Three double-ups and a 4-3-3: we have put together an early draft of our Scout Picks for Gameweek 11 of Fantasy Premier League (FPL).
We will finalise our weekly selection nearer Saturday’s deadline, shaped by the upcoming Scout Squad nominations, the midweek European fixtures and the pre-match press conferences.
But this precursor, at the very least, offers an insight into the players who will be under consideration.
ABOUT THE SCOUT PICKS ‘BUS TEAM’
The focus is only on the upcoming Gameweek with the Scout Picks, so we require no medium-term planning.
There are, however, 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 11 FIXTURES
Above: The Gameweek 11 fixtures sorted by difficulty on our Season Ticker.
THE LIKELY LADS
Can we see ourselves looking past Gabriel Magalhaes (£6.6m) at any point this calendar year? He’s got unparalleled clean-sheet potential, he’s always threatening an attacking return, and he’s even surprisingly adept at picking up defensive contribution (DefCon) points.
His only two blanks this season have come against Liverpool and Manchester City, so there’s scant chance of us overlooking him for the trip to Sunderland, as superb as the Black Cats have performed in 2025/26.
So good has Arsenal’s defence been that there is a temptation to double up on the Gunners’ backline in Gameweek 11. Seven clean sheets, just three goals conceded (none to any club outside of last season’s UEFA Champions League places) and only one shot on target allowed in the last four Gameweeks. You’d fancy Regis Le Bris’ high-flying side to give the league leaders a bit more of a test, which could raise interest in David ‘six-pointer’ Raya (£5.8m), but Riccardo Calafiori (£5.8m) and Jurrien Timber (£6.1m) also appeal with their attacking threat:
Above: FPL defenders sorted by shots and key passes combined in 2025/26 (via Statsbomb)
Similarly, the free-scoring Erling Haaland (£14.8m) will not be overawed facing Liverpool’s wobbly defence. You’d back him against most teams at present, let alone one that ranks 20th for big chances conceded on the road.
Elsewhere, Chelsea v Wolverhampton Wanderers leaps off the page – or it did until Wolves dispensed with their manager. Will the fabled ‘new manager bounce’ dent the appeal of Chelsea assets? Not if we look at the first league results of the three new head coaches this season…
| New manager | Result |
|---|---|
| Ange Postecoglou (NFO) | 0-3 (Arsenal away) |
| Nuno Espirito Santo (WHU) | 1-1 (Everton away) |
| Sean Dyche (NFO) | 0-2 (Bournemouth away) |
It’ll be asking a lot for the incoming Wolves boss to immediately sort out a defence that is still clean sheet-less, ranked 20th for goals conceded, and joint-bottom for fewest goals scored.
Enzo Maresca’s team selection in Qarabag – ie rests for key players – should help us finalise our Chelsea picks for Gameweek 11. In the meantime, we go with what we know.
At the back, it’s the DefCon potential of Trevoh Chalobah (£5.1m) versus the intermittent attacking threat of Reece James (£5.5m) and Marc Cucurella (£6.1m), who also appear in the table above. Chalobah leads them both for shots in the box, however.
Further forward, Enzo Fernandez (£6.7m) is second among all midfielders for xG this season, even discounting penalties. Perhaps he’ll be pushed deeper on Saturday, with Maresca going with two strikers, but you’d still expect him to crash the box at Stamford Bridge. Joao Pedro (£7.4m), meanwhile, suddenly ended his shortage of goals and shots with the winner and five total efforts in Gameweek 11. Do we overlook the six Gameweeks of bilge that preceded the Tottenham Hotspur game? Spurs played into Chelsea’s hands with their high line and errant distribution, something Wolves surely won’t do.
IN CONTENTION
Speaking of Spurs, Saturday’s performance will encourage Bryan Mbeumo (£8.3m), Bruno Fernandes (£8.9m) et al. The Lilywhites have been mostly dismal on their own soil this season, winless in their last four home league fixtures. Thomas Frank is capable of setting a side out to contain and counter, as we saw against Manchester City and Paris Saint-Germain, but at home, is there pressure and expectation to go more front-foot? Mbeumo, so often United’s out-ball, will be hoping so.
Nottingham Forest and West Ham United have been big disappointments in 2025/26 but they’ll be optimistic that positive Gameweek 10 results can kickstart their seasons. And, up next, it’s the newly promoted duo of Leeds United and Burnley at home. The Premier League new boys have exceeded expectations so far but most of their good work has been on their own turf, having failed to keep a clean sheet between them on the road.
Above: Premier League teams sorted by most goals conceded away from home
Saturday’s clash with Man Utd was like the good old days of last season for Forest, with Murillo (£5.3m) and Elliot Anderson (£5.3m) banking DefCon points and Nikola Milenkovic (£5.2m) looking threatening from set plays. Those usual suspects will be contention this week, as might Morgan Gibbs-White (£7.3m), who has two goals in three matches under Sean Dyche. He’s at least part-deputising on penalties while Chris Wood (£7.2m) is out, although the Kiwi striker isn’t far from a return now.
As for West Ham, Jarrod Bowen (£7.6m) was desperately unlucky not to return in Gameweek 11. So long the Hammers’ talisman, he’s unsurprisingly still leading the way for everything from shots to expected goal involvement (xGI) since Nuno Espirito Santo took charge. The penalty-taking, long-range-shooting, corner-delivering, occasional-DefCon-collecting Lucas Paqueta (£5.9m) might also enter the thinking, as might a cheapo West Ham defender or two – although there are more trustworthy defences out there at present.
Everton v Fulham doesn’t scream goals, so the DefCon-gobbling James Tarkowski (£5.5m) and Joachim Andersen (£4.5m) could come into contention. Crystal Palace v Brighton and Hove Albion very much does: there have only been two clean sheets recorded in the last 15 Premier League matches between the two rivals. The Eagles are top for xG in home fixtures in 2025/26, so our interest is more in Ismaila Sarr (£6.6m) and Jean-Philippe Mateta (£7.9m) than Yankuba Minteh (£6.0m) and Danny Welbeck (£6.5m).
Finally, circling back to Sunderland v Arsenal, do we plump for a Gunners’ attacker? The Mackems are among the four best teams for expected goals conceded (xGC), so it’s not a given that we opt for Bukayo Saka (£10.1m).
THE LONGER SHOTS
Mohamed Salah (£14.3m) has scored in successive outings and his stats are on the up but given the outlay and the fixture, away at Manchester City, there are surely better uses of our cash this week. We’re maybe even likelier to take a punt on Phil Foden (£8.0m) or Rayan Cherki (£6.3m), with the Liverpool defence brittle.
The likes of Nick Woltemade (£7.5m) and Dan Burn (£5.2m) remain possibilities but Sunday’s dismal defeat stretched Newcastle United’s winless away league run to eight, while Brentford have been a handful on their own turf. Confidence is sufficiently dented to relegate them to this section, especially with Athletic Club to come in the days before.
Finally, Aston Villa v Bournemouth is tricky to call. Both clubs had good runs of form that ended in Gameweek 10, albeit only away to Liverpool and Manchester City. A total of 16 different defenders have gained DefCon points against Villa this season, making them the favourite opponent for lovers of this FPL return – so Marcos Senesi (£5.0m) may yet enter our thoughts.
GAMEWEEK 11 EARLY SCOUT PICKS
