Matchweek 6 was a decent enough week for The Scout. A total of 86 points was well above the 59-point league average and takes us to 504 points overall. That keeps us in the top 200 worldwide.
It’s worth noting that this score came from the entire squad, including the recommended subs and utilising mid-matchweek captaincy changes. Without those changes, the team would be 40 points worse off, and our 464-point total would leave us well out of the top 500. It pays to pay attention!
Our team for Matchweek 7 features plenty of changes. It’s worth £97.5m and lines up in a 4-4-2 formation.
Starting XI
Chiamaka Nnadozie (Brighton) £5.0m
As per, our starting goalkeeper needs to be playing on Saturday, with a backup on the bench for Sunday. Of the four teams playing on Saturday, I think Brighton are the ones most likely to keep a clean sheet, so in goes Nnadozie.
Amanda Nildén (Spurs) £5.0m
We’re going with another low-risk pick to start our defence. The Swede has played almost every minute for Spurs this season, so she can be considered a nailed-on starter for Saturday. For her to score good points, we’ll need Arsenal to carry on their poor form. If Arsenal do kick into gear and Nildén doesn’t score well, then we can bench her, hence the low risk.
Gabby George (Brighton) £4.0m
Similar to Nildén, George is playing on Saturday, so we can bench her if she doesn’t score some decent points. However, I’m backing a Brighton clean sheet this weekend and at just £4m, George is a great value pick.
Ellie Carpenter (Chelsea) £7.0m
In MW6, Carpenter became the top-scoring player in fantasy this season, now at 63 points. There’s a small rotation risk, with Chelsea facing Roma in the Champions League on Tuesday. But with an average of 10.5 points per match, Carpenter is worth the risk.
Lucy Bronze (Chelsea) £5.5m
Bronze is in the same boat as Carpenter regarding there being a small rotation risk, but her potential points haul also means the reward is worth it. She has started all six WSL matches and, with 47 points so far this season, she is the top-scoring player costing under £6m.
Olivia Smith (Arsenal) £7.5m
Arsenal have struggled in front of goal this season, but Smith’s screamer last time out shows that she is still capable of getting on the scoresheet. Slegers was a little negative about Smith after last week’s match, so if she is dropped, Baum is a better option. As the north London derby is the first match of the weekend, we can see the line-ups before confirming our transfers.
Océane Hurtré (Birmingham City) £6.0m
Hurtré was the first name on my fantasy teamsheet this week. She’s only three points off being the top-scoring player in the game, and has six goals in six matches. Her opposition, Charlton, are rock bottom of the league and conceding three goals per match on average. There was an injury worry for Hurtré at the weekend, but as she was named on the bench midweek, we can presume she’s fit. And even better, she didn’t play any minutes in Birmingham’s 5-0 win, so she’s rested.
Lauren James (Chelsea) £7.5m
It’s probably harder to think of reasons not to pick Lauren James. She started her last two matches for club and country, scoring four goals in the process. She’s averaging 10.75 points per match in fantasy and I’d expect her to be a star player against Palace this weekend. The only risk is that she might be rotated to keep her fresh for Roma in midweek. At the time of writing, James is the most transferred-in player this matchweek.
Lauren Hemp (Manchester City) £8.0m
Hemp’s 12.2 points per match is the highest of all players with two or more appearances. Although they’re away in the Manchester derby, City’s dominance in the WSL this season indicates that Hemp will still score a decent haul. She also scored against the Red Devils last season, so we know United are a good opponent for her.
Kiko Seike (Brighton) £7.0m
Forward picks are a struggle in MW7. WSL2 forwards dominate the pool of options, but there are no WSL2 teams with an ‘easy’ fixture this weekend. In the WSL, there aren’t too many forwards that are scoring goals consistently, so we need to look at fixtures.
Luckily, Brighton have two threatening forwards and are facing a West Ham side that have already conceded 10 goals this season. Seike is my pick over Garcia; both have played in all six matches, but Seike has accumulated more points so far and has a track record in the WSL.
If you don’t have the budget for Seike but still want a Brighton forward (which I would recommend!), then Olivia Garcia is still a great option at £4m.
Bunny Shaw (Manchester City) £12.5m
Shaw was back to her usual best after the international break, with a double-digit haul in MW6 against Brighton. United will likely pose a tougher threat, but Shaw registered a goal and an assist against the Red Devils in the WSL last season, and you’d be brave to bet against her getting another goal involvement this week.
The Bench
Sophie Baggaley (Birmingham City) £4.5m
For our Sunday goalie, I’ve gone for Baggaley. At 3.3 points per match, there have been better options in goal so far this season. However, she’s making our team due to her opponent, Charlton, who are averaging 0.5 goals per match and have accumulated the lowest xG in the WSL.
Ruby Mace (Everton) £5.5m
Villa are averaging 0.6 xG per game this season, so a defensive option in a team playing against them is a relatively safe bet – as is having an Everton defender. Only Chelsea have conceded fewer goals than the Toffees in the WSL this season and of the Everton defenders available, Mace is the most likely to score points.
Martha Thomas (Newcastle United) £5.0m
The only forward with more points than Thomas this season is Bunny Shaw – pretty good company to be in. She’s averaging 8.4 points per match this season and, although she has a tough fixture this week in Forest (A), she is great value at £5m.
Beth Lumsden (Newcastle United) £7.5m
When I started making this team, I wasn’t expecting to include Lumsden, to be honest. However, there was budget available, so let’s get the midfielder with the best average points return in WSL2 (9.0).
Captaincy choices
I’d be captaining a Brighton player for Saturday; there’s no obvious pick from the north London derby, and Brighton are likely to score goals this week. I’ll be going for Seike, but if you don’t have the budget, go for Garcia.
If Saturday’s captain doesn’t perform (I’m going to put the threshold at seven points), then we need to look at Sunday’s matches. We can wait for the Chelsea line-up before making our decision, as they are the first match on Sunday. My priority order would be James, Carpenter, then Hurtré. If neither James nor Carpenter is starting, go for Hurtré as she will almost certainly start.
Set-and-forget
If you haven’t got the time to make changes to your team on Sunday morning, then get the armband on Hurtré. In terms of your bench, set it in this order: Nnadozie, George, Smith, Nildén.
Differentials
These are the players that can give you the edge; the ones that most people have not noticed. Here are my top picks per position, with a maximum of 5% ownership:
GK: 3% - Sophie Baggaley (Birmingham City)
Defender: 3% - Amanda Nildén (Tottenham Hotspur)
Midfielder: 2% - Wieke Kaptein (Chelsea)
Forward: 2% - Olivia Garcia (Brighton)
Two of these picks are in this Scout team, and the other two were close to getting in. Even though we’re already six matchweeks into the season and everyone got unlimited transfers last week, there are still some seriously good differential picks to be had.
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