We have put together our very early Scout Picks for Gameweek 4 of Fantasy Premier League (FPL).

With international matches, Scout Squad nominations and pre-match press conferences to come, there’s plenty of time for our weekly selection to change.

Bus this early XI at least provides a glimpse into the players and teams who will be under consideration.

ABOUT THE SCOUT PICKS ‘BUS TEAM’

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 4 FIXTURES

Above: The Gameweek 4 fixtures sorted by difficulty on our Season Ticker.

THE LIKELY LADS

Fresh from a commanding 3-0 win at Villa Park, Crystal Palace now have a favourable home fixture to target after the international break.

Their opponents, Sunderland, have generated only 2.42 non-penalty expected goals (xG) in the first three Gameweeks:

At the back, there’s the defensive contribution (DefCon) appeal of Maxence Lacroix (£5.0m) and the open-play attacking threat of Daniel Munoz (£5.5m).

Further forward, with Ismaila Sarr (£6.5m) and Yeremy Pino (£6.0m) currently flagged, the penalty-taking Jean-Philippe Mateta (£7.5m) is an obvious pick.

Liverpool also face newly-promoted opposition in Gameweek 4, as they travel to Turf Moor to take on Burnley.

Mohamed Salah (£14.5m) will almost certainly return to the Scout Picks after being overlooked in favour of Erling Haaland (£14.1m) last week.

It’s been a quieter start to the season for the Egyptian than many would have hoped, with just one shot and two chances created in his last two matches. However, what Salah does possess is excellent xMins, something we can’t be entirely sure of with the other Liverpool attackers in light of Alexander Isak’s (£10.4m) arrival.

Cody Gakpo (£7.7m) and Hugo Ekitike (£8.7m) are probably safe starters in Gameweek 4 due to Isak’s lack of pre-season; however, we’ll be in a much better position to make a call on this matter next week.

Burnley conceded from a corner at Old Trafford on Saturday and were undone several times from set-pieces, which is why we are so keen on Virgil van Dijk (£6.0m).

“Yes, it was frustrating. That’s where the problem was and it was frustrating. We knew they were a danger on set-plays, a lot of bodies, big targets, so yes I was disappointed with that.” – Scott Parker

IN CONTENTION

Provided Joao Pedro (£7.7m) returns from international duty unscathed (Brazil play in Bolivia in the early hours of next Wednesday morning), he will surely be in the mix for Scout Picks duty. He is joint-second among forwards for shots (eight) in 2025/26.

Robert Sanchez (£5.0m), Marc Cucurella (£6.1m), Trevoh Chalobah (£5.1m) and Tosin Adarabioyo (£4.5m) are the key defensive names to consider from Chelsea. Brentford are in the bottom three for xG so far.

Other defenders on our radar this week include Arsenal’s Gabriel Magalhaes (£6.1m) and Riccardo Calafiori (£5.6m), as well as DefCon magnets James Tarkowski (£5.5m), Marcos Senesi (£4.6m), Joachim Andersen (£4.5m) and Dan Burn (£5.0m).

Above: Defenders sorted by defensive contribution success rate (%) in 2025/26

You’d expect the Arsenal attackers to garner a bit of interest this week, given that Nottingham Forest haven’t kept a clean sheet since early April.

Viktor Gyokeres (£9.0m) was the chief architect of Leeds United’s downfall in Arsenal’s last home match, netting a brace to get off the mark in 2025/26. Although he hasn’t recorded a single shot outside of that game, you’d expect him to fire off a few back on home turf. Indeed, in the corresponding fixture last season, Arsenal racked up 19 goal attempts in a 3-0 victory.

Elsewhere, with Manchester City and Manchester United facing off at the Etihad Stadium next Sunday, we could feasibly overlook their assets in Gameweek 4. But it’s a scary prospect, given that Haaland has generated 3.86 xG in his first three matches, easily the most of any player.

It’s a fair bet to assume a Bournemouth attacker will make it into the Scout Picks, with Antoine Semenyo (£7.4m) the prime candidate for their home encounter with Brighton and Hove Albion. He ranks first in his position for shots in the box (nine) and big chances (five).

A rejuvenated Jack Grealish (£6.7m) is another midfield option. He’s produced four assists in his first two starts for Everton and will be up against Aston Villa’s ropey right flank in Gameweek 4:

Above: Aston Villa’s chances created conceded map in 2025/26

We’ve got a Grealish v Iliman Ndiaye (£6.5m) v Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall (£5.0m) comparison article to bring you over the next few days, so we’ll keep our Everton powder mostly dry for that, but it’s important to acknowledge that the Toffees’ midfielders are firmly in the mix.

As for the other assets worthy of consideration, Anthony Elanga (£7.0m) and Harvey Barnes (£6.5m) could gain a bit of attention against Wolverhampton Wanderers, provided we are confident they both start. We might need a bit more time to assess Yoane Wissa (£7.5m) and Nick Woltemade’s (£7.0m) xMins, however.

THE LONGER SHOTS       

Significant concerns exist about Aston Villa players following two successive losses without any goals scored. This situation places Morgan Rogers (£7.0m) and Ollie Watkins (£8.9m) low down the priority list, although it wouldn’t be a huge surprise if the arrival of Harvey Elliott (£5.4m) is the catalyst for improvement.

In East London, West Ham United v Tottenham Hotspur feels like a tricky match to call, particularly in light of the Hammers’ recent 3-0 win at Nottingham Forest, which coincided with Graham Potter shifting to a back four. Crucially, they looked much more robust in this shape.

Alex Iwobi (£6.5m), Yankuba Minteh (£5.9m) and Georginio Rutter (£5.9m) could emerge as differential shouts, but at this very stage, it feels unlikely.

GAMEWEEK 4 EARLY SCOUT PICKS