Manchester City help form the spine of our Scout Picks team for Gameweek 10.
As Pep Guardiola’s men prepare to face Burnley, a side they have good history again, we have chosen three of his players.
We chose this team from the Scout Squad submissions made by David, Neale, Tom and Andy earlier in the week and, as per usual, we’re in 3-4-3 formation.
Goalkeeper
Sam Johnstone (£4.5m) is our budget goalkeeper for Gameweek 10, treated to a rare appearance in the Scout Picks courtesy of his favourable fixture. No team has scored fewer times than Sheffield United this season, who have managed just one goal from open play. If, by some miracle, the Blades spark into life at the Hawthorns on Saturday, the fact that Johnstone has made the second-most saves in 2020/21 (38) should come in handy.
Defenders
Andrew Robertson (£7.1m) could be the key to unlocking Brighton on Saturday lunch-time. With Tariq Lamptey suspended, the Seagulls will be unlikely to shunt Liverpool’s left-sided defender back to the same extent, paving the way for him to have a big say in proceedings. None of Robertson’s colleagues has bested him for big chances created over his last four matches.
Only two teams have given up fewer big chances than Manchester City since Gameweek 6, boosting their clean sheet potential for a meeting with the Premier League’s joint-lowest scorers in Burnley. Rúben Dias (£5.5m) is our chosen representative from the Citizens’ back-line as one of the most likely starters this weekend.
James Justin (£4.8m) gets into the Scout Picks for Gameweek 10 on the back of his potential at both ends of the pitch. Fulham are in the bottom five for shot accuracy over the last four matches while their poor defence boosts the attacking credentials of Leicester’s attacking wing-backs.
Midfielders
While Burnley’s defence has been delivering for its Fantasy investors in recent favourable home matches, they have lost their last five trips to the Etihad Stadium (in all competitions) by a combined score of 22-1. The last three of these were all 5-0 defeats. Enter Kevin De Bruyne (£11.6m), rested midweek and top among Manchester City players for big chances created and attempts on goal over his last four matches.
Bruno Fernandes (£10.8m) is the true away-day specialist in the Premier League this season with double-figure hauls in each of his road trips thus far. He has scored and assisted on each of those occasions too. While Southampton are yet to concede at home since the 5-2 defeat to Spurs, their opponents in that time (West Bromwich Albion, Everton without key personnel and Newcastle) were certainly below what Manchester United are capable of offering.
A midweek rest is enough to convince us Diogo Jota (£6.7m) will play a significant part in Liverpool’s trip to Brighton on Saturday lunch-time, especially given how flat their Champions League performance was. The former Wolves man is giving his new colleagues a run for their money right now, having registered more shots in the box (from fewer minutes) than Sadio Mané in the last four and registering the same number of big chances as Mohamed Salah. And even if Jota doesn’t start at the Amex Stadium, we know he is capable of scoring from the bench.
Phil Foden (£6.5m) gets into the Scout Picks as a value attacking option that allows greater spending elsewhere. In the last four Premier League matches only one Manchester City players has managed more shots on target than the Englishman, while only De Bruyne is ahead for minutes per chance.
Forwards
Even though Jamie Vardy (£10.2m) has averaged 2.7 points per home appearance in 2020/21, the visit of Fulham to the King Power Stadium is as good a time as any to back the Leicester man. He ranks second for big chances and shots on target over the last four matches while the Cottagers have let in 1.5 goals per game over that period.
Leeds might be a little more robust defensively following the return of Kalvin Phillips, but Dominic Calvert-Lewin (£7.9m) is still worth his salt as a Fantasy asset this week. Even in matches with their best defensive midfielder in the side, the Whites still concede 1.5 goals per game, while the return of Richarlison from and James Rodríguez to full fitness is good news for Everton’s main man. In nine Gameweeks this season, Calvert-Lewin still only has one blank.
Gameweek 10 looks like Patrick Bamford‘s (£6.1m) time to shine after the misfortune of blanking at Arsenal. Only Sheffield United have a worse expected goals conceded (xGC) score over the last four matches than Everton, while Bamford is top of the league for shots in the box, big chances and shots on target over the same period. Meanwhile, 65% of his points have in away matches this season.
Substitutes
Vicente Guaita (£5.0m) has earned a save point in two of his last three matches and faces a Newcastle side that has failed to score in their last two.
Jamal Lewis (£4.3m) could benefit from Crystal Palace’s own problems. They go into Gameweek 10 short of Wilfried Zaha, whose absence led to a toothless Eagles attack against Burnley.
Anyone who starts Max Kilman (£4.3m) in Gameweek 10 could be rewarded with a cheeky clean sheet based on Arsenal’s recent form. They have scored just once in their last five Premier League matches, the penalty netted by Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang at Manchester United in Gameweek 7.
Jack Harrison (£5.5m) is an alternative route into the Leeds attack set to face Everton’s surprisingly poor defence. He has played 13 key passes in the last four, the second-most in the Premier League during that time.
THE CAPTAIN
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 10:
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.
claretparrot managed to break the Scout Picks run of five wins on the bounce in Gameweek 9, winning by a very tight margin of 75 points to our 73. That pulled one back for the Community Champions, who trail the Scout Picks 6-3 this season.
asquishypotato takes us on for Gameweek 10, opting for a 4-4-2 line-up of Guaita; Robertson, Walker, Dias, Cresswell; De Bruyne (c), B Fernandes, H Barnes, Jota; Vardy, Calvert-Lewin.
AA33 is the current leader, defeating the Scout Picks by a 53-point margin in Gameweek 2.
