Fantasy football scout tips gameweek 13: Paul Pogba, Harry Kane, Leroy Sane, Scott Dann and more

Sign up to our free sport newsletter for all the latest news on everything from cycling to boxing

Sign up to our free sport email for all the latest news

Please enter a valid email address

Please enter a valid email address

SIGN UP

I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy

There are two Premier League 'gameweeks' in the next seven days, meaning it is a busy time for top-flight players, managers and fantasy football fans alike.

Leicester City's trip to West Ham United means the deadline for transfers and team selections has been brought forward to 7.00pm, with another to follow on Tuesday at 6.45pm.

Casual players not paying attention could well lose out, so get a step ahead of them by assessing our scout picks for this week. How many of them are in your team?

We will start with a player who is really testing our patience. Harry Kane, the most expensive player in the game, has now ‘blanked’ - i.e. scored minimal points - more often than he has ‘returned’.

For £12.8m, 66 overall points is not good enough, so why show faith in him again? Well, his next four fixtures are: West Bromwich Albion (H), Leicester (A), Watford (A), Stoke City (H). He scored 16 points or more in all four of those fixtures last season.

Clutching at straws? Maybe. Worth a go anyway? Probably. On his last chance? Yes.

After turning heads with a productive start to the season, Paul Pogba’s hamstring injury left a lot of managers wondering what might have been.

The Manchester United midfielder picked up where he left off last week though, scoring and assisting in his first game back.

Back to his original price point of £8.0m, Pogba is a potential bargain. The only issue is fitting him in, with so many other excellent and relatively cheap options in the middle of the park.

Investing in one of the top flight’s worst defences - the only one yet to keep a clean sheet - is risky, but we can see potential in Crystal Palace’s Scott Dann over the next few fixtures.

Last week, a penalty that the Football Association say should not have been awarded and a hospital pass from goalkeeper Julian Speroni did for Dann’s clean sheet prospects against Everton. Neither should happen again when Stoke visit Selhurst Park this weekend.

Old-time fantasy favourite Dann also carries the threat of attacking returns. Only Chelsea’s Marcos Alonso has made more attempts on goal from defence.

Clean sheets are hard to find this week so we return to Nicolas Otamendi, who is back in contention after serving a one-match suspension.

Manchester City travel to Huddersfield Town this weekend and after John Stones’ injury in the win over Leicester last week, Otamendi can be assured of a start alongside Vincent Kompany in defence.

The Argentine has already proved he carries a considerable goal threat too, with two strikes to his name already this season.

Staying with Manchester City, who perhaps have the best fixture of the weekend, can anybody afford to ignore Leroy Sané at the moment?

Pep Guardiola’s rotation policy initially put many off the winger but those who invested early have been richly rewarded, with consistent starts and 62 points since gameweek 6.

Without the width of injured Benjamin Mendy, Sané is as close to nailed-on as can be under Guardiola and will go into this weekend rested after sitting out of Champions League action in midweek.

A short-term rather than a long-term option, with our focus on Friday’s evening kick-off.

Jamie Vardy’s Leicester travel to David Moyes’ West Ham, who seem to be in all sorts of trouble after a dispiriting defeat to Watford last weekend.

With the onus on the hosts to press and attack, their porous defence could easily be picked off by Leicester’s classic counters.