Welcome to our FPL GW17 Scout Picks blog! What a fun set of fixtures GW16 was! We had a fairly high-scoring week, did you? Don’t worry if not, remember, we’re not even halfway through the season yet, so if you’re not in the place you want to be there’s still time to get your FPL campaign back on track!
Our Scout Picks picked up a decent 85 points in FPL GW16, 5 more than the Official Scout picks, making it 10-6 in our favour going into FPL GW17.
| GW1 | GW2 | GW3 | GW4 | GW5 | GW6 | GW7 | GW8 | GW9 | GW10 | GW11 | GW12 | GW13 | GW14 | GW15 | GW16 | |
| AAFPL Team | 62 | 58 | 57 | 68 | 34 | 60 | 77 | 67 | 58 | 73 | 39 | 52 | 59 | 82 | 58 | 82 |
| Official FPL Team | 56 | 50 | 57 | 90 | 43 | 57 | 67 | 63 | 41 | 78 | 54 | 52 | 41 | 66 | 67 | 80 |
As always, our Scout Picks will be based on the eye test, stats, and analysis. But before we discuss player picks, let’s take a look at the fixtures for FPL GW17.
Link to all our FPL GW17 blogs including scout picks, players to target, buy, hold, sell analysis, differentials, captaincy metrics, best forwards, and more. Completely free to access as well!
FPL GW17 Fixtures
Teams to target in FPL GW17
- Bournemouth
- Manchester City
- Brentford
- Arsenal
FPL GW17 Scout Picks
FPL GW17 Scout Picks – Goalkeeper
Petrovic (4.5m) makes his first appearance for the AAFPL Scout Picks team in FPL GW17 as Bournemouth face Burnley at home this weekend. Bournemouth’s defense is actually pretty mid-table, it is instead the fixture that we are targeting this weekend…
Burnley have scored the third fewest goals and created the third lowest xG in the league so far this year. Scott Parker’s side are on a 7-game losing streak in the league and have failed to score in 3 of those. Bournemouth have a pretty ropey defensive record in recent games, particularly after having conceded 4 against Manchester United on Monday night, but should be far more stable against Burnley’s blunt attack. If all else fails, Petrovic regularly gets save points, having hit the 3+ threshold on 9 occasions thus far.
Bournemouth’s defense is not the best, but they should ease past a Burnley side that offers very little from an attacking perspective. Petrovic is a good all-round goalie in FPL and makes an excellent choice for this weekend’s set of fixtures.
FPL GW17 Scout Picks – Defenders
O’Reilly (5.3m), VVD (5.9m) and Timber (6.5m) form our defensive trio for FPL GW17…
We’ve decided to go for just one Arsenal defender for this weekend’s round of Premier League fixtures as the Gunners take on Everton away from home. There’s a case to be made for a double-up, so let me explain the pros and cons of that approach. Let’s start in the pros column…
Arsenal have by far the best defense in the league so far this season, having conceded just 10 goals and 12xGA in their 16 games thus far. Their defenders top the charts for FPL points with both Gabriel and Timber in the top 10, which is pretty good considering how injury-hit their backline has been this season. Everton, on the other hand, have a few worries going into this match, with KDH and Grealish both doubts and Ndiaye off to AFCON for the foreseeable, leaving their attack in a pretty shabby state.
On the other hand, the Gunners have not been as solid recently as they were at the start of the season, keeping just 1 clean sheet in their last 6 matches. Furthermore, the rotation in personnel due to injury and suspension has led to instability and perhaps has contributed to this dip in form. They remain the best defense in the league, but over the last 6 GWs, their defenders have scored just 72 points, ranking Arsenal 8th overall for FPL points from defenders during that period. Due to this instability, in spite of the fixture, we’re just going for Timber this weekend.
Virgil comes into the team as Liverpool travel to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in FPL GW17. Spurs have been abhorrent recently, winning just 1 of their last 5 matches in the league and scoring just 6 goals in that period. Frank’s side have scored just 10 goals at home all season, fifth fewest in the league, and haverecorded an xG of less than 1 on six occasions so far this campaign. It is possible to halt this pragmatic Spurs team, and we’re backing Virgil for this weekend. LFC’s defence has been steadily improving since Alison’s return to the team (amongst other factors), so we’re putting our faith in Virgil to score us some points this weekend.
KEY STAT: VVD ranks second amongst defenders for DEFCON this season (172)
Finally, we have City’s O’Reilly. The young full-back is starting to make the team on a regular basis at this point and has rewarded us with precious points on a number of occasions! O’Reilly started in mid-week against Brentford but was substituted at 65′, suggesting that he, along with the likes of Foden and Cherki, who also played about 60′, will play a part in City’s weekend fixture against West Ham.
The Hammers have been in pretty poor form of late and are winless since the start of November. Nuno’s side have the fourth-lowest xG and the 6th lowest goals scored thus far, suggesting that there is significant clean sheet potential for City. Pep’s side have the third most FPL points from defenders in the last 6 GWs, in large part thanks to their 3/6 CS. O’Reilly offers diverse point scoring avenues with his 0.38xGI/90 and fairly high DefCon numbers (8+ in the last 4 GWs). City go into this game off the back of back-to-back 3-0 wins in the league and a 2-0 mid-week victory against Brentford; O’Reilly is certainly the best defensive option from the sky blues.
FPL GW17 Scout Picks – Midfielders
We’ve gone for a midfield quartet of Wilson (5.6m), Semenyo (7.5m), Foden (8.8m) and Saka (10.3m) for FPL GW17…
Let’s start with the premium options… Foden has been in phenomenal form for the past few weeks, returning 4 double digit hauls in a row between GW13 and GW16. What’s so interesting is that these hauls have come against a variety of opposition with a variety of play styles, highlighting not only City’s improved form and play style, but also Foden’s versatility. With a home fixture against relegation candidates West Ham this weekend and 7 goal involvements in his last 4 games, Foden’s a must-have.
Saka is the only midfielder to keep his place in the AAFPL Scout Picks team this week, but loses the captaincy after a decent return of 11 points in FPL GW16. 2 assists and 3 bonus points was enough to get Saka over the line last week, after many managers chose to captain him as opposed to Haaland for the first time in a long time. This weekend, Arsenal travel to Liverpool to face Everton, a side that have kept 3 clean sheets but conceded 6 goals in their last 5 games. It’s important to have Arsenal’s attack covered going into this fixture, and Saka remains the premier option in FPL.
Wilson comes in for FPL GW17 a gameweek too late… My suggestion last week that “The Welshman’s underlying numbers, even in recent games, suggest that this form is unsustainable” appears shortsighted after Wilson bagged 2 assists and a goal against Burnley in FPL GW16… Fulham bypass Raul Jimenez entirely in almost all phases of play, allowing the wingers to bomb on ahead of the forward, and allowing the striker to arrive later into the box, rendering Raul a less attractive pick than I had originally thought.
FPL is all about ‘hopping on’ to the right players at the right time, and form + fixtures is the majority of the equation. My analysis that it wasn’t worth having Wilson last week because his season-wide underlying numbers are bad, in spite of his form and the upcoming fixture being amazing was poor. We’ve decided to back him this week as Fulham host Forest, a side in patchy form that is conceding a lot of chances in recent weeks…
Though Wilson’s season-wide attacking numbers are average, his recent form tells a different story…7 goal involvements in his last 4 games is incredible, and although his underlying numbers in that period remain low (0.5xGI/90 -ish), this purple patch should not be ignored. With consistent minutes and a starting spot nailed in the team (which it will be now that Chuckweze is off to AFCON), Wilson is an excellent enabler and a great asset for this weekend’s match against Forest.
Finally, we have Semenyo. While I agree with the discourse online that Semenyo could be on the move in January and therefore his form may dip (due to all of the noise that comes with a PL transfer like that), he’s a great option for this weekend. Burnley are poor defensively, and Semenyo is going into this game off the back of hisfirst goal in 9 games in FPL GW16. His underlying numbers have taken a hit since the start of the season, but he is still a fantastic player with the ability to score from almost anywhere on the pitch! Form is important *cough cough*, and Semenyo’s has picked up in recent weeks from a performance and stats perspective, so if you’re looking for a one-week punt, this could be it!
FPL GW17 Scout Picks – Forwards
A front three of Thiago (7.2m), Haaland (15.0m), and Ekitike (8.6m) completes the team…
Haaland steals the captaincy back from Saka for City’s home fixture against West Ham this weekend. The robot ended his drought of 1 game without a goal by scoring a penalty against Palace in the last round of Premier League fixtures, making it 17 goals and 3 assists in just 16 Premier League games so far. West Ham are pretty poor defensively, in spite of Nuno’s best efforts, so going against Haaland would be a brave move!… The striker was rested in mid-week against Brentford, so will have had a whole week to rest and prepare for this match – good luck to the 26.5% managers that still don’t own him!
Ekitike comes into the team following his brilliant performance against Brighton in FPL GW16, in which he netted 2 goals and came away with all the bonus points. That’s back-to-back Premier League games where Hugo Ekitike has scored a brace and all 3 bonus points, it’s starting to become a habit… With Isak still nursing a knock, Ekitike should retain his spot in the starting XI for this one.
Liverpool’s summer signing has wowed fans with his work rate, skill, and finishing ability since joining from Frankfurt, but the issue has been his minutes. Isak has eaten into Hugo’s minutes, particularly in the league, in recent weeks, rendering him useless from an FPL perspective. Isak’s injury and the Salah situation have given Ekitike the chance to shine as Liverpool’s starting centre forward, and with a run of games under his belt, the Frenchman looks unstoppable. Tottenham have defensive issues and have struggled to put any kind of form together at home this season, so Ekitike looks like a decent option for this weekend and beyond.
Thiago keeps his spot in the team in spite of the news that he is carrying a knock going into this game. Keep your eyes on updates on this one, as the news only came out around Brentford’s cup game against City, so if there are more serious updates, we’ll have to reconsider. That being said, at first glance, it seems like nothing serious, and Thiago should have recovered by the time this game comes around, considering he was completely absent from the mid-week game.
Latest on Igor Thiago:
Keith Andrews: “Jordan and Thiago both picked up little knocks against Leeds. We’ll see how they are going into the game on Saturday”
Thiago has found himself in a bit of poor form of late and is now 3 games without a goal in the league. In two of his last 3 matches, he’s failed to accrue any xG at all, which is somewhat concerning, but if there was ever a match to banish a goal drought, it is certainly a fixture against Wolves… The Midlands side have conceded the most goals and the third most xGA in the league this season, conceding 10 goals in their last 5 matches. Edward’s side remains winless after 16 and is pointless in 10. If fit, this is likely Thiago’s last chance to get back into the FPL good books before he is banished out of our FPL teams and into relative obscurity (pardon the exaggeration).
FPL GW17 Scout Picks Full Team
All ‘expected’ stats are from understat unless stated otherwise
Further Reads from ALLABOUTFPL Ahead of FPL GW17
Premier League Players who will miss PL due to AFCON 2025
Top FPL Gameweek 17 Captain Picks Based on Analysis & Metrics
FPL Gameweek 17 Transfer Tips: Two Players to Buy, Hold, & Sell
Top FPL GW17 Differential Picks to Target Ahead of Deadline
Best Mbeumo Replacements to Consider ahead of FPL GW17
FPL GW17 Ultimate Guide: Tips, Differentials, Captaincy & More
FPL GW17 Scout Picks Based on Stats, Analysis, and Matchups
Link to all our FPL GW17 blogs, including buy, hold, sell analysis, differentials, captaincy metrics, transfer targets, and more. Completely free to access as well!
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