We’ve put together our Scout Picks ‘bus team’ for Gameweek 4 of Fantasy Premier League (FPL).
The upcoming Scout Squad nominations, as well as the pre-match press conferences, will help shape our finalised picks.
However, this early draft, at the very least, offers an insight into the players and teams who are under consideration.
There are, as ever, certain restrictions for our squad:
- An £83.0m overall budget for our starting XI
- An overall squad limit of £100.0m
- No more than three players per team
A reminder, too, that the Scout Picks are for the upcoming Gameweek in isolation.
GAMEWEEK 4 FIXTURES
Using our free-to-all ticker, here is the Gameweek 4 difficulty ranking. Unbeaten Hull City, who have kept three successive clean sheets, may have something to say about this…
THE LIKELY LADS
We’ll be going all-in on Chelsea’s attack, even though opponents Hull are defying expectations. However, despite being unbeaten and yet to concede, the Tigers’ 5.05 expected goals conceded (xGC) tally hints that their admirable resilience has been aided by some luck.
Cole Palmer (£9.6m), Joao Pedro (£7.7m) and Morgan Rogers (£7.6m) were all booked against Arsenal, but each has at least three attacking returns on the board. Whether it’s via a chip or free transfers, many FPL managers are trying to own two or more of these.
Elsewhere, Erling Haaland (£15.5m) and Alexander Isak (£9.0m) are the two highest-scoring forwards, having followed some Gameweek 1 misery with three goals in two.
Manchester City will make a short journey to Old Trafford, knowing the Norwegian is on eight goals from their seven previous league meetings, alongside several assists. Also, Manchester United have conceded twice in every 2026/27 match.
Whereas Isak is at home to Fulham, a backline that’s allowed the most big chances (14, below).
As well as these, we’ll likely pick at least two Brighton and Hove Albion players for their trip to goalless, pointless Coventry City.
Maxim De Cuyper (£4.7m) will almost certainly be one of them, as the FPL defender is still playing as a winger. He hauled in Gameweek 1 and took four corners versus Leeds United, one of which assisted Luka Vuskovic‘s (£5.0m) equaliser.
IN CONTENTION
What’s less certain is choosing Pascal Gross (£5.5m) or Diego Gomez (£5.0m) – or someone else! – from the Seagulls’ midfield.
35-year-old Gross is on lots of set-pieces, is the league’s leading crosser (25), and followed up Gameweek 2’s double-digit haul by missing a sitter against Leeds. He’s highly involved.
Yet only Haaland and Bruno Fernandes (£12.0m) have fired out more shots than the low-priced Gomez (12, above). None have hit the net, but he’s assisted twice. Meanwhile, a Brighton triple-up might lean towards two defensive parts, either through Vuskovic or Bart Verbruggen (£4.5m).
There’s a similar debate over our final Liverpool picks. Virgil van Dijk (£6.5m) is their leading option at the back, as his early 2026 spell of six goals in 15 is still remembered.
But settling on a midfielder could go right to the wire.
Cody Gakpo (£7.2m) has delivered in every match, sitting above everyone else on 28 points. On the other hand, Florian Wirtz (£7.4m) is on just nine from three, but there’s always an exciting thought that the next game will be his masterclass. In between their points is all-rounder Dominik Szoboszlai (£7.0m), who has scored a penalty, secured a defensive contribution (DefCon) return, and is joint-best for successful crosses (seven).
Maybe Wednesday’s line-up against Atletico will give us more of a steer.
Arsenal have a good-looking fixture versus Sunderland; it’s just that there aren’t many slots left once Chelsea, Brighton and Liverpool have been targeted.
Having the league’s best defence adds appeal to Riccardo Calafiori (£5.7m) and the shockingly cheap Ezri Konsa (£4.4m). Then, in midfield, Martin Odegaard (£6.6m) already has two double-digit hauls to his name.
THE LONGER SHOTS
With Brighton, Chelsea, Liverpool and Arsenal assets expected to form the bulk of the Scout Picks (as well as Haaland), other players and teams will struggle to get much of a look-in.
Crystal Palace have probably the best fixture of the rest, with visitors Ipswich Town clean-sheet-less. But defensively, the Eagles are a mess, conceding at least twice in nine consecutive matches, stretching back to late April. No team has a bigger xGC (6.47). The attacking midfielders and forwards are all rotation risks, too.
Still, Tyrick Mitchell (£4.5m) scored a brace on Saturday, and Anan Khalaili (£5.0m), the other wing-back, mixes an attacking mindset with DefCon achievements from both starts.
Bournemouth v Brentford, Leeds United v Newcastle United, Tottenham Hotspur v Everton and Aston Villa v Nottingham Forest are all in the ‘tough to call’ envelope, and it’s hard to see any of their players encroaching on our Gameweek 4 XI.
GAMEWEEK 4: EARLY SCOUT PICKS
