Three double-ups and a 4-3-3: we’ve put together an early draft of our Scout Picks for Gameweek 11 of Fantasy Premier League (FPL).
We will complete our weekly selection around Saturday’s deadline, shaped by the upcoming Scout Squad nominations, the midweek European matches and the pre-match press conferences.
But this precursor at least offers insight into the eligible players.
ABOUT THE SCOUT PICKS ‘BUS TEAM’
The focus is only on the upcoming Gameweek with the Scout Picks, so we don’t need any medium-term planning.
However, there are certain limitations for our squad:
- A budget of £83.0 million for our starting XI
- A total selection cap of £100.0 million
- No more than three players per team
GAME WEEK 11 PROGRAM
Above: The Gameweek 11 matches sorted by difficulty on our Season ticker.
THE PROBABLY BOYS
Can we see ourselves looking past? Gabriel Magalhaes (£6.6 million) at some point this calendar year? He has unparalleled potential for the clean sheet, he’s always threatening an attacking return, and he’s even surprisingly adept at racking up defensive contribution points (DefCon).
His only two goals this season came against Liverpool and Manchester City, so we’re unlikely to overlook him for the trip to Sunderland, as fantastic as the Black Cats performed in 2025/26.
Arsenal’s defense has been so good that the temptation is to double down on the Gunners’ defense in Gameweek 11. Seven clean sheets, just three goals conceded (no club outside last season’s UEFA Champions League places) and only one shot on target allowed in the last four matchweeks. You would like to see the high-flying Regis Le Bris team test the leaders a little more, which will increase interest in David ‘six-pointer’ Raya (£5.8m), but Riccardo Calafiori (£5.8m) and Jurriën Hout (£6.1m) also appeal with their attacking threat:
Above: FPL defenders sorted by shots and key passes combined in 2025/26 (via Statsbomb)
The same applies to free scoring Erling Haaland (£14.8m) will not be impressed by Liverpool’s shaky defence. You’ll be rooting for him against most teams right now, let alone a 20th-ranked team because of the big chances he’s getting on the road.
Elsewhere, Chelsea v Wolverhampton Wanderers jumps off the page – or it did until Wolves ditched their manager. Will the legendary ‘new manager bounce’ dent the appeal of Chelsea assets? Not if we look at the first competition results of the three new head coaches this season…
| New administrator | Result |
|---|---|
| Ange Postecoglou (NFO) | 0-3 (Arsenal away) |
| Nuno Espirito Santo (WHU) | 1-1 (Everton away) |
| Sean Dyche (NFO) | 0-2 (Bournemouth away) |
It will be asking a lot from the incoming Wolves boss to immediately field a defense that still doesn’t have a clean sheet, ranks 20th in terms of goals conceded and bottom in terms of fewest goals scored.
Enzo Maresca’s team selection in Qarabag – i.e. rest for key players – should help us finalize our Chelsea picks for Gameweek 11. In the meantime, we’ll go with what we know.
On the back end, it’s the DefCon potential of Trevo Chalobah (£5.1 million) versus the periodic attack threat of Ree James (£5.5 million) and Marc Cucurella (£6.1 million), which also appear in the table above. However, Chalobah leads them both in shots inside the box.
Further forward, Enzo Fernandez (£6.7m) ranks second among all midfielders for xG this season, even excluding penalties. Perhaps he will be pushed deeper on Saturday, with Maresca fielding two strikers, but you would still expect him to crash into the box at Stamford Bridge. João Pedro (£7.4m), meanwhile, suddenly ended his goal and shot deficit with the winner and five total efforts in Gameweek 11. Are we overlooking the six Gameweeks of bilge that preceded the Tottenham Hotspur match? Spurs played into Chelsea’s hands with their high line and incorrect distribution, something Wolves certainly will not do.
IN CONTENT
Speaking of Spurs, Saturday’s performance will be encouraging Bryan Mbeumo (£8.3 million), Bruno Fernandes (£8.9m) et al. The Lilywhites have been largely dismal on home soil this season, failing to win their last four home league games. Thomas Frank is capable of setting up and stopping a side, as we saw against Manchester City and Paris Saint-Germain, but is there pressure and expectation at home to step up more? Mbeumo, so often United’s goalkeeper, will hope so.
Nottingham Forest and West Ham United were major disappointments in 2025/26, but they will be optimistic that positive Gameweek 10 results can kick-start their season. And then it’s the newly promoted duo of Leeds United and Burnley at home. The Premier League new boys have exceeded expectations so far, but most of their good work has been done on home turf, having failed to keep a clean sheet on the road.
Above: Premier League teams sorted by most goals conceded away from home
Saturday’s match with Man Utd was just like the good old days of last season for Forest Murillo (£5.3 million) and Elliot Anderson (£5.3m) DefCon points for banking and Nikola Milenkovic (£5.2m) looks threatening due to set actions. These usual suspects will be feuding this week, just as possible Morgan Gibbs White (£7.3m), who has scored two goals in three games under Sean Dyche. He at least partially replaces penalties Chris Wood (£7.2m) is out, although the Kiwi striker is now not far away from a return.
As for Westham, Jarrod Bowen (£7.6m) was extremely unlucky not to return in Gameweek 11. So long the Hammers’ talisman, it’s not surprising he’s still at the forefront of everything from shots to expected goal involvement (xGI) since Nuno Espirito Santo took charge. Taking penalties, shooting from long range, delivering corner kicks and occasionally conceding DefCon Lucas Paqueta (£5.9m) could also come to mind, as could a cheap West Ham defender or two – although there are more reliable defenses at the moment.
Everton v Fulham doesn’t scream goals, hence the DefCon joy James Tarkowski (£5.5 million) and Joachim Andersen (£4.5 million) could be at stake. Crystal Palace against Brighton and Hove Albion certainly does that: only two clean sheets have been kept in the last fifteen Premier League matches between the two rivals. The Eagles are top for xG in home games in 2025/26, so our interest is more in Ismail Sarr (£6.6 million) and Jean-Philippe Mateta (£7.9 million) then Yankuba Minteh (£6.0 million) and Danny Welbeck (£6.5 million).
Finally, going back to Sunderland against Arsenal, do we pick a Gunners striker? The Mackems are one of the top four teams in terms of expected goals conceded (xGC), so it is not a given which we choose Bukayo Saka (£10.1 million).
THE LONGER SHOTS
Mohammed Salah (£14.3m) has scored in back-to-back appearances and his stats are on the rise, but given the spending and the match, away at Manchester City, there are certainly better uses of our money this week. It might be even more likely that we’re taking a chance Phil Foden (£8.0 million) or Rayan Cherki (£6.3m), while Liverpool’s defense is brittle.
The likes of Nick Woltemade (£7.5m) and Then Burns (£5.2m) remain possibilities, but Sunday’s dismal defeat took Newcastle United’s winless away draw to eight, while Brentford were a handful on home turf. Confidence has been damaged enough to see them relegated to this section, especially with Athletic Club coming in the days before.
Finally, Aston Villa against Bournemouth is difficult to call. Both clubs had good runs of form ending in Gameweek 10, albeit only away to Liverpool and Manchester City. A total of 16 different defenders have achieved DefCon points against Villa this season, making them the opponent of choice for fans of this FPL return – so Mark Senesi (£5.0 million) may yet come to mind.
GAME WEEK 11 EARLY SCOUT PICKS
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