Scout Picks

Salah and Sterling the key men for Gameweek 1 Scout Picks

The Fantasy Football Scout editorial team have chosen what they believe to be the best XI for Gameweek 1.

Also, for the first time, the Scout Picks will have an official captain this season, just like a normal Fantasy side.

We’ll have more detail on how the skipper is to be chosen each week later in the article.

The 11-man line-up is chosen by comparing our Scout Squad submissions from earlier the week, which included teams from editor David Munday, deputy editor Neale Rigg, head of content Paul McKinnon and community manager Geoff Dance.

After much deliberation and compromise, we have assembled a team influenced by all four pundits which we hope will do well in Gameweek 1.

We have hit our £83m budget on the head and line up in a 4-4-2 formation.

Goalkeeper

Nick Pope is our goalkeeper for Gameweek 1

Nick Pope (£4.5m) was chosen as the best goalkeeper for Gameweek 1 by three of our pundits this week, with Neale still selecting him in second place. The return of 2017/18’s save-machine is welcome news for Fantasy managers, his place in the side assured by Tom Heaton’s departure to Aston Villa. More importantly, Burnley appeared to have rediscovered their imposing defensive form at home towards the end of 2018/19. In their last six home matches, they gave up just seven big chances, the same number as Liverpool.

Defenders

Alexander-Arnold is our chosen Liverpool defender for Gameweek 1

Trent Alexander-Arnold (£7.0m) is our chosen representative from the Liverpool defence for Gameweek 1. He was the overwhelming favourite among our panellists, earning the top spot in this position from all four of us. Between Gameweeks 21 and 38 last season, Alexander-Arnold created more chances than Andrew Robertson and outscored him by 111 points to 104. While the left-back is more nailed on in the side, we think Alexander-Arnold’s position/game-time is only at risk from the more defence-minded Joe Gomez in matches against big sides. Norwich do not fall into that category, so we expect Klopp to unleash Alexander-Arnold on Friday night.

Lucas Digne (£6.0m) makes it into the Scout Picks after backing from two members of our panel. There is plenty of interest in the Everton defence right now with Neale touting Jordan Pickford and David originally selecting Coleman, before being put off by the signing of Djibril Sidibé. Digne’s involvement in set-pieces should stand him in good stead to supplement his clean sheet potential for Gameweek 1. Everton kept eight clean sheets in their last 11 matches of 2018/19, although that was achieved with Kurt Zouma and Idrissa Gueye, both no longer at the club. However, Crystal Palace had the joint-lowest goal tally in home matches of sides that survived relegation last season (19).

Oleksandr Zinchenko (£5.5m) is our Manchester City defender of choice ahead of Manchester City’s trip to West Ham. The reigning champions kept more clean sheets than any other side in the second half of the 2018/19 campaign and we’d expect to retain that defensive potential in Gameweek 1. Zinchenko started 10 of the last 11 matches of last season and played more minutes than new signing Angeliño in pre-season while Benjamin Mendy is not expected back until September.

The £4.5m defender category is a tough one this season, with a real dearth of exciting options. We’ve gone with Martin Montoya (£4.5m) as our enabler for some of the extravagant spending elsewhere in the Scout Picks XI. The right-back has been used as a wing-back in Graham Potter’s 3-4-3 system at Brighton this summer.

Midfielders

Salah is our top midfielder for Gameweek 1

Mohamed Salah (£12.5m) was an incredibly easy choice for the Scout Picks panel this week. Ahead of the Gameweek 1 meeting with Norwich, the Egyptian was too of the pile for midfield selections, chosen as the best option in this position by all four of us. Salah was the highest points-scorer last season and faces a Norwich defence that had defensive issues last season as well as injuries at centre-back ahead of Gameweek 1.

Raheem Sterling (£12.0m) was the unanimous second choice asset in midfield. The last time he went to the London Stadium in the Premier League he came away with a goal and two assists in a 4-0 win. Manchester City have scored at least four times in each of their last four trips to West Ham.

Leandro Trossard (£6.0m) was one of the most popular of our mid-price midfielders in the Scout Squad submissions with David, Geoff and Neale all including him. The Brighton midfielder has been deployed in the front three of that 3-4-3 formation Potter has been using this summer and was on set pieces too, providing three assists. More importantly, no Premier League team allowed more chances from dead-ball situations than Watford in 2019.

The £5.5m bracket is a little bit of a tricky one at the start of 2019/20 but we think that there’s potential for Callum Robinson (£5.5m) to do well in Gameweek 1. The FPL midfielder has been playing as a centre-forward for Sheffield United in pre-season and was involved in the joint-highest number of goals across their six matches than any of his colleagues (five). Meanwhile, Bournemouth’s defence remains untrustworthy. Last season, the only teams to conceded more goals than the Cherries (70) were Huddersfield (76) and Fulham (81), who were both relegated.

Forwards

Harry Kane was the most popular forward for our Scout Squad

Harry Kane (£11.0m) was widely seen as the best forward for Gameweek 1 by our Scout Squad panel. All four of our pundits selected him in the top spot in this position. The Spurs man faces newly-promoted side Aston Villa on Saturday, a favourable fixture to start the campaign. No forward who survived relegation managed more shots on target than Kane last season, despite the player missing two spells with injuries. That tells us he is ready to kick on and have an incredible campaign in 2019/20.

Even though we don’t have many good things to say about Bournemouth’s defence, we are well aware of the awesome potential of their attack. That is why Callum Wilson (£8.0m) rounds off the Scout Picks XI after three of us included him in our Scout Squad submissions. The forward had all-round attacking appeal last season, afforded the same number of big chances in home matches as Salah, and joint-fourth among all players for big chances created in such games. Wilson was also the Cherries most important player in pre-season, involved in more goals than any of his colleagues (five).

Substitutes (no budget)

For those unfamiliar with the Scout Picks, our bench does not work in quite the same way as an official FPL one.

Rather than being the leftovers of our budget who come into the starting XI in the event of injuries or no-shows, these are relatively cheap players who nearly made the final cut, who we want to give an honourable mention to.

There is no firm budget for this but we like to limit ourselves to the budget end of the scale in each position.

Kyle Walker-Peters (£5.0m) was one of our differentials for Gameweek 1 and came close to inclusion in the Scout Picks, only missing out on cost. He looks likely to start Gameweek 1 against Aston Villa and should offer creativity down Spurs’ right flank. Read our differentials article for more information by CLICKING HERE.

Leander Dendoncker (£4.5m) is by far the most appealing budget midfielder for 2019/20. He is one of only a few in the £4.5m price bracket who is likely to start matches and his advanced positioning in Wolves’ 3-5-2 system means he should get some attacking returns this year.

Budget forwards are proving tricky at the start of this new season but there are one or two useful players to be found. Chris Wood (£6.5m) takes the final spot on our bench this week ahead of Southampton’s visit to Turf Moor. He was tipped by David and Neale after scoring nine times in pre-season.

Captain

The Scout Picks will have a captain in the 2019/20 season

For the first time, the Scout Picks will have a captain in the 2019/20 season.

This will be chosen based on a combination of factors.

The conclusion of the Captain Sensible article will play a part if there is a conclusive favourite candidate. You can read this week’s instalment HERE.

This will then factor into a vote undertaken by our Scout Picks panel of David, Neale, Paul and Geoff.

Because the use of Fantasy Football Scout data is used so heavily in this process, the captain we choose each Gameweek will be known only to those who sign up for the 2019/20.

It will be revealed to the public when the deadline for that Gameweek passes.

This week the clear favourite candidate for the armband according to our Captain Sensible article was Liverpool midfielder Mohamed Salah.

The information we uncovered resulted in the following results from our vote:

  • David – Salah
  • Neale – Salah
  • Paul – Salah
  • Geoff – Salah

Raheem Sterling has been handed the vice-captaincy.

The Community Champion

Before most Gameweeks, we nominate a Fantasy manager to challenge our Scout Picks with a starting XI of their own.

The Community Champion who has the biggest lead over the Scouts during 2019/20 will win a £100 Amazon voucher (currently we can only offer Amazon.co.uk or Amazon.com vouchers).

We will announce the Community Champion and their team in due course.

MORE TEAM-BY-TEAM ANALYSIS CONTENT

Arsenal | Aston Villa (manager) | Aston Villa (defence) | Aston Villa (attack) | Bournemouth | Brighton | Burnley | Chelsea | Crystal Palace | Everton | Leicester | Liverpool | Man City | Man United | Newcastle | Norwich (manager) | Norwich (defence) | Norwich (attack) | Sheffield United (manager) | Sheffield United (defence) | Sheffield United (attack) | Southampton | Spurs | Watford | West Ham | Wolves

2,030 Comments Post a Comment
  1. FF Dirtbag
    • 12 Years
    4 years, 7 months ago

    Thoughts on having both wilson and King?

    1. WVA
      • 7 Years
      4 years, 7 months ago

      I'm starting with this, want Jota long term but compare his fixtures to Kings and it's a no brainer. Wilson is absolute fire.

  2. Where dahoud at
    • 6 Years
    4 years, 7 months ago

    GtG
    Pope
    Taa, awb, kwp, c.taylor
    Salah(c), sterling, perez, martial
    Kane(vc), king

    Bench, button, greenwood, Dendoncker, mings

  3. zon
    • 9 Years
    4 years, 7 months ago

    Good evening guys, last decision. Which combo for last 2 mid spots?

    Pope 4.0
    TAA Robbo Zinch Digne
    Salah Fraser Dendoncker ___ ___
    Wilson Haller

    A) KDB + Bilva/Siggy
    B) Sterling + Robinson

    1. Daaf
      • 8 Years
      4 years, 7 months ago

      B

    2. Bruce Lee
      • 5 Years
      4 years, 7 months ago

      b

    3. GreennRed
      • 12 Years
      4 years, 7 months ago

      How much have you left? Perez + _

      1. GreennRed
        • 12 Years
        4 years, 7 months ago

        Please ignore last post! A

    4. moz_1983
      • 11 Years
      4 years, 7 months ago

      Hard to give an answer that doesn't include Sterling, but I think A will give the most points in total.

    5. DantheManinaPan
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 10 Years
      4 years, 7 months ago

      Like both. Go with your gut

    6. Couto
      • 4 Years
      4 years, 7 months ago

      b

  4. Forza Napoli
    • Fantasy Football Scout Member
    • 14 Years
    4 years, 7 months ago

    Jota or Wood, do we think? My heart says Jota...

    1. Boz
      • 11 Years
      4 years, 7 months ago

      Jota

    2. DantheManinaPan
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 10 Years
      4 years, 7 months ago

      Over the season, easily Jota. That said, I'm starting with Wood. I think my 6.5 striker will be one of the first transfers I make to get on the first bandwagon that comes along, and see Wood doing better in the first couple of weeks.

    3. WVA
      • 7 Years
      4 years, 7 months ago

      King is best 6.5 for first two

  5. Couto
    • 4 Years
    4 years, 7 months ago

    a) Jota, Sterling, Holebos
    or
    b) Kane, B. Silva, Femenía

    1. brendanlim92
      • 10 Years
      4 years, 7 months ago

      a

  6. AnyoneButLiverpool
    • 4 Years
    4 years, 7 months ago

    Pochettino on his right-back options. "We can create players who can play in different positions. We try to find the best solution and I love the challenge to try and create that dynamic." #COYS

    Taking KWP out now..

    1. MANGE TOUT RODNEY
      • 8 Years
      4 years, 7 months ago

      Who else is he going to play there? Dier??

      I think KWP is safe for now.

      1. AnyoneButLiverpool
        • 4 Years
        4 years, 7 months ago

        Aurier is backing in training. Sissoko could play there.

    2. Forza Napoli
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 14 Years
      4 years, 7 months ago

      Yikes.

  7. Bruce Lee
    • 5 Years
    4 years, 7 months ago

    jack corrrrk!!

    sorry just practicing x

  8. the dom 1
    • Fantasy Football Scout Member
    • 9 Years
    4 years, 7 months ago

    Who would you pick out of these defs'

    a. KWP

    b. Montoya

    Cheers

    1. Miguel Sanchez
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 7 Years
      4 years, 7 months ago

      B

  9. LIARS POKER
    • 7 Years
    4 years, 7 months ago

    Fraser or Martial?

    1. PRENO
      • 11 Years
      4 years, 7 months ago

      start with fraser, martial more risky IMO

    2. moz_1983
      • 11 Years
      4 years, 7 months ago

      Both will score well, I'd say look at fixtures and then swap if need be.

    3. _nod
      • 10 Years
      4 years, 7 months ago

      Martial is a good punt, depends if you are willing to take the risk.

  10. Tabbara
    • 7 Years
    4 years, 7 months ago

    Thoughts on
    Pope (Button)
    TAA Robertson Zinchenko Coleman (Lundstram)
    Sterling Salah Perez Fraser (Dedoncker)
    Wilson Jota (Greenwood)
    0.5 ITB

    Thx

  11. Jebiga
    • 11 Years
    4 years, 7 months ago

    Lucas Moura or Robertson ?

    1. Miguel Sanchez
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 7 Years
      4 years, 7 months ago

      Robertson

    2. Annie
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 11 Years
      4 years, 7 months ago

      L

  12. brendanlim92
    • 10 Years
    4 years, 7 months ago

    Lads, do you think my team is G2G?

    Pope (Heaton)
    Digne VVD Robertson Zinchenko (Lundstram)
    Sterling Salah Martial Moura (Dendoncker)
    Deulofeu King (Greenwood)

    Comments greatly appreciated!

    1. OneDennisBergkamp
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 8 Years
      4 years, 7 months ago

      Looks good, although light up top.

  13. OneDennisBergkamp
    • Fantasy Football Scout Member
    • 8 Years
    4 years, 7 months ago

    I'M DONE! Please pick this apart so I have to start another 5 hour session!..

    Pope (Heaton)
    Alexander-Arnold / Digne / Robertson (Rico / Lundstram)
    Dendoncker / Salah / Sterling / Pérez / Trossard
    Wilson / Vardy (Greenwood)

    1. moz_1983
      • 11 Years
      4 years, 7 months ago

      Stick.

    2. diesel001
      • 7 Years
      4 years, 7 months ago

      You can't own every player so it looks solid enough to me

    3. buachaillbui
      • 12 Years
      4 years, 7 months ago

      Nice . Gtg

    4. nisag17
      • 14 Years
      4 years, 7 months ago

      This is actually quite good. I don't think its a bad thing to have one cheap enabler like Dendoncker.

  14. Atimis
    • 7 Years
    4 years, 7 months ago

    Still can’t sort out below dilemmas:

    1)AWB or Zin
    2)Ryan or Pope, or maybe Heaton

    AWB and Ryan???

    1. brendanlim92
      • 10 Years
      4 years, 7 months ago

      zin pope

  15. Roysgotnoboys
    • 9 Years
    4 years, 7 months ago

    A) Coleman, Zinchenko, Milli

    Or

    B) Robertson, Dunk, Redmond?

    thanks

  16. _nod
    • 10 Years
    4 years, 7 months ago

    Pages are going by so quickly it's crazy. Good luck to anybody trying to get feedback on an RMT.

  17. Albrightondknight
    • Fantasy Football Scout Member
    • 8 Years
    4 years, 7 months ago

    Only about 4 hours til the post are like this
    I knew I should have got A and not B
    Yeah cause you are pretty sure he might have been in draft 53 of 411 drafts 🙂

  18. Rafa_is_a_geordie.
    • Fantasy Football Scout Member
    • 5 Years
    4 years, 7 months ago

    Why last minute tinkering man 🙁

    Advice please:

    ? (Button)
    Robertson / ? / Van Dijk (Kelly / Lascelles)
    Salah / Moura / ? / Sterling (Dendockner)
    Deulofeu / King / Jota

    Should be ?'s be:
    a. Digne / Lloris / Perez
    b. Walker-Pteres / Pickford / Martial

  19. Abusive_Sgt_Daelrhos
    • Fantasy Football Scout Member
    • 9 Years
    4 years, 7 months ago

    Repost
    Opinions lads? Cheers

    Heaton,4.0
    VVD,Robbo,Digne,Montoya,Lund
    Salah,Sterling,Perez,Moura,Barkley
    King,Wilson,Greenwood

  20. The Red Devil
    • 9 Years
    4 years, 7 months ago

    A) TAA + Robinson
    B) VVD + Barkley/trossard
    C) Lundstorm or Kelly

  21. MANGE TOUT RODNEY
    • 8 Years
    4 years, 7 months ago

    Logging off now, I have finished tinkering.

    Good luck all and best wishes for the season!

    1. THE SHEEP HUNTERS
      • 6 Years
      4 years, 7 months ago

      U2. 🙂

    2. DantheManinaPan
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 10 Years
      4 years, 7 months ago

      Best of luck!

  22. THE SHEEP HUNTERS
    • 6 Years
    4 years, 7 months ago

    Rose, why don't we own him?

    1. Can’t beat em so&hell…
      • 12 Years
      4 years, 7 months ago

      Good question. If he plays, he’s an absolute steal....

      1. THE SHEEP HUNTERS
        • 6 Years
        4 years, 7 months ago

        Davies just had a small operation I believe.

    2. Speculativefrom30
      • 9 Years
      4 years, 7 months ago

      Sessegnon

  23. Boz
    • 11 Years
    4 years, 7 months ago

    Trossard or Barkley?

    1. The 12th Man
      • 10 Years
      4 years, 7 months ago

      Toss up.

    2. Yank Revolution
      • 12 Years
      4 years, 7 months ago

      Tross

  24. Starky22
    • Fantasy Football Scout Member
    • 5 Years
    4 years, 7 months ago

    Last decision... advice much appreciated:

    Ryan
    TAA VVD Digne xxx Lundstram
    Sterling Salah Siggy xxx
    Wilson King

    A. Cathcart &

  25. gooner_112233445566
    • 4 Years
    4 years, 7 months ago

    A) Montoya and Jimenez
    B) zinchenko (other 5.5) jota

    Which one please???

  26. ArseneAllTheWay
    • 10 Years
    4 years, 7 months ago

    COMES DOWN TO THIS:

    A) Martial + Greenwood (benched, means Montoya starts in 442)
    B) Robinson + Jota (montoya benched in 343)

    Rest of the team
    Pope (Button)
    Robbo, Digne, Zouma (Montoya, Lunds)
    Sterling, Salah **** Perez (Donk)
    Auba, King, *****

  27. Polar_Bear
    • Fantasy Football Scout Member
    • 5 Years
    4 years, 7 months ago

    Start Barkley or Rico? Thinking Rico

  28. Can’t beat em so&hell…
    • 12 Years
    4 years, 7 months ago

    Too different?

    Ederson/Button
    Digne/Zinch/Zouma/VVD/KWP
    Sterling/Siggy/Barkley/Perez/Dendonker
    Kane/Firmino/Green

    1. _nod
      • 10 Years
      4 years, 7 months ago

      Looks good. Not sure there is enough value in Firminio relative to other pool options.

  29. The Red Devil
    • 9 Years
    4 years, 7 months ago

    A) TAA + Robinson
    B) VVD + Barkley/trossard
    Also
    Lundstorm or Kelly

  30. The 12th Man
    • 10 Years
    4 years, 7 months ago

    All set. GTG?
    Pope
    TAA,Digne,Zinchenko,KWP
    Salah(TC)Sterling,Perez,Fraser
    Wilson,Jota

    Heaton,Barkley,Greenwood,Lundstrum

    Barkley plays gw 2 for KWP

    1. Yank Revolution
      • 12 Years
      4 years, 7 months ago

      I see u also only have 1 Pool D, nice.

      Good team but Barks gives me pause. I also chose Heaton over Pope (better fixtures)

      1. The 12th Man
        • 10 Years
        4 years, 7 months ago

        On the bench for GW1. See how he goes against United. Don’t want to spend a transfer to bring him in.