There are seven players with two Double Gameweek 30+ fixtures in our first Scout Picks team in three months.
We’ve gone with double-ups on Arsenal, Manchester City and Sheffield United although there are a smattering of single Gameweek options too in our selection.
After deliberating over the Scout Squad submissions made by David, Neale, Andy and Geoff, we picked what we believed to be the best XI for the next round of action.
This time we line up in 3-4-3 formation, the cost of our team coming to £84.2m, £0.8m inside our budget of £85.0m.
GOALKEEPER
Bernd Leno (£5.0m) was the most popular goalkeeper in the Scout Squad submissions this week and the only shot-stopper to be handed unanimous backing, with other routes into the Sheffield United defence preferred to Dean Henderson (£5.3m).
Only two clubs have kept more clean sheets than Arsenal this calendar year, while no Premier League has conceded fewer goals in 2020.
A shut-out away at Manchester City will be a tough ask but Leno could well compensate with save points: he has made more stops than all bar one Premier League goalkeeper this season.
DEFENDERS
For what it’s worth now, Matt Doherty (£6.3m) was in barnstorming mood before coronavirus stopped play in March.
The Irishman was FPL’s form player in Gameweeks 25-29, registering three attacking returns and four clean sheets over that period.
Top for shots in the box and big chances among defenders this season, Doherty next faces three teams who have kept just one clean sheet between them in 2020 – starting with West Ham United in Gameweek 30+.
Enda Stevens (£5.2m) and John Lundstram (£4.9m) form our defensive double-up on Sheffield United ahead of their appealing games against Aston Villa and Newcastle United.
No Bladesman has created more big chances than Stevens this season, while Lundstram’s well-documented goal threat has seen him rack up more shots than any other FPL defender in 2019/20.
The way that the previously £4.0m defender responded to losing his place in the Sheffield United team was particularly impressive. Lundstram came on to score the winner against Bournemouth in Gameweek 27 and upon his return to the starting line-up in Gameweek 29, Lundstram assisted, kept a clean sheet and secured maximum bonus for an 11-point haul.
Only Liverpool have conceded fewer goals than Chris Wilder’s side, who have kept ten clean sheets along the way.
Newcastle should be particularly obliging opponents as they sit joint-bottom for goals scored in the current campaign.
MIDFIELDERS
The first pick in midfield for all four of our Scout Squad panel, Kevin De Bruyne (£10.6m) always looked to be a shoo-in this week.
Top for chances created and assists this season, De Bruyne has five double-digit hauls to his name at the Etihad in 2019/20 and registered a 19-point haul when City last met Arsenal in December, admittedly from a more advanced role.
While we can expect plenty of minute-management over the coming Gameweek and beyond, De Bruyne’s only benching in 2019/20 came in the early-season defeat at Norwich City and he even started every match during the busy December period.
Bruno Fernandes (£8.6m) is one of our favourite single Gameweek options for this round of action after his lightning-fast start to life at Manchester United.
Since his debut, the Portuguese international has been involved in five of the Red Devils’ eight goals in that time, more than any other team-mate.
A meeting with Spurs in Double Gameweek 30+ is certainly appealing for any attacker given how leaky Jose Mourinho’s men were in the lead-up to lockdown. Between Gameweeks 24 and 29, the only team to record a higher expected goals conceded (xGC) figure than Spurs was West Ham.
Jack Grealish (£6.4m) was practically an auto-include for the Scout Picks this week, with Aston Villa’s double-header against Sheffield United and Chelsea.
No Villan has been more central to attacking output than the talismanic captain, recording seven goals and seven assists this season. His chances of attacking returns may well be boosted to the widely-reported injury to Jack O’Connell (£4.7m) too, a man who had played every league minute for Sheffield United this season.
Mason Mount (£6.2m) completes our midfield quartet ahead of an appealing single Gameweek outing.
He and the Chelsea attack have the privilege of facing the obliging Aston Villa defence over the weekend, who have given up more shots in the box and big chances than any Premier League side this season.
FORWARDS
Sergio Aguero (£11.8m), while likely to share game-time with Gabriel Jesus (£9.6m), has the best goals-per-90-minutes average (0.99) among active Premier League players this season.
Indeed, it’s a City one-two between Aguero and Jesus for shots in the box, big chances, efforts on target and penalty box touches when we apply the ‘per 90’ filter to premium forwards.
We can surely expect the Argentinian forward to get at least a full game’s worth of minutes over the two Double Gameweek 30+ fixtures, even if he gets a benching in one of the games.
Meanwhile, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (£11.1m) takes up another premium forward slot, with Arsenal also playing twice in Double Gameweek 30+.
Despite a quick turnaround between clashes with Manchester City and Brighton, we expect the forward to play signficant game-time given his consistent involvement pre-lockdown.
Aubameyang is no slouch either, scoring 17 goals in the first 29 Gameweeks, behind current Golden Boot leader Jamie Vardy (£9.7m) by just two strikes.
Raúl Jiménez (£8.1m) completes the line-up ahead of that appealing trip to West Ham.
The Mexican was inside the top five for shots inside the box between Gameweeks 23 and 29 and a consistent starter in the Wolves line-up. During that period, he found the net five times and failed to complete 90 minutes only once.
SUBSTITUTES
Dean Henderson (£5.3m) came close to getting into the first-XI but just missed out on account of Leno’s propensity for saves. The Sheffield United goalkeeper could be well-paired with Arsenal’s shot-stopper in a Bench Boost squad though.
Jamaal Lascelles (£4.3m) offers great value for Double Gameweek 30+. Not only is he extremely cheaply priced, but the Magpies also kept four clean sheets from a possible seven between Gameweeks 23 and 29. Meanwhile, Sheffield United are among the lowest scorers on the road this season, their 13 goals better only than three teams.
Anwar El Ghazi (£5.5m) looks to be a relatively nailed-on additional route into the Aston Villa midfield for Double Gameweek 30+. He is the second-highest scorer in that position among Dean Smith’s men and featured heavily on the right-side of the front-three pre-lockdown. Meanwhile, El Ghazi’s manager has previously mentioned how much the player has impressed in training this season, suggesting he could actually benefit from the absence of fans.
Mbwana Samatta (£5.8m) certainly improved Aston Villa’s attack following his January arrival. Between Gameweeks 24 and 29, Grealish was the only Villan with more shots in the box than the new centre-forward, who could prove decent value with two fixtures in Double Gameweek 30+.
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, Andy (in for Paul) and Geoff.
Because the use of Fantasy Football Scout data is used so heavily in this process, the captain we choose each Gameweek is usually known only to those who have signed up to Membership for the 2019/20 season and revealed to the public only when the deadline has passed.
Here’s how we voted:
COMMUNITY CHAMPION
Representing the community against the Scout Picks in Double Gameweek 30+ is PoldervogelsUit.
They have gone for a 3-4-3 of Henderson; Lundstram, David Luiz, Saïss, De Bruyne, Sterling, Grealish, McGinn; Aguero, Aubamayang, Abraham.
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.
In Gameweek 29, Bilal7 beat the Scout Picks 48-40.
Community Champion gwitbrock beat our Scout Picks 86-63 in Gameweek 25 and as a result, their winning margin of 23 points is now the target to beat.
Nominated for ‘Best in Fantasy Football – Editorial’ at the Football Content Awards 2020
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