Less than 24 hours after Gameweek 31 came to its conclusion, we’re back with another Fantasy Premier League (FPL) team selection.
This time, we roll out a 3-4-3 formation for our Gameweek 32 Scout Picks.
As ever, we are limited by certain restrictions:
- An £83.0m budget for our starting XI
- An overall squad limit of £100.0m
- No more than three players per team
GOALKEEPER
Jordan Pickford (£4.6m) is drafted in for Everton’s clash with Burnley at Goodison Park.
Sean Dyche’s side have failed to keep a clean sheet in each of their last eight outings, but Pickford has racked up 28 saves over that period, suggesting he could still pick up points even if the Clarets score.
Everton have already beaten Burnley twice this season without conceding, back in Gameweek 17 (2-0) and in the Carabao Cup (3-0) in November, strengthening Pickford’s case for inclusion.
DEFENDERS
Gabriel Magalhaes (£5.3m) offers a strong route into an Arsenal defence that’s kept out the opposition attack in five of their last seven outings. The Brazilian has also shown himself to be a potent threat from set-pieces this season, with only one FPL defender tallying more headed attempts (19).
The Gunners will be looking to grind out another three points in their bid for the title on Saturday evening, when they travel to a Brighton and Hove Albion outfit who have netted just three times in five.
Josko Gvardiol’s (£4.8m) prospects at both ends of the pitch ensure he remains in our Scout Picks defence. With 12 shots and seven key passes in his last eight matches, the Croatian pays visit to a Crystal Palace side that have failed to score in their last four Premier League home games against Manchester City.
Rayan Ait-Nouri (£4.7m) plays host to West Ham United in Gameweek 32. In recent matches, the Algerian has been playing much higher up the pitch, repaying Gary O’Neil’s faith with three goals in four in all competitions.
Ait-Nouri leads the way among FPL defenders for expected goals (xG) over the last six Gameweeks, meanwhile.
MIDFIELDERS
Having suffered a rare blank at home to Sheffield United on Thursday, Mohamed Salah (£13.4m) has the chance to quickly make amends at Old Trafford.
With 16 goals and nine assists in 22 starts, the Egyptian will fancy his chances of picking apart a backline whose rate of expected goals conceded (xGC) is the worst of any club in 2024.
Over his last five Premier League fixtures against Manchester United, Salah has scored eight goals, provided four assists and 73 points.
Son Heung-min (£10.1m) is our only Tottenham Hotspur selection, at least in the first XI, for the home clash with Nottingham Forest.
Granted, Nuno Espirito Santo’s side have improved at the back in recent times but the South Korean arrives on the back of five goals, three assists and 56 points in his last seven home outings, helping him take third place in this week’s Captain Poll.
Cole Palmer (£6.0m) is another highly-fancied candidate against a Sheffield United defence that’s conceded 21 goals over the last six. The playmaker has six double-figure hauls in his last 10 matches and will be licking his lips at the prospect of facing the league’s most porous defence.
With Salah, Son and another big-hitter up front, we turn to Aston Villa’s budget midfielder Leon Bailey (£5.6m). The Jamaican has scored six goals and provided seven assists in 14 home outings this term, blanking on just three occasions when starting.
Aston Villa are third only to Liverpool and Arsenal for goals per game in front of their own fans this season (2.47) and with Bailey partially rested for the midweek trip to Man City, he is sure to pose the Brentford rearguard problems aplenty on Saturday.
The Bees have lost 10 of their last 11 away matches in all competitions.
FORWARDS
We’re backing a rested Erling Haaland (£14.3m) to do the business against Crystal Palace tomorrow lunchtime. The Norwegian’s record of four goals and 23 points in his two previous meetings with the Eagles bodes well for his 71.8% ownership.
Second to Palmer in this week’s Captain Poll, Haaland has explosive potential in Gameweek 32.
Dominic Solanke (£7.2m) makes a Scout Picks return as Bournemouth make their way to Luton Town.
The former Liverpool man has scored in two of his last three matches and visits a Hatters defence with a single clean sheet in 14, a period which has seen them concede a whopping 32 goals.
Solanke has only produced two shots over the last two Gameweeks, but he’ll fancy his chances at Luton, given the impact of fellow forwards Chris Wood (£4.8m), Ollie Watkins (£8.8m) and Rasmus Hojlund (£7.0m) at Kenilworth Road in recent times.
The Hatters are on a 10-match winless run in the league, too.
An away match at Bramall Lane offers Nicolas Jackson (£6.8m) the chance to get back amongst the goals.
Although he’s netted just twice in his last 10 matches, the 22-year-old should do well against a defence that’s managed just one shut-out at home and sits bottom in terms of big chances conceded thus far.
THE SUBSTITUTES
- Caoimhin Kelleher (£3.9m) warms the bench for the trip to Manchester United. The budget ‘keeper is kindly priced and in his last away match, kept a clean sheet and claimed maximum bonus.
- Malo Gusto (£4.3m) has racked up 16 key passes across his last six outings – no backline option has more.
- Jarrad Branthwaite (£4.3m) features as a substitute, with Everton one of the bookies’ favourites to keep a clean sheet in Gameweek 32.
- Pablo Sarabia (£4.7m) is our back-up midfielder for Wolves’ home clash with West Ham. The Spaniard has scored two goals and provided two assists in his last nine outings, so carries real budget appeal.
THE CAPTAIN
We chose the Scout Picks captain using a vote between our Scout Squad panel.
Cole Palmer is handed the armband this week, with Mohamed Salah as the vice-captain.
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. They’ll also get a place in our Moderators and Contributors League for the following season.
The-Red-1’s 64-30 victory in Gameweek 16 gave the community the biggest win (34 points difference) of 2023/24 so far.
Our champion this week is Husky1882, whose selection is as follows: Kelleher; Porro, Akanji, Gusto; Salah, Son (c), Foden, Palmer; Haaland, Jackson, Muniz.
The community are 16.5-14.5 up on the Scout Picks this season, after PEP_TALK claimed a 57-48 win in Gameweek 31.
FOLLOW THE SCOUT’S WEEKLY TRANSFER PLANS
We’re running a Scout community team in FPL this season, with regulars like TopMarx, Tom Freeman, Marc Jobling 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.
Having registered 68 points in Gameweek 31, we’re up to 7k in the world.
