Our preview of Gameweek 11 continues with a look at those in the running for a coveted spot in this Friday’s Scout Picks.

This article aims to give a greater insight into the decision-making process behind our selection, as Mark, Paul and myself list in rank order the 18 players we think have the best chance of returning big points across the four positions.

The discussions and disagreements that will take place behind the scenes are then showcased, as each of us looks to back our players for a place in the Scout Picks, as well as our Spot the Differential articles.

Finally, we will also reveal the Community Champion who has been selected by our lottery to represent the community and be in with a chance of winning a £100 Amazon voucher.

Goalkeepers

Tom Heaton (4.7)’s 11 saves against Manchester United last weekend were indicative of his stellar displays between the sticks for Burnley throughout the season.

With a save every 16.7 minutes and topping Fantasy Premier League’s total points table for keepers, it is no wonder all three of us have selected him as our top keeper.

Crystal Palace visit this weekend, and we feel that striker Christian Benteke could offer the 11.4% owned England keeper yet another opportunity to rack up an impressive save count, with a clean sheet thrown in.

Like Manchester United’s Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Benteke has missed every one of his big chances over the last four Gameweeks and is without a goal in his last three.

Bournemouth also have a favourable Gameweek 11 fixture, hosting Sunderland at the Vitality Stadium. That prospect has helped secure the 8.2% owned Artur Boruc (4.6) a unanimous second spot across the three squads.

The Black Cats have only scored twice on the road this campaign, while the Cherries have kept three clean sheets on home turf in their last four.

There’s variation in the third keeper slot, however.

Mark is backing Liverpool’s Loris Karius (4.9)’s for a shut-out when Watford visit Anfield, while Paul has opted for Leicester City’s Kasper Schmeichel (5.0) to keep West Brom at bay at the King Power Stadium.

Meanwhile, I’ve been impressed enough by Manchester City’s clean sheet at West Brom, plus the high pressing display against Barcelona in midweek, to back 2.5% owned Claudio Bravo (5.0) for points.

Defenders

Like Heaton, Christian Fuchs (5.4) looks another shoo-in.

He tops all three of our picks due to his sensational home form, scoring 34 of his 37 FPL points at the King Power. Only Manchester United’s Daley Blind has created more chances among defenders than the 8% owned Austrian on home turf this season.

The visit of a West Brom side, who are without an away win since Gameweek 1’s encounter with Crystal Palace, looks a strong fixture for Fuchs.

The rest of our defensive picks will spark some debate.

Paul and Mark both back Adam Smith (4.8) as the Bournemouth defender of choice for Sunderland’s visit.

The 13.2% owned right-back certainly has the recent attacking form, firing in more goal attempts than any other defender in Gameweek 10

However, I’m factoring in the mid-term and the fact that Smith sits on the suspension tightrope with four yellow cards

That makes me reluctant to endorse Smith. Instead, I’m backing 5.8% owned Cherries left-back Charlie Daniels (5.0), who is posting similarly impressive attacking statistics.

He is Bournemouth’s best defender in terms of chance creation, crossing and close range shooting in home matches this season.

“I think I’ve been put off too easily by the threat of a one-match ban. I’ve already overlooked Diego Costa for that reason and I don’t want to extend that to Adam Smith, particularly for a one-shot in the Scout Picks. I witness him pushing forward to accumulate five goal attempts against ‘Boro in Gameweek 10 and I think he is set to push on to terrorise Patrick van Aanholt this weekend.” – Mark

For the third week in a row, I’m opting for Chelsea wing-back Marcos Alonso (5.9), who has earned clean sheet points in each of his last four matches and registered an assist against Manchester United at home in Gameweek 9.

I’m backing the 0.7% owned differential to prosper again when an Everton side, with just one clean sheet on the road, visit Stamford Bridge on Saturday evening.

Paul and Mark don’t fancy Alonso’s chances of returns this time around and have instead backed Virgil Van Dijk (5.4) as a stronger option, with Southampton dropping in on struggling Hull City.

Mike Phelan’s troops sit at the foot of the home goal attempt table, which certainly puts forward a powerful argument for the 9% owned Dutchman’s inclusion in Friday’s picks.

“At the back, Burnley and Hull are the two worst teams in terms of attempts conceded from set-pieces. Southampton’s Virgil van Dijk features prominently in my picks for the trip to the KCOM, whilst Scott Dann looks under the radar as Palace roll up to Turf Moor.” – Paul

While all three of us back Manchester City’s John Stones (5.0) to keep ‘Boro at bay, we have all opted for a different attack-minded defender for our final selection.

Mark is backing West Ham’s Aaron Cresswell (5.3) to prosper, with the left-back’s attacking potential from last season fresh in his mind; he scored twice and assisted four times last term and, on Saturday, he’ll be deployed in his new wing-back role.

Even with five goals last season and two in 2016/17, Paul’s pick of Scott Dann (5.4) surely faces a tough task to get the better of Heaton when Palace visit Turf Moor.

However, a clean sheet may be a possibility, with Burnley failing to score in two of their six home games.

Meanwhile, I’ll be sponsoring the claims of Liverpool’s 10% owned Nathaniel Clyne (5.5), who has created more chances than any other defender this season.

Granted a clean sheet may be tricky, with visitors Watford scoring six times on the road, but four of those came in an emphatic victory over a poor West Ham defence in Gameweek 4.

Midfielders

Grapple fans are destined to be disappointed here, with very few arguments in store given that our line-ups are almost identical.

With two top placings, Manchester City’s Kevin De Bruyne (10.7) looks guaranteed a place in our final picks when ‘Boro visit the Etihad.

The 9.1% owned midfielder’s seven assists and two goals, coupled with his stunning free-kick against Barcelona in the Champions League midweek, presents further convincing evidence for his inclusion.

Like the cliché of London buses, we’ve waited for ten Gameweeks to agree on the best Liverpool pick, and then two come along at once.

With a pair of assists, and strong all-round attacking display, particularly against Crystal Palace last weekend, the 42.1% owned Philippe Coutinho (8.5) looks to have seized the initiative, ranking second in all three of our selections.

His team-mate Sadio Mane (9.0) is also backed by all three of us, mainly due to his excellent home form, scoring 34 FPL points across his four league matches at Anfield.

“I’m going to ignore Arsenal altogether this week and double up on Philippe Coutinho and Sadio Mane for Liverpool’s clash with Watford. Mane has scored in three of the Reds’ four home fixtures and should get plenty of joy down the visitors’ left, given Jose Holebas’ penchant for raiding forward.” – Paul

If Eden Hazard (9.9) can maintain his relentless pursuit of goals in Chelsea’s new 3-4-3 line-up, he may become a mainstay of the Scout Picks for the foreseeable future.

With three goals and an assist over his last trio of matches, all three of us are backing the 20.9% Belgian to get the better of the visiting Everton rearguard.

With just an assist in his last three league run-outs. West Ham’s 12.3% owned set piece specialist Dimitri Payet (9.4) has slipped off the radar somewhat.

Nevertheless, all three of us feel that he’ll prosper at home to Stoke City, particularly as, over that period, no midfielder has created more chances than the Frenchman.

“I was reluctant to overlook Alexis Sanchez, having held on to him for the north London derby but I think we have to back the Liverpool midfield with two signings. Coutinho has played his way into the Picks with his last two performances and I just think it’s Mane’s turn against Watford. He’s been so effective at home, with Coutinho tending to drop deeper to orchestrate matters and allow the likes of Mane and Lallana to raid the box” – Mark

Forwards

With such an expensive quintet of midfield options, we are going to need to penny pinch in attack.

Fortunately, all three of us favour a pair of budget-friendly strikers with fixtures against sides vying for whipping boy status.

With 23 goals conceded, Hull City are clearly struggling to plug gaps in their defence.

This presents 12.5% owned Charlie Austin (6.7) with the perfect opportunity to add to his four league goals this season when Southampton pay visit.

Paul and I have gone as far as rating Austin as the second best striker to own for Gameweek 11.

Sunderland’s backline is similarly porous, conceding on 20 occasions this season. Their visit to Bournemouth gives us hope that Callum Wilson (6.6) will prosper; the 5.2% owned Cherries striker has scored twice already at the Vitality stadium.

That budget duo will come in handy come Friday’s final selection, as we look to offer a striking berth to Sergio Aguero (13.1).

After three goalless games, Fantasy Football’s white knight scored a brace against West Brom last weekend to restore the faith.

With an assist in that game and against Barcelona midweek, he looks to have answered Pep Guardiola’s demands to settle back into the scoring groove.

Aguero’s form and price means that both Diego Costa (10.4) and Romelu Lukaku (9.8) are unlikely to make the final cut as they square up against each other at Stamford Bridge.

Their current form, scoring three times each over their last four matches, can’t be ignored but their hefty price tags make it unlikely that we’ll be able to squeeze them in budget given our pricey midfield selections.

We shall see if we can force through a rethink prior to Friday’s cut.

Community Champion

Representing the Community against the Scout Picks in Gameweek will be Ronhaar, who is doing well in his seventh season with a current rank of 26,155.

The community champion who has the best lead over the Scouts during 2016/17 will win a £100 Amazon voucher (currently we can only offer Amazon.co.uk or Amazon.com vouchers).

Last week’s champion Mince n Tatties beat the Picks 72-48, which was not quite enough to leap in front of current frontrunner VS10_, who had a 32-point margin of victory over us in Gameweek 6