The Community Round Up

The search for a viable captain in Gameweek 30’s tricky set of fixtures is among the issues concerning our community writers, while our hot topics are also preoccupied by armband worries as they take a closer look at the strategies of FPL’s top managers.

Early double Gameweek planning, and the upgrade to viewing our hot topics also come under discussion, with our Member tables adding further insight into the midfield of Southampton, one of the teams awaiting news of their rescheduled matches.

Replacements for Everton’s long-term injury victim, Seamus Coleman, are also scrutinised by our resident statitisticians, and we round off with an update on the latest Fantasy football game to capture the community’s imagination.

The Community Articles

With many of the top sides facing each other, this Gameweek looks tough to call regarding the captaincy.

Leicester’s Jamie Vardy and Chelsea wing-back Marcos Alonso are among those differential armband options being considered. But according to YMA’s latest look at the key candidates, form trumps fixtures when it comes to the best source of points.

Selecting the correct captain has also been key for those at the top of the career Hall of Fame, who Top Marx has once again been analysing.

Don’t forget, if you’ve got some analysis, scout reports or features brewing, be sure to visit our community section to submit your article.

The Hottest Topics

Arsenal and Southampton assets are soon set to be in demand, once the final Premier League fixture changes are unveiled, as both will enjoy two double Gameweeks. But drafting in the likes of Alexis Sanchez can mean painful sacrifices need to be made, according to our discussion on how to best prepare for the doubles.

Another player set for substantial investment is Zlatan Ibrahimovic – he returns from suspension in Gameweek 31, with United one of three teams to have a double in Gameweek 34. Snevitz is unconvinced by the big Swede’s appeal and questions whether the 11.4-priced forward is really essential for the season run-in.

FPL’s top-ranked manager Uwais Ahmed is another who is sceptical about whether the Manchester United striker is a necessary transfer, having only owned him for two Gameweeks during his stellar campaign.

Luke the Elneny enthusiast has been taking a closer look at Uwais’ season and in particular his captaincy selections to spark a discussion on this top manager’s tactic of captaining form players on the road.

Romelu Lukaku could be a case in point this weekend, when the Everton talisman collides with Liverpool’s less than reliable defence at Anfield. Andy85wsm is among those wondering whether the Belgian is now undroppable, given a recent record that has harvested nine goals in his last six league starts.

With the Toffees marksman now costing 10.5, a hike of 1.5 on his initial valuation, the transfer market continues to punish those with low team value. Oddjobleff says that, even though the season is coming to a close, FPL managers should still look to maximise their funds, particularly as those with a Wildcard look to squeeze in as many heavy-hitters with double Gameweeks as possible.

Our live Hall of Fame was updated over the international break with our analysis showing that the top managers have been particularly adept at tackling double and blank Gameweeks. This is calculated with a greater rating for more recent seasons, something MTPockets proposes changing to better reflect past form.

TorresMagic added to the discussion to ponder whether points accrued over a series of seasons could also be used to judge long-term success.

Analysis of the live Hall of Fame top ten revealed this elite bunch are still undecided as to whether 3-5-2 or 3-4-3 is the better formation. We followed this up by asking which you prefer as well as pondering the potential benefits of opting for a hybrid of both strategies.

This week saw the launch of our Hot Topics page to offer the community a new way of posting and viewing our best discussions and announcements. We are still keen to hear from you about how this can be further developed.

The Members Tables

Surgical_attack has been taking a look at attacking defenders to replace Everton’s Seamus Coleman, who is out for a number of months after breaking his leg on international duty.

Meanwhile, watp73 has been delving deep into the statistics of the Southampton midfield.

If you’re a member and are yet to get to grips with the custom statistics tables, you can view this movie for an explanation of how they work. Also, remember to tag them so that people can find the tables with ease.

The Community Tournaments

Community interest in Norwegian Fantasy Football, which kicks off in April, is picking up pace with more than 300 of you signing up to FFScout’s Eliteserien Fantasy league, set up by Team Cruel. To help out, Chapelle has posted his round up of the game’s key set-piece takers.

If you are running a community tournament and would like the latest scores included in future Community Round-ups, please email me a brief summary of the current leaders and a link to your league, spreadsheet or head to head competition, at jonty@fantasyfootballscout.co.uk.