Manchester City and Chelsea have been backed ahead of favourable fixtures in Gameweek 14.
Each club has supplied two players in this week’s Scout Picks after we whittled down the squads handed to us by Paul, Joe, Az and Peter.
This week we’re lining up in a 4-3-3 formation with a team worth £81.8m, under our budget of £83m.
Goalkeeper
Wayne Hennessey (£4.5m) is the first of two Crystal Palace options that come into the squad for Gameweek 14. He received two top picks from our pundits with Joe and Az his biggest fans, while Paul selected him as his second choice. The Eagles host a Burnley side this week with fewer shots on target than any other side in the league, and they will be buoyed from keeping a clean sheet at Old Trafford in Gameweek 13.
Defenders
Marcos Alonso (£7.1m) pulled off a clean sweep in defence with all four pundits selecting him as the top option for Gameweek 14. The Chelsea man lines up against Fulham, who still have defensive problems even after Claudio Ranieri took charge. They have proved particularly susceptible down their right flank this season, conceding 55 chances there and only two teams allow more down that side of the pitch – which is where Alonso will be lining up. This week could be the return of some attacking points for the Spaniard.
Andrew Robertson (£6.5m) had to hold off some serious competition from Trent Alexander-Arnold for a spot in the Scout Picks this week but won out because of some financial decisions made elsewhere. The left-back won out over his English colleague in the Squads chosen by our pundits with Paul picking him in second place with Joe and Az slotting him in third. Liverpool’s defence continues to churn out clean sheets while Everton rank joint-14th for big chances in away matches this season.
Matt Doherty (£4.9m) earns a reprieve following Wolves’ poor showing against Huddersfield to make it back-to-back appearances in the Scout Picks XI. He got votes from all four members of Scout Squad team ahead of a trip to Cardiff. Wolves are still posting encouraging defensive statistics when they are away from home this year, with only Manchester City allowing more fewer chances on the road.
It feels very satisfying to finally put Aaron Wan-Bissaka (£4.2m) back into the Scout Picks after a rotten run of games for Crystal Palace. We’ve obviously already covered why we think that the Eagles will record a shut-out against Burnley, the reason that Wan-Bissaka has made the cut is mainly because of his price. So many of us have the budget man on our benches that it will be nice for him to finally make an appearance in our first XIs. Interestingly, only Joe included Wan-Bissaka in his Scout Squad but the right-back’s price is too good to ignore with some lavish spending elsewhere.
Midfielders
It should be no surprise to see Raheem Sterling (£11.4m) come in as our top midfielder option for Gameweek 14. Now the top-scoring FPL player, he has averaged 8.6 points per game this season and is in the form of his life. With five goals and two assists in his last three home matches against Bournemouth, this fixture is the perfect one for him provided he can stay in the starting XI following 90 minutes midweek. Surprisingly, only two of our Scout Squad pundits chose him as their number one, Paul and Az, but that was still more top picks than anyone else in this position.
Eden Hazard (£11.1m) won a close-fought battle with Mohamed Salah to claim the secondary premium position in midfield for Gameweek 14. It’s a bit of a risky call with Hazard amassing just nine points across the last four Gameweeks but, as we’ve already mentioned, Fulham’s defensive frailties are there for all to see and Chelsea really need a positive result after being thrashed by Spurs in Gameweek 13. Hazard actually has better minutes per chances created and shots on target ratios than Sterling over the last four Gameweeks so if he starts on Sunday he could have a field day. As for Salah, we felt that the Merseyside derby might prove too tight an affair to justify spending so much of the £83m budget on the Egyptian this weekend.
Anthony Martial (£7.6m) is another man to get a pardon and go straight back into the Scout Picks after disappointing in Gameweek 13. The Frenchman’s attacking numbers remain encouraging with more shots and efforts on target in the last four Gameweeks as Sterling, and the same number of chances created than him too. Yes, there is evidence to suggest that Romelu Lukaku’s return to the side will damage his output but Southampton have still conceded the same number of shots at home this season as hapless Fulham.
Forwards
Sergio Aguero (£11.5m) makes it a fourth successive inclusion in the Scout Picks side with another clean sweep of the forwards board. All four of our pundits chose the Argentinian as the best striker for this Gameweek given his incredible form at home. No player has had more shots, in the box or on target than Aguero this season, which bodes well for a match against a Bournemouth side with deteriorating defensive statistics.
Given the all-clear by Manuel Pellegrini this week, Marko Arnautovic (£7.1m) comes back into the side once more. He was the second choice of both Paul and Peter while Az selected him in third place. An away match at Newcastle should provide the West Ham forward with plenty of opportunities given that Burnley are the only side to have allowed more shots at home than the Magpies this season.
Raúl Jiménez (£5.9m) completes the line-up with his second successive appearance in the side. Of the cheaper forward options for Gameweek 14, he had the most votes from our Scout Squad crew, with a total of three. That’s not surprising considering he’s had more shots in the penalty box since Gameweek 10 than Salah, Aguero and Sterling. This week he faces a Cardiff defence that has allowed more efforts on target in home matches than any other side this season.
Substitutes
Jonas Lössl (£4.5m) got four votes from our Scout Squad crew this week but missed out on a place in the final XI because none of them were as first choice. Huddersfield have been showing some defensive improvement recently while Brighton are typically poor away from home.
Christopher Schindler (£4.3m) gets a place on the substitutes bench for largely the same reason, not to mention his excellent budget price. He actually received two votes from our pundits with Paul and Peter tipping him.
Callum Paterson (£5.2m) continues to offer great value as an out of position midfielder playing as the centre-forward in Cardiff’s team. The Bluebirds are starting to find their goal-scoring feet in the Premier League now and this could be another opportunity for Paterson to continue his run of three goals in his last five matches.
Wilfried Zaha (£6.7m) could seriously benefit from Burnley’s poor defensive performances this season. The player himself may be without a goal since Gameweek 5 but the Clarets have given up more shots than any other side this season.
Community Champion
Representing the community against the Scout Picks in Gameweek 14 is Prasun Singhal. He has opted for a 3-5-2 formation of Hennessey; Alexander-Arnold, van Aanholt, Schindler; Sané, Willian, Hazard, Sterling, D Silva; Morata, Zaha.
The community member who beats our picks by the biggest margin over the campaign will win a £100 Amazon Voucher and a place in our Contributors and Moderators League for the following season.
The Scouts have won seven and lost six so far, with Vobinho winning 63-50 in Gameweek 12.
fclackless‘s winning margin of 33 points (77-44) in Gameweek 10 is the current target to beat.
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