The Scout Squad picks for FPL Gameweek 7

The Scout Squad team have submitted their selections ahead of Gameweek 7.

In this piece, our four regular panelists – editorial staff Paul, David and Neale plus community manager Geoff – each submit an 18-man squad of Fantasy assets (with the focus on the coming Gameweek) and elaborate on their notable inclusions/omissions.

The 72 nominations listed below will then be narrowed down to a squad of 14 (with the starting XI not exceeding a total cost of £83m) for the weekly Scout Picks selection ahead of the Gameweek 7 deadline at 11:30 BST on Saturday.

There are requirements for at least one sub-£5.0m goalkeeper, at least one defender under £5.0m, at least one midfielder priced £7.0m or below and at least one forward priced at £7.0m or lower.

Each panelist is restricted to no more than three players from the same team.

We will also be adding a captaincy to the Scout Picks, with details of that revealed on Friday.

Most popular picks: Kasper Schmeichel, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Serge Aurier, Raheem Sterling, Son Heung-min, Mason Mount, Tammy Abraham (four), Tom Heaton, Mohamed Salah (three)

DAVID SAID…

The most likely team to keep a clean sheet in Gameweek 7 are Leicester in my opinion.

Newcastle have been very poor in front of goal recently, especially in away matches, so I’ve gone with both Kasper Schmeichel and Çaglar Söyüncü in my Scout Squad submission.

Against Chelsea, Trent Alexander-Arnold demonstrated once again why he is the best Liverpool option in defence and a trip to Sheffield United surely carries the potential for a double-figure haul again.

Cesar Azpilicueta is my chosen representative from the Chelsea defence. As Mr. Reliable in the Blues’ backline, he is top for key passes and joint-top for big chances created among colleagues in all positions over the last four Gameweeks.

Given Everton’s goal-scoring problems of late, the inclusion of nailed-on centre-back Nicolas Otamendi makes sense, while I fancy Serge Aurier to continue his attacking form against Southampton.

Mohamed Salah just about edges the best midfielder slot for me ahead of Gameweek 7 as I prefer his fixture to Raheem Sterling‘s.

Son Heung-min gets an inclusion against a dodgy Saints defence after registering three attacking returns in his last two appearances.

Both Mason Mount and Tammy Abraham have shown fine form in recent weeks and I’d expect them to continue that against a Brighton side that has generally struggled against Chelsea.

Meanwhile, in the probable absence of James Maddison, I’d expect Youri Tielemans to assume some of his creative responsibilities against Newcastle. While the Belgian has shot less often than Maddison in recent weeks, he is joint-top with the Englishman for key passes over the last four matches, ahead of him for big chances created during that period.

Sergio Aguero‘s form is too good to ignore going into Gameweek 7. The Manchester City forward is top of the league for shots, shots in the box and big chances across the last four matches and even if some think Everton will give him a hard time, and he has a poor record against them, it’s hard to see his output dropping this weekend.

Roberto Firmino and Sébastien Haller also make my selection up-front as they have displayed some promising underlying statistics in the Fantasy Football Scout Members Area in recent weeks.

NEALE SAID…

Sitting through the turgid goalless draw at St. James’ Park last Saturday stiffened my resolve to double up on Leicester’s backline this weekend, which I’ve done with Kasper Schmeichel and attack-minded full-back Ricardo Pereira.

The Foxes have the second-best xGC in the top flight this season, while Steve Bruce’s side have the worst xG – cue the inevitable Joelinton goal against the run of play.

I’ve doubled on Burnley’s defence, too, given that only Manchester United have allowed fewer big chances than the Clarets this season. With Villa having conceded the most opportunities from set plays in 2019/20, maybe James Tarkowski will finally come good on his goal threat; I can certainly see him and Ben Mee bullying Wesley out of the game at the other end.

Serge Aurier was second among FPL defenders for final third touches in Gameweek 6 and was desperately unfortunate to come away from Leicester with neither a clean sheet or a goal, so the visit of a Southampton side who have chronic problems at left-back gives the Ivorian a decent chance of banking returns at either end of the pitch.

I probably don’t need to discuss my attacking picks for Liverpool, Chelsea and Spurs at any great length given their respective fixtures but I’ve tried to curb the spending slightly by omitting Mohamed Salah, who will be up against a dogged Sheffield United defence that hasn’t conceded more than two goals in a league match this season.

Aside from the usual suspects, I’ve plumped for a man yet to deliver an attacking return in 2019/20: Wilfried Zaha.

The Ivorian looked a little more like his old self on Sunday and no FPL midfielder had more touches in the last third or registered more take-ons in Gameweek 6. With poor travellers (and defenders) Norwich in town, perhaps the goal-shy Eagles can finally give the Selhurst Park faithful something to shout about.

Watford’s defensive woes are well-documented but Wolves have also been uncharacteristically porous this season, so the goals should rain at Molineux.

Two players who haven’t been harmed by moves to the left flank in recent weeks represent my mid-price forward punts, with Gerard Deulofeu and Diogo Jota having looked more like their 2018/19 incarnations in Gameweeks 5 and 6 respectively.

The versatile Adama Traore has also made my picks and gives us a much-needed budget option should we need to free up cash.

Whether he’s at wing-back or on the right of a front three this weekend, he could make hay against the ageing Jose Holebas with his pace. His end product has been improving, too, with his four successful crosses at Selhurst Park only been bettered by Kevin De Bruyne in Gameweek 6.

PAUL SAID…

Liverpool, Man City, Spurs and Chelsea have favourable fixtures that could merit backing all four at both ends of the pitch in our Gameweek 7 picks.

As usual, I’ll focus on a handful of differentials for the weekend’s matches.

An injury to his rival, Emerson, should hand Marcos Alonso a third straight start as Chelsea welcome Brighton to Stamford Bridge.

The Spaniard ranks among the top three defenders for crosses (12) and chances created (four) in the last two rounds of matches, earning an assist over that period.

Up against an attack with two goals in the last five Gameweeks, Alonso –who is owned by just 2.3% – can serve a timely reminder of his potential as a big-hitter at the back.

Andriy Yarmolenko is another overlooked option as West Ham visit Bournemouth’s frail defence.

The Ukrainian has scored in two of the last three fixtures and has decent numbers since earning his first start of the season in Gameweek 3.

Yarmolenko’s six shots in the box rank second for the Hammers during that period, with only two FPL midfielders surpassing his five efforts on target.

Quique Sanchez Flores’ return to Watford looks to have revived the prospects of Gerard Deulofeu.

Sitting in just 2.1% of squads, the former Barcelona man is the top-ranked forward for shots on target (seven) and chances created (eight) in the last two Gameweeks.

After last weekend’s mauling at the Etihad, Deulofeu could be among the points away to Wolves.

His hosts have yet to keep a clean sheet at Molineux, shipping five against Chelsea in the previous fixture in front of their own supporters.

GEOFF SAID…

Playing in the lone Sunday kick-off, Kasper Schmeichel looks great value against a Newcastle side who showed very little in Gameweek 6 against Brighton. Huge Lloris will look to help Tottenham bounce back against a goal-shy Southampton side, while Tom Heaton is looking for a third straight home clean sheet.

After Trent Alexander-Arnold, I opt for the attacking threat of Marcos Alonso over Fikayo Tomori, and pick Çaglar Söyüncü over the more expensive Ricardo Pereira. I expect Serge Aurier to come back into the side after missing out in midweek. In Gameweek 6, Tyrone Mings showed Arsenal exactly the kind of central defender they need. He’ll relish the battle against the strong Burnley forwards and could come out with a strong score.

Mohamed Salah and Raheem Sterling top my midfield picks but, with attacking returns in three straight Son Heung-min runs them close for a Spurs side who need a result after a poor run. Mason Mount embarks on a strong run of fixtures in Gameweek 7. I go off the board slightly with my fifth pick with Wilfried Zaha. Without attacking returns this season, I expect him to open his account against a shaky Norwich defence.

Harry Kane leads my line against Southampton, who have only one clean sheet this season. Tammy Abraham completes my Chelsea triple-up, with seven goals in the last four and his only blank against Liverpool. I also look to Jamie Vardy who is averaging two attacking returns per game against teams that finished outside of last season’s top seven. Finally, while Teemu Pukki has blanked in two straight away games and Crystal Palace have strong home form, I expect Norwich to score and Pukki to put a halt to those trends.

The Community Champion

Representing the community against the Scout Picks in Gameweek 7 will be The Greenback Boogie, who is currently lurking just outside the top 20k in the world.

Last week, Irfansheikh beat the Scout Picks 89-72 with a 3-4-3 line-up of Dubravka (6); Aurier (1), Pieters (7), Willems (6); Salah (5), De Bruyne (c – 34), D Silva (11), McNeil (6); Aguero (9), Rashford (2), Abraham (2).

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.

Irfansheikh’s 17-point winning margin is now the target to beat.