It’s time for our early Scout Picks for Gameweek 16 of Fantasy Premier League (FPL).
Of course, a lot can still change in the run-up to our final weekly selection on Friday.
The upcoming Scout Squad nominations will help shape our final Scout Picks. The European ties during the week and the pre-match press conferences will also have a say.
But this ‘bus team’ at least offers insight into the players and teams that qualify.
There are, as always, certain limitations for our team:
- 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 16 PROGRAM
Above: The Gameweek 16 matches sorted by difficulty (easiest left, hardest right) on our Fixture sticker.
THE PROBABLY BOYS
The final Scout Picks will undoubtedly feature a triple-up against Arsenal, the team that has scored the second-highest number of goals and kept the most clean sheets in the 2025/2026 season. The Gunners take on the winless Wolverhampton Wanderers on their own field.
The main concern at this early stage of the week is that Mikel Arteta’s side are in action in the UEFA Champions League on Wednesday. That could lead to minutes management in Gameweek 16, although this will of course depend on the starting line-up in Bruges.
Ideal, Declan Rice (£7.1 million) and Bukayo Saka (£10.2m) will get a well-deserved rest, especially considering Arsenal’s perfect record in the league so far.
Rice is Mr. Reliable and offers multiple routes to points: he is Arsenal’s top player in terms of chances created and defensive contributions (DefCon), having made just four clean sheets in fourteen games. Saka, meanwhile, has scored four attacking goals in his last five appearances.
But the minutes accumulated midweek could have some influence on our final Scout Picks roster, with teammates David Raya (£6.0 million), Jurriën Hout (£6.5 million), Piero Hincapie (£5.4 million), Myles Lewis-Skelly (£5.1 million), God bless you (£7.8m) and Martin Odegaard (£7.8m) is firmly in the mix.
As for Hincapie, he has achieved more DefCons than any other Arsenal defender since starting his first-team career.
Elsewhere, Fulham have an away fixture at Burnley, so we can expect them to feature prominently in our Scout Picks XI too.
Joachim Andersen‘S ( £4.5m ) DefCon potential increases his chances of being chosen, while Harry Wilson (£5.2 million), Samuel Chukwueze (£5.3 million), in his last match before the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON), and Raul Jimenez (£6.2m) all have strong claims for inclusion against a side that has suffered six consecutive defeats.
Above: The bottom five of the Premier League form table (last six matches), via Football web pages
Erling Haaland (£15.0 million) and Igor Thiago (£6.9 million) also appear to be certainties for the inclusion of Scout Picks.
Thiago has scored nine goals in his last ten appearances, so it’s hard to overlook at home to Leeds United.
And while Palace are tough nuts to crack, Haaland has scored in all four of his league games with the Eagles.
IN CONTENT
Phil Foden (£8.5m) is probably one of the first names that comes to mind when FPL managers think of ‘must-haves’ at the moment. He scored five goals and provided one assist in his last three league matches, while averaging 80.7 minutes per appearance during the season.
The only real downside is the match: Crystal Palace have the second-best defense in the division behind Arsenal this season, having scored just twelve goals in fifteen games. They are also excellent, especially at Selhurst Park, at defending in a compact back five, often forcing opponents to play on the outside.
Foden has never scored against the Eagles…
That said, it’s still hard to look past the in-form England international, who has outperformed every other FPL midfielder in terms of expected goal involvement (xGI) over the past four gameweeks:
Nico O’Reilly (£5.2 million) and Jeremy Doku (£6.6m) are other options to consider in Manchester City’s ranks.
Elsewhere, alongside Arsenal and Fulham, you’d expect Chelsea (at home to Everton) and Brentford (entertainment Leeds) to be high on G-Whizz’s list of upcoming clean sheets, potentially giving us a backline option or two.
After a resounding victory for Manchester United over Wolves on Monday evening, Bruno Fernandes (£9.0m) and Bryan Mbeumo (£8.4m) are both attractive against Bournemouth, with Andoni Iraola’s side in the bottom two due to goals conceded away from home.
However, United’s defense is not exactly robust either (the last clean sheet was in early October), which increases United’s appeal. Antoine Semenyo (£7.6m), who was unlucky not to return in Gameweek 15.
Other midfielders in the mix include Pedro Neto (£7.3 million), Enzo Fernandez (£6.6 million), Morgan Rogers (£6.9 million) and Dango Ouattara (£6.0m), although we’ll see how Cole Palmer (£10.3m) and Liverpool’s assets head to Europe this week before any commitments are made.
THE LONGER SHOTS
The matches between Sunderland and Newcastle United and Nottingham Forest against Tottenham Hotspur are both difficult to call, so their players will remain distant for the time being.
Elsewhere it will be difficult to ask attackers, such as Jarrod Bowen (£7.5 million), João Pedro (£7.3 million) and Ollie Watkins (£8.5m) to muscle their way past others in Gameweek 16, largely due to the opposition they face.
We might consider it Matty Cash (£4.8m) at the back. He has already scored three times this season, the most of any defender, and is tied for third in terms of shots (see image below). Aston Villa have conceded six goals in their last three away games.
Kiernan Dewsbury Hall (£5.1 million), Yankuba Minteh (£6.3 million) and George Rutte (£5.6m) are certainly not bad options this week, but they may not have the same appeal as the options in our ‘bus team’.
GAME WEEK 16 EARLY SCOUT PICKS
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