Scout Picks

Gameweek 9 Scout Picks built on Chelsea and Everton attacking double-ups

Attacking double-ups for Chelsea and Everton form the spine of the Gameweek 9 Scout Picks XI.

They face Newcastle and Fulham respectively in two of the most favourable fixtures this weekend.

As ever, we have chosen our team from DavidNealeTom and Andy‘s Scout Squad submissions, released earlier this week.

We line up in the traditional 3-4-3 formation, coming in bang-on our budget of £83.0m.

Goalkeeper

Vicente Guaita (£5.0m) gets his first Scout Picks appearance of the campaign ahead of a Monday-night trip to Turf Moor. Will it prove to be his happy place? Well, Burnley remain this season’s lowest scorers after eight Gameweeks and, over the last four, are bottom of the league for shots on target (eight).

Defenders

During that same period, no club has registered fewer total attempts on goal than Newcastle (27), boosting Chelsea’s clean sheet chances in Gameweek 9. The Blues themselves have secured shut-outs in three of their last five while no Premier League defender can match Ben Chilwell (£6.0m) for key passes since Gameweek 5.

No team has conceded fewer big chances in the last four matches than Manchester United, which is why we’ve chosen Aaron Wan-Bissaka (£5.4m) for the Gameweek 9 Scout Picks. He stands in for Harry Maguire, who we initially chose but had to replace due to an injury doubt. Either way, Wan-Bissaka still stands to benefit from United’s improved defence and the fact that West Bromwich Albion are bottom of the league for big chances of their own since Gameweek 5.

Aaron Cresswell (£5.1m) went close to match Chilwell’s creativity output over the last four matches, registering just one fewer key pass than his Chelsea counterpart. A role in corners and free-kicks for West Ham is good news considering upcoming opponents Sheffield United have given up the most chances from set-plays and the second-most headed attempts since Gameweek 5.

Midfielders

Naturally, the Gameweek 9 captain poll winner Bruno Fernandes (£10.6m) makes it into the Scout Picks for a home match against West Bromwich Albion. Since Gameweek 2, no midfielder created more chances than Manchester United’s key man and he remains a persistent shooter, registering the third-highest number of shots over the same period.

Hakim Ziyech (£8.2m) has made a blistering start to life in the Premier League. In just two starts he already has four goal involvements, three of those assists. That output has looked sustainable too, considering that, in the last four matches, Ziyech is joint-top of the league for big chances created – and he’s only started two in that period. Meanwhile, he faces a Newcastle side in Gameweek 9 that has conceded the third-highest number of chances from set pieces in 2020/21.

James Rodríguez (£7.9m) could be back with a bang in Gameweek 9 as he faces a Fulham defence that has conceded at least twice in three of their four home matches this season. Crucially, no team has given up more headed attempts than them since Gameweek 5, perfect for Everton’s corner and free-kick taker.

Only Son Heung-min and Mohamed Salah have more points among midfielders than Jack Grealish (£7.5m) this season and we expect him to continue his impressive form against Brighton. The Seagulls’ possession-based style means they don’t give up many chances, but their susceptibility to the counter-attack means they still only have two clean sheets from a possible eight this season. Meanwhile, Grealish has created the joint-highest number of big chances in the last four matches and is joint-third for big chances of his own.

Forwards

Jamie Vardy (£10.1m) could benefit from Liverpool’s defensive shortages in Gameweek 9. The Reds are missing key personnel at the back right now while Leicester’s main man is joint-top of the league for big chances in the last four matches. On top of that, only two players have registered more shots on target than Vardy in that time.

Timo Werner (£9.4m) is really starting to find his feet at Chelsea. In the last four matches, just two players have boasted superior xG non penalty figures than the German international, who has recently secured spot-kick duty anyway. He faces a Newcastle side that has averaged two goals conceded per match since Gameweek 5 and who have given up more chances down their right-hand side than any other Premier League club in that time, 

Dominic Calvert-Lewin (£7.8m) could have an enjoyable Gameweek 9 meeting with Fulham’s defence, which looks tailor-made to suffer at his hands. as already mentioned, the Cottagers have conceded the joint-most number of headed attempts in the last four matches, while the majority of Calvert-Lewin’s shots this season have come from the air.

Substitutes

Selected by three of our Scout Squad pundits for Gameweek 9, top-scoring FPL goalkeeper Emiliano Martínez (£4.8m) takes a place on the bench.

Matt Targett (£4.5m) is a cheaper alternative route into the Aston Villa back-line. None of his defensive colleagues has matched his five key passes over the last four matches.

Vladimir Coufal (£4.5m) is another way to invest in West Ham’s defence for a trip to Sheffield United. He is second-only to Cresswell for crosses among all Hammers players over the last four matches.

Diogo Jota (£6.5m) looks more nailed-on to start than ever with Salah absent from Liverpool’s Gameweek 9 plans. The former Wolves man has found the net in each of his last three Premier League matches at Anfield.

THE CAPTAIN

Who are the best captain options for FPL Gameweek 36+?

We choose the Scout Picks captain using a four-way vote between our Scout Squad pundits.

Because the use of Fantasy Football Scout data is used so heavily in this process, the skipper we choose each Gameweek is known only to those with a valid Fantasy Football Scout subscription and revealed to the public only when the deadline has passed.

Here’s how we voted for Gameweek 9:

COMMUNITY CHAMPION

Each week, one of the Fantasy Football Scout community takes on the Scout Picks by pitting their chosen XI against ours.

The Community Member who beats our team by the largest margin will win a £100 Amazon Voucher and a place in our Moderators and Contributors League for the following season.

THFC4LIFE managed 62 points for the Community Champions in Gameweek 8 but the Scout Picks went 6-2 up for the season with a healthy score of 78.

claretparrot takes us on for Gameweek 9, opting for a 3-5-2 line-up of Guaita; Zouma, Cresswell, Wan-Bissaka; B Fernandes (vc), Rashford, Grealish, Richarlison, Ziyech; Calvert-Lewin (c), Vardy.

AA33 is the current leader, defeating the Scout Picks by a 53-point margin in Gameweek 2.

3,825 Comments Post a Comment
  1. Steve The Spud
    • Fantasy Football Scout Member
    • 4 Years
    3 years, 4 months ago

    Big cyber attack on Man Utd

    Imagine the scenes if the game got postponed

    1. HNI
      • 10 Years
      3 years, 4 months ago

      Its massive, thousands of people payment gateway has been compromised and money is being moved to cryptoxurrency by random IPs

  2. HNI
    • 10 Years
    3 years, 4 months ago

    Worth doing Salah to Bruno for -4 or play Mitchell/Justin. Problem is Salah has Brighton home next and he has very good record vs them, whereas WBA improved greatly vs Spurs

    1. TheGrumpyManager
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 6 Years
      3 years, 4 months ago

      No brainer for me, i did it. C on Bruno, Salah way to expensive not to play him, and Bruno with probably the best fixture in the league.

  3. TheGrumpyManager
    • Fantasy Football Scout Member
    • 6 Years
    3 years, 4 months ago

    Hi managers!
    Ryan
    Chillwell KWP Cresswell
    Sterling Bruno (c) Zaha Son
    Kane Adams DCL

    Would like to bring Villa asset in (-4)
    Grelish for Son or
    Waltkings for Adams
    Opinions?

    1. HNI
      • 10 Years
      3 years, 4 months ago

      -4 isnt worth it unless u going to captain, do next gw..can advice me above?

    2. mrelpea
      • 7 Years
      3 years, 4 months ago

      Do both! I have them both and it’s a no brainer given their fixtures and how they played vs Arsenal before the international break

      1. mrelpea
        • 7 Years
        3 years, 4 months ago

        Whoops..didn’t see about the -4 bit. I wouldn’t for a hit

        1. TheGrumpyManager
          • Fantasy Football Scout Member
          • 6 Years
          3 years, 4 months ago

          Its just the fear of missing out. Grelish is in fantastic form atm, but on the other hand Kane and Son despite difficult fixtures can still return.

          1. mrelpea
            • 7 Years
            3 years, 4 months ago

            I know what you mean. Grealish looked particularly good v Arsenal. Long term I’d be worried about son Kane double up with their fixtures tho. Even if you do grealish or Watkins next week, they still have fantastic run up to Boxing Day if I remember correctly

  4. Newsh
    • 4 Years
    3 years, 4 months ago

    Hi all. Is there an issue with the FFS fixture ticker? Doesn’t seem to be loading.

  5. Newsman70
    • 11 Years
    3 years, 4 months ago

    On a Wildcard

    Martinez Forster
    Chillwell Zouma Lamptey Targett Kilman
    KDB Bruno Ziyech Grealish Riedewald
    DCL Bamford Kane

    A Kane
    B Vardy

    Any thoughts most appreciated!

    1. mrelpea
      • 7 Years
      3 years, 4 months ago

      Definitely Vardy. Fantastic 4 fixtures after the Liverpool match and Kane will start dropping value eventually

      1. Utopsis
        • 4 Years
        3 years, 4 months ago

        Well, no not if he keeps returning

  6. Abusive_Sgt_Daelrhos
    • Fantasy Football Scout Member
    • 9 Years
    3 years, 4 months ago

    A) Bruno,Sterling,Jota,Grealish,Bissouma
    Werner,DCL,Vardy

    B) Bruno, Sterling, Mane, Grealish, Ziyech
    DCL, Watkins, Brewster

  7. trimpos
    • 3 Years
    3 years, 4 months ago

    Is saiss and sterling going to play?

  8. jaywills
    • 8 Years
    3 years, 4 months ago

    Salah to Bruno -4? Yay Nay?

  9. Snapes on a Plane
    • 9 Years
    3 years, 4 months ago

    Who to replace Saiss with?
    A)R. James
    B) Coufal
    C) Cresswell

    1. Astronautovic
      • 8 Years
      3 years, 4 months ago

      C

  10. The Reptile
    • Fantasy Football Scout Member
    • 12 Years
    3 years, 4 months ago

    Thinking of Salah out for a hit as dropping again today - who to replace him with : Ziyech OR Jota

    I already have Chilwell & Zouma so thinking of Jota as he may well step up in Salah' absence and not sure about triple Chelsea (No L'Pool)

    Opinions please?

  11. Astronautovic
    • 8 Years
    3 years, 4 months ago

    Are there any news on Rashford? Do you think he will start?

    1. RamaJama
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 11 Years
      3 years, 4 months ago

      See tweet and article, Think he’ll start

      1. Astronautovic
        • 8 Years
        3 years, 4 months ago

        Thanks mate

  12. The Bad Seed
    • 6 Years
    3 years, 4 months ago

    on WC please help me pick 3 from these 4

    Cresswell - Chilwell - Telles - Cancelo

    Any better option?

    1. Bonus magnet
      • 7 Years
      3 years, 4 months ago

      3 Cs

  13. Bonus magnet
    • 7 Years
    3 years, 4 months ago

    Is Martial injured

  14. Ciarant20
    • 5 Years
    3 years, 4 months ago

    Wildcard team gtg? In right order?

    Martinez
    Chilwell Lamptey Coufal
    Bruno Ziyech Grealish Jota KDB
    Watkins DCL
    (Foster Bamford Cancelo Kilman)

  15. The Bad Seed
    • 6 Years
    3 years, 4 months ago

    Cancelo (TOT) A

    OR

    Target (BHA) H

  16. nevins84
    • 11 Years
    3 years, 4 months ago

    Which one to play

    A)James
    B)Mitchell
    C)Targett