{"id":792445,"date":"2026-02-27T11:47:25","date_gmt":"2026-02-27T11:47:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/792445\/"},"modified":"2026-02-27T11:47:25","modified_gmt":"2026-02-27T11:47:25","slug":"fpl-gameweek-28-scout-picks-five-double-ups","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/792445\/","title":{"rendered":"FPL Gameweek 28 Scout Picks: Five double-ups"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>It\u2019s Gameweek 28 Scout Picks time as we nail down our Fantasy Premier League (FPL) player selection for the next round of fixtures.<\/p>\n<p>The chosen XI is partly influenced by the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.fantasyfootballscout.co.uk\/2026\/02\/26\/the-scout-squad-our-top-picks-for-fpl-gameweek-28-2\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Scout Squad submissions<\/a> made by Neale, Tom F, Sam and Marc.<\/p>\n<p>As usual, we are limited by certain restrictions:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>An \u00a383.0m budget for our starting XI<\/li>\n<li>An overall squad limit of \u00a3100.0m<\/li>\n<li>No more than three players per team<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>GAMEWEEK 28 SCOUT PICKS<img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"355\" height=\"466\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/image-384.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-160989 webpexpress-processed\"  \/>GOALKEEPER<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"488\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/fpl-pre-season-kelleher-schade-injury-updates-henry-starts-1024x488.jpg\" alt=\"FPL pre-season: Kelleher + Schade injury updates, Henry starts\" class=\"wp-image-143662\" style=\"object-fit:cover;width:500px;height:300px\"  \/><\/p>\n<p><strong>Caoimhin Kelleher<\/strong> (\u00a34.7m) received unanimous support from our Scout Squad panel ahead of Brentford\u2019s trip to Burnley. Keith Andrews\u2019 side have chalked up clean sheets in two of their last five away matches and, up against a Burnley outfit ranked 20th for expected goals (xG, 22.72), Kelleher looks to be a safe pair of hands ahead of Saturday afternoon\u2019s showdown.<\/p>\n<p>DEFENDERS<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"455\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/senesi-v-hill-who-is-the-better-fpl-defender-to-pick-1024x455.jpg\" alt=\"Senesi v Hill: Who is the better FPL defender to pick?\" class=\"wp-image-160250\" style=\"object-fit:cover;width:501px;height:300px\"  \/><\/p>\n<p><strong>Virgil van Dijk<\/strong> (\u00a36.0m) follows Kelleher into the Scout Picks, with the Dutchman one of Liverpool\u2019s main aerial threats. West Ham United have, of course, made a habit of conceding from set plays this season. The fixture also appeals from a defensive perspective: even during their recent three-match unbeaten streak, Nuno Espirito Santo\u2019s troops have still only found the net three times.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Nico O\u2019Reilly<\/strong> (\u00a35.0m) is our preferred route into the Manchester City backline as they prepare to face Leeds United. Although classified as a defender, Pep Guardiola has elected to play O\u2019Reilly in central midfield recently, so he often finds himself much higher up the pitch. Indeed, he\u2019s netted three times in his last two matches, a period which has seen him rack up seven shots, the most of any City player.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"236\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Screen-Shot-2026-02-26-at-17.31.39-1024x236.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-160974 webpexpress-processed\"  \/><\/p>\n<p class=\"has-small-font-size\">Above: Manchester City players sorted by shots in Gameweeks 26 and 27<\/p>\n<p>Bournemouth\u2019s <strong>James Hill<\/strong> (\u00a34.1m) retains his place in the Scout Picks. A home match against Sunderland, who have a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.fantasyfootballscout.co.uk\/2026\/02\/26\/fpl-gameweek-28-team-news-thursdays-live-injury-updates-3\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">number of players out injured<\/a>, could potentially offer returns at both ends of the pitch on Saturday. The budget defender has three assists across his last five starts. Meanwhile, Sunderland are in the bottom two for away goals scored in 2025\/26, having found the net only six times in 13 away matches. Like van Dijk, Hill also carries defensive contribution (DefCon) points potential.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"478\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Screen-Shot-2026-02-26-at-17.38.47-1024x478.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-160975 webpexpress-processed\"  \/><\/p>\n<p class=\"has-small-font-size\">Above: Defenders sorted by total defensive contributions (Tot) over the last six Gameweeks<\/p>\n<p>MIDFIELDERS<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"452\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/2026-01-04T165042Z_1787415928_UP1EM141ASHXV_RTRMADP_3_SOCCER-ENGLAND-FUL-LIV-1-1024x452.jpg\" alt=\"FPL notes: Ekitike injury latest + another Wilson return \u00a0 1\" class=\"wp-image-156154 webpexpress-processed\" style=\"object-fit:cover;width:500px;height:300px\"  \/> \u00a0<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"898\" height=\"94\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/image-3.png\" alt=\" 1\" class=\"wp-image-74091 webpexpress-processed\"  \/><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1069\" height=\"512\" class=\"wp-block-cover__image-background wp-image-125286 webpexpress-processed\" alt=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/ffs-banner.jpg\" data-object-fit=\"cover\"  \/><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"898\" height=\"94\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/image-3.png\" alt=\" 1\" class=\"wp-image-74091 webpexpress-processed\"  \/><a href=\"https:\/\/bit.ly\/FFScoutEditorial\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/IMG-20250820-WA0000-1-1024x1024.jpg\" alt=\"price change predictions\" class=\"wp-image-144736 webpexpress-processed\" style=\"width:600px\"  \/><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"It\u2019s Gameweek 28 Scout Picks time as we nail down our Fantasy Premier League (FPL) player selection for&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":792446,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[10],"tags":[229273,230376,230377,230378,8265,79,16,15],"class_list":["post-792445","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-sports","tag-gameweek-28","tag-gameweek-28-best-picks","tag-gameweek-28-best-players","tag-gameweek-28-scout-picks","tag-scout-picks","tag-sports","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/116142437454174374","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/792445","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=792445"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/792445\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/792446"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=792445"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=792445"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=792445"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}