Tips

The Complete Guide to Scout’s tips and advice to Double Gameweek 25

Welcome to the Fantasy Football Scout Guide to Double Gameweek 25 ahead of today’s 18:30 GMT deadline.

Leeds United and Southampton are the two teams with the extra fixture – the Saints travel to Elland Road on Tuesday evening.

The other main talking point as we plot our moves for the current round of fixtures and beyond, is the potential of more Double Gameweeks in the near future. Pep Guardiola hinted that Gameweeks 26 and 27 will be Doubles for his side but at the time of writing, we await confirmation from the Premier League.

Captain Candidates

Patrick Bamford (£6.9), Raphinha (£5.4m) and Danny Ings (£8.5m) are the leading trio in the captain poll, with the highly-owned Bamford the popular choice.

The best-value forward in FPL, returning over 19.1 points per million spent, Bamford has garnered over 50 per cent of the vote. This in itself poses Fantasy managers an intriguing shield/sword dilemma:

[Bamford]’s currently in just over 53 per cent of teams, the bulk of those will captain him so if you don’t captain Bamford you will probably get pretty much no ranking gain from him, [and] you could possibly get a red arrow if there’s a surge of support in people drafting him in. Whereas Raphinha was in under three per cent of teams [so] if you captain him the gains could be absolutely huge.

– Joe, Captaincy Video

The potential for either Leeds player to do well is there, especially in that Tuesday fixture. As Jan pointed out in his Captain Sensible article, Southampton have given up 11 big chances in the last four matches, the joint-most in the Premier League, while only Liverpool have a worse expected goals conceded (xGC) figure.

Encouraging stuff. But two bits of team news could influence our decisions.

Marcelo Bielsa confirmed that Kalvin Phillips (£4.9m) will miss the first match against Wolves and could possibly sit out the Southampton game too. While Ralph Hasenhüttl revealed that Southampton will be without Kyle Walker-Peters (£4.7m) for a few weeks. 

Without Kalvin Phillips they are really not the same team, he is the guy that holds the whole thing together both defensively and going forward … he’s missed five games this year and … Bamford’s blanked in three of those five games so it makes me a bit worried about him.

– David, Captaincy Video

Speaking on the Scoutcast, “professor of LeedsSeb, as he was dubbed by Joe, conceded that Phillips offers more than Pascal Struijk (£3.9m) in an attacking sense. But, nonetheless, his optimal Leeds trio for the Double would be Bamford, Raphinha and Jack Harrison (£5.5m).

The absence of Walker-Peters is good news for Harrison in particular. The Saints have conceded 17 chances down their right flank over their last four matches and with Walker-Peters missing out, it means we could see one of the centre-backs filling in.

Although, Brazilian Raphinha could also benefit:

Harrison and Raphinha have swapped sides a couple of times in the last few matches … Harrison was obviously subbed off last match … but Raphinha actually moved to the left with Hélder Costa coming on the right, so there is a chance you’ll see Raphinha on the left.

And on Harrison himself, his last two goals I believe, certainly his last goal, came straight down the middle. So if he’s up against the weak full-back that might be more for the assist [but] for the actual goals we might see him making those runs through the middle.

So I think realistically, what’s the crux of this conversation, it’s all quite close. Get the three attackers if you can, if you can’t get Bamford and Raphinha.

– Seb

Raphinha and Harrison touch heatmap last four matches

When it comes to deciding who to captain, it’s worth noting that Raphinha takes corners while Bamford is expected to stay on penalty duties.

No Premier League team has conceded more spot-kicks this season than Wolves (seven). And Southampton are not doing particularly well in that department, either, having given up four penalties  in 2020/21.

But Danny Ings should not be discounted, the Saints talisman has recorded six attempts on goal in his last two Premier League fixtures, including three big chances. And Southampton’s high-press could prove effective against Leeds, as Arsenal discovered in Gameweek 24 scoring four goals. 

Speaking on FPL Black Box, Pro Pundit Mark revealed that he is contemplating buying Ings with one of his two free transfers, factoring in that Southampton may have three Double Gameweeks in the next four. Although, as Greyhead noted in the 100th edition of The Great and The Good, how many of us will trust Danny Ings’ fragile hamstring to manage two games in quick succession?

And, as Jamie pointed out in his Members-only analysis of Southampton, if Ralph Hasenhüttl’s side are to get the best out of Ings, then they will need to create more chances, with the Saints creation ranking near the bottom in their last six matches.

Nonetheless, Ings is the only Southampton player included in the Scout Picks starting XI alongside a triple up of Bamford, Raphinha and Stuart Dallas (£5.0m) from Marcelo Bielsa’s troops.

Pro Pundit Plans

Along with Jack Harrison, the other players who could exploit the weakness down Southampton’s right side are Timo Werner (£9.2m) and Marcos Alonso (£5.7m).

I get the feeling that [Alonso] could drop a 15-pointer in any game if he continues in the same attacking vein. It looks like Tuchel is going to persist with the 3-4-3 formation and his comments with regards to Alonso seems particularly encouraging.

– Lateriser

As high-flying Pro Pundit Andy mentioned, the Spaniard offers massive potential at both ends of the pitch if you can cope with him missing the odd game.

Chelsea were picked out by both Andy and Lateriser due to their appealing fixtures, despite a difficult-looking Gameweek 26.

West Brom, Leeds and Palace are all in the bottom three for expected goals conceded this season, with Everton the seventh-worst team in the league. The fixtures from Gameweek 27 look prime for goals.

– Andy

Werner, who has started Chelsea’s last four matches under new boss Thomas Tuchel, has accumulated the joint-highest number of big chances (five) over the last four Gameweeks. 

Lateriser also noted that for those who are not Wildcarding in Gameweeks 25/26, there is a decent fixture swing in Gameweek 31, and it could be a good time to Wildcard. Something fellow Pro Pundit Az is planning to do, his thinking no doubt supported by some colourful spreadsheets!

Meanwhile, Werner was not one of the forward options being considered by Hall of Fame No 1 Fábio Borges.

The consistent top 10,000 manager is looking to replace the injured Michail Antonio (£6.6m) in his side and, after running the rule over several candidates, it boiled down to getting Danny Ings now or benching Antonio before buying Dominic Calvert-Lewin (£7.7m) for Double Gameweek 26.

Community Competitions and Head-to-Head Fixtures

This is your last chance to enter the open-to-all Fantasy Football Scout Cup with qualifying for the first round taking place in Gameweek 25. Qualifying for the Members Cup – entry for Premium Members only – gets underway in Gameweek 26.

A total of £300 in prizes is available across the two tournaments.

RedLightning rounded-up the latest Community mini-leagues and competitions.

Impressively, the two main FFScout mini-leagues are the top two Leagues in FPL, followed by Andy’s own mini-league. Well done to the top five managers in each of those mini-leagues.

There’s been another small tweak this week by Mat (aka matzi11a) to the fixtures and results displayed on the Head-to-Head Leagues main page.

From now on the scores and tables will update each night, so managers can see how they are getting on as the Gameweek unfolds.

The fixtures for Gameweek 25 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!

TopMarx Fan of Fantasy Football and Monty Python. "Archimedes out to Socrates, Socrates back to Archimedes, Archimedes out to Heraclitus, he beats Hegel. Heraclitus a little flick, here he comes on the far post, Socrates is there, Socrates heads it in! Socrates has scored! The Greeks are going mad, the Greeks are going mad! Socrates scores, got a beautiful cross from Archimedes. The Germans are disputing it. Hegel is arguing that the reality is merely an a priori adjunct of non-naturalistic ethics, Kant via the categorical imperative is holding that ontologically it exists only in the imagination, and Marx is claiming it was offside. Follow them on Twitter

2,870 Comments Post a Comment
  1. Dannyb
    • 6 Years
    3 years, 28 days ago

    Start Cavani or Stones?

    1. Hazz
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 6 Years
      3 years, 28 days ago

      I'd probably go Cavani, just as more likely for returns if he does start. Either is fine IMO.

    2. iL PiStOlErO
      • 4 Years
      3 years, 28 days ago

      Cavani if you are keeping

  2. Dannyb
    • 6 Years
    3 years, 28 days ago

    Start Cavani or Stones?

  3. Hazz
    • Fantasy Football Scout Member
    • 6 Years
    3 years, 28 days ago

    Afternoon folks.

    I have Cavani* & Gundogan* in my XI, with Soucek/Coufal/Digne on the bench.

    A) Soucek > Harrison [-4]
    B) Coufal > Dallas [-4]
    C) Cavani > Vardy [-4]
    D) Cavani > Kane [-4]

    I'd likely be benching Gundogan owing to Pep comments, mostly as Cavani seems more likely to play (better fixture), but the reality is both could miss out & bench isn't ideal.

    Have listed C/D too. No doubles, but may do next week. Vardy arguably a better fixture this week.

    1. Tonyawesome69
      • 5 Years
      3 years, 28 days ago

      GTG here with the correct bench order?

      1FT 3.7itb
      Pope
      Cancelo Stones Cresswell
      Salah Bruno Gundo Raphinha
      Bamford(C) Ings DCL
      (Martinez Soucek Digne Holding)

      1. Tonyawesome69
        • 5 Years
        3 years, 28 days ago

        Oops A is tempting but I think I would just use your bench

      2. Hazz
        • Fantasy Football Scout Member
        • 6 Years
        3 years, 28 days ago

        Lol - thanks for responding. It looks good. I have Soucek over Digne on my bench too (for better or for worse)

        1. Tonyawesome69
          • 5 Years
          3 years, 28 days ago

          Soucek 12th man for jammy bench points

  4. iL PiStOlErO
    • 4 Years
    3 years, 28 days ago

    Want to do Romeu to Raphinha but what to do with other ft? Save or Cavani to Ings?

    McCarthy Pope
    Cancelo Coufal Lowton Dallas Justin*
    Sterling Salah Bruno Gundo Romeu
    Antonio Bamford Cavani

    2ft, 1.7itb

  5. Corona is not good 4 U
    • 3 Years
    3 years, 28 days ago

    Is Soucek a good replacement if Gündogan will not play?

    Thank you!

    1. Iceball
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 9 Years
      3 years, 28 days ago

      No

  6. Forza Papac
    • Fantasy Football Scout Member
    • 8 Years
    3 years, 28 days ago

    Minamino or JWP?

    1. iL PiStOlErO
      • 4 Years
      3 years, 28 days ago

      Jwp

  7. pingissimus
    • 5 Years
    3 years, 28 days ago

    What's the highest number you've seen on FPL stats? Raph is now on 165% and rising rapidly.

    1. R.C
      • 6 Years
      3 years, 28 days ago

      300%

      1. pingissimus
        • 5 Years
        3 years, 28 days ago

        For real?

        More impressive is that Raph has already had one rise this week already

        1. R.C
          • 6 Years
          3 years, 28 days ago

          Yeah its normal, loads of players have such scenarios

    2. Gandalf
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 13 Years
      3 years, 28 days ago

      Feel like I saw 200-300+ at one point, can't remember if for rises or drops

    3. iL PiStOlErO
      • 4 Years
      3 years, 28 days ago

      Just bought him. Go Raph

  8. corderz
    • Fantasy Football Scout Member
    • 9 Years
    3 years, 28 days ago

    Antonio, Soucek, Chilwell > Ings, Raphinha, Shaw (-8)

    Good moves?

  9. Starvaiger
    • Fantasy Football Scout Member
    • 11 Years
    3 years, 28 days ago

    Start one:
    A) Antonio
    B) Soucek
    C) Richarlison

    Ewgh

  10. Alejo - CFC
    • 10 Years
    3 years, 28 days ago

    Soucek to Raphinha for a -4??

    Yes or No?

    1. seanie3
      • 12 Years
      3 years, 28 days ago

      Yay

    2. Redranger
      • 9 Years
      3 years, 28 days ago

      Yes, it’s my plan too

  11. DV8R
    • Fantasy Football Scout Member
    • 12 Years
    3 years, 28 days ago

    Would you play BB this GW or next GW?

    This GW: Pope/McCarthy, Watkins, Lowton, Coufal

    Next GW: Pope/McCarthy, Burn, Lowton, Raphinha

  12. RamaJama
    • Fantasy Football Scout Member
    • 11 Years
    3 years, 28 days ago

    Dcl to Ings for -4?

    1. seanie3
      • 12 Years
      3 years, 28 days ago

      Yay

  13. LewanGOALski
    • 12 Years
    3 years, 28 days ago

    Who’d you bench?

    Salah - Son - Bruno - Gundo - Raphinha
    Bamford - Ings - Cavani

    1. Keep Calm and Play On
      • 8 Years
      3 years, 28 days ago

      I benched gundo, might hurt but after peps comments I don’t want to risk it

  14. Cheshire Duck
    • Fantasy Football Scout Member
    • 9 Years
    3 years, 28 days ago

    starting Cancelo, just in case ...
    Who should be first on bench :
    A) Richarlison
    B) Soucek

    1. corderz
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 9 Years
      3 years, 28 days ago

      A

  15. Kane Train
    • 9 Years
    3 years, 28 days ago

    Please help?

    If DGW26 is announced before lockout am I good to go?

    Martinez
    Dias / Shaw / Konsa
    Salah / Bruno / Barnes / Gundo / Raph
    Kane / DCL

    Bench: Ederson, Watkins, Soyuncu & Striujk.

    1. Iceball
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 9 Years
      3 years, 28 days ago

      DCL to Bamford?

      1. Kane Train
        • 9 Years
        3 years, 28 days ago

        Will be doing Bamford to DCL next week with my FT. Currently do have Bamford

  16. TeddiPonza
    • Fantasy Football Scout Member
    • 13 Years
    3 years, 28 days ago

    Which option:

    A. Can get this team with -4 this week
    Martinez
    Stones Dias Tarkowski
    Raphinha Gundo Salah Bruno Son
    Bamford DCL
    Bench Forster Antonio Digne Coufal (Will prob TC in 26)

    B. Wildcard to:
    McCarthy
    Cancelo Dias Shaw
    Salah Gundo Bruno Raphinha
    Bamford Kane Ings
    Bench Martinez Lowton Dunk HBarnes (prob BB in 26)

    Thanks!

  17. TVPlugSockets
    • 3 Years
    3 years, 28 days ago

    Now I’m not WC, and therefore not BB next week...

    No idea when a sensible time to use the BB is going to be. Anyone got plans?

  18. Reeker
    • Fantasy Football Scout Member
    • 10 Years
    3 years, 28 days ago

    Grealish not pictured in training? Would you get rid of him on WC over a little rumour if you bought at 7.0??

    1. Scots Gooner
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 7 Years
      3 years, 28 days ago

      Nope, not worth the risk. Wouldn't go trusting one twitter rumor

    2. seanie3
      • 12 Years
      3 years, 28 days ago

      Nope, not in some pics doesn’t mean anything

  19. DA Minnion (Former great)
    • 11 Years
    3 years, 28 days ago

    Watkins to Ings for a hit and bench Gundogan /Mee . Thoughts

    1. Gandalf
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 13 Years
      3 years, 28 days ago

      Not worth it imo

  20. Big Ronnie
    • Fantasy Football Scout Member
    • 10 Years
    3 years, 28 days ago

    Start one? Currently on Watkins
    A) Watkins
    B) Grealish
    C) DCL

  21. Donny_Rover
    • 8 Years
    3 years, 28 days ago

    Which 2 would you bench?

    1. Gundogan
    2. Cancelo
    3. Grealish
    4. Cancelo

    Already starting Dias & Watkins.

    1. _Ninja_
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 13 Years
      3 years, 28 days ago

      1 of the Cancelos

  22. iCon
    • Fantasy Football Scout Member
    • 13 Years
    3 years, 28 days ago

    Play Mee or Lowton?

  23. Greyling
    • 7 Years
    3 years, 28 days ago

    What moves to make? 2FT available

    Martinez
    Dallas, Stones, Lowton
    Salah, Fernandes, Gundogan, Sterling, Son
    Bamford, Barnes

    Bench: Button, Antonio, Coufal, Justin

    1. Sterling, Antonio to Raphinia, Ings
    2. Sterling, Antonio to Kane, Raphinia
    3. Antonio to Watkins
    4. Gundogan to Raphinia
    5. Gundogan, Justin to Raphinia, Vestegaard
    6. Justin to Vestegaard

  24. jimmyharte
    • 6 Years
    3 years, 28 days ago

    Who to bench?

    Mee, Gundogan, Cancelo or Dias.

    1. Mooster©️
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 7 Years
      3 years, 28 days ago

      Mee

    2. Iwantmorepointsthanks
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 10 Years
      3 years, 28 days ago

      Dias

  25. Mooster©️
    • Fantasy Football Scout Member
    • 7 Years
    3 years, 28 days ago

    Benching headache. Need to bench two of them, and play one.
    Who would you play?
    A Stones
    B Grealish
    C Calwert-Lewin

    1. Quan MisTaka
      • 6 Years
      3 years, 28 days ago

      play A

  26. Sun Jihai
    • Fantasy Football Scout Member
    • 12 Years
    3 years, 28 days ago

    No Tweets on this post 🙂

  27. Oldie99
    • Fantasy Football Scout Member
    • 5 Years
    3 years, 28 days ago

    Surely a no-brainer but please confirm:

    Sterling to Salah
    Antonio to Ings,

    0.0 ITB

    1. Oldie99
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 5 Years
      3 years, 28 days ago

      have 2FT so is for free

    2. Gandalf
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 13 Years
      3 years, 28 days ago

      Yup looks good

  28. DagheMunegu
    • 3 Years
    3 years, 28 days ago

    Cavani to Ings -4 ?

    1. Quan MisTaka
      • 6 Years
      3 years, 28 days ago

      yes

  29. Quan MisTaka
    • 6 Years
    3 years, 28 days ago

    Would you do Cancelo to Dias on a WC?

    1. Eddie
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 11 Years
      3 years, 28 days ago

      No

  30. mezza
    • Fantasy Football Scout Member
    • 9 Years
    3 years, 28 days ago

    Double Leeds defense.

    God help me.

    1. DA Minnion (Former great)
      • 11 Years
      3 years, 28 days ago

      You'll need it.