FPL Gameweek 4 early Scout Picks: Liverpool triple-up

We’ve put together an early draft of our Fantasy Premier League (FPL) Scout Picks for Gameweek 4.

As ever, we will finalise our selection much closer to the deadline.

Plenty can change between now and then, of course, with international fixtures, Scout Squad nominations and a whole host of press conferences still to come.

If you’re new to this feature, there are certain restrictions for our picks:

• An £83.0m budget for our starting XI
• An overall squad limit of £100.0m
• No more than three players per team

GAMEWEEK 4 FIXTURES

Above: The Gameweek 4 fixtures sorted by difficulty on our Season Ticker

THE LIKELY LADS

Fresh from a convincing 3-0 win at Old Trafford, Liverpool have a decent home fixture to target after the international break.

Nottingham Forest will likely pose a bigger test than Manchester United: The Tricky Trees are fourth for expected goals conceded (xGC) from Nuno Espirito Santo’s appointment onwards.

Still, a Liverpool triple-up is hard to resist, given their impressive start under Arne Slot.

Trent Alexander-Arnold (£7.0m) has been a permanent fixture in the Scout Picks this season and is FPL’s top defender for expected goal involvement (xGI), so there is little reason to move away.

Above: FPL defenders sorted by xGI in Gameweeks 1-3

There’s perhaps enough upside right now to go for Andrew Robertson (£6.0m), too.

The Scots’ penetrating runs could be a feature to look out for in Gameweek 4; he lies third among FPL defenders for chances created and was unlucky not to score at Anfield last time out.

Further forward, Darwin Nunez (£7.3m) will miss Uruguay’s September internationals due to suspension. By staying put on Merseyside, he’ll have the opportunity to train at the AXA training centre, in turn becoming more familiar with Arne Slot’s methods.

The threat of rotation is therefore enough to put us off Diogo Jota (£7.6m) and the Colombia-bound Luis Diaz (£7.6m) for now, but we’ll be in a much better position to assess the situation closer to the deadline.

As for Mohamed Salah (£12.6m) and Erling Haaland (£15.2m), they eat up a large chunk of our £100.0m squad budget. However, we’ve managed to put together a very competitive XI including both players, so there are few reasons to overlook the season’s top two for xGI.

Eberechi Eze (£6.9m) will surely be in the mix for Scout Picks duty. He is second for goal attempts in 2024/25 and will be licking his lips at the prospect of facing a Leicester City side who have conceded a league-high 17 shots from set plays.

IN CONTENTION

In addition to Haaland, there’s definitely scope for more Manchester City picks.

Brentford’s defence has looked a bit ropey so far, with 18 shots conceded to Southampton in Gameweek 3. Budget defender Rico Lewis (£4.6m) and Kevin De Bruyne (£9.6m) are the stand-out candidates, the latter finishing Saturday’s 3-1 win over West Ham United with six shots and six key passes.

• READ MORE: FPL notes: Haaland hauls, £4.0m ‘keeper + Pep on rotation

Southampton have already made four errors directly leading to a goal in Gameweeks 1-3, with their ability to play out from the back at this level in question. Bruno Fernandes (£8.4m), Alejandro Garnacho (£6.4m) or maybe even Joshua Zirkzee (£7.1m) could wriggle their way into the Scout Picks, then.

Brighton and Hove Albion v Ipswich Town and Aston Villa v Everton are two of the other fixtures to target in Gameweek 4.

Kaoru Mitoma (£6.6m), Yankuba Minteh (£5.5m), Danny Welbeck (£5.7m) and Joao Pedro (£5.7m) are all in the mix for Brighton, with the latter currently favoured in our ‘bus team’. Crucially, he isn’t in Brazil’s squad for the September internationals so should be nicely rested for Ipswich.

Bart Verbruggen (£4.5m), Lewis Dunk (£4.5m) and Jan Paul van Hecke (£4.5m) are the key defensive options to consider.

• READ MORE: FPL notes: Rice red, Pedro boost + Hurzeler chooses ‘keeper

As for Villa, Ezri Konsa (£4.5m) gets the vote at the back, but could Lucas Digne (£4.5m) potentially emerge as an alternative, given how poor Everton have been defending crosses into the box this season? It’s a tricky decision with a first start for Ian Maatsen (£4.9m) surely looming.

Further forward, Ollie Watkins’ (£8.9m) early substitutions put him behind Morgan Rogers (£5.1m), who acts as an important enabler in the current set-up. He’s been unlucky not to bag an assist in his last two matches, having set up two big chances for his pricier team-mate:

Dean Henderson (£4.5m), Daniel Munoz (£5.0m) and Marc Guehi (£4.5m) are all in Scout Picks contention for Crystal Palace, while Antonee Robinson (£4.6m) is another consideration at the back, given how well he has connected with Alex Iwobi (£5.5m) and Emile Smith Rowe (£5.6m) down Fulham’s left side.

Bournemouth v Chelsea is an intriguing encounter, meanwhile.

Cole Palmer (£10.6m), Noni Madueke (£6.6m) and Nicolas Jackson (£7.6m) will be keenly eyeing up this fixture, given how poor the Cherries were for 80-odd minutes of Saturday’s 3-2 win at Everton. They are better at home, however, so this feels like a tricky match to call.

Alexander Isak (£8.5m) could slip into our final selection against a Wolverhampton Wanderers side who have conceded 35 shots in the box, more than any other team except West Ham.

THE LONG SHOTS           

Outside of the attackers detailed above, there are a few with less convincing claims for inclusion.

Jarrod Bowen (£7.5m) arguably leads the charge but if Sander Berge (£5.0m) is included in Fulham’s starting XI, they could prove a tough nut to crack.

Ben Brereton Diaz (£5.4m), Liam Delap (£5.5m), Rodrigo Muniz (£6.1m) and Antoine Semenyo (£5.5m) are similar contenders, though it’d be a major surprise if any of them make the cut.

Elsewhere, Tottenham Hotspur and Arsenal play each other next weekend. There could be goals in this one but there are surely other similarly priced FPL options with higher ‘ceilings’ in Gameweek 4.

If we need another budget defender, there may be room for Noussair Mazraoui (£4.5m), Leif Davis (£4.5m), Rayan Ait-Nouri (£4.5m) or Tino Livramento (£4.5m).

GAMEWEEK 4 BUS TEAM

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