The precursor to Friday’s Scout Picks is the Scout Squad, in which our four-strong panel attempts to pick out the best Fantasy Premier League (FPL) players for Gameweek 12 in isolation.

There are plenty of tentative selections this week, of course, with lots of injuries to clear up in Friday’s press conferences.

Staff writer Marc, deputy editor Tom F, editor Neale and general manager Sam explain their picks in the article below.

MORE ABOUT THE SCOUT SQUAD

The focus is only on the upcoming Gameweek with the Scout Squad, so there’s no medium-term planning involved.

The players who get the most votes are much more likely to make the Scout Picks, although the final XI can’t exceed £83.0m – so occasionally, we have to source cheaper alternatives.

Each of our writers must meet the following requirements for this feature:

• At least one sub-£5.0m goalkeeper
• At least one sub-£5.0m defender
• At least one sub-£6.0m midfielder
• At least one sub-£7.0m forward
• No more than three players from the same club

SCOUT SQUAD: BEST FPL PLAYERS FOR GAMEWEEK 12

• MOST PICKS: Robert Sanchez, Virgil van Dijk, Marcos Senesi, Mohamed Salah, Antoine Semenyo, Erling Haaland, Jean-Philippe Mateta, Joao Pedro (four), William Saliba, Daniel Munoz, Danny Welbeck (three)

MARC SAID…

Picking 18 players here is like walking on eggshells, as the international break injuries, early withdrawals and wedding proposals are becoming increasingly tough to keep up with. I’m going against the community’s preferred early kick-off avoidance by tripling up on Chelsea, away to Burnley. The Blues lead the way for shots on target (61) and expected goals (xG, 20.75).

Enzo Fernandez did everything but score past Wolves – the past few opponents, in fact. That’s why he’s on both the Goals and Assists Imminent tables. Also, the absence of Cole Palmer should keep him on penalties for a bit longer.

Teammate Joao Pedro is the best forward for total touches (462) and chances created (14); someone who has netted on the last two occasions, while Robert Sanchez will be confident of continuing his run of clean sheets.

Although Liverpool are experiencing problems all across the pitch, the fixture at home to Nottingham Forest might be worth piling onto. Mohamed Salah’s form is starting to pick up, Hugo Ekitike is expected to start up front and captain Virgil van Dijk had a goal controversially ruled out versus Man City. He’s the second-best defender for defensive contribution (DefCon) actions (119).

I’ve also picked the one name ahead of him: Marcos Senesi. His Bournemouth backline has only conceded twice in five home matches, and they get the privilege of hosting West Ham on Saturday. Because of this, Antoine Semenyo – if fit – is hard to resist here, despite his three successive blanks.

He remains at least four attacking returns ahead of all other FPL midfielders and it would have been five, had his penalty at Aston Villa not been saved by Emiliano Martinez. The goalkeeper’s 14-point haul precedes a nice-looking trip to Leeds.

There’s still one team below Leeds, Burnley, West Ham and Forest: the aforementioned Wolves. The Old Gold are yet to collect either a win or a clean sheet, so I’ve gone for two Crystal Palace names. After Erling Haaland – an automatic pick here, for me – the league’s best player for many shooting stats is Jean-Philippe Mateta. He should have two more goals than the six so far. Wing-back Daniel Munoz is always a threat in attack.

Completing my backline are Joachim Andersen and William Saliba. The former has achieved DefCon in seven of 10 appearances, and the latter might be the most nailed-on route into Arsenal’s defence now that Gabriel Magalhaes looks set to be sidelined. However, he’s mustered just two goal attempts all season.

Elsewhere, goalkeeper Bart Verbruggen had to wait ages for a clean sheet, but now has consecutive ones. They’ve been long overdue, as Brighton have conceded the joint-fourth fewest big chances (17) and penalty area shots (74). Attacking colleague Diego Gomez is an intriguing midfield differential. Close to a Gameweek 10 hat-trick, he followed this with a couple of shots on target away at Crystal Palace. This time, the Seagulls are at home to Brentford.

Ex-Bee Bryan Mbeumo is a popular pick these days, having scored four goals in four matches. He’s the joint-best midfielder for shots on target (14) and big chances (eight), also coming second for attempts (26) and efforts inside the box (21).

Finally, Fulham’s Raul Jimenez. He’s recently assisted twice, will be against Sunderland, and doesn’t have competition from Rodrigo Muniz now that the Brazilian’s hamstring problem has ruled him out for a while.

SAM SAID…

Anyone would think I’m a ‘vexillophile’ this week; there are so many flags in my team! The dilemmas I’m facing with my own team feel like ones that are shared when picking Scout Squad picks. Heading out of this international break, there are multiple injuries to key assets, doubts over minutes due to travel and international game time, and key fixture swings. All that being said, Chelsea, Liverpool, Crystal Palace and Bournemouth feel like teams that we should be investing heavily in Gameweek 12.

Chelsea face Burnley, with the Clarets bottom of the table for goals scored at home this season (five). As a result, Robert Sanchez is my first-choice goalkeeper. Alejandro Garnacho and Joao Pedro further my Chelsea contingent, as Burnley are also rock-bottom for xGC. Chelsea themselves have found the net on 21 occasions; only Man City have scored more than the Blues. The London side are also top across all the teams for xG over the opening 11 Gameweeks.

Picking three Chelsea players is obvious given their form and the form of the opposition but I have also opted for three Liverpool assets despite their mixed start to the season.

With Gabriel Magalhaes seemingly out for a while, a lot of FPL managers will likely look to move to Virgil van Dijk – despite Liverpool being in the bottom half of the table for clean sheets this season (three). Van Dijk and Liverpool face Nottingham Forest, who have scored just 10 goals this season, a total superior to only Wolves. Van Dijk has registered 12 defensive contribution points in the current campaign; only three defenders in the game have more than the Liverpool captain.

Alongside van Dijk, I have opted for two Liverpool attackers in Mohamed Salah and Hugo Ekitike. Nottingham Forest have improved defensively over the last few matches with Sean Dyche at the helm but Liverpool will expect to win at Anfield. Even in spite of his under-par season, Salah has had more big chances than any other Liverpool player and he is the Reds’ top scorer with four. As for Ekitike, with Alexander Isak still en route back from injury, I am expecting the French international to start.

Antoine Semenyo is currently flagged in FPL, having returned from duty with Ghana with an ankle injury. However, Semenyo seemed ok when he proposed to his girlfriend over the break! Given his importance to Bournemouth, hopefully he will be fit.

I have also doubled up on the Cherries’ defence with Djorde Petrovic and Marcos Senesi. Bournemouth have kept four clean sheets this season, three at home, and Senesi is the player with the most defensive contribution points, with 18.

Palace are one of only five clubs to have kept more clean sheets than Bournemouth and therefore I have opted for Daniel Munoz. To be honest, it would be legitimate to pick any of the Palace defenders and I would likely have opted for Marc Guehi were it not for the doubts over his fitness. Jean-Philippe Mateta is my second Palace pick. He has had 15 big chances in the campaign so far, which, of the forwards, only Erling Haaland can better. Likewise, his total of 32 shots is inferior to only the free-scoring Norwegian.

My differentials this week are Danny Welbeck, Nordi Mukiele and Casemiro. Welbeck has scored a joint-third-best six goals in 2025/26, while Casemiro has returned points in each of the last three weeks thanks to a mixture of defensive contributions and attacking returns. Manchester United face Everton, who have only won one of their last five away games.

Sunderland have been excellent in their return to the Premier League. The Black Cats have kept four clean sheets and have only conceded 10 goals, a tally that is only bettered by Arsenal, Man City and Palace. Mukiele also poses some attacking threat, as highlighted by his 17-point haul back in Gameweek 8.

TOM SAID…

There are a lot of decent options this week, which is just as well given that injuries could rule out a few prominent names on Friday.

With Gabriel Magalhaes among those uncertainties, I have opted to avoid the Arsenal defence altogether, instead preferring the clean sheet/DefCon potential of Marcos Senesi and Virgil van Dijk.

Elsewhere, Chelsea enjoy perhaps the best on-paper fixture in Gameweek 12, so you’d ideally want representation from their backline in the Scout Picks, too. I’ve gone with Reece James, who was rested by Thomas Tuchel entirely for the 2-0 win over Albania on Sunday. The 25-year-old has produced five shots and three chances created in his last two away run-outs alone.

A Crystal Palace defender, namely Daniel Munoz, also gets my vote despite the threat of a ‘new manager bounce’ at Molineux.

Therefore, with shut-outs perhaps harder to come by for Arsenal if Gabriel is ruled out, particularly in a north London derby (Tottenham Hotspur have actually performed much better away from home this season and scored in their last eight meetings in all competitions at the Emirates Stadium), I think there are better options to target at the back.

Four of my midfielders – Bruno Fernandes, Mohamed Salah, Antoine Semenyo and Bukayo Saka – have home matches in Gameweek 12.

Everton at Old Trafford feels like one of those games where Fernandes, the Premier League’s leading chance creator, bags a double-digit haul, while Salah remains the safest route into the Liverpool attack, albeit a pricey one. As for Semenyo, we’ll find out soon enough from Andoni Iraola whether he is actually injured; however, if he is available, he presents a superb option, given that Bournemouth have been excellent on home turf this season.

Meanwhile, Granit Xhaka’s set-piece deliveries have caught the eye this season, so he joins Wilson Isidor in my Gameweek 12 longlist, given that no side has conceded more attempts from dead-ball situations than Fulham over the last four Gameweeks.

Up top, Erling Haaland and Jean-Philippe Mateta look inevitable in Friday’s Scout Picks, but if we are to add a third forward, Joao Pedro certainly has the fixture to warrant inclusion. The Brazilian ranks joint-top among all players for both shots and big chances over the last two Gameweeks. A rested Danny Welbeck could also do well at home to Brentford, who have lost four of their five away matches in 2025/26.

NEALE SAID…

With Barcelona and Arsenal coming up for Chelsea in the next week, you wonder what Enzo Maresca has in store for us against Burnley. Will he risk players like Enzo Fernandez, who have niggly injuries? Will Moises Caicedo’s 180 minutes for Ecuador and late return from America result in a Gameweek 12 benching? Is Reece James to be preserved for stiffer tests ahead? I’ve opted for the relative security of Robert Sanchez between the posts, especially as no side has allowed opponents as few DefCon points as Burnley. Joao Pedro, who was handed only 25 minutes by Brazil over the break, joins him in this selection.

No room for a Chelsea midfielder this week, then, especially with the requirements for one of them to be sub-£6.0m.

That man is Emiliano Buendia, who is admittedly a bit of a punt. The Argentine schemer has racked up more attacking returns (five) than starts (four) this season, with those appearances becoming more common as he muscles his way back into Unai Emery’s plans: he’s started the last two Premier League games he’s been available for. Despite the shortage of game-time, he’s amassed more shots and chances created combined (24) than any other Villa player. He joins Emiliano Martinez in my selection for the in-form Villans – although it should be noted that Leeds, like Burnley above, have been much better on their own soil.

What kind of challenge will Crystal Palace face at Molineux? There is the possibility that Wolverhampton Wanderers side will be buoyed by the appointment of a new head coach but it’s asking a lot for Rob Edwards to turn the listing ship around quickly. Jean-Philippe Mateta, second among forwards for xG, gets the nod against a defence still without a clean sheet, while Chris Richards‘ inclusion is partly due to the need for a sub-£5.0m option – but then no Palace defender has more DefCon points (12).

There are four defender-midfielder double-ups from Arsenal, Bournemouth, Liverpool and Manchester United.

All four defenders have strong clean sheet odds, with Virgil van Dijk, Matthijs de Ligt and especially Marcos Senesi also having decent DefCon potential. No side has allowed more defender DefCon points than Everton, who de Ligt faces on Monday. With Forest and West Ham in the bottom two for set-piece goals conceded, there’s also the hope that van Dijk and Senesi can pop up from a corner.

As for William Saliba, will Gabriel’s expected absence boost his own goal threat for set-piece aces Arsenal? Both of his goals last season came when the Brazilian, so often a target at corners, was injured.

Mohamed Salah‘s underlying numbers have been improving lately: in the last six Gameweeks, he’s back on familiar ground, on top for shots (19) among midfielders. Whether the budget can stretch to him, when Erling Haaland and Bukayo Saka – two goals, four assists and 38 points in his last four north London derbies – are also nominated is another question.

As I wrote in the Scout Picks ‘bus team’ piece, I’ve opted for the probing of Bruno Fernandes over the behind-the-line runs of Bryan Mbeumo against Everton’s deeper block. The Portuguese international has returned in each of his last four meetings with the Toffees.

Rounding off midfield, Antoine Semenyo needs a clean bill of health (where is he in the training pics!?) before we sign him off for Scout Picks duty. His numbers have been flagging lately (only one big chance that wasn’t a penalty in the last eight Gameweeks) but then West Ham are clean-sheet-less in six matches under Nuno Espirito Santo, with even Everton, Burnley and Leeds United scoring against them.

Up top, there are so few attractive forwards right now. There wasn’t much of an obstacle for Danny Welbeck and Igor Thiago to make the five-strong list, then, before they meet each other at the Amex. Both strikers are on a run of six goals in as many games, albeit with Thiago boasting the healthier numbers (18 shots to 10, 11 big chances to three) in those half-dozen Gameweeks.

Finally, Fulham’s sorry form and fitness problems up top (Rodrigo Muniz out, Raul Jimenez carrying an issue) mean I’m likelier to go with a member of the impressive Sunderland backline like Robin Roefs than one of the Cottagers’ own defenders.