

In a similar vein, I have plumped for Igor Thiago for his great home fixture against Crystal Palace, who will have their eyes on the Conference League final. While the Golden Boot may be out of reach, Brentford are hoping to secure European football for the first time ever. Likewise, I have also picked Richarlison and Konstantinos Mavropanos as West Ham and Spurs fight for Premier League survival.

I have broken my own ‘players with something to fight for’ rule with Fulham, however. The Cottagers face beleaguered Wolves, so I have picked Bernd Leno as my goalkeeper alongside Calvin Bassey.

TOM F SAID…

I’m looking forward to some really intriguing matchups this week, with in-form Bournemouth and Tottenham Hotspur up against Manchester City and Chelsea, who both have a trip to Wembley before they contest their Gameweek 37 fixtures.

Selections from either team subsequently carry risk, as players could be injured or rotated next Tuesday, but you’d think Nico O’Reilly and Erling Haaland should be good for starts, given their midweek rests.

However, I’m happy to back against Chelsea here, having opted for Richarlison and Antonin Kinsky. Richarlison has four attacking returns (three goals, one assist) in his last five away appearances, despite starting just three of those games. As for Kinsky, his inclusion is based on the hope that Spurs can shut out the division’s third-worst team for non-penalty expected goals (NPxG) in the last six matches.

Prior to that, West Ham United will surely try to come out and beat Newcastle United on Sunday, rather than rely on a draw, so Harvey Barnes – who is likely to start – could have a field day if the game becomes more open. The odds for the Magpies to keep a clean sheet aren’t great, but with Malick Thiaw, there is always the possibility of a set play goal and defensive contribution (DefCon) points.

Crystal Palace’s vulnerability to set plays prompts my selection of Nathan Collins, who can also deliver DefCons. Additionally, Brentford have racked up the most shots from counter-attacks since the turn of the year. Facing a tired Palace outfit with their focus primarily on Europe, both Dango Ouattara and Igor Thiago could haul.

Elsewhere, James Tarkowski is a tempting route into the Everton backline, who have kept clean sheets in two of their last four matches on home turf. Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall and Beto also make the cut. The duo have 10 attacking returns between them in the last six Gameweeks, with the former my preferred pick of the two.

Fringe players could get more of a chance for both teams at Old Trafford on Sunday, given that there is little to play for, but Senne Lammens is in decent form for Manchester United, with two clean sheets in four, while Bruno Fernandes is aiming for the assist record.

Finally, there probably won’t be much debate about the Arsenal triple-up of Gabriel Magalhaes, Bukayo Saka and Viktor Gyokeres, although I don’t think doubling up on the defence is the worst idea this week, given that any of the attackers could easily be taken off early.

NEALE SAID…

I’m minded to give Tuesday’s matches a wider berth. In the cases of Spurs and Bournemouth, there’s the likelihood of not getting any pre-deadline team news. Whereas for Man City and Chelsea, full-strength XIs in the FA Cup final could give way to some tinkering the following midweek, although I doubt Pep Guardiola will wield the axe with quite so much enthusiasm away to a long-unbeaten Cherries side. The title race is not over yet.

Rotation or no rotation, Bournemouth are tricky opposition at present. So, too, might an improved Spurs be for Chelsea, despite their long-standing tradition of flopping badly in this fixture. In the end, I’ve left it at Erling Haaland and, merely as the token sub-£7.0m forward who won’t get anywhere near the Scout Picks, Richarlison. The Brazilian had multiple sights of goal against Leeds, while Chelsea are without a Premier League clean sheet in 14 matches.

Let’s get the state-the-obvious picks out of the way, starting with the Arsenal triple-up. Viktor Gyokeres has looked a lot better over the last fortnight but, regardless, he’s a flat-track bully extraordinaire – 101 of his 126 points this season have come against sides sitting 10th or below! Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Magalhaes join him, even if the lack of Ben White and his decoy runs may be detrimental to the former. Permapick Bruno Fernandes and, against a Palace side that has conceded 11 goals in four league matches, Igor Thiago round off the self-explanatory selections.

There’s a shortage of stand-out clean sheet opportunities this week, and selecting Arsenal attackers limits the ability to add David Raya, William Saliba et al to the long-list. I’m not advocating a double-up on the Brentford and Fulham backlines; it’s merely that there aren’t too many obvious shut-outs elsewhere.

Starting with the Bees, Keane Lewis-Potter has caught the eye going forward from left-back recently, with nine shots and seven chances created since his return to the team in Gameweek 30. I suspect Caoimhin Kelleher has as much chance of making the Scout Picks, with few outstanding (and cheap) goalkeepers this week.

There’s no real defender with a high upside at Fulham, so Bernd Leno may well be as good a route as any into the Cottagers’ backline. They’re playing a Wolves side that has scored once in five Gameweeks – and that was against 10-man Sunderland. What Wolves have done in that time is concede a (by far) league-worst six set-piece goals, so Marco Silva’s troops could get some joy from dead-ball situations. The problem? They don’t have an obvious target at corners. Calvin Bassey, with 11 attempts in his last 14 outings, is maybe the best of the bunch. As for the lack of Harry Wilson, successive early substitutions and a bright cameo from Oscar Bobb have got me spooked. I own Wilson, and will almost certainly keep/start him, but there’s not enough confidence to nominate him here.

One midfielder I am eyeing up this week is Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall, who pretty much delivers an attacking return every other game (on average). At 5.2 points per start, he’s got a better rate than the likes of Morgan Gibbs-White and Mohamed Salah. Michael Keane accompanies him. Despite averaging a shot and a defensive contribution at a quicker pace than James Tarkowski this season, the latter outscored him 15-1 in Gameweek 36. Guess which Everton centre-back I own.

Nottingham Forest and Leeds United are now mathematically safe, and it looked like injury-hit Forest had mentally checked out last weekend. Leeds, to their credit, fought valiantly at Spurs. The solid Senne Lammens is one of the ‘real-life’ signings of the season, and has a reasonable shot at a third clean sheet in five Gameweeks on Sunday. Brighton, and the in-form Jack Hinshelwood, will probably find it tougher at Elland Road but Ferdi Kadioglu may well be deployed ‘out of position’ on the right wing, so I’ll take a one-week punt on him.

There are two representatives from the clash on Tyneside. The lapel-grabbing Bruno Guimaraes doesn’t do ‘on the beach’, and you’ve seen the effect that he has had on Newcastle since his return from injury. At St James’ Park this season, the fired-up Brazilian has averaged 7.8 points per match. I do simultaneously fancy Jarrod Bowen against the lumbering Dan Burn, and one clean sheet in 14 league games for the Magpies should give the imperilled Hammers plenty of encouragement.

Finally, my out-of-left-field budget midfielder. I’m hoping the Villa Park faithful produce the same cauldron atmosphere they generated against Nottingham Forest, and playing under the floodlights on Friday night could help with that. Yes, there’s a European final five days afterwards, but the Premier League top five is, as Unai Emery has repeatedly said, the first priority; the Villa boss would not want to go into Gameweek 38, away at Man City, needing a result. I can’t bring myself to recommend Morgan Rogers, so John McGinn – a brace last Thursday, 13 chances created over his last three league outings – is this week’s Hail Mary.