We move onto Gameweek 34 of this season’s Scout Picks, where Mark, Jonty, a different member of the community and I pick an XI for the upcoming round of fixtures. Each week, our line-ups go head-to-head and over the course of the season we’ll be keeping a tally of the points as we go along, with the budget now sitting at 84.0 apiece for our starting line-ups.
The Community – Managed by Frank Black
Clean sheets look difficult to call, with most of the best defences facing tough opponents. I’ve decided to go with Kasper Schmeichel as my keeper since he’s about to face Burnley (without a goal in the last four) and I went with Aaron Cresswell and Branislav Ivanovic – two players both capable of attacking returns that could do a lot of damage to non-owners. Liverpool’s Martin Skrtel completes my three-man backline.
My midfield is formed by three big hitters. Eden Hazard is Chelsea’s main source of points, Juan Mata has rekindled the form that made him a Fantasy favourite at Chelsea and Raheem Sterling has a goal and assist in his last two. Jordan Henderson is my fourth midfielder – he’s Liverpool’s most in-form player right now and I reckon a Reds double-up against a West Brom defence that has conceded ten goals in the last four is a good gamble.
Up front, Sergio Aguero has recently rediscovered his eye for goal. Christian Benteke has served up eight goals and one assist in the last six, whilst Glenn Murray produced three successive double-digit hauls prior to blanking against the Baggies last Saturday and looks likely to trouble Hull’s poor defence.
Jonty
I’m ignoring Hull and focusing on Liverpool, Chelsea and Leicester players for this week’s double Gameweek. Leicester’s Kasper Schmeichel looks well placed for save points and the possibility of a clean sheet against Burnley. Meanwhile, Foxes defender Robert Huth continues to offer the glimmer of hope of a goal. In attack Jamie Vardy has impressed in recent weeks and looks a good bet for a goal for the Burnley clash.
For Liverpool, Martin Skrtel’s impressive haul of 22 bonus points so far make him a standout selection. With attacking returns in five of his last six matches, Jordan Henderson should reward his owners, irrespective of who he lines up with in midfield, according to my analysis earlier this week . Raheem Sterling has the slight edge for me over Philippe Coutinho as my third Liverpool player. Sterling has attacking returns in four of his last seven Premier League matches, compared to three in seven for Coutinho.
A Chelsea defender looks key and Branislav Ivanovic is my pick, despite seeing his attacking play curtailed in recent weeks. With question marks over the fitness of Chelsea’s strikers, I’ve opted for the security of Eden Hazard and Cesc Fabregas, who have notched up an outstanding 51 points between them over the last three matches.
I’ve restricted my picks to just two single Gameweek players, the Premier League’s highest goal scorers Sergio Aguero and Harry Kane. There is emerging evidence that Kane could prosper this week against Southampton in light of some damning recent defending statistics for the south coast side.
Mark
Sadly, there’s little room for imagination in this week’s Picks: the double Gameweek targets have dominated our thinking all week and will carry our hopes beyond 11.30 tomorrow.
With Chelsea and Liverpool lacking secure options up top, I’ve rolled out a 3-5-2 with Jamie Vardy partnered by one of the two single-match candidates – Sergio Aguero.
QPR’s Rob Green is the only other player with a single fixture to find a place in my lineup – I see him coming away with a shut-out and a couple of save points against his former club, West Ham, at Loftus Road.
Elsewhere, there’s few surprises. I’ve kept faith with Jeffrey Schlupp at the back, even though I fully expect to be outvoted with either Wes Morgan or Robert Huth earning a place in the overall Picks. There’s no doubt that the Foxes centre-backs have a strong presence and goal threat at set-plays but I’m going to gamble on Schlupp earning attacking points from open play as he pushes forward from wing-back.
The goal threat offered by Martin Skrtel and Branislav Ivanovic is enough to warrant their inclusion in the rearguard, despite the fact that I feel both will struggle for shut-outs over their two fixtures.
Liverpool and Chelsea also dominate the midfield, with the Eden Hazard, Cesc Fabregas, Raheem Sterling and Philippe Coutinho all locked in for their two fixtures. For me, I’m struggling to see many, if any, midfielders outscoring that quartet. I imagine that 90% of the FPL armbands will sit with one of those four.
Paul
Five save points – in addition to a clean sheet – in his last three earns Kasper Schmeichel the keeper’s jersey, whilst I also opt for his team-mate’s Robert Huth goal threat. The big German sits second for touches in the box (17) amongst defenders over their respective last four matches and leads the way for both attempts (eight) and efforts in the area (seven). Martin Skrtel has earned more bonus points (22) than any other defender to date. Branislav Ivanovic has produced at least five points in seven of his last nine appearances ahead of Chelsea’s double.
In midfield, I’ve doubled up on both Liverpool and Chelsea. Raheem Sterling has fired more attempts inside the box (six) than any team-mate in his last four, though Philippe Coutinho was fielded as a false nine against Newcastle last time out, has scored in two of the last three in all competitions, and leads Sterling for total attempts by 13 to nine in their previous four league outings. Eden Hazard’s relentless consistency makes him an obvious contender and with concerns up front for Jose Mourinho, Cesc Fabregas – with returns in three of his previous four – takes my final Chelsea slot.
Up top, I’m backing Glenn Murray to return to form as Palace host Hull. The Tigers can’t afford to sit tight and this should play into the Eagles’ hands after a surprise loss to West Brom last weekend. Jamie Vardy has been Leicester’s star performer up top, with two goals and as many assists in four, whilst Sergio Aguero’s return to form cannot be overlooked as Villa pay visit to the Etihad.
The Scores So Far
Crystal Palace’s defeat to West Brom and Everton’s resilience in defence affected all four of our Scout Picks last week. I scored the highest with 55, closely followed by Community champion Athletico Timbo with 52, while Jonty notched up 48 and Mark took the wooden spoon with 42.
In the overall standings Jonty retains the lead with 1715 points, Mark and I are level on 1691, while the Community has 1604 points.
Remember that, for this week, the second matches for Chelsea, Liverpool, Hull and Leicester will not count towards the final score for the Community challenge. This is to ensure all Community champions have an equal shot at the top Gameweek score of the season prize of a £100 Amazon voucher. Nonetheless, the three Scouts have focused their teams on the full 12 matches in order to ensure our overall site Scout Picks are mainly weighted towards the double.
