It’s Monday evening, so it’s early Scout Picks time – in this case, it’s for Gameweek 37 of Fantasy Premier League (FPL).
In this selection, we choose a first draft of our regular picks. We will then finalise and publish them much closer to Friday’s deadline.
ABOUT THE SCOUT PICKS ‘BUS TEAM’
The upcoming Scout Squad nominations, midweek fixtures and the pre-match press conferences will help shape those finalised Scout Picks.
There are, as ever, certain restrictions for our squad:
- An £83.0m budget for our starting XI
- An overall squad limit of £100.0m
- No more than three players per team
GAMEWEEK 37 FIXTURES
Above: The Gameweek 37 fixtures sorted by difficulty on our Season Ticker
If you’re getting a bit of deja vu, that’s because this week is all a bit Gameweek 35.
Two of the bottom three facing each other? Check. Everton hosting the other relegated club? Check. Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester United distracted by an upcoming UEFA Europa League clash? Check. Crystal Palace and Manchester City going into their league fixtures off the back of an FA Cup tie? Check. Concerns about post-title rotation at Liverpool? Check.
It makes for a tricky Scout Picks selection, then, with not too many stand-out fixtures to target.
THE LIKELY LADS
Ollie Watkins‘ (£8.9m) status as the most-bought player of Gameweek 37 is as much to do with the opposition as his own credentials. Spurs, as mentioned above, are in Bilbao for a season-defining game five days after the trip to Villa Park. They’ve long since tuned out of the Premier League, losing seven of their last 10 games and failing to keep a clean sheet since Gameweek 25.
A caveat to this fixture is that Ange Postecoglou is expected to name a stronger starting XI, having rotated wildly in recent weeks.
“I think [the first XI] need to get obviously some game time between now and then, which where that happens, look, unlikely tomorrow because I think what we do know about Thursday night, playing on an artificial pitch takes a lot out of the players, it’s fair to say they were sore.
“I remember when we played Tamworth, we actually got a couple of injuries in the game straight after that, I think, because of the surface. So we’ve got to be really careful about tomorrow’s game, but next Friday it’s a bit different. I think we’ve just got to make decisions we think [are right], ultimately we want to be in a great condition come the final of Europa, so we’ll use that.” – Ange Postecoglou, speaking on Saturday about pre-final rotation
Still, just how committed a Spurs team is going to be, even a strong one, for a dead rubber is questionable.
Watkins, at least, is here on his own merit. No longer under threat from Marcus Rashford (£6.6m), assuming the loanee is still out, the Villa forward has frequently delivered when he has been on the pitch.
Above: Watkins’ average of 13.7 minutes per FPL point is second only to Alexander Isak (£9.5m) among current first-choice strikers
Representation from Brentford’s potent attack is likely, too. The Bees have scored four goals in each of their last two home games, while Bryan Mbeumo (£7.5m) and Yoane Wissa (£6.5m) average 7.5 and 6.5 points per start respectively against sides beneath them in the table.
The match-state may be to the advantage of Thomas Frank’s side, too. Fulham have to win to stand any of finishing eighth (and possible UEFA Europa Conference League qualification), which could really open the game up for Mbeumo, Wissa and Kevin Schade (£5.2m).
Fulham have also lost four of their last five matches (even their one win against 20th-place Southampton was a close run thing) and they’ve kept one clean sheet in 14 games. Mbeumo will be eyeing up those set-piece weaknesses, too.
Everton at home to Southampton probably presents us with the best chance of a clean sheet this weekend. Simon Rusk’s patented 9-0-1 formation may be designed to make Saints less trounceable but it doesn’t do much for the threat at the other end: since he took charge in Gameweek 32, the strugglers’ total of two goals in five matches is the lowest in the division.
A Scout Picks appearance for Michael Keane (£3.8m) would be something to behold but on the off-chance Jake O’Brien (£4.5m) is fit again, we’ve sided with Jarrad Branthwaite (£4.8m) for now.
Above: No club has allowed more set-piece goals than Southampton this season, which will interest Michael Keane and co
IN CONTENTION
Sticking with Everton, there’s a decent chance of one of their attackers making the Scout Picks cut. Dwight McNeil (£5.1m) averages 5.4 points per start this season and has picked up where he left off before his injury, while Beto (£4.8m) has eight goals to his name in 2024/25 despite making only 13 starts.
But having seen Southampton’s backs-to-the-wall display on Saturday, you wonder how frustrating they’re going to make the Goodison farewell.
“I think as a team, I’ve aspired to make us harder to beat and we’ve done that. We’ve done that well.” – Simon Rusk, speaking ahead of Gameweek 36
Over the last four Gameweeks, they’re the best Premier League team for big chances conceded (BC below)!
Speaking of farewells, it’s Jamie Vardy‘s (£5.3m) swansong at the King Power Stadium. You probably couldn’t have picked a better fixture for his goodbye: at home to Ipswich Town, who are on the league’s longest clean-sheet drought (17 matches). Vardy has already returned against the Tractor Boys this season. Can we resist a sentimental pick for old times’ sake? Not in this bus team, we can’t.
Turning attention back to the teams facing Spurs and Man Utd, there are other candidates tussling to join Watkins in our XI.
With Marco Asensio (£6.1m) slightly going off the boil of late and Rashford and Youri Tielemans (£5.5m) injured, Morgan Rogers (£5.7m) is leading the charge to accompany Watkins. Two goals in 2025 isn’t brilliant but he’s kept things ticking over with five assists since the March international break.
Five clean sheets in eight games also could tempt us into a Villa defensive pick, with Spurs on the Basque beaches.
Ruben Amorim, like Postecoglou, may get some more rhythm-boosting minutes into his regulars on Friday. But a half-strong-ish team succumbed to yet another limp defeat in Gameweek 36, the fourth time in seven league matches that United have failed to score.
Marc Cucurella (£5.4m) has been rattling by at over a shot a game since his reinvention as an attacking full-back in December, and he very nearly scored his fifth goal of 2024/25 on Sunday. He’d be our pick of the Chelsea backline if we go there, but choosing an attacker from the Blues might not be so straightforward.
Cole Palmer (£10.5m) is the obvious shout but after seemingly rediscovering his icy mojo against Liverpool, there was a quick thaw on Sunday. Chelsea will be without Nicolas Jackson (£7.7m), too, so you wonder how Palmer and the Blues will fare given their previous struggles without the Senegalese striker. Pedro Neto (£6.1m) is a possible alternative after briefly shining as a ‘nine’ a few months ago.
With Nottingham Forest faltering and without a clean sheet in six, FPL’s form midfielder, Jarrod Bowen (£7.7m), could even make the Scout Picks for the fourth time in five Gameweeks. 20-goal Chris Wood (£7.1m) is a shout in the same fixture.
THE LONGER SHOTS
Regarding Manchester City and Crystal Palace, it’s not so much ‘long shots’ as proceeding with caution for now. Both sides have an FA Cup final to come before their Gameweek 37 fixture. Crucially, that trip to Wembley is after the FPL deadline – so we can’t react to minutes, injuries or form, not to mention next Monday’s pre-match pressers, when weighing up the expected game-time of the likes of Kevin De Bruyne (£9.6m), Erling Haaland (£14.8m), Omar Marmoush (£7.5m), Eberechi Eze (£6.9m) and Jean-Philippe Mateta (£7.6m).
City really need the three points for their UEFA Champions League pursuit, of course, so Pep Guardiola isn’t going to stick out the kids against Bournemouth. Josko Gvardiol (£6.5m), encouragingly back at left-back in Gameweek 36, should at least be assured of a start, providing he isn’t wounded at Wembley. Meanwhile, Daniel Munoz (£5.2m) has never been benched by Oliver Glasner – in any competition!
There’ll also be a bit of trepidation about Arne Slot’s teamsheet in Gameweek 37. You’d think he’ll go strong on the final day at Anfield to avoid the title celebrations being pooped by Palace, so does the trip to the Amex represent a good chance to give more of the fringe players some overdue minutes? Mohamed Salah (£13.7m) could yet worm his way back into the Scout Picks reckoning if not.
Arsenal v Newcastle United is tricky to call so perhaps best left avoided, with the Gunners dropping like flies through injury and suspension.
Finally, Forest (not if we’re backing Bowen!) and Brentford defenders are possibilities but the Tricky Trees have lost the plot at the back recently, while the Bees will be up against a Fulham side who need to win.
GAMEWEEK 37 EARLY SCOUT PICKS
