The Scout selects a Wildcard squad for the 392,000+ managers in Fantasy Premier League who have already activated the chip and those who are considering using the chip ahead of the Gameweek 4 deadline at 11:00 BST on Saturday 13 September.
Haaland over Salah
The decision to pick Erling Haaland (£14.1m) over Mohamed Salah (£14.5m) is mainly down to the difference in their underlying numbers.
As shown in the table below, Haaland's 14 shots and 13 shots in the box are both more than THREE times Salah's totals of four.
The disparity for big chances, which are situations where the player is expected to score, is particularly convincing here.
Manchester City’s Haaland has hit the ground running, recording a league-high six big chances over the first three Gameweeks.
Salah, by contrast, has had zero. Indeed, Liverpool have managed just five big chances in their new 4-2-3-1 formation – one fewer than Haaland himself – which is a clear sign that their new attack has yet to click.
Haaland v Salah goal threat, GW1-3
| Player | Shots | Shots in box | Goal conversion | Big chances |
| Haaland | 14 | 13 | 21.4% | 6 |
| Salah | 4 | 4 | 25.0% | 0 |
Scroll across to see the full table
Another point in Haaland’s favour is that some managers will now be re-assessing their strategies after Chelsea recalled forward Marc Guiu (£4.4m), who had been on loan at Sunderland.
Many managers had deployed a 3-5-2 formation at the start of the season, with Guiu sitting on their benches as the cheap eighth attacker in case of emergencies.
Although the Guiu switch now deprives managers of that tactic, Josh King (£4.5m) offers a solution from midfield. By having the Fulham star as your cheap eighth attacker instead, you can move to a 3-4-3 formation and plough more funds into your forward line.
King is the only sub-£5.0m midfielder or forward to start all three of the opening Gameweeks, playing as a No 10 for Marco Silva’s side.
Money in the bank for big-hitters
Joao Pedro’s (£7.7m) huge 63 per cent ownership and growing influence on the Chelsea attack should make him a crucial part of any Wildcard frontline.
Elsewhere, though, the inclusion of Jean-Philippe Mateta and Morgan Gibbs-White (both £7.5m) allows you to attack the short-term fixtures while keeping plenty of budget in the bank for a big-hitter.
Crystal Palace’s Mateta faces Sunderland and West Ham United over the next two Gameweeks, while Nottingham Forest’s Gibbs-White is up against Burnley and Sunderland in Gameweeks 5-6.
By benching Gibbs-White for King in Gameweek 4, you can take advantage of the latter’s home match against Leeds United.
Crucially, there’s a hefty £2.9m left in the bank to allow you to react to injury news in midfield or up front.
For example, that is the exact cost required to replace Gibbs-White with Chelsea’s Cole Palmer (£10.4m), if he’s passed fit to face Brentford in Gameweek 4.
Similarly, if you want to take a punt on Alexander Isak’s (£10.4m) minutes for Liverpool against Burnley in Gameweek 4, you have the funds to swap him in for Mateta here.
Alternatively, you wait until Gameweek 7, when Arsenal’s schedule turns kinder, and consider either Bukayo Saka (£9.9m) or Viktor Gyokeres (£9.0m).
Fernandes among midfield talismen with no European duties
At a point of the season when a host of clubs are about to take part in European action, picking talisman with less congested schedules can be vital.
Manchester United's Bruno Fernandes (£9.0m), AFC Bournemouth’s Antoine Semenyo (£7.4m) and Everton’s Jack Grealish (£6.7m) are all examples of midfielders whose clubs are not involved in Europe this season.
Indeed, the former two only have the Premier League to focus on until January due to their clubs' early exits from the EFL Cup, which suggests they are very unlikely to be rotated or have their minutes managed.
Fernandes’ potential for defensive contribution points set him apart from the rest of the premium picks, with the Portuguese collecting two extra points in two of the first three Gameweeks.
Combined with his penalty duties, Fernandes’ appeal as a captain has certainly increased this season due to the new metric.
Build around defensive contributions at the back
Bournemouth’s Marcos Senesi (£4.6m) and Brentford’s Sepp Van den Berg (£4.5m) have also been among the main beneficiaries from defensive contributions, collecting two extra points in all three of the opening Gameweeks.
Senesi now has four home matches and a visit to Leeds over the next six Gameweeks to establish himself as a key figure for your defence.
Crystal Palace’s Maxence Lacroix (£5.0m) has combined two clean sheets with an assist, four defensive contribution points and two bonus points.
Chelsea centre-back Trevoh Chalobah (£5.1m), meanwhile, has yet to blank this season, with a goal, an assist and two clean sheets to his name.
Between the posts, David Raya (£5.5m) is cheaper than Arsenal’s centre-backs and is a far more secure pick than the full-back options. The Gunners are yet to concede a single big chance this season, underlining their huge potential for clean sheets.
Burnley goalkeeper Martin Dubravka and Leeds' Joe Rodon are among the few starters in the ultra-low £4.0m price bracket and are handy options for your bench.