Cheaper options dominate Gameweek 15 Scout Picks

The Fantasy Football Scout team have chosen the Scout Picks line-up for Gameweek 15.

With the quick turnaround after Gameweek 14, we had no time for a Scout Squad pool so the editorial staff picked the best XI from scratch.

For Tuesday’s deadline, we are lining up in a 3-4-3 formation and have come in at £81.0m, £2.0m underneath our budget of £83.0m.

Goalkeeper

Vicente Guaita (£5.0m) is our goalkeeper of choice for Gameweek 15 as Crystal Palace prepare to host Bournemouth. The Cherries have struggled in front of goal of late, blanking in two of their last four away trips and joint-worst in the league for big chances in such matches too. Meanwhile, Crystal Palace have kept four clean sheets in five matches against sides ranked 10th or below this season and Guaita himself is yet to concede in three meetings with such teams at Selhurst Park too.

Defenders

After finally delivering on his promise in Gameweek 14 with a 10-point haul, Trent Alexander-Arnold (£7.2m) gets back into the Scout Picks once again. Wednesday night pits Liverpool against their Merseyside rivals Everton, who have conceded seven goals from set-piece situations this season, only Aston Villa have let in more. That plays right into Alexander-Arnold’s hands, as does the fact that only Norwich and Watford have scored fewer goals away from home than the Toffees in 2019/20.

Ben Chilwell (£5.9m) is our chosen representative from the Leicester defence as they prepare to host a managerless Watford side. The Hornets are joint-bottom of the league for big chances in their last four away matches while the Foxes are in the top three for fewest shots in the box allowed over the last four Gameweeks. Meanwhile, Chilwell himself ranks second among Leicester players for chances created since Gameweek 11, only James Maddison generating more.

John Lundstram (£5.0m) could be set for another monster haul as Newcastle come to Bramall Lane in Gameweek 15. The Sheffield United man has scored 48 points in home matches this season, an average of 6.9 per game, from three clean sheets, three goals and one assist. Lundstram appears capable of securing any type of attacking return on Thursday night. Newcastle remain the joint third-worst scorers away from home this season and only one side has allowed more shots in the box over the last four Gameweeks.

Midfielders

Set-pieces helped us decide between Sadio Mané (£12.2m) and colleague Mohamed Salah for Gameweek 15. We felt that both players looked likely to score from open play but the Senegalese international has had the most attempts from dead-ball situations of any Liverpool player outside of Virgil van Dijk this season. The fact that Everton have struggled to defend from the air this season and the fact that Mané has blanked just once at home since Gameweek 3, suggest an immediate return to form for Liverpool’s number 10.

Son Heung-min (£9.8m) just edges out his colleague Dele Alli as our representative from Jose Mourinho’s resurgent Tottenham side. In two Premier League matches under the former Manchester United man, the South Korean has averaged 11.5 points game, Alli just behind him on nine per game. Meanwhile, the Red Devils last kept a clean sheet at home in Gameweek 5.

Since breaking into the Chelsea team in Gameweek 10, only one player in the Premier League has registered more shots on target than Christian Pulisic (£7.5m). While the American failed to find the net against West Ham on Saturday, he had more shots in the box than any other player at Stamford Bridge. Therefore, when Aston Villa come to London on Wednesday evening having allowed more goal attempts in the penalty area than any side in the division this season, Pulisic should have plenty of opportunities to score.

The return of Christoph Zimmermann has helped Norwich undergo a recent resurgence, picking up four points against Everton and Arsenal since Gameweek 13. Todd Cantwell (£4.6m) has found the net in each of those two matches and faces a Southampton defence in Gameweek 15 that has conceded more shots in the box than any other side over the last four matches and has generally struggled to defend the flanks at home.

Forwards

Jamie Vardy (£9.9m) has very much become an auto-include option for the Scout Picks each week. He has scored eight goals in the last six matches and has not blanked since Gameweek 8, chipping in with three assists since then and three double-figure hauls. Managerless Watford come to the King Power Stadium having conceded two goals or more in three of their last four outings.

Raúl Jiménez (£7.7m) is on a similarly reliable run of success for his Fantasy owners. The Wolves forward has assisted or scored in six of the last seven Gameweeks, averaging seven points per game across that period. Meanwhile, West Ham have conceded three goals in three of their last four matches and, even though David Martin has replaced Roberto in goal, the Hammers still gave up a deluge of shots against Chelsea. For that reason, Jiménez stands a strong chance of scoring in Gameweek 15, having registered more penalty box shots than any other player in the league over his last four matches.

Danny Ings (£6.2m) is on an incredible run of scoring form, having found the net six times in the last eight matches. He seems to have shaken off concerns over his fitness too, completing 90 minutes twice since Gameweek 12. Gameweek 15 pits Ings against a Norwich side that has conceded 162 shots in the box this season, the second-worst in the division.

Substitutes

Dean Henderson (£4.7m) is a cheaper route into the Sheffield United defence or a way to double-up on it for a meeting with Newcastle on Thursday night. 

Wolves and Conor Coady (£5.0m) are in with a decent chance of a clean sheet against West Ham on Wednesday evening. Over the last four Gameweeks, only three teams have conceded fewer big chances than Nuno Espirito Santo’s men, while the Hammers are in the Premier League’s bottom three for shots in the box across their last four away matches and joint-bottom of the division for big chances in such games too.

Çaglar Söyüncü (£5.0m) is our cheaper alternative into the Leicester defence for their appealing home match with Watford.

As Lundstram and Mousset continue to rise in price, John Fleck (£4.8m) could offer a cheaper alternative for those looking to invest in Sheffield United’s attack. He has three attacking returns across his last two at Bramall Lane and faces a Newcastle side with a poor defensive record on the road this season.

The Captain

The Scout Picks 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.

Community Champion

Representing the community against the Scout Picks in Gameweek 15 is Camzy.

They have gone for a 3-4-3 of Schmeichel; Doherty, Lundstram, Pereira; Pulisic, Sterling, Son, Zaha; Vardy (c), Pukki, Jiménez.

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 Beavis was defeated in Gameweek 14, the Scout Picks winning by a 48-37. 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.