Blank Gameweek 33 Scout Picks features Liverpool triple-up

A Liverpool triple-up forms the spine of our Blank Gameweek 33 Scout Picks XI.

After David, Neale, Tom and Andy submitted their most recent Scout Squad selections, we chose our best line-up for the upcoming round of action.

We are in the usual 3-4-3 formation with a team that comes in at £82.6m, £0.4m inside our budget of £83.0m.

Because Leicester host West Bromwich Albion in the final match of Double Gameweek 32 on Thursday evening, this team is subject to change due to any unforeseen circumstances that take place at the King Power Stadium.

Goalkeeper

Sheffield United are still the Premier League’s lowest-scorers with just 17 goals in 32 matches this season. Over the last six, they are bottom of the division for goal conversion rate (4.8%) while Robert Sánchez (£4.5m) and the Brighton defence have the second-best figure for expected goals conceded (xGC) and three clean sheets.

Defenders

Trent Alexander-Arnold (£7.5m) is back to his best, supplying 52 points over his last seven outings, working out at 7.4 per match. During the last six, he is top among all defenders for key passes and no Premier League player has created more big chances than him.

Only Sheffield United have landed fewer shots on target since Double Gameweek 26 than Crystal Palace suggesting there is clean sheet potential for Timothy Castagne (£5.7m) this weekend.

Since Gameweek 21, Luke Shaw (£5.4m) has provided four assists, a goal and four clean sheets for a total of 66 points and 5.5 per match. Manchester United are still inside the top four for xGC in the last six matches, a period in which Alexander-Arnold is the only defender to have created more chances than Shaw.

Midfielders

Fresh from a Gameweek 32 rest, Mohamed Salah (£12.6m) is in line to start for Liverpool when Newcastle come to Anfield. The Egyptian has scored in each of his last two Premier League starts and, over his last six matches, is behind only Harry Kane for total shots in the box.

Bruno Fernandes (£11.6m) may only have two attacking returns in his last seven matches but facing Leeds in Blank Gameweek 33 could be the ideal chance for him to get back in the goals. The Portuguese international has dispatched eight penalties this season, while Leeds have given up the joint-highest number of spot-kicks in 2020/21 (eight).

With three goals in his last four league appearances, Diogo Jota (£7.0m) could exploit a weakness in Newcastle’s defence on Saturday lunchtime. Newcastle rank second-worst for headed attempts conceded over the last six matches and, during the same period, Jota is second-highest among Liverpool midfielders for aerial efforts while no colleague has matched his eight shots on target.

Jesse Lingard (£6.6m) cannot stop scoring, still only blanking in one start since joining West Ham on loan. During the last six matches, Lingard has accumulated the second-highest number of big chances among all Premier League players, while only two have mustered more shots on target than him.

Forwards

Jamie Vardy (£10.1m) has been outperformed by his strike partner of late but there is still plenty of reason to believe he can reward his 19.8% ownership in Blank Gameweek 33. Over the last six, Crystal Palace rank inside the Premier League’s three worst sides for xGC while Vardy is joint-top for big chances created. Effectively, if Leicester do pierce the Eagles’ back-line, the centre-forward stands a strong chance of having assisted it.

Which leads us to Kelechi Iheanacho (£6.1m), who has seven Premier League goals in his last five outings. He has produced maximum bonus in four of those and, across his last six, is joint-top of the Premier League for big chances and joint-third for shots on target.

Ahead of facing Sheffield United, Danny Welbeck (£5.5m) earns a place in the Scout Picks. The Blades still have the Premier League’s worst xGC figure over the last six matches while budget enabler Welbeck has three attacking returns in his last five.

SUBSTITUTES

• Emiliano Martínez (£5.4m)
• Conor Coady (£4.9m)
• Joël Veltman (£4.4m)
• Bukayo Saka (£5.1m)

THE CAPTAIN

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

Because we use Fantasy Football Scout data 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 Blank Gameweek 33:

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