We have put together an early draft of our Scout Picks for Gameweek 23 of Fantasy Premier League (FPL).

We will finalise our weekly selection nearer Saturday’s deadline.

The upcoming Scout Squad nominations, midweek European matches and the pre-match press conferences will help shape our final Scout Picks.

But this ‘bus team’, at the very least, offers an insight into the players and teams who will be under consideration.

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 23 FIXTURES

Above: The Gameweek 23 fixtures sorted by difficulty, on our Fixture Ticker.

THE LIKELY LADS

Erling Haaland (£15.1m) is on a run of four blanks in five Gameweeks, but there’s little chance of us overlooking him against Wolverhampton Wanderers, despite some improved performances from Rob Edwards’ team of late.

Pep Guardiola only last week described the Norwegian as “exhausted”, so the hope is that Omar Marmoush (£8.3m) can help ease the workload in midweek, when Manchester City travel to the Arctic Circle to take on Bodo/Glimt.

Antoine Semenyo (£7.6m) is another ‘likely lad’, as he’s ineligible to play in Europe.

Yes, Wolves have improved recently. And yes, they are fourth for expected goals conceded (xGC) over the last six Gameweeks.

But with Arsenal and Manchester United squaring off in north London, and Newcastle United playing host to Aston Villa, are we really going to overlook FPL’s second-top scoring midfielder at home to rock bottom Wolves? Probably not.

Meanwhile, Guardiola’s team selection in Norway should help us finalise our Manchester City pick at the back, as this fixture could present us with the best chance of a clean sheet in Gameweek 23: Wolves are 18th for expected goals (xG) over the last four Gameweeks, despite their four-match unbeaten streak.

Away from Man City, you can bet that Gabriel Magalhaes (£6.8m) will feature in the Scout Picks. He’s delivered a return of some form (goal, assist, clean sheet, bonus and/or DefCon points) in 12 of his 15 starts in 2025/26.

IN CONTENTION

As for Man Utd, Saturday’s performance against Man City will encourage owners of Fernandes and Bryan Mbeumo (£8.1m).

But a trip to Arsenal, who have the best defence in the division, is as tough as it gets. Indeed, Mikel Arteta’s side have conceded only 6.4 xG on home turf this season:

Bukayo Saka (£10.1m) v Declan Rice (£7.4m) is another tough call. Saka boasts the better expected stats (xG/xA), but both have set-pieces in their locker, while Rice is probably going to be hovering in/around the DefCon threshold. Budget might end up playing a part in the final call on Friday.

Elsewhere, Newcastle v Aston Villa is in that ‘hard to call’ bracket. With Anthony Gordon (£7.5m) and Nick Woltemade (£7.2m) going off the boil, as well as the Magpies playing in Europe this week, there are plenty of question marks about their Gameweek 23 teamsheet.

Morgan Rogers (£7.7m) is the obvious shout at Aston Villa. One assist in five matches isn’t great, but he has racked up 15 shots and nine chances created during that spell, underperforming his expected goal involvement (xGI) by 1.18.

With a beleaguered Crystal Palace outfit up next for Liam Rosenior’s Chelsea, Robert Sanchez (£4.9m), Trevoh Chalobah (£5.5m), Cole Palmer (£10.4m) and Enzo Fernandez (£6.5m) will be in the Scout Picks discussion. Oliver Glasner’s faltering side – the lowest scorers of the last six Gameweeks – will likely sit deep, so might this be a favourable match-up for Palmer? The England international has returned in each of his last two trips to Selhurst Park. His fitness will need to be monitored first, however.

Jarrod Bowen (£7.6m) could be an option, too, with Sunderland surprisingly ranked 18th for xGC per 90 on the road:

Brentford v Nottingham Forest doesn’t scream goals, but Keith Andrews’ side have exceeded expectations this season, and most of their good work has been on their own turf. Caoimhin Kelleher (£4.6m) and Nathan Collins (£5.0m) will consequently be in contention this week, as will be Igor Thiago (£7.2m), who has nine goals and one assist in 11 home matches.

Tottenham Hotspur (at Burnley), Fulham (hosting Brighton and Hove Albion) and Everton (entertaining Leeds United) are arguably the best other fixtures, although none of them feel straightforward. We’ve gone with Harry Wilson (£5.9m) and the returning Iliman Ndiaye (£6.2m) in our ‘bus team’, with James Tarkowski (£5.7m), Joachim Andersen (£4.6m), Antonee Robinson (£4.9m), Pedro Porro (£5.2m) and Conor Gallagher (£5.5m) some of the other names from these teams under consideration.

THE LONGER SHOTS

With more favourable fixtures elsewhere, you’d perhaps be hard pushed to make a case for Bournemouth and Liverpool players, even the in-form Florian Wirtz (£8.3m), ahead of their tricky-to-call Saturday evening meeting.

But could Burnley be the weekend’s dark horses, with opponents Tottenham Hotspur winless in all competitions since the turn of the year? Marcus Edwards (£4.7m), with a goal and an assist in his last two matches, could be one to watch at Turf Moor.

With just one clean sheet all season, it’s hard to trust West Ham United’s backline, so Enzo Le Fee (£4.9m) and Brian Brobbey (£5.5m) could enter the equation.

Nottingham Forest, Brighton and Leeds defenders are possibilities, but not if we’re backing Thiago, Wilson and Ndiaye.

GAMEWEEK 23 EARLY SCOUT PICKS