The Scout Picks are placing their trust in Jose Mourinho’s Tottenham Hotspur for Gameweek 14.
The former Manchester United manager has overseen a positive start to life in north London and his first league match against Bournemouth looks set to continue that.
We have deliberated over the Scout Squad selections submitted by David, Neale, Paul and Geoff to come up with our best XI for Gameweek 14.
We line up in the classic 3-4-3 formation and have come in at £82.6m, £0.4m below our budget of £83.0m.
Goalkeeper
Burnley have been a reliable source of clean sheets at Turf Moor this season, especially when they are hosting the so-called lesser clubs. In fact, the Clarets are yet to concede a single goal at home to a side that finished outside of the top-six last season, which is why Nick Pope (£4.7m) is an obvious inclusion for the Scout Picks in goal. It also helps that only two sides have registered fewer shows inside the penalty box as Crystal Palace in their last four away matches.
Defenders
Yes, another week has gone by without any attacking returns for Trent Alexander-Arnold (£7.2m) but we continue to insist that he is due a haul. Over the last four Gameweeks, no player in the Premier League has created as many chances and his colleague Andrew Robertson has played half as many key passes. In the last four home matches, Liverpool rank second-best for big chances conceded while Brighton have blanked in both of their away trips to top-six opposition this season.
Fikayo Tomori (£4.9m) continues to offer an excellent budget route into a Chelsea defence that has proven reliable at Stamford Bridge this season. In the last four home matches, Frank Lampard’s men have conceded the fewest shots in the box and goal attempts on target while West Ham have blanked in three of their last four away trips.
Serge Aurier (£4.9m) has started life under Jose Mourinho exceptionally well with an assist and a goal in the Portuguese’s first two matches in charge. A home match with Bournemouth is a great opportunity for another positive performance. The Cherries have disappointed going forward of late, finding the net just once in their last three away games, while Spurs are top of the league for fewest big chances conceded in their last four home encounters.
Midfielders
Sadio Mané (£12.2m) was the most popular midfielder in our Scout Squad selection, tipped as the best option in this position by three of our pundits. You have to go all the way back to Gameweek 3 for the last time the Liverpool man blanked at home while Brighton have conceded at least twice in each of their last three away matches while only West Ham have allowed more big chances on the road this season.
Son Heung-min (£9.7m) has already emerged as the early favourite for investment in the Spurs attack after a 13-point haul against West Ham and an assist midweek. Over the last four Gameweeks he has been afforded the joint fifth-most big chances in the league and has created more big chances than Kevin de Bruyne and James Maddison. With goals and assists looking likely, he could enjoy a meeting with Bournemouth, who have just one clean sheet in six away matches this season.
Christian Pulisic (£7.5m) has very quickly become the most appealing Chelsea attacker ahead of West Ham’s visit to Stamford Bridge. Since Gameweek 10 he has scored more points than any of his colleagues and has registered the second-highest number of shots on target in the division. The Hammers come to Chelsea on the back of woeful defensive form having conceded three goals in each of their last three outings.
Like his colleague, Lucas Moura (£7.0m) has hit the ground running with Mourinho at the Spurs helm. Having returned to his favoured position as a winger, he scored at West Ham and provided an assisted in the comeback win over Olympiakos. Given Bournemouth’s recent defensive shortcomings on the road, and the fact that they have conceded at least four times in three of their last five meetings with Spurs, we think a double-up could perform well in Gameweek 14.
Forwards
Jamie Vardy (£9.7m) is in truly incredible form heading into Gameweek 14. Over the last four Gameweeks, he is top of the league for big chances and shots on target, suggesting he is more than capable of sustaining his goal output. Meanwhile, Everton come to the King Power Stadium without a clean sheet on the road since Gameweek 1.
Manchester United might not have been at their best in their 3-3 draw with Sheffield United, but Marcus Rashford (£8.6m) still continued his impressive run of Fantasy form. He now has six attacking returns in the last five Gameweeks, while only Vardy and one other player have managed more shots in the box over their last four matches. This weekend, Rashford faces an Aston Villa defence that has allowed more shots in the box away from home this season.
Chris Wood (£6.2m) looks likely to continue his impressive scoring run in Gameweek 14. He has six goals in as many Premier League starts since Gameweek 6 while only Vardy has been afforded more big chances in their last four matches than Wood. During that time, only Southampton have conceded more headed attempts too, which should play to the New Zealand international’s strengths.
Substitutes
As already mentioned, Spurs have conceded very few big chances in their recent home encounters and with Mourinho bringing some much-needed organisation to his new defence, Paulo Gazzaniga (£4.4m) can continue to be a viable form of budget investment.
Çaglar Söyüncü (£5.0m) has helped Leicester to clean sheets in each of the last four Gameweeks. With Everton coming to the King Power Stadium on the back of poor form and potentially about to lose their manager, there’s every chance the Foxes can record another shut-out.
Kurt Zouma (£4.7m) has recently made a case for inclusion in our squads. Benefitting from the same defensive strengths as Tomori, he arguably has greater goal threat. Zouma has been on the end of seven dead-ball deliveries this season, more than any of his colleagues.
Dwight McNeil (£6.0m) presents an alternative route into the Burnley attack. He has been the most creative asset in the Clarets’ midfield this season and his crossing ability makes him the most likely to benefit from Crystal Palace’s weakness to headers.
The Captain
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.
Here’s how we voted for Gameweek 14:
Community Champion
Representing the community against the Scout Picks in Gameweek 14 is Beavis.
They have gone for a 4-3-3 of Schmeichel; Robertson, Söyüncü, Tomori, Zouma; Son, Salah, Pulisic; Kane (c), Vardy, Wood.
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.
Community Champion Dr. Mantis Toboggan was victorious in Gameweek 13, winning by a 56-44 score-line.
The current winning margin of 17 points recorded by irfansheikh in Gameweek 7 and AK in Gameweek 10 remains the score to beat.
Nominated for ‘Best in Fantasy Football – Editorial’ at the Football Content Awards 2020
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