The much-anticipated first Double Gameweek of the season has arrived!

Don’t forget to set your teams – the deadline is at 18:30 GMT, which leaves just enough time for a quick round-up of the latest opinion and stats across Fantasy Football Scout.

It’s all about Liverpool in Gameweek 24, with FPL managers having to make decisions on which trio to include and who to captain. Persuasive arguments in favour of one player or another are being bandied about, and perhaps the best advice came from Joe in this week’s Captaincy Video:

The best thing is to keep an open mind, there’s a lot of good stats for [Liverpool players]

– Joe

We should also set our expectations levels and not get too despondent if the Gameweek doesn’t start as we hope. As David reported in his excellent Captain Sensible article:

West Ham (13) have allowed the third-most number of big chances over the last four, while no team, not even Liverpool have conceded fewer than Wolves (four).

– David

So we could have to wait until the final match of the Gameweek on Wednesday 29 January before we feel the benefit of this exciting DGW – you have been warned! As Greyhead observed in his regular round-up of The Great and The Good, will the D in DGW stand for disappointing, devastating or dream?

Many of us value the opinion of elite FPL managers, but there is no consensus to be found:

Much will depend on what form the triple Liverpool takes with Mark, Joe and FPL General already committing to a double attack but as previously reported Sean Tobin has already doubled down in defence along with other notable Hall of Famers Stephen Harrap, Fabio Borges and Marlen Rattiner.

– Greyhead

Lateriser12 is one of the in-form managers following his recent surge up the rankings thanks to captain Aguero. He joined Joe and Az on this week’s Scoutcast and offered his insights on Liverpool and their opposition. He will be handing the armband to Mané.

Having re-watched highlights of Liverpool’s recent matches, he felt they had been very lucky not to concede a goal in their last seven matches. He also pointed out that Wolves have scored in every home match they’ve played in this season. This backs-up David’s observation in the Captain Sensible article:

Yes, Liverpool have seven clean sheets in a row and are top of the league for shots in the box and big chances conceded over the last four, but goals for Wolves and West Ham are not necessarily out of the question. Both clubs are in the division’s top half for big chances in the last four matches.

– David

While Az pointed out that Mané’s touch heatmap has not been too encouraging of late – the biggest highlighted area was out wide on the right – Lateriser12 paid more attention to his recent shots heatmap, which are all very close to goal. Closer than Salah’s shots, indeed.

Of course, as Joe has been reminding us recently, FPL is just a game. You play against other people and therefore player ownership is a factor.

A strong differential captain mentioned by David and Sam in recent weeks is Roberto Firmino. The Brazilian has had more shots in the box and big cChances in his last four away matches than both Mane and Salah. 

And if money is a worry, both Az (in the Scoutcast) and Tom Freeman have picked out Joe Gomez as a differential pick. 

Finally if you haven’t seen Legomané’s beautiful “Double” Gameweek spreadsheet they are well worth a look and highlight how some of us might be overlooking defenders. 

Away from the debate surrounding the Liverpool players, Troy Deeney has been tipped to do well away to Aston Villa. The Watford captain has been included in this week’s Scout Picks and is the focus of Pep Pig‘s predictions article.

Spurs find themselves top of the latest DS stats, fixtures and clean sheet odds provided by G-Whizz with an enticing home match against Norwich City. And Joe is in danger of having his dullard status revoked as he contemplates adding Cresswell to his side for their two fixtures in Gameweek 24. The West Ham full-back has played the most key passes of any of his colleagues since Gameweek 21.

To view all our discussions please visit our Hot Topics page, and if you’ve got some analysis, scout reports or features brewing, be sure to visit our community section to submit your article.

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.

Fantasy Football Scout Memberships are now available for a reduced price of £9.99 for the remainder of the season. Rolling monthly subscriptions are also available for £2.99 per month. Click here to sign up or upgrade your account.

Community Competitions

For an update on all FFS Mini-Leagues and Community Competitions, please click here to read the latest round-up.

For those interested in the Head-to-Head Leagues, the main page can be linked to here. The fixtures for Gameweek 24 can be found below:

Use the drop-down menus to show your league and division. To find out which league and division you are in, follow the instructions on the main Head-to-Head page.

Once the Gameweek starts, if you click on your opponent’s name you will be linked to their team on the FPL website.

May your arrows be green!