Salah and Sterling headline Gameweek 2 Scout Picks

Liverpool and Manchester City’s big guns are still important assets for Fantasy Premier League managers to own for Gameweek 2.

Once again, we have three premium options selected in our Scout Picks for this weekend, what we believe to be the best starting XI for the upcoming round of action.

This has been chosen using the Scout Squad selections made by David, Neale, Paul and Geoff earlier in the week.

For Gameweek 2 we line-up in 4-4-2 once again, this time coming in at £82.6m, £0.4m inside our budget of £83m.

Goalkeeper

Mathew Ryan (£4.5m) was an eleventh-hour addition to the Scout Picks after news of Adrian’s injury filtered around the Fantasy community. The Liverpool goalkeeper was originally given the nod but doubt over his starting place meant we had to drop in. Ryan is his replacement after facing no big chances in Gameweek 1 while West Ham could be without both Felipe Anderson and new signing Sébastien Haller.

Defenders

While Liverpool’s defence has not inspired confidence in Fantasy managers this week, Trent Alexander-Arnold (£7.0m) was still a popular option in the Scout Squad submissions. Neale, Paul and Geoff selected him as the best defender for Gameweek 2, David slotting him into second place. Despite conceding against Norwich, the right-back was top for key passes and big chances created at Anfield on Friday night.

Lucas Digne (£6.0m) was another hugely fashionable option according to the Scout Squad pundits, tipped by all four of them. While there are cheaper assets in the Everton defence, the £0.5m is worth paying this week for Digne’s involvement in set pieces. Watford conceded more chances from dead-ball situations between Gameweeks 21 and 38 last season. The Hornets also failed to register a single big chance in Gameweek 1, so a clean sheet is also on the cards for the Frenchman.

Neale and Geoff both selected Ainsley Maitland-Niles (£5.0m) in their Scout Squad selections ahead of Burnley’s visit to the Emirates stadium. Arsenal kept a clean sheet in Gameweek 1 and it was the right-back who got the assist for their only goal of the game.

After being the talk of the town for the last few weeks, John Lundstram (£4.0m) makes his Scout Picks debut for Gameweek 2. The Sheffield United asset faces a goal-shy Crystal Palace side this weekend and created two big chances in Gameweek 1, the joint-highest in the whole division.

Midfielders

Mohamed Salah (£12.5m) remains our favourite option in the Liverpool attack ahead of the trip to Southampton. The Saints were particularly leaky at home last season, only Manchester United managing fewer clean sheets in front of their own supporters. Furthermore, Salah was top of the league for shots in the box and shots on target in away matches in 2018/19. Any concerns over his 120-minute outing midweek were eased by Jurgen Klopp’s assurances in his Friday press conference.

While Salah was the unanimous first-choice midfielder, Raheem Sterling (£12.1m) occupied the second-place spot for all our Scout Squad pundits. No player had as many shots on target as him in Gameweek 1, while Spurs did not look too assured at the back against Aston Villa.

Like his defensive colleague, Gylfi Sigurdsson (£8.0m) looks set to benefit from Watford’s vulnerability to set-pieces in Gameweek 2. The Icelandic international created 45 chances in home matches last season, only Eden Hazard and James Maddison fashioning more than that.

Something of a left-field inclusion in the Scout Picks this week is Norwich City midfielder Emi Buendía (£6.0m). We were a big fan of Teemu Pukki in the Scout Squad but needed to save some money for spending elsewhere. Buendía is not necessarily a massive step-down though. He created three chances at Anfield on Friday night and his role in set pieces could help unlock a Newcastle side that conceded the joint-most chances from dead-ball situations in the whole of 2018/19.

Forwards

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (£11.0m) has a fantastic record of scoring against Burnley, with a brace in each of his last three matches facing the Clarets. He was also afforded the joint-highest number of big chances in home matches across the 2018/19 season.

There was plenty of backing for Bournemouth’s attack in the Scout Squad submissions but we, unfortunately, ran out of cash for one of either Callum Wilson or Ryan Fraser. Josh King (£6.5m) deputises for his Cherries colleagues then, as we expect a return to last season’s attacking form in an open game at Villa Park.

Substitutes

Martín Montoya (£4.5m) makes the bench this week, after Neale and Paul included him in their Scout Squad selection. The defender looks likely to retain his place at right wing-back for the visit of West Ham, who could be without key attacking personnel.

John McGinn (£5.5m) made a great start to life in the Premier League scoring on his top-flight debut at Spurs. Bournemouth come to Villa Park in Gameweek 2, with a defence that’s hard to trust, so we won’t be too shocked if McGinn gets more attacking returns this weekend.

As already mentioned, we didn’t have the cash for Teemu Pukki (£6.5m) in our final XI but we still think he will do well in Gameweek 2. He had three shots in the box against Liverpool, the same number he had per game in the Championship.

The Scout Picks Captain

As we mentioned last week, the Scout Picks now has a captain in the 2019/20 season.

This skipper is chosen using the conclusions of the latest Captain Sensible article and a four-way vote between 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 have signed up to Membership for the 2019/20 season.

It will be revealed to the public only when the deadline for the Gameweek has passed.

The Community Champion

Representing the community against the Scout Picks in Gameweek 2 is Hot Toddy.

They have opted for a 4-4-2 of: Leno; Digne, van Dijk, Coleman, Alexander-Arnold; Fraser, Martial, Sterling, Richarlison; Aubameyang, Pukki.

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.

Unfortunately, our Community Champion did not submit a team in Gameweek 1.

Lessons learned from Gameweek 1

• Liverpool 4-1 Norwich
• West Ham United 0-5 Manchester City
• Bournemouth 1-1 Sheffield United
• Burnley 3-0 Southampton
• Crystal Palace 0-0 Everton
• Watford 0-3 Brighton and Hove Albion
• Tottenham Hotspur 3-1 Aston Villa
• Leicester City 0-0 Wolverhampton Wanderers
• Newcastle United 0-1 Arsenal
• Manchester United 4-0 Chelsea