The Scout Squad’s best FPL players for Gameweek 7

The best Fantasy Premier League (FPL) players for Gameweek 7 are debated by Fantasy Football Scout contributors Az, Sam, Neale and Tom.

For those new to this feature, it’s a weekly piece that always takes the form of a ‘Free Hit’-type selection for the upcoming Gameweek.

All of our panelists have put forward an 18-man long-list of Fantasy assets and will explain their notable inclusions and omissions below.

It also serves as a precursor to the Scout Picks, as the players listed will then be narrowed down to a squad of 15 (with the starting XI not exceeding a total cost of £83.0m) for final our weekly selection.

Each writer must meet the following requirements:

• At least one goalkeeper costing £5.0m or less
• At least one sub-£5.0m defender
• At least one midfielder listed at £6.5m or below
• At least one forward priced at £7.0m or lower
• No more than three players from the same club

SCOUT SQUAD PICKS OF THE BEST FPL PLAYERS FOR GAMEWEEK 7

Most popular picks: Marcos Alonso, Nelson Semedo, Michail Antonio, Romelu Lukaku, Raul Jimenez (four), Jose Sa, Ismaila Sarr, Raphinha, Cristiano Ronaldo (three)

AZ SAID…

I’ve been hoping that a standout Chelsea midfielder would emerge from the plethora of options available to the Blues but with both Kai Havertz and Mason Mount failing their auditions, I strongly believe a defensive double-up paired with Romelu Lukaku is the way to go for anyone looking to tap into their kind run.

Aside from Chelsea v Southampton and potentially West Ham v Brentford, I’m struggling to see any games that scream “goals, goals, goals” to me, and even the showdown at Stamford Bridge could see a stubborn Southampton side frustrate Thomas Tuchel’s men.

Wolves v Newcastle looks a good bet for a home win, but I still wonder if they have enough to really blow a team away, or whether we might see another 1-0 or low-scoring game. Still, with Nelson Semedo looking lively and Raul Jimenez scoring after his lengthy injury lay-off, selecting these two players looks fairly assured.

In midfield, I’ve ignored the many options at Liverpool and City where I think we might see a tight game and instead favoured more budget options such as the impressive Bukayo Saka, Raphinha and Ismaila Sarr. Mason Greenwood also makes the cut after a positive showing against Villa where he was unlucky to come away with nothing.

My top pick for this week, Son Heung-min, continues to tick over despite poor Spurs performances. With Harry Kane still looking out of sorts, the team will surely be looking to Son to drive them to a much-needed victory.

Up front, Romelu Lukaku picks himself and I’ve gone for both Said Antonio and Ivan Toney in what could be a real ding-dong of a match. This means that Cristiano Ronaldo falls to fourth in my top picks of the week and I’ll likely be selling him this week as I always planned.

SAM SAID…

The Chelsea fixture swing starts now and so it makes sense to triple up on them. Even with blanks in each of his last two I expect Romelu Lukaku to do well this Gameweek. The Blues’ midfield is a minefield though and so my other two Chelsea picks come in defence. With Reece James out, I’m playing it safe with Antonio Rudiger and taking a slight risk with Marcos Alonso, whose attacking threat is unparalleled among Thomas Tuchel’s backline.

Wolves have a nice fixture against a Newcastle side still missing Callum Wilson and in Nelson Semedo they have a defender who has the potential for both a shut-out and attacking returns in Gameweek 7. Vladimir Coufal and Kieran Tierney also offer offensive threat and clean sheet potential this weekend.

Said Benrahma has returned 42 points so far this season including three double-digit hauls. We saw that the Brentford defence can be breached in Gameweek 6 and so I suspect he and Michail Antonio will be good picks this weekend.

Lucas Moura is a slightly rogue pick for Gameweek 7 given that he is playing in a Spurs team that have lost their last three matches. However, in the north London derby, Moura was the more threatening and most committed Spurs player. The Lilywhites really need a bounce back against Villa, so Moura could be the spur for that.

Of course, Mohamed Salah makes my picks regardless of the fixture!

TOM SAID…

Aside from Chelsea, clean sheets look quite hard to call this week. Even Manchester United’s home tie against an Everton side missing Dominic Calvert-Lewin and Richarlison is far from straightforward, but despite that, I’m happy enough to back Luke Shaw again for his attacking threat, providing he is fit of course. The Toffees’ have often looked weak defending set-pieces this season, and have also allowed plenty of crosses from wide areas.

I’m also backing Wolverhampton Wanderers’ defence, via Jose Sa and Nelson Semedo. Bruno Lage’s side gave up 18 shots at Southampton on Sunday, but were largely untroubled. Semedo also looked as lively as ever, especially in the first half when he forced Alex McCarthy into an early save. His -0.97 xGI delta suggests that an attacking return is imminent, too. 

Thomas Tuchel’s Champions League teamsheet tonight will shape my final Chelsea picks, but for now, Edouard Mendy and Marcos Alonso get the nod, while they’re joined at the back by Arsenal duo Aaron Ramsdale and Kieran Tierney, plus Matthew Lowton.

Further forward, Son Heung-min and Mohamed Salah are included in midfield, though I do prefer the premium strikers – Cristiano Ronaldo and Romelu Lukaku – this week. Ronaldo struggled against Aston Villa in Gameweek 6 but remains one of the top captain picks, while the way in which Raul Jimenez shrugged off Southampton’s backline for his goal last weekend suggests that Lukaku could get more joy on Saturday afternoon.

Elsewhere, Raphinha is an excellent option this week if passed fit, which I expect he will be. The Brazilian was electric against West Ham United last weekend, netting his third goal of the campaign, while only the post denied him a second. I see Marcelo Bielsa’s side controlling the game, with Raphinha key to breaking Watford down. However, Ismaila Sarr could also do well at the other end of the pitch. The Whites have conceded more chances from their left flank than any other side in recent weeks, with the prospect of Sarr v Junior Firpo an exciting one for his owners.

The offensive list is completed by Wilfried Zaha and Michail Antonio.

NEALE SAID…

There’s nothing like a fixture swing to whip Fantasy managers up into a frenzy and it’s important to sometimes take a step back and pause for breath to assess just what the pros and cons are of investing heavily in a team ahead of a favourable run.

The downside with Chelsea, surely the most-discussed most team of the week, is rotation. Edouard Mendy, Antonio Rudiger, Cesar Azpilicueta and Romelu Lukaku would appear to represent the safest routes into the Blues’ starting XI but even they will likely not be immune to the odd benching in the coming weeks (hopefully not days…), if Thomas Tuchel’s first eight months in the job are anything to go by. Marcos Alonso is an altogether riskier selection and Chelsea’s midweek teamsheet against Juventus may dictate our Scout Picks but, up against a Southampton side that is goalless in three matches and conceding high-quality chances in Alonso-at-the-back-post territory, I too have been caught up in the Marcos momentum.

The face-off between Liverpool and Manchester City takes many of the usual Scout Squad staples either out of the equation altogether or off their top spots and brings it home how often we rely on these players, as I was struggling to see where the clean sheets in particular would come from this week.

Burnley are without a shut-out themselves but I’ve gone with Matthew Lowton as my third defensive pick, with Daniel Farke yet to strike a successful balance between goal threat and solidity at the back. The Canaries have scored on fewer occasions than any other team this season and the arrival of Brandon Williams hasn’t done anything to make Norwich’s left flank look more secure, arguably making it worse based on the eye-witness accounts of the Carrow Road faithful. Only Leeds have allowed more chances to be created from their left since the United loanee made his debut for Farke’s troops, while Lowton trails only Dwight McNeil for key passes among the Burnley squad.

Speaking of a potential defensive weakness, I’m persevering with Luke Shaw – if fit – as the usually excellent Ben Godfrey has struggled to recapture his 2020/21 form. Godfrey has also been deployed at right-back in the last two matches, the side of the pitch where Everton have conceded a whopping 29 of their 38 crosses from. With Shaw fond of a delivery or two himself and the Toffees struggling to create much against even Norwich without their two first-choice forwards, I’ll give the United left-back one more crack at the whip providing he’s given a clean bill of health for Saturday.

An advantageous match-up could also be on the cards for Conor Gallagher, who will be making his trademark bursts into the Leicester box and facing one of Jannik Vestergaard or Caglar Soyuncu – both of whom have been very poor this season – as the porous Foxes’ left-sided centre-half. As widely discussed, only Liverpool’s premium midfield duo have a better expected goals (xG) tally than Gallagher in 2021/22.

Newcastle are actually not too shabby going forward but it’d still be foolish to overlook Nelson Semedo given his goal threat and Wolves’ decent defensive displays in most of their games so far, while two of the better backlines outside of City/Chelsea meet at the Amex – hence the Aaron Ramsdale and Shane Duffy selections. Arsenal have unsurprisingly tightened up considerably thanks to a clean bill of health at the rear and a favourable fixture run, although Duffy could still get a sniff as the Gunners have continued to give up headed chances even during their upturn in form.

Aston Villa have been mightily impressive in a 3-5-2 over the past three weeks, even bossing Chelsea at times in Gameweek 4 and following that display up with wins to nil against Everton and Manchester United. Emiliano Martinez is benefiting from that added security of a third centre-half, while Ollie Watkins has outshot Danny Ings by eight attempts to two since the pair were first paired in west London. They’ll be up against a Spurs side who have struggled to create much all season and who are rocking from three successive defeats, all of which have seen the Lilywhites concede three goals.

James Milner’s impressive showing at right-back against Porto now makes me less confident about my selection of Jack Grealish as the one and only representative from the Liverpool v City fixture but the England playmaker is top or joint-top among his teammates for chances created, shots in the box, efforts on target, big chances, penalty box touches and expected goal involvement (xGI) and the City press will be an altogether tougher prospect for the veteran tea-rationer.

The Reds’ previous match, against Brentford, has influenced my decision to select Bryan Mbeumo, meanwhile. Ivan Toney v Kurt Zouma will be a clash of the titans based on the Bees striker’s dominance of Virgil van Dijk and I can see Mbeumo picking up the loose balls against the Hammers’ back four, who still only have two clean sheets in their last 17 league games.

Let us know what would your squad of the best FPL players for Gameweek 7 look like in the comments below!