Double Gameweek 19 is just around the corner and there is a vast array of Fantasy Premier League assets to choose from.
We spoke to the Scout Network to see who they’re thinking of snapping up.
El Statto
West Ham team sorted by FPL returns from Jumpers for Goalposts
West Ham have an appealing home Double Gameweek with both Burnley and West Brom visiting the London Stadium. Both opponents have failed to score many goals so far this season and thus these games so could be a perfect chance for a Hammers defender to earn a clean sheet.
Aaron Cresswell seems to be the safest option having played in all games so far and returned points in 53% of them (see above graphic on West Ham). If Michail Antonio is fit then he could also be a great option for goals, with Sebastien Haller leaving the club and no replacement being brought yet there will be a lot of pressure on Antonio to play both.
Finally of the bigger teams, Manchester City also have two home games, although rotation is always a risk, a safe option into clean sheets will be from either Ederson or either of their centre backs John Stones or Ruben Dias. Offensively, Kevin De Bruyne always looks the safest from rotation and thus will likely play both matches, especially as he is the Man City captain.
With Sergio Aguero now in self-isolation, then Gabriel Jesus and Raheem Sterling could share the main forward role, although Bernardo Silva and Phil Foden have both had a stab at it in recent matches while De Bruyne has also occupied a false-nine role more than once.
El Statto
FPL Nymfria
Looking ahead to Gameweek 19 and one of the main things I think worth mentioning is the fast turn-around between Blank Gameweek 18 and Bouble Gameweek 19. While the move of the Chelsea and Fulham derby from Friday night to Saturday night does give us FPL managers more time, it’s still a very quick turnaround. So, my first tip is to think of some transfers you’d like to make ahead of Double Gamweek 19, but stay flexible in case circumstances change again.
Another tip would be, don’t get to tied up in having a full-team of Double Gameweek 19 players with two matches. History has shown us that single Gameweek players can often outscore doublers. If you have Harry Kane or Son Heung-min, for instance, I would seriously consider if it’s worth selling them on for Double Gameweekers or not.
Son and Kane are the top point-scorers in their positions thus far, on 132 and 125 respectively, and they face a Sheffield United side in Double Gameweek 19 that are still really struggling this season, having kept one clean sheet all campaign.
Lastly, my plans have somewhat been thrown-off as I was set-up well for the Gameweek 19 Bench Boost before additional Manchester City and Manchester United fixtures got moved into this round.
This has me reconsidering using the chip now, as I will need to make getting a City asset a priority for Gameweek 19 based on their fixtures. Given their price, I may need to skim money from other players, this may result in making my bench weaker and therefore rendering my bench boost less appealing as a result. So, I’ll revert back to my first tip, and keep my ear to the ground for information, make some notes and keep track of any deadline changes before settling on my Gameweek 19 chip strategy.
FPL Nymfria
Ted Talks FPL
With Haller joining Ajax, West Ham must be confident that 1.9% owned Antonio must be back to full fitness, certainly in the short-term. He looks to be an excellent pick for Double Gameweek 19 where the Hammers play Burnley and West Brom, both at home.
If you’re in need of a budget enabler and have a spare Manchester City spot, why not opt for 1.8% owned Ilkay Gundogan. He’s started the last four and has three goals in that time. He looks to be assured of a regular place in the starting eleven, playing in the double pivot alongside Rodri. Out of the two, he’s the one who likes to get in to the box. He has 10 shots, four of them big chances, in the last six, with eight chances created to boot. A Double Gameweek of Crystal Palace and Aston Villa is an appealing prospect.
2.3% owned Hakim Ziyech returned from injury in the loss to Manchester City in Gameweek 17 and pulled the strings in Chelsea’s 4-0 win against Morecambe in the FA Cup. If Chelsea are going to get back in their stride, he will have to be instrumental in that task. Chelsea travel to Fulham and Leicester in the Double Gameweek.
Ted Talks FPL
FPL Family
Double Gameweek 19 is the biggest gameweek of the season so far for us as FPL managers. There is so much chatter in the FPL community about Triple Captains, Bench Boosts, Wildcards and Free Hits that it is difficult sometimes to assess what is the best thing.
Couple this with a climate of change, games being moved or postponed with short notice, and we need to ensure that we are making our decisions as late as possible to ensure that we are making them with the most up to date news possible to protect our teams as best we can.
Loading up on Double Gameweek 19 teams feels like a good idea, however there are a number of single gameweek players, the likes of Kane, Son, Alexandre Lacazette and Bukayo Saka, who have excellent single Gameweek fixtures and shouldn’t be over looked.
Liverpool will be an interesting team for this week. On paper they have two nice fixtures, both at home where Liverpool have a fantastic unbeaten record. However their recent form in the Premier League has been disappointing with a 1-0 loss to Southampton and draws with Newcastle and West Brom in their last three matches. In those three matches Mohamed Salah has blanked every time, thus with many managers considering Triple Captaining him in Double Gameweek 19 will perhaps rightly begin to question whether it is the right moment to deploy that chip.
Even with Salah’s last three disappointing returns I will still hold him through this week as it seems counterintuitive to remove a player with a set of double fixtures. Salah has also performed well against the other big-six sides this season scoring seven against Spurs, nine against Man City and five against Arsenal. In the reverse fixture against Fulham, Salah scored and registered one bonus for an eight-point score. I suspect we’ll see a return to form for Salah in Double Gameweek 19 as many FPL managers look to remove the Egyptian King in favour of other premium assets.
FPL Family
What’s happening in the Scout Network?
This week will see the launch of the new Scout Network podcast Scout The Gameweek hosted by Sam from the FPL Family. This week Sam will be joined by Ted Talks FPL to discuss Gameweek 19 and take a look back on blank Gameweek 18.
Ted Talks FPL
At the start of the new year, Ted Talks FPL went through a re-branding, designing a new logo that has the ability to seemlessly integrate with his new charts & animations. All of Ted’s social headers were also updated with an alternative style, also intended for YouTube video thumbnails.
Between Christmas and New Year, Ted also appeared on Scoutcast Matchday with Gianni, Rich and Seb. Last week Ted produced a mega thread, answering the key questions regarding Gameweek 18.
FPL Nymfria
This week Nymfria joined Brandon and Josh from Always Cheating for a chat on navigating the Blank Gameweek 18 and Double Gameweek 19.
El Statto
El Statto’s first article of 2020 was a great success. He looked at the Gameweek 18 fixtures and tried to highlight the stand out picks from each game with the focus on those managers playing the Free Hit team and who are building their squad from scratch.
