There’s a very quick turnaround between Gameweeks as we get set for the final midweek Fantasy Premier League (FPL) deadline of 2022/23.
And Scout Picks are already upon us, with the caveat that an injury or two could emerge from the remaining press conferences still to come.
We are limited to an £83.0m budget for our starting XI, while our bench is also price-capped after a reader vote.
GAMEWEEK 33 FIXTURES
Times given in BST
GOALKEEPER
Lining up for the Scout Picks in goal is Newcastle United keeper Nick Pope (£5.4m). The Magpies were excellent against Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday, scoring six goals whilst restricting their opponents to just one ‘big chance’. If Everton do find the net against Eddie Howe’s troops at Goodison Park, the fact Pope has received a save point in two of his last three outings is encouraging, potentially allowing him to bump up his tally.
DEFENDERS
Newcastle United have just one clean sheet since the start of February, but Everton have hardly been prolific under Sean Dyche at Goodison Park, scoring only six goals in as many matches. That suggests there is clean sheet potential for Kieran Trippier (£6.2m), one of the best creative defenders in the division. The Magpies are still inside the top three for expected goals conceded (xGC) in the last six, a period in which the England full-back has created more chances than any other FPL defender.
Pervis Estupinan (£4.8m) continues to offer a secure route into a Brighton and Hove Albion defence that has proven reasonably reliable under Roberto De Zerbi, with three clean sheets in the last seven. The Seagulls have suffered defeat in just one of those matches, so there is shut-out potential against a Nottingham Forest side that have scored only two goals in their last three outings at The City Ground. Estupinan also carries a bit of assist potential, too: he ranks eighth among all FPL defenders for minutes per chance created in 2022/23.
Reece James (£5.8m) was initially selected in this position, but after being ruled out for the rest of the season by Frank Lampard in his Tuesday presser, he’s replaced by teammate Ben Chilwell (£5.8m). While Chelsea’s underlying defensive stats under Frank Lampard don’t fill us with much hope, a reasonably nice home fixture against Brentford is on offer. The Bees have failed to score in each of their last two away matches, managing just 16 shots against Wolverhampton Wanderers and Manchester United combined. The Blues also come into the midweek clash fully rested, as the only Premier League team who didn’t have a fixture on Saturday or Sunday. It’s fair to say, though, that Chilwell squeaks in by virtue of there being no real stand-out clean-sheet opportunities in Gameweek 33.
MIDFIELDERS
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COMMUNITY CHAMPION
Each week, a member of the Fantasy Football Scout community takes on the Scout Picks.
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.
Boleyn Boy’s 81-54 victory in Gameweek 6 gave them the biggest win (27 points difference) of 2022/23 so far.
Our champion this week is Dunster who has gone for the following: Pope; Trippier, Dunk, Estupinan; De Bruyne, Salah (c), Joelinton, Mitoma, Mahrez; Jota, Watkins
The Scout Picks are 16-15 up on the community this season.
FOLLOW THE SCOUT’S WEEKLY TRANSFER PLANS
We’re running a Scout community team in FPL this season, with regulars like TopMarx, Geoff, Tom Freeman and more contributing to the weekly decisions.
And we’re not just looking one week ahead like we are with the Scout Picks but instead planning in advance for the weeks and months to come.
You can follow our team via the Premier Fantasy Tools Pro Planner, which you can learn more about here.
