The Scout Squad sees our in-house team discuss who they think the best Fantasy Premier League (FPL) players are for Gameweek 13 in isolation.

Staff writer Marc, general manager Sam, Deputy Editor Tom F and emergency sub Tom J (in for the absent Neale!) 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 13

• MOST PICKS: Nico O’Reilly, Morgan Rogers, Erling Haaland, Igor Thiago (four), Emiliano Martinez, Guglielmo Vicario, Daniel Munoz, Matty Cash, Jeremy Doku, Elliot Anderson, Jean-Philippe Mateta (three)

MARC SAID…

Black Friday has me constantly thinking about discounts, and nobody has dropped more in price this season than Ollie Watkins. His drop has been stunning, delivering one goal and no assists in 12 matches. It’s not like Aston Villa are struggling either – they’ve won six of their last seven league encounters and sit in fourth place. Our Goals Imminent study says he’s due for some success, and being at home to last-placed Wolves seems like the right time.

It’s one of several fixtures worthy of a Free Hit activation, as Morgan Rogers netted twice last week and Lucas Digne seems to be getting the nod for league fixtures. Villa’s last two at home both brought clean sheets.

Another team to triple-up on is Man City. Mass midweek lineup changes should hint at who Pep Guardiola will start versus Leeds, and being one of several early kick-offs could further help Free Hit users. We know that Erling Haaland will start against his city of birth; he’s still the team’s only player with more than one league goal. 14, in fact.

Jeremy Doku is another threat. He’s set up the second-most Premier League chances (27) and is joint-top for big efforts created (six), while left-back Nico O’Reilly has three attacking returns from his latest four starts. This trio all began Tuesday’s Champions League defeat on the bench.

Impressively, Brentford have recorded home wins over Liverpool, Newcastle, Man Utd and Villa. So, with Burnley visiting next, it feels obvious to pick nine-goal Igor Thiago, one of the few strikers on penalty duty. I’ll also go double at the back via cheap options Caoimhin Kelleher and Sepp van den Berg. The latter is the only defender with three or more big chances to not yet score. He’s the position’s biggest expected goals (xG) underachiever (-1.50).

Last week, a nicely-placed equaliser from Danny Welbeck helped Brighton overturn the Bees’ lead. He’s now on seven goals from seven. Sticking with that number, he’ll be trying to help his side improve on last season’s 7-0 thrashing at Nottingham Forest.

My fifth forward is Jean-Philippe Mateta, but that home match against Man Utd is tough to call. There’ll be fears about the Frenchman’s festive game time, but he should get most of this one. It’s hard to fully back either of these teams for clean sheets or goals, but Daniel Munoz feels almost fixture-proof. The flying wing-back is like a cheat code, hauling at Wolves while Mateta blanked.

Chelsea v Arsenal is also tricky for a bunch of highly-owned players, but I’ll still back Bukayo Saka to produce. Even Bournemouth’s trip to Sunderland feels more challenging than previously thought, as they needed a late equaliser to avoid suffering a third straight defeat. Saturday’s hosts remain unbeaten at home, too. But I see Djordje Petrovic making some saves and think Marcus Tavernier is a bargain way into the Cherries’ attack. The latter could remain on penalties, depending on the availability of Justin Kluivert and Antoine Semenyo.

Liverpool at West Ham isn’t a banker, either. The champions have lost nine of their last 12 matches in all competitions, where both Virgil van Dijk and Mohamed Salah are showing signs of a slight decline.

However, the centre-back brings a fine combination of clean sheet and defensive contribution (DefCon) potential, alongside a well-established goal threat. Whereas Salah’s drop in standards has still seen two goals in four league outings. He’s joint-third for season-long chance creation (24).

Finally, I like Tottenham stopper Guglielmo Vicario at home to Fulham. From opposition shots on target, he’s already prevented 3.50 goals.

SAM SAID…

Most of the usual suspects in my Scout Squad selections this season have a tricky fixture this week, resulting in the inclusion of several newcomers.

In goal, I have opted for Emiliano Martinez as the first of three Aston Villa picks for their home fixture against travel-sick Wolves. Unai Emery’s side have kept three clean sheets on home turf this season, which is only bettered by Arsenal. As a result, I have included a defensive double-up, with Matty Cash alongside Martinez. Cash has created 10 chances for his teammates this season. He has also supplied 51 crosses, which is the fifth-most of all defenders. 

My final Villan for Gameweek 13 is Morgan Rogers. His free-kick last week is best described as delicious, and he is starting to acquire additional routes to points. Rogers has created more big chances (three) and had more shots on target (eight) than any other Villa player, and his 15 shots can only be bettered by Emiliano Buendia and Ollie Watkins.

I have also tripled up on Man City ahead of their fixture against Leeds. Pep rolled the dice in the Champions League by pretty much resting the entire first XI after the defeat to Newcastle. I expect a reaction at the weekend and the reinstatement of the usual suspects into the starting XI.

Obviously, Erling Haaland wears the captain’s armband, and probably the Triple Captain if you don’t have or don’t want to use the Free Hit in Gameweek 13. Alongside the big man is Nico O’Reilly and the in-favour midfielder, Jeremy Doku. O’Reilly has only failed to start in one match since Gameweek 4, which was the defeat to Aston Villa. In those fixtures, he has registered 50 points, including two double-digit hauls. 

Doku v Foden has been on my mind a lot as part of my Free Hit tinkering. In the end, I have opted for the Belgian international. Doku has started eight games for City this season, although he has appeared in every match, registering five attacking returns. The midfielder does tend to feast or famine, though, with his returns reading 3/1/1/10/3/10/1/1/1/2/11/2. Doku’s double-digit returns have come against Man Utd, Burnley and Liverpool; all three clubs were in difficult runs of form when these returns happened, hence Leeds could be another promising fixture. 

Another triple-up comes in the form of Brentford. The Bees have been incredible at home this season, with four wins in their six matches at the G-Tech. Sepp van den Berg has registered 12 defensive contribution (DefCon) points in the opening 12 Gameweeks and looks great as a budget-friendly option, especially against a Burnley side that have struggled on their return to the Premier League. 

Alongside van den Berg, I have opted for two Brentford attackers in Kevin Schade and Igor Thiago. Schade has registered five attacking returns, with four of those coming in the last seven Gameweeks – he would also have had another assist had Thiago scored the stoppage time penalty that he won at Brighton in Gameweek 12. Burnley have also allowed more crosses (179) and key passes (60) down their right flank than any other club, which is where we will find Schade for Brentford (credit Marc for that fun stat!). Thiago picks himself, and if Haaland didn’t have such a nice fixture, he would be a very viable captaincy option this week. 

Liverpool should be a team to invest in this week ahead of a game against West Ham. However, with seven defeats in their last eight matches in all competitions, they weirdly feel like a team to target. Both these defences look vulnerable, and therefore I have opted for the most likely attacking outputs from each side in Cody Gakpo (with Hugo Ekitike seemingly injured) and Jarrod Bowen, who last week became the first forward in the game to register DefCon points.

Despite challenging fixtures against Chelsea and Man Utd, I have also decided to stick with Jurrien Timber and Daniel Munoz. Whilst it is possible neither keeps a clean sheet this week, they both have good attacking threat. Both registered an attacking return last weekend, and Timber followed this up with a goal against Bayern in the Champions League.

Jean-Philippe Mateta also squeezes in as my final forward pick. Despite many good opportunities in recent weeks, his conversion rate hasn’t been as good as we would hope. However, with the amount of chances he is getting, he will return at some stage, potentially against a Man Utd side who are yet to keep a clean sheet on the road this season. 

TOM F SAID…

There are some tricky fixtures to predict in Gameweek 13. For example, my choices reflect that I’m not entirely sure whether Arsenal’s mean defence will prevail against Chelsea’s in-form attack, or what will transpire at Selhurst Park when Manchester United visit Crystal Palace, who are playing in Europe on Thursday night.

Instead, I’m backing Manchester City and Brentford, both of whom face promoted opposition.

Nico O’Reilly, Phil Foden and Erling Haaland come in for me from City, while Nathan Collins, Kevin Schade and Igor Thiago represent Brentford.

Leeds United have found the net only four times in six away matches this season, three of them coming against lowly Wolverhampton Wanderers. The ever-improving O’Reilly consequently gets the nod. He has attempted nine shots over the last five Gameweeks, the most of any defender.

While most of my selections are based on solid underlying stats, sometimes FPL is as much about instinctive/gut choices. Foden has just three ‘big chance’ involvements in 10 matches this season (one of his own, two created for others), but he should have had a penalty and scored in the defeat to Newcastle United last weekend, and ought to experience a bit of joy against Leeds.

A Brentford triple-up is rooted in their own decent home form and Burnley’s vulnerabilities: the Clarets are in the bottom two for headed chances conceded and chances allowed from their right flank, which may be to the benefit of Collins and Schade. Thiago, meanwhile, has delivered nine goals in 12 starts.

Wolves are in dire straits as they head to Villa Park, and things could get even worse on Sunday, with Unai Emery’s side in a rich vein of form. Morgan Rogers is the Villans’ main man in midfield, while Matty Cash has had the second-most shots of any defender over the last six Gameweeks. I’ve also gone with Emiliano Martinez as my top goalkeeper selection.

Sunderland are better on home soil than on their travels, which makes me a bit wary about tripling up on Bournemouth for Saturday’s fixture at the Stadium of Light. But the Mackems have only managed 3.14 xG in their last four matches, so I’ve backed Djordje Petrovic and DefCon magnet Marcos Senesi. Evanilson should also benefit from the likely return of Antoine Semenyo further forward.

Elsewhere, Nottingham Forest’s impressive underlying defensive stats under Sean Dyche should benefit Nikola Milenkovic, while I struggled to look any further than Elliot Anderson for my cut-price option – no midfielder can beat his DefCon tally and recent matches have highlighted his ability to contribute attacking returns.

Finally, Liverpool’s defence looks like it could be there for taking so Jarrod Bowen gets my vote in Gameweek 13. West Ham United are clean-sheet less in seven matches under Nuno Espirito Santo, however, so Mohamed Salah could also get a bit of joy in behind.

TOM J SAID…

Much like the hundreds of thousands of FPL managers playing their Free Hit chip in Gameweek 13, the obvious starting point is a Man City triple-up against Leeds. Erling Haaland and Nico O’Reilly need little justification. The former has 59 Fantasy points in his last five home league matches. O’Reilly, meanwhile, has notched three attacking returns and five clean sheets in just eight starts.

I’ve opted for Jeremy Doku over the likes of Phil Foden for my third Man City pick. The Belgian international leads his teammates for both successful passes into the penalty area and big chances created over the season. If Haaland continues his goal-scoring form, expect Doku to pick up plenty of assist points.

Another team worthy of a triple-up is Brentford. The Bees take on Burnley, with the Clarets continuing to rank 20th for xGC, shots on target conceded and big chances conceded across the season. Igor Thiago should be a no-brainer for the Scout Picks; only Haaland has more goals in 2025/26.

Caoimhin Kelleher provides a cheap option between the sticks, with Burnley drawing a blank in two of their last three matches. In midfield, I prefer Dango Ouattara to Kevin Schade. The former is £1.0m cheaper and has had seven big chances to Schade’s four despite playing nearly 300 fewer minutes.

My third and final triple-up is Aston Villa. Unai Emery’s side host Wolves who failed to benefit from a Rob Edwards new manager bounce last time out. Morgan Rogers looks like an auto-pick after bagging a brace and three bonus in Gameweek 12, while Matty Cash is the Villans’ top-scoring Fantasy asset.

Emiliano Martinez is my first-choice goalkeeper. Wolves have scored the fewest goals in the entire division (7); every other team has scored at least 11. The Argentine is also more than capable of a penalty save.

Everton are on a decent run of form, winning their last two matches and keeping two clean sheets in the process. Jordan Pickford notched his second double-digit haul of the season on Monday.

Elliot Anderson fulfils the role of my budget midfielder. No player has recorded more DefCons than the Englishman’s 157, and he’s hit the threshold in each of his last three matches. Who knows, with Morgan Gibbs White’s injury flag, Anderson may even be on penalties after dispatching one emphatically against Leeds!

Daniel Munoz leapt to the top of the Crystal Palace Fantasy points standings thanks to his 14-point haul against Wolves last time out. The Colombian ranks second for both xG and xA among defenders. Teammate Jean-Philippe Mateta should get chances against a Man Utd defence that has conceded the most big chances away from home this campaign.

Murillo and Jurrien Timber are also worth considering for the Scout Picks. An Arsenal defender is never a bad selection, no matter the opponent. Focusing on Nottingham Forest, since Sean Dyche took charge four Gameweeks ago, no team has conceded fewer big chances (two).

After Hugo Ekitike limped off with a back injury against PSV on Wednesday night, Alexander Isak is at least worth a mention, despite Liverpool’s dreadful form. Gameweek 13 opponents West Ham are without a clean sheet since Gameweek 3.

Finally, I’ve opted for two big differentials from the clash between Spurs and Fulham at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. Raul Jimenez is making the most of an injury to positional rival Rodrigo Muniz, picking up two assists and a goal in his last four starts. In the Spurs corner, I fancy Brennan Johnson to start and score, given that he was suspended in the Champions League.