A Manchester City triple-up underpins the Scout Picks squad for Gameweek 4 as they prepare to host Brighton at the Etihad Stadium on Saturday afternoon.
Selecting just three of their players proved difficult and we had to make some difficult choices sifting through David, Neale, Paul and Geoff’s Scout Squad submissions.
This week we line up in a 3-5-2 formation coming in at £82.9m, just £0.1m under our budget of £83.0m.
Goalkeeper
Budget goalkeeper Tom Heaton (£4.5m) is our man between the sticks for Gameweek 4 after all four of our Scout Squad pundits included him in their submissions. Aston Villa
Defenders
Liverpool’s defence has been hard to trust for clean sheets so far this season, but Trent Alexander-Arnold (£7.0m) is still displaying plenty of attacking threat. His 11 chances created so far this season is the second-best in the entire league, of any player in any position, such is his threat both from set-pieces and from open play. Therefore, he stands an excellent chance of being involved in Liverpool’s goals at Burnley. Three of our Scout Squad pundits selected him as the best choice defender this week, David putting him in the second slot.
Lucas Digne (£6.1m) gets into the Scout Picks for the third week in four as Everton prepare to host Wolves on Sunday afternoon. Nuno Espirito Santo’s men have been particularly goal-shy in the Premier League so far this season, finding the net just twice, once from the penalty
With Brighton coming to the Etihad Stadium in Gameweek 4, a Manchester City defender should prove important. That’s why Oleksandr Zinchenko (£5.5m) gets back into the Scout Picks for the first time since Gameweek 1 after David and Paul tipped him in their submissions. Pep Guardiola’s men have conceded the fewest shots and goal attempts in the box over the first three Gameweeks, arguably unfortunate to let in two set-piece goals in both of their most recent outings. Meanwhile, Zinchenko played more key passes than any of his colleagues in the Gameweek 3 win over Bournemouth.
Midfielders
Raheem Sterling (£12.3m) is the best midfielder for Gameweek 4 for each one of our Scout Squad panel. The Manchester City attacker has five goals in his first three matches of the campaign and is also top of the league for shots inside the box and big chances. After registering a goal and two assists in two league matches against a more defence-minded Brighton outfit last season, it seems unlikely that Graham Potter’s new-look forward-thinking side will stop Sterling’s excellent run of form at the Etihad Stadium.
Mohamed Salah (£12.5m) is welcomed back to the Scout Picks XI after a week out in the cold, one in which he punished our lack of faith with a 15-point haul. The Egyptian very much looked back to his best against Arsenal, after underwhelming performances in Gameweeks 1 and 2. Burnley at Turf Moor is not an especially easy fixture, but if Liverpool are to make a breakthrough this weekend, Salah is the most likely to score based on his penalty-taking duties, and more shots on target than any other colleague so far this season.
Kevin de Bruyne (£9.7m) has been an exceptional creator in the league so far this season. He has played more key passes than any other player across the first three Gameweeks, fashioning the
Fully recovered from his dead-leg against Norwich, Mason Mount (£6.2m) makes his debut in the Scout Picks XI. He is the latest differential option to get promoted to the top-flight of FFS advice, this week ahead of Sheffield United’s trip to Stamford Bridge. The Blades are not likely to be pushovers on Saturday afternoon but Mount looks like one of Chelsea’s key players under Frank Lampard already. He ranks top among his colleagues for goal attempts and shots on target, which is why the midfielder averages 6.7 points per game so far.
Todd Cantwell (£4.7m) is looking like a very effective enabler this season given his budget price and attacking potential. The ongoing injury to Norwich midfielder Onel Hernández should ensure the 21-year-old continues to start games on the left flank of Daniel Farke’s attacking 4-2-3-1 formation. That has allowed Cantwell to register three attacking returns in the first three matches of the season. Against a West Ham defence that has not looked solid at all this season, we are backing the budget man to continue his run of form.
Forwards
Sébastien Haller (£7.4m) gets into the Scout Picks after being tipped by all four of our Scout Squad pundits. Paul was especially fond of the West Ham man, selecting him as the best forward for Gameweek 4. Norwich’s defence has been quite obliging in the early part of the season, conceding more shots on target than any other side, and letting in the highest number of goals so far (eight). Haller looks a decent candidate to capitalise on the Canaries’ weaknesses at the back, having found the net twice against an equally leaky Watford defence in Gameweek 2.
As David mentioned in his Scout Squad submission, Teemu Pukki (£7.0m) has almost become an auto-include for the Scout Picks at this point. He has five goals in the first three matches of the season and from what we can see of the underlying statistics, this output in terms of attacking returns looks sustainable. We’ve already covered how poor West Ham’s defence has been in recent weeks in our entry for Cantwell, so against them, it seems unlikely that Pukki’s scoring run will come to an end.
Substitutes
Emerson (£5.5m) has been showing plenty of potential in the early weeks of 2019/20. The Chelsea left-back is joint-top for attempts on goal among defenders and is joint-second for efforts inside the box. Clean sheets have not been forthcoming for the Blues just yet, but a home match with Sheffield United could be the perfect opportunity for Emerson to deliver his first returns of the campaign.
Daniel James (£6.0m) has been a rare positive spark for Manchester United so far this season, finding the net on two occasions already. The injury to Anthony Martial should see his place in the side assured for Gameweek 4 and given he has had more shots inside the box than any other Red Devil in 2019/20, his goal threat is already making itself known.
Joelinton (£5.9m) gets onto the Scout Picks bench after also making into our Spot the Differential article for Gameweek 4. The Newcastle forward managed to find the net with very little service against Spurs last weekend and may enjoy more opportunities against a Watford defence that has started the season in poor form.
The Scout Picks’ Captain
As we have mentioned many times since the season began, the Scout Picks now has a captain for the 2019/20 campaign.
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 4 is InsaneFC.
They have opted for a 3-4-3 of Kepa; Zinchenko, Digne, Alexander-Arnold; Sterling, Lanzini, Mount, Maddison; Haller, Aguero (c), 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.
It was a close defeat for the Scout Picks in Gameweek 3 as FPL Mike the Knight won by a 46-44 scoreline.
That means Hot Toddy’s 10-point winning margin from Gameweek 2 remains the current score to beat.
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