FPL Gameweek 36 Scout Picks: Olise + Wood included

We have chosen our Scout Picks for Gameweek 36 of Fantasy Premier League (FPL) ahead of Friday’s early deadline.

Arsenal and Manchester City supply us with three players apiece, whilst we also back Chelsea and Aston Villa’s top scorers as the race for the Golden Boot heats up.

As ever, we are limited by certain restrictions:

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

GOALKEEPER

A home clash with Bournemouth offers David Raya (£5.2m) the chance of further returns.

The Arsenal number one is the third top-scoring goalkeeper in FPL, with 14 clean sheets in 29 appearances this season. Having been breached just four times in his last seven, Raya looks a solid prospect for points in Gameweek 36.

DEFENDERS

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We’ve opted to double-up on Arsenal’s backline and call upon Gabriel Magalhaes (£5.4m) for our three-man defence.

The Gunners are second only to Manchester City for home goals against, whilst Gabriel’s aerial threat further up the pitch has already delivered three goals. Furthermore, he’s racked up 26 shots in the box over the season, more than any other FPL defender bar Virgil van Dijk (£6.7m).

With two goals, one assist and 33 points in his last three appearances, Josko Gvardiol (£5.0m) is the in-form option as Man City entertain Wolverhampton Wanderers. Playing almost exclusively as a left-back, he’s getting into some very offensive positions, so is clearly one of the best bets for points at both ends of the pitch in Gameweek 36.

Elsewhere, we’re backing Sergio Reguilon (£4.5m) to torment Fulham at the G-tech Community Stadium on Saturday. The Spaniard has delivered six assists since joining Brentford on loan in January, while Thomas Frank’s side lead the division for expected goals conceded (xGC) over the last six.

A unanimous pick among the Scout Squad panel, the left-back’s raids down the flank could be key.

MIDFIELDERS

Having hopefully shaken off the illness that forced him to miss the previous Gameweek’s win at Nottingham Forest, we’re backing Phil Foden (£8.4m) to do the damage at home to Wolves.

The midfielder has racked up four double-figure hauls in his last six outings and now welcomes a Wolves backline that’s managed just one clean sheet in their last 15 on the road. One of the favourites to be named PFA Player of the Year for his exploits in 2023/24, Foden’s inclusion was never in doubt.

14 attacking returns in his last 11 appearances ensures that Kai Havertz (£7.5m) is our Arsenal midfielder of choice in Gameweek 36.

You could easily argue for Bukayo Saka (£9.0m), of course, but from Gameweek 25 onwards, the German leads the way among team-mates for shots in the box, efforts on target, big chances and expected goal involvement (xGI).

Cole Palmer’s (£6.2m) exceptional form (10 goals and two assists in his last six matches) suggests that he may take advantage of West Ham United’s poor defensive stats, with only Sheffield United and Luton Town conceding more goals since the turn of the year.

Michael Olise (£5.6m) is our final midfield selection for the home encounter with Manchester United.

The Crystal Palace schemer has three double-figure hauls in five starts and a handful of substitute appearances at Selhurst Park this season, so he’ll fancy his chances against a Man Utd defence without a clean sheet on the road in 2024.

The Red Devils are also rock bottom for xGC in their last six, so you’d expect Olise, Eberechi Eze (£6.1m) and Jean-Philippe Mateta (£5.2m) to cause plenty of problems on Monday.

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