The Scout's panel of Fantasy Premier League experts each reveal their top three forwards and then explain their choices.
Experts' picks
| Pick 1 | Pick 2 | Pick 3 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lee Bonfield | Cunha | Joao Pedro | Watkins |
| Ben Crabtree | Cunha | Joao Pedro | Watkins |
| Nick Harris | Cunha | Joao Pedro | Isak |
| Gianni Buttice | Cunha | Joao Pedro | Haaland |
| Harry Daniels | Cunha | Joao Pedro | Isak |
| Sam Bonfield | Cunha | Joao Pedro | Solanke |
Lee Bonfield (@FPLFamily)
You simply can't ignore Matheus Cunha (£6.9m) right now; his second goal in Gameweek 12 in particular just oozed confidence. I also think Joao Pedro (£5.6m) is great value and returned from his injury with a bang. Brighton's fixtures look good for the foreseeable, so he's in for me. That leaves plenty of cash for a more premium forward, and I'm going to stick by Ollie Watkins (£9.0m). Chelsea away is tough in Gameweek 13, but with two plum home fixtures afterwards against Brentford and Southampton, I'm backing him to build on the goal he scored this weekend against Crystal Palace.
Ben Crabtree (@FC_CrabDogg)
A bit of bias here, but when you pay £6.6m for someone and they get 34 points over three Gameweeks, you can't help but like the guy! Cunha has good fixtures still to come and is high in confidence. He also boasts a lot of quality, as his Gameweek 12 goals showed. Joao Pedro would probably be owned by 70 per cent if he hadn't got injured! A very generous starting price makes him possibly the best-value player in the game, almost regardless of fixtures. My final pick is Watkins. He has been ticking along this season, but has a few fixtures against teams that don't keep many clean sheets. His goal last weekend could be the start of a purple patch.
Nick Harris (@WGTA_Nick)
Cunha looks to be in excellent form and still has a great run of fixtures, so would be my first pick. Joao Pedro is showing his worth to Brighton, and is another forward in excellent form and is an absolute bargain. Alexander Isak (£8.5m) would be my third pick, despite a disappointing performance against West Ham. He is still one of the best forwards in the Premier League and Newcastle also have a run of easier matches coming up.
Gianni Buttice (@GianniButtice)
It's the two budget forward Brazilians that are the top picks for me, especially in terms of value. Cunha edges it because his minutes look more assured, mostly because of Joao Pedro's injury issues. I'll put Erling Haaland (£15.1m) third, as I expect he will prove the doubters wrong very soon.
Harry Daniels (@FPL_Harry)
For me, there are four top forwards in Cunha, Joao Pedro, Isak and Nicolas Jackson (£7.9m). Personally I would put Jackson fourth due to being one yellow card away from a one-match suspension, not being on penalties and many of us owning Palmer from Chelsea already.
Sam Bonfield (@FPLFamily)
If you'd have asked me back in July whether I would have listed the top three forwards in the game in November and not had Haaland among them, I would have laughed. However, the cost of the Man City forward versus what you can get in the cheaper bracket is just not comparable currently, especially when you consider the upgrades that not having Haaland means in midfield.
Wolves' Cunha looks like the best forward option right now. He has a fantastic run of fixtures right through the festive period, and with back-to-back double-digit hauls, as well as an attacking return in five of the last six Gameweeks, he is in fine form. Joao Pedro has also hit the ground running on his return from injury, and with the added benefit of penalty duties, he looks a great buy especially given his price point. The third forward slot is more contentious. Players like Jackson, Isak, Dominic Solanke (£7.7m) and AFC Bournemouth's Evanilson (£6.0m) are all in the conversation. I'm planning to stick with Solanke for now, but a swap to double up on the Chelsea attack with Jackson and Palmer might be on the cards in the near future.
