The Scout Squad sees our in-house team discuss who they think the best Fantasy Premier League (FPL) players are for Gameweek 38.

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 38

• MOST PICKS: Pedro Porro, Bruno Fernandes, Erling Haaland, Richarlison (four), James Hill, Konstantinos Mavropanos, Dominik Szoboszlai, Eli Junior Kroupi (three)

MARC SAID…

Picking players is so difficult this week. The title race is over, motivations vary, and the bottom two teams face each other.

On gut instinct, I think that Man City will select a fairly strong side, as it’s at home, Pep Guardiola’s farewell, and without any match afterwards. Five goals in five means Erling Haaland’s lull is over, though I keep convincing myself after each Rayan Cherki rest that he’ll therefore be more nailed for the next game – let’s stop that by choosing Antoine Semenyo, as he approaches 200 points.

Nico O’Reilly could easily not start, so instead I’ll say Gianluigi Donnarumma because opponents Aston Villa are in celebration mode. Will Arsenal and Crystal Palace make it a continental clean sweep for English clubs? These two teams meet at Selhurst Park, so I sense a party atmosphere that includes bouncy castles, good music and an on-field picnic. I’m certainly not expecting a Bukayo Saka start, only plumping for Eberechi Eze because it’s his first match back at Palace. He and Myles Lewis-Skelly are trying to get into the Gunners’ Champions League final line-up; I suspect Eze doesn’t and thus starts this one.

Most Gameweek 38 attention will now go to the relegation shootout. Tottenham are two points ahead of West Ham, boasting a better goal difference, so it would take quite an effort for the Hammers to overtake Roberto De Zerbi’s lot.

However, they still need to do their bit at home to Richarlison’s former club, Everton. He’d love to add to his two goals in three. Meanwhile, Pedro Porro is the leading defender for chances created (50) and the best throughout all positions for crosses (225).

But if Spurs go 1-0 down, Hammers fans will start to hope. As well as centre-back Konstantinos Mavropanos, whose last eight have brought in three goals and five defensive contribution (DefCon) rewards, I’ve gone for two FPL forwards – though Jarrod Bowen is really a winger with no goals in 13, but nine assists.

Whereas Taty Castellanos takes loads of shots. Initially benched versus Newcastle – for the first time since January’s arrival – he came on very early and fired out eight attempts and four on target, including a stunning consolation strike. Surely he’s back in Nuno Espirito Santo’s XI.

Alongside him on ‘Goals Imminent’ is frequent shooter Bruno Fernandes, someone seemingly not content with 11 assists in 10 matches that have him equal Thierry Henry and Kevin De Bruyne’s season-long Premier League record. On the verge of setting his own accomplishment, don’t rule out him trying a more successful version of the infamous Henry and Robert Pires penalty blunder from 2005, should Man United receive a late spot kick.

Opposite Fernandes will be fellow playmaker Pascal Gross, scorer of seven goals in his previous 11 league appearances against the Red Devils.

There’s a scenario where Brighton secures Champions League football by overtaking sixth-placed Bournemouth, but the latter travel to Nottingham Forest unbeaten in 17 matches, making me like the chances of DefCon magnet James Hill and wonderkid Eli Junior Kroupi. The teenager has a brilliant minutes per goal rate (128.6).

The Cherries could even go fifth and leapfrog Liverpool, who are at home to Brentford in Mohamed Salah’s tearful goodbye. I’m picking him here on the assumption that he starts and retains penalty-taking responsibilities – call me a sucker for emotional nostalgia.

Yet their real goal machine is Virgil van Dijk. Without any until Gameweek 23, he’s since scored six in 15.

The final day isn’t known for its clean sheets, so it’s a shame that Burnley and Wolves are in their own clash. Let’s bow out by picking both teams’ goalkeepers, Jose Sa and Max Weiss.

On that note, I hope you all have a lovely, relaxing summer. Enjoy the World Cup!

SAM SAID…

Here we go! For the very last time in the 2025/26 season, it’s time to make my picks. With the league title settled, it suddenly seems much more difficult to make these picks with the potential rotation that we might see at the top of the league.

Historically, Gameweek 38 brings fewer clean sheets than the other Gameweeks of the season as teams are fighting for something or playing with the handbrake off. This makes picking a goalkeeper incredibly hard.

If Arsenal and Manchester City were still locked in battle at the top, David Raya would have been a no-brainer, but with the league won and the Champions League final on the horizon, we could see rotation. I have still opted to risk it and go for the Arsenal goalkeeper; Mikel Arteta could play back-up ‘keeper Kepa Arrizabalaga on the final day but he has not done this in any fixture this season in the league. Gianluigi Donnarumma could also be rotated for his deputy, James Trafford, who is rumoured to want a move away from Man City this summer. However, with it looking like this might be Pep Guardiola’s final game in charge, I think he is likely to want to end on a high in front of the biggest crowd ever at the Etihad.

There’s uncertainty about my third ‘keeper, too. Martin Dubravka has missed the last two games, with Burnley fielding back-up keeper Max Weiss to test him ahead of next season in the Championship. However, I expect Dubravka to start in the final game as he says goodbye to the Clarets.

The defenders are also a bit of a rotation headache. No part of me thought that I would be choosing my final picks of the season and not have Gabriel Magalhaes in them. However, among the Arsenal squad, only Raya, Declan Rice and Martin Zubimendi have played more Premier League minutes than Gabriel in 2025/26. With the Champions League final a week on Saturday, I worry that Arteta will hand him a seat on the bench in Gameweek 38. Not having an Arsenal defender at all felt weird, so Myles Lewis-Skelly is my pick. He was rested in Gameweek 37, coming on for just 17 minutes.

Virgil van Dijk is my first-choice defender. Liverpool will endeavour to win on the final day, not only to seal Champions League football for the new season but also to say goodbye to Mohamed Salah and Andrew Robertson in the best possible way. The Dutch stopper is the Reds’ biggest goal threat in the last six Gameweeks; in that time, van Dijk has had five big chances, more than any other Liverpool player.

Likewise, Pedro Porro makes my picks due to Spurs likely needing a point on the final day. Porro has created more chances than any other defender this season (50), and indeed the joint-most in the last six weeks (13). Konstantinos Mavropanos is also here because of his attacking threat and West Ham’s need to win their final game to avoid relegation.

My final defender pick is Marcos Senesi, the king of defensive contributions. Bournemouth will be hoping that Villa are hungover from midweek and end up in fifth, which will open up sixth place for a Champions League spot. Senesi’s base is four points in most weeks but this could easily rise with clean sheet potential and attacking threat.

For the last time ever, Mohamed Salah leads my midfielder picks. Yes, there is a risk he won’t start after his social media comments this week, but this is his final game for Liverpool, and I can’t imagine Arne Slot would risk further wrath from the Anfield faithful by not giving him the chance to wave farewell. Dominik Szoboszlai, Liverpool’s most creative player (74) and boasting a share of set-piece responsibilities, makes it a Liverpool attacking double-up.

Bruno Fernandes levelled the assist record in Gameweek 37 and will be looking to break it on the final day, so he’ll surely be a Scout Picks shoo-in regardless of Manchester United having already secured third place in the Premier League. Another creative playmaker in the same fixture, Pascal Gross, has been excellent in recent weeks and was unlucky not to return in Gameweek 37. Brighton are another team trying to secure European football.

My final midfielder slot is someone rogue in Jaidon Anthony. The winger has returned in two of Burnley’s last three matches. In fact, the only blank was the Arsenal game, and there is no shame in that, given the solidity of the Gunners’ defence. He has the most attacking returns (12) in the Clarets’ squad, as well as being the club’s leader for most shots and chances created. Anthony will be facing a Wolves side with the league’s worst defensive record, so forward Zian Flemming also makes the cut. Flemming is Burnley’s top scorer this season with 10 goals, despite starting only 20 matches.

Continuing up top, and if Pep is leaving Man City, then Erling Haaland will want to see him out on a high and secure the Golden Boot trophy.

Alongside him, Richarlison is Spurs’ top scorer and has returned in two of the last three Gameweeks, a run that he will need to prolong to help the Lilywhites survive relegation.

Eli Kroupi Junior and Danny Welbeck are their respective sides’ likeliest source of goals in attack and will want to achieve European football for their teams on the final day.

TOM F SAID…

Goalkeepers are really hard to choose for Gameweek 38, so I’ve plumped for three dirt-cheap options: Mads Hermansen, Antonin Kinsky and Max Weiss.

Leeds have generated just 0.94 non-penalty expected goals (NPxG) across their two matches since they achieved safety, which is why I’ve gone with Hermansen for this must-win match. Meanwhile, Kinsky and Weiss both have favourable home fixtures.

With question marks over Arsenal’s teamsheet on Sunday, I’ve completely overlooked their assets, including Scout Picks regular Gabriel Magalhaes. Instead, I’ve opted for Pedro Porro, Nico O’Reilly, Konstantinos Mavropanos, James Hill and Sven Botman at the back.

Having seen Everton concede twice down their left flank in Gameweek 37, and with Tottenham Hotspur looking much better defensively under Roberto De Zerbi, there could be multiple routes to points for Porro. As for Mavropanos, Hill and Botman, they rank seventh, fifth and first respectively for defensive contributions (DefCon) among defenders over the last six matches.

Elsewhere, I think rolling the dice on Pep Guardiola’s teamsheet could be well worth it in Gameweek 38. That’s because a comfortable home win looks like a shoo-in, with my club, Aston Villa, pretty much on their jollies after their midweek cup win in Istanbul. O’Reilly, Rayan Cherki and Erling Haaland carry obvious appeal, then.

Mohamed Salah is a sentimental pick this week, yet I’m struggling to get behind it. Firstly, I’m not even sure he starts after his recent rant about Arne Slot. Averaging 4.4 points per start on home turf, he’s hardly been prolific either. In contrast, Dominik Szoboszlai’s 69 shots and 74 chances created are both among Liverpool’s top two players in 2025/26.

In an ideal world, I would have found places for Loum Tchaouna, Marcus Tavernier and Dango Ouattara, but due to the limitation of only five available midfield spots, I have had to exclude them.

Jack Hinshelwood and Harvey Barnes (plus Bruno Fernandes for obvious reasons) do make the cut, however. Chiefly operating in an advanced midfield role, Hinshelwood has posted some really good numbers lately, with nine shots and four big chances in his last three matches. As for Barnes, he’s scored or assisted in three successive Gameweeks and could be one of those under-the-radar final-day punts who hauls.

Up top, Jarrod Bowen is in poor form (he hasn’t scored since January!), but West Ham United will need to attack their visitors as only three points will do, and there are at least multiple routes to points for the Hammers captain.

Someone will probably haul in the Burnley v Wolverhampton Wanderers fixture at Turf Moor, possibly Zian Flemming? A tally of 10 goals in 20 starts for the Clarets is impressive, and he could maybe do well against a Wolves defence that has just one away clean sheet all season. The in-form Richarlison and Eli Junior Kroupi are the other forward options I like the most this week.

NEALE SAID…

Most safety-first managers, like myself, will have a ‘better the devil you know’ mindset going into Gameweek 38. By that, I mean targeting players who you are confident will start but who might also be involved in edgy, high-stakes, low-scoring affairs.

But there’s always that nagging suspicion that the final-day hauls will come from some deranged dead rubber that ends 4-4. Attempting to identify those players feels a bit like pinning the tail on the donkey.

Manchester City v Aston Villa does scream potential on that front. If rumours are to be believed, Pep Guardiola will depart the Premier League this summer, so you’d imagine all involved at City will be striving to send him off with a swashbuckling display. I suspect he’ll be more cavalier with his team selection, too, while the Villa squad were last seen wearing ski goggles and downing beers atop a bus in Birmingham city centre. Footballers are a much more professional bunch than they were 30 years ago but how do the Villans summon up the energy and motivation for this one?

I fancy Phil Foden to come back in this Sunday, having been unlucky not to start in the last two matches. He’d been excellent in a deeper, string-pulling role in the second half of Gameweek 36, and I wonder if Guardiola will reward his underused midfielder with game-time on the final day. Similarly, John Stones waves goodbye to City this summer and surely will see minutes. But would I have the cajones to transfer either player in without a team leak? Not in the slightest.

There’s plenty of uncertainty about Arsenal’s line-up, too. Piero Hincapie stands a very decent chance of a start, either at left-back or as relief for one of the two centre-halves, but perhaps it’s best to leave the champions well alone for once.

Elsewhere on the dead-rubber front, I’ve been wowed by Sven Botman‘s DefCon returns of late – he’s returned those points in each of his last seven 90-minute run-outs. Listless opponents Fulham, about to lose their manager, have also scored just twice in the last six Gameweeks. Such is the potential for final-day chaos, of course, that this match could just as easily end up being an eight-goal thriller as a Simpsons-style stalemate in 31-degree London heat.

And so, onto players whose xMins look much more reliable.

As good as Sunderland have been this season, I fancy Chelsea to get the job done and secure European football on Wearside. The Mackems, not usually the most free-scoring of sides, have to win to stand a chance of making it to the Europa/Conference League, so Robert Sanchez will be kept busy. Saves are his forte, not the extras that make a modern-day goalkeeper. I’ve also been repeatedly impressed by Enzo Fernandez under Calum McFarlane; it’s four goals and an assist in seven matches that the interim boss has overseen.

Also in the race for the European spots, Bournemouth are looking to turn a Europa League place into Champions League involvement on the final day. James Hill and co repeatedly defy fixture difficulty and often the xG to deliver the goods, keeping clean sheets in six of their last 14 matches. They very nearly made it seven against City on Tuesday. DefCon points flow freely at the Cherries’ rear, too.

I fancy Igor Thiago to get some joy out of a Liverpool backline that has conceded eight goals in three matches but Brentford’s need to win (a draw won’t do for the Bees) could make this an open spectacle. Mohamed Salah’s latest spiky comments and his recent return from injury plant enough doubt in my mind to avoid him, so Mr Reliable, Dominik Szoboszlai, it is.

While Bruno Fernandes is an immovable presence in the Scout Squad, United will be without Casemiro on Sunday, and you wonder which peripheral players will be handed final-day appearances by Michael Carrick. The Red Devils were woeful when Carrick rotated his Casemiro-less side in Gameweek 36, and Brighton have better tools than Sunderland to exploit any weaknesses. Danny Welbeck has a decent recent record against his old employers (three goals in five), while Jack Hinshelwood is the leading FPL midfielder for xG over the last eight Gameweeks. Remember, Brighton have also beaten United in six of their last eight meetings.

Finally, the two-way fight to avoid relegation. I’ve more conviction about the attackers of Spurs (Everton are shipping goals for fun) and West Ham (the Hammers need a win, nothing less, which could open up space for a Leeds side that has shown no signs of downing tools and heading for the beach) than their defenders but Pedro Porro has plenty of potential for compensatory returns: no defender can better him for shots (10) or chances created (13) since Roberto De Zerbi took over. He’s also delivered DefCon points in three of those six Gameweeks.

The inclusion of Richarlison, who had plenty of sights of goal when blanking at Chelsea, is contingent on Dominic Solanke not being fit. I’ve opted for Taty Castellanos over Jarrod Bowen, meanwhile. Taty played like a man possessed when introduced on Tyneside, racking up eight shots and scoring a sensational consolation. Nuno Espirito Santo won’t bench him again. Bowen, by contrast, has looked anaemic for a while, some set-piece assists masking some sub-par displays.