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. The Red Devil
    • 9 Years
    3 years, 28 days ago

    RMWCT
    BB planned in GW26

    Martinez/Sanchez
    Cancelo/Lowton/Dallas/Shaw/Rudiger
    Salah/Gundogan/Fernandes/Neto/Raphinha
    Kane/Ings/bamford

    1.7 ITB for Raph to Barnes in GW26

    Seems to have most bases covered might get a DGW keeper in GW26

    1. petermc72
      • 12 Years
      3 years, 28 days ago

      Pretty much identical to mine except I have Dias (Cancelo) and Targett (Rudiger). Possibly look at Raph to Foden depending on Pep's selections over next week

      1. The Red Devil
        • 9 Years
        3 years, 28 days ago

        Yeah, 3rd city spot is open, can be anyone from a def to kdb
        personally really like barnes for his price, nailed in an attacking side

  2. Heisenberg W. W.
    • 3 Years
    3 years, 28 days ago

    Help me pick:

    A. Goalkeeper
    1. Pope (WBA)
    2. McCarthy (CHE+LEE)

    B. Defender
    1. Konsa (LEI)
    2. Coufal (TOT)

    (C)APTAIN
    1. Bruno
    2. Bamford
    3. Ings

    1. cruzex
      • 11 Years
      3 years, 28 days ago

      ings

    2. cruzex
      • 11 Years
      3 years, 28 days ago

      2, 1 ,3

  3. AD2110
    • 6 Years
    3 years, 28 days ago

    Is Struijk likely to play both games?

    1. Messiah Hazard
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 12 Years
      3 years, 28 days ago

      I think so as long as he’s fit

  4. Genji3lade
    • 6 Years
    3 years, 28 days ago

    Start Castagne ahead of Stones? Or too risky given he is returning from injury?

  5. Ibralicious
    • 9 Years
    3 years, 28 days ago

    Start Bednarek or Mee?

    1. Holmes
      • 10 Years
      3 years, 28 days ago

      Bed

      1. Rupert The Horse
        • Fantasy Football Scout Member
        • 11 Years
        3 years, 28 days ago

        Mee

    2. svasei - Up (?) the Rovers
      • 14 Years
      3 years, 28 days ago

      You do realize he could get one red card, then have it rescinded before the second, only two earn another in the last match. Both will count in FPL.

      1. Ibralicious
        • 9 Years
        3 years, 28 days ago

        I’m guessing Mee then :/

  6. Davidwes
    • 4 Years
    3 years, 28 days ago

    Who to play?
    A) Watkins
    B) DCL

    1. Holmes
      • 10 Years
      3 years, 28 days ago

      A

  7. ChickenTikkaMoSalah
    • 8 Years
    3 years, 28 days ago

    Play DCL or Robbo?

    1. Heisenberg W. W.
      • 3 Years
      3 years, 28 days ago

      DCL

    2. S3
      • 5 Years
      3 years, 28 days ago

      DCL

    3. beric
      • 12 Years
      3 years, 28 days ago

      Both

  8. S3
    • 5 Years
    3 years, 28 days ago

    Help!

    Antonio + Barnes -> Raphinha + Ings (-4)?

    1. AiAiCaptain
      • 4 Years
      3 years, 28 days ago

      I would do that, although I would want Barnes back next gw

  9. DIMITRIS
    • 5 Years
    3 years, 28 days ago

    Help plesae, what's better:
    A) TAA, Stones and Son
    B) Rudiger, Burn and Salah

    1. Holmes
      • 10 Years
      3 years, 28 days ago

      A for sure

  10. svasei - Up (?) the Rovers
    • 14 Years
    3 years, 28 days ago

    The vibe on here right now: Beefed up squads and massive benching headaches.

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

      Just bench Salah and every little thing gonna be alright!

  11. DangerFC
    • 5 Years
    3 years, 28 days ago

    Gtg:
    Mc carthy
    , shaw,stones, mee, dallas
    Bruno, raphinha, gundo, salah
    Cavani, bamford (c).
    Fabianski, dias, grealish, antonio

  12. The Red Devil
    • 9 Years
    3 years, 28 days ago

    RMWCT
    BB planned in GW26

    Martinez/Sanchez
    Cancelo/Lowton/Dallas/Shaw/Rudiger
    Salah/Gundogan/Fernandes/Neto/Raphinha
    Kane/Ings/bamford

    1.7 ITB for Raph to Barnes in GW26

    Seems to have most bases covered, might get a DGW keeper in GW26

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

      Meslier as 2nd keeper?

      1. The Red Devil
        • 9 Years
        3 years, 28 days ago

        dont trust leeds with CSs

  13. Steve The Spud
    • Fantasy Football Scout Member
    • 4 Years
    3 years, 28 days ago

    Carnage!

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

    Probably asked many times but.
    Bench 1: stones or Dias?

    1. Catastrophe
      • 13 Years
      3 years, 28 days ago

      Stones

      1. markus808
        • 13 Years
        3 years, 28 days ago

        I actually don't follow the logic here. Dias almost guaranteed to not score or assist. Bonus unlikely too. Stones should be the better option?

        1. Catastrophe
          • 13 Years
          3 years, 28 days ago

          Little between them - but Dias is more nailed (in my opinion). Also unlikely Stones would be benched and come on as a sub. I don't think this decision is a particularly important one.

  15. dunas_dog
    • Fantasy Football Scout Member
    • 8 Years
    3 years, 28 days ago

    Bench

    A Gundogan or
    B Watkins

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

      Bench Watkins!
      Gündo will either play from the beginning or not at all.

    2. MallettMan
      • 7 Years
      3 years, 28 days ago

      watkins and hell come on if gundogan doesnt play

    3. Catastrophe
      • 13 Years
      3 years, 28 days ago

      B

  16. lifes a pitch
    • 10 Years
    3 years, 28 days ago

    Dias or Cancelo?

    1. Catastrophe
      • 13 Years
      3 years, 28 days ago

      Close. I've gone Dias.

  17. Bury94
    • Fantasy Football Scout Member
    • 6 Years
    3 years, 28 days ago

    Dias, Watkins, Pereira

    Correct order on bench?

    1. Catastrophe
      • 13 Years
      3 years, 28 days ago

      Maybe Watkins first.

  18. JBG
    • 5 Years
    3 years, 28 days ago

    RMWCT pretty please!

    Emi-Areola
    Burn-Cancdlo-Shaw-Lowton-Dias
    Mo-Bruno-Gundo-Raph-Neto
    Kane-Bam-Ings

    1.5itb so Raph and Bam can be transferred out for DGW26 players.

    1. Messiah Hazard
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 12 Years
      3 years, 28 days ago

      DGW is not confirmed yet...

  19. S3
    • 5 Years
    3 years, 28 days ago

    SOS!

    Antonio + Barnes -> Raphinha + Ings (-4)?

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

      Maybe. Do you have to lose Barnes?

      1. S3
        • 5 Years
        3 years, 28 days ago

        Gundogan the only other option

    2. Muchentuchel
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 5 Years
      3 years, 28 days ago

      sure!

      1. S3
        • 5 Years
        3 years, 28 days ago

        will go for it....wildcarding next week and can bring back barnes

    3. svasei - Up (?) the Rovers
      • 14 Years
      3 years, 28 days ago

      Keep Gundogan and Barnes.

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

      Yes

  20. MallettMan
    • 7 Years
    3 years, 28 days ago

    Stones or Digne bench one

  21. Wolfman180
    • Fantasy Football Scout Member
    • 9 Years
    3 years, 28 days ago

    Play Dunk or Lowton? I have Pope in goal

  22. Drexl Spivey
    • 5 Years
    3 years, 28 days ago

    Antonio popular on the market tonight.

    1. Andy_Social
      • 11 Years
      3 years, 28 days ago

      Minus 250 yet? Must be a record on FPLStats

      1. Drexl Spivey
        • 5 Years
        3 years, 28 days ago

        -285.4 on FPLStatistics.

  23. Ian Davis
    • 14 Years
    3 years, 28 days ago

    Worth downgrading Dallas to upgrade Mitchell?

  24. Plagued by indecision
    • 13 Years
    3 years, 28 days ago

    Someone please tell me I'm G2G so I can log off...

    Pope
    Cancelo / Shaw / Dallas
    Raphinha / Salah / Fernandes / Gundogan
    Antonio / Bamford (c) / DCL

    Subs: Martinez / Stones / Bednarek / Saka

    Cash ITB for Saka > Son or Antonio > Kane/Vardy next week.

    1. MallettMan
      • 7 Years
      3 years, 28 days ago

      g2g bro, log off

    2. djman102
      • 14 Years
      3 years, 28 days ago

      G2g

    3. My heart goes Salalalalah
      • 7 Years
      3 years, 28 days ago

      G2G

    4. DangerFC
      • 5 Years
      3 years, 28 days ago

      Gtg hopefully antonio plays. Make sure your bench order is right.

      1. Plagued by indecision
        • 13 Years
        3 years, 28 days ago

        thanks. It's Stones / Bednarek / Saka. Thoughts?

    5. Plagued by indecision
      • 13 Years
      3 years, 28 days ago

      Thanks everyone

    6. AC/DC AFC
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 8 Years
      3 years, 28 days ago

      G2go bro!!!

  25. Tsparkes10
    • 5 Years
    3 years, 28 days ago

    Raph captain and saving ft... gtg?

    Martinez
    Dallas Mee Dias
    Raph Son Sterl Greal Bruno
    Bamford Ings
    (Johnstone, Antonio, Stones, Justin)

  26. sirmorbach
    • 7 Years
    3 years, 28 days ago

    Lads, please, good to go?

    Pope
    Dias, Cresswell, Dallas
    Salah, Bruno, Gündogan, Raphinha
    Bamford (c), Watkins, DCL

    Martínez, Stones, Soucek, Digne

    1. Tsparkes10
      • 5 Years
      3 years, 28 days ago

      Yo mate

  27. unclesbasement
    • 3 Years
    3 years, 28 days ago

    Who would you get rid of cancelo or stones

  28. FFSbet.com
    • 8 Years
    3 years, 28 days ago

    Watching Andy,few paying 5$ to tell him what transfer he should make 😀

  29. Alli
    • 6 Years
    3 years, 28 days ago

    Bench 2:

    A. Stones
    B. Cancelo
    C. Gundogan
    D. Rudiger
    E. Lowton

  30. King Kohli
    • 11 Years
    3 years, 28 days ago

    Who is the best 1st sub if Gundo doesn't play?

    A. Mee
    B. Che Adams