Gameweek 35 Scout Picks – Liverpool options included

A selection of single Gameweek players has made it into the Scout Picks for Double Gameweek 35.

With several of the premium options facing far from ideal fixtures, it would have been remiss of us to overlook Liverpool options especially, with them travelling to Cardiff.

This week we line up in a 3-4-3 formation and came in £0.1m below our budget of £83.5m.

Goalkeeper

Ben Foster (£4.6m) was the overall favourite of our Scout Squad panel for Double Gameweek 35. All four of our pundits selected him as the best goalkeeping option this week ahead of Watford’s trip to Huddersfield and the visit of Southampton to Vicarage Road. The Terriers remain the division’s lowest scorers this year, and in the last six home matches, they are in the bottom two for shots in the box, shots on target, big chances and goal conversion rate. Southampton are not quite as poor as that offensively, but with Foster’s 111 saves this year, the third-best in the league, additional points are expected.

Defenders

Andrew Robertson (£6.8m) is the first of a few single Gameweek players who have made the final cut for the Scout Picks. Az and Peter both heavily backed the Liverpool defence in their Scout Squad submissions and with good reason. In the last six home matches, Cardiff are in the bottom four for shots inside the box and shots on target while Robertson himself feels a little safer from rotation than his colleague on the other flank Trent Alexander-Arnold.

Matt Doherty (£5.3m) was Paul’s number one defender for Double Gameweek 35, and Joe’s second choice. Wolves initially host Brighton, who are bottom of the league for shots in the box, shots on target, big chances and goal conversion rate in the last four matches – and no goals to show for it either. Then, Nuno Espirito Santo’s men host Arsenal, who have also struggled on the road in the Premier League this season. Wolves themselves have an especially decent record against the top six so there could be attacking returns in store for Doherty, even if he has been affected by recent tactical changes at Molineux.

Toby Alderweireld (£6.0m) gets a place in the Scout Picks this week, mainly on account of Spurs’ second Double Gameweek fixture against Brighton. As we’ve just explained, the Seagulls look in atrocious form offensively and should struggle to find the net in north London. Out of all his defensive colleagues, Alderweireld carries the most goal threat with five shots in the box over the last four matches, only one defender in the league has more in that time. Furthermore, his rest against Huddersfield in Gameweek 34 sets him up with a decent chance of playing both Double Gameweek matches.

Midfielders

Raheem Sterling (£11.5m) is looking in exceptional form ahead of this Double Gameweek. With Champions League football now off the table for Manchester City, rotation should become less of a factor for the England international. The fixtures over the next few days are hardly the nicest on paper but considering Sterling is top of the league for shots on target in the last four matches, it is entirely probable that his quality shines through all the same.

Sadio Mané (£10.1m) is our chosen representative from the Liverpool attack ahead of their trip to Cardiff. While it is just one fixture, the Bluebirds have conceded more goals at home than any other Premier League side this season, with 18 of the 33 they have shipped coming at the hands of top-six sides. Meanwhile, Mané has the highest expected goals (xG) score of any Liverpool player in the last four matches.

Christian Eriksen (£9.3m) seems the most likely of Spurs options to get significant game-time in both of their Double Gameweek 35 matches. In the last four matches, no player in the Premier League has created as many chances as the Danish international, and he also has better minutes per goal attempt than Son Heung-min in that time. While the trip to Manchester City could be a difficult one for Spurs, as they typically struggle in the immediate aftermath of midweek Champions League matches, Brighton’s trip to north London should offer more attacking returns. Only Huddersfield (14) have conceded more goals than the Seagulls in their last four (11).

Nathan Redmond (£5.3m) rounds off our four-man midfield ahead of two Double Gameweek 35 fixtures. The Saints start off away at Newcastle, who are without a clean sheet at home since Gameweek 28, before they visit a Watford side inside the bottom three for shots allowed in the box and big chances conceded in the last four matches. Meanwhile, Redmond continues to be deployed in an advanced role for Southampton and is top for shots, shots in the box and shots on target in the last four among his colleagues. Furthermore, only four Premier League colleagues have a higher xG score in that time too.

Forwards

Just as is the case with Sterling, a Champions League exit for Manchester City should see less rotation for Sergio Aguero (£11.7m) in the coming weeks. With Liverpool hot on their tails in the title race, it seems unlikely that Pep Guardiola will want to bench the Argentinian for big matches against Spurs and Manchester United. In their last four matches, of forwards with more than 300 minutes on the field, only Aleksandar Mitrovic has better minutes per chance than Aguero.

Captain poll winner Raúl Jiménez (£6.9m) enjoyed plenty of support from the Scout Squad panel this week. Three of our pundits selected him as the best forward option for Double Gameweek 35 with two home fixtures, one against Brighton, the other Arsenal. We’ve already covered how poor the Seagulls look in our section about Spurs players, but haven’t looked too great away from home in the Premier League either. The Gunners have just one clean sheet on their travels this season, they have conceded the same number of big chances as Huddersfield in their last four on the road and one more than Fulham.

Andre Gray (£5.9m) has divided opinion this week but we believe there’s something for the Watford striker in Double Gameweek 35. He should start at least one of the Hornets’ two fixtures with Troy Deeney suspended and injury and pecking order doubts loosely hanging over Gerard Deulofeu and Isaac Success respectively. Crucially, in the last six Gameweeks, only Deulofeu recorded better minutes per chance than Gray. His last two starts came against Manchester City and Arsenal, the latter match his side was down to 10 men so he will certainly enjoy more favourable opposition in Huddersfield and Southampton. Meanwhile, even if he is benched for one fo the two games, all of his returns since Gameweek 26, two goals and two assists, have come when he took to the pitch as a substitute.

Substitutes

Yan Valery (£4.1m) has shaken off his yellow flag this week after it was revealed only to be cramp that forced him off against Wolves. The Southampton defender’s price is the key reason behind his appeal. Not only does unlock much greater spending elsewhere, but he also carries some goal threat and assist potential because of how advanced he plays for the Saints.

Diogo Jota (£6.2m) gets a place on the bench this week ahead of two home fixtures for Wolves. The out-of-position midfielder has scored or assisted in four of his last five Premier League matches at Molineux.

Fernando Llorente (£5.1m) gets a place on the bench. While the trip to Manchester City might be tough, the Spurs striker has already shown he can score at the Etihad Stadium, while a home match against Brighton, as we’ve already seen, has serious potential right now. With Kane out, Llorente is the only recognised striker available to Mauricio Pochettino, which stands him in good stead for significant involvement in the Double Gameweek. The last time his services were required on a regular basis, Llorente scored a goal and assisted three times across four starts.

Community Champion

Representing the community against the Scout Picks in Double Gameweek 35 is our very own TopMarx. He has opted for a 3-4-3 of Foster; Masina, Femenia, Alexander-Arnold; Sterling, de Bruyne, Son, Jota; Aguero, Lacazette, Jiménez.

The community member who beats our picks by the biggest margin over the campaign will win a £100 Amazon Voucher and a place in our Contributors and Moderators League for the following season.

It was a narrow win for Jazz in Double Gameweek 34 as he beat the Scout Picks by a score of 63-58. fclackless‘s winning margin of 33 points (77-44) in Gameweek 10 is still the current target to beat.