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The Complete Guide to our FPL Gameweek 26 tips and advice

The Gameweek 26 deadline approaches after the most tumultuous Gameweek in recent memory. For those who Triple Captained Manchester City’s Sergio Agüero it brought 57 points and unbridled joy, for others, despair – Leroy Sané’s solitary point was way below expectations. You thought triple captaining Andy Carroll was a disaster.

The bad news is that, for those who suffered, it could get worse.

This week’s Meet the Manager guest, former FPL winner Simon March, a recent graduate in behavioural economics, cautioned that managers who lost out in Gameweek 25 could fall victim to the “What the heck? Effect” – where we are more likely to take risks following a loss.

Simon’s advice is to try to be objective about risk and reward values. If you are wondering how to do that then fear not, help is at hand. The writers, contributors, and posters here at Fantasy Football Scout have been busily sorting the wheat from the chaff.

The first step is to clear your head, and what better place to start than last week’s cathartic episode of the Scoutcast. In an open and revealing discussion, J0E, Az and David talked about how a bad gameweek can affect your mental health. This lead to a hot topic on the subject in which FFS members including SuperMane Returns and Pep Pig shared stories about their personal struggles with addiction.

Having put things in perspective, let’s take a look at this week’s opportunities.

Neale (aka Skonto Rigga) has perused the upcoming fixtures to determine which teams are best placed to take advantage. According to Hutch_James, a number of teams are predicted to do well in Gameweek 26 as he revealed in his Wisdom of the Crowd article. Although for G-Whizz Liverpool are the standout option in the latest DS stats, fixtures and clean sheet odds.

David’s Captain Sensible article makes for fascinating reading as ever. After back-to-back blanks, are there serious contenders to take the armband away from Mohamed Salah?

A lot of the discussion this week has centered around what to do with our City players. The FPL General, a victim of Pep’s unpredictable whims, collected his thoughts ahead of Gameweek 26. While Geoff started a conversation about Sané replacements.

If you noticed, during this tempestuous week, the strange sight of a man being pursued by a bear, it was probably old Greyhead. Our community writer’s regular examination of The Great and The Good took on Shakespearean proportions. Mark and Niemi aside, the rest suffered “the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune”, for Ville it’s now nine red arrows in a row.

The irony is that this season, it is The Great and The Good who should be pursuing Greyhead. He’s doing superbly well and is currently ranked 549 overall. According to FPL Transfer Spy, the high-flying scribe has sold the Belgian Wizard Eden Hazard for the free-scoring South Korean Son Heung-min ahead of the transfer deadline.

The picture ahead of Blank Gameweek 31 became a little clearer with Brighton’s progress in the FA cup. For those planning ahead, Liverpool appear an attractive proposition as they don’t have any Blank Gameweeks this season. It wasn’t so long ago that many managers were considering a defensive double-up, however the Reds have struggled for clean sheets recently. Neale’s looked into what is behind their recent defensive woes.

One reason is perhaps the injuries they’ve had, but could Trent Alexander-Arnold be ready to return to the fold?

Find out in the team news rounded-up in full by Neale, together with a handy hot topic from Rotation’s Alter Ego.

Finally, for players of the Sky Sports game, Luke (aka disable) brought us a breakdown on player ownership for the top 1,000 managers.

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.

COMMUNITY TOURNAMENTS

The finals of the two FFS cup competitions take place this gameweek.

In the semi-finals of the FFS Members Cup Jambo17 was the outstanding performer – a whopping 114 points was easily enough to see off his rival AKÉ MEYER DANN U. Jambo17 had the optimal City combination of Agüero, Sterling, and Laporte, and he used his Triple Captain chip on Sterling. He moves into the top 100 overall and must start as favourite in the final.

Does his opponent stand a chance?

Jay # scraped through his semi-final against Eedee by 62 points to 56 and is ranked 59,782 overall, so on the surface you would say probably not. However, he looks well positioned to have a good gameweek with Arsenal’s Aubameyang and Kolasinac already in place along with Jiménez up front. He’s also helped by the fact his opponent has already taken a hit. So an upset isn’t out of the question.

In the semi-finals of the FFS Cup Get It Inter Ya overcame Justmatt, and Man-Chest-Heir F.C. saw off the challenge of Tibbles.

Get It Inter Ya did very well to score 75 points despite captaining Sané, double digit returns from De Gea and Chelsea pair David Luiz and Eden Hazard bailed him out. He remains in the top 1,000 overall. Heading into the final, he owns Kolasinac although not his teammate Aubameyang. Instead he has a cheap front line, but with two free transfers available we could see funds shifted forward to buy the Gabonese international.

Man-Chest-Heir F.C had Laporte to thank for his semi-final victory as he was another to captain Sané. The lowest ranked of the finalists at 124,414 overall, he has one free transfer and £2.4m in the bank to bolster his squad. With a cheap front line, including Josh King away to Liverpool, and an injured David Brooks, he has an important decision to make on how to invest those funds.

In the final of the FFS Manager Melee Community Tournament American Dycho have triumphed over The Godfather: Pardew with a 7-2 victory. An official match report will follow shortly.

In TorresMagic’s Last Man Standing the safety score in Gameweek 25 was 49, this saw 70 managers eliminated. 616 managers are through to Gameweek 26, when the threshold for elimination increases to 12%. The final will take place in Gameweek 37.

It’s all change at the top of the featured mini-leagues after the divisive double gameweek.

There’s a new leader in our main FFS League with Omer Weisberg taking top spot as Miroslav Pujic drops to eighth after only managing 52 points. Omer ignored the clamour to captain a City player and plumped instead for Chelsea’s Eden Hazard. The diminutive Belgian, along with Laporte and Higuain, helped Omer to a gameweek score of 100. He is now sixth overall in only his second FPL season.

Tore Bjørheim has lost his 15 point lead at the head of the FFS Members League as Adam Levy surged past him. Adam triple captained Agüero for a gameweek score of 126 and moves up to 17th overall. This is his sixth season, his best finish of 10,847 came last year.

David’s reign atop the FFS Mods & Cons is at an end. Overthrown by his boss, Mark stormed past David with a stupendous 102 points to leave his employee floundering in his wake. Am I making this sound more dramatic than it actually is? Possibly. Mark had a decent gameweek with Sterling, Hazard, and Laporte contributing to his total. I’m sure David will bounce back.

Mark moves up to second in the FFS Live Hall of Fame behind Sean Tobin. Sean managed an impressive 93 points in Gameweek 25 and now finds himself in the top 10 overall. Yet to make a transfer this week, Sean could be doing the Auba to Agüero hokey-cokey. Sean featured recently in one of J0E’s Meet the Manager videos.

James Wells is the new leader in RedLightning’s Top 10k Any Season mini-league, as long-time leader Luke Aiello drops to third. James is a new entry to this mini-league and is perhaps lucky to be top after triple captaining Sané. He dropped from eighth to 39th overall. This is his 13th FPL season, he has two previous top 10,000 finishes, the highest one being 2,330 back in 2006/07.

JOZ V moves into first place in RedLightning’s January to May League as previous leader Lesego Maforah drops out of the top ten. JOZ V triple captained Agüero on his way to a mighty 125 points. This is his sixth FPL season, his best finish being 2,799 in 2014/15.

Finally, some managers may have noticed a new mini-league appear – RedLightning has reactivated and renamed his Doubles Blanks & Chips mini-league from last season to Last Ten GWs. The code for others who may like to join is 1637-1351886. The league will begin scoring in Gameweek 29.

The reason for the name change is that having just had a pivotal double gameweek, the January to May League is a perhaps a better way of seeing which chip strategies are proving to be the most effective in dealing with this season’s Double and Blank gameweeks.

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


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

2,132 Comments Post a Comment
  1. DaftKing
    • 12 Years
    5 years, 1 month ago

    Start one of:

    AWB (WHU)
    Digne (wat)
    Holebas (EVE)

    1. #FPLBhuna
      • 7 Years
      5 years, 1 month ago

      Awb

    2. _Ninja_
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 13 Years
      5 years, 1 month ago

      Holebas

    3. Taking one for the team
      • 8 Years
      5 years, 1 month ago

      Holebas

    4. Gandolph
      • 11 Years
      5 years, 1 month ago

      Holebas

  2. FPL Mentor
    • 8 Years
    5 years, 1 month ago

    Bench 1:

    A. Richarlison
    B. KDB
    C. Deeney

    First to 3 keeps the bench warm.

    1. #FPLBhuna
      • 7 Years
      5 years, 1 month ago

      A

  3. FPL_Guru_OM
    • 13 Years
    5 years, 1 month ago

    Hi chaps...

    Bench one:

    Hazard, Jota, Salah, Pogba, Redmond,
    Llorente, Firmino, Rash...

    1. #FPLBhuna
      • 7 Years
      5 years, 1 month ago

      That’s a horrible decision to make lol

      But I’m going to say Redmond cause given his past history I don’t think he’s capable of keeping his form up.

      1. Teddy Brewski
        • 9 Years
        5 years, 1 month ago

        1 return in 6 games. Current form is standard Redmond

        1. #FPLBhuna
          • 7 Years
          5 years, 1 month ago

          In that case 100%!redmond

          1. FPL_Guru_OM
            • 13 Years
            5 years, 1 month ago

            Thats true about Redmond.. Cardiff home still so tempting..

    2. JohnBlack
      • 5 Years
      5 years, 1 month ago

      Salah

    3. _Ninja_
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 13 Years
      5 years, 1 month ago

      Llorente

    4. Gandolph
      • 11 Years
      5 years, 1 month ago

      Llorente

    5. FPL_Guru_OM
      • 13 Years
      5 years, 1 month ago

      Lllorente will start imo and I see him scoring tomorrow.

  4. Dazzrb
    • 8 Years
    5 years, 1 month ago

    Play Shaw or Duffy?

    1. FPL_Guru_OM
      • 13 Years
      5 years, 1 month ago

      Shaw probably...

    2. FPL Mentor
      • 8 Years
      5 years, 1 month ago

      No way of playing both? Shaw

    3. waldo666
      • 13 Years
      5 years, 1 month ago

      Shaw

    4. #FPLBhuna
      • 7 Years
      5 years, 1 month ago

      Duffy

    5. Shark Team
      • 6 Years
      5 years, 1 month ago

      Duffy for me

  5. Shark Team
    • 6 Years
    5 years, 1 month ago

    Plz help my benching headache
    A)Foster or Fabianski
    B)Rank the following by most ppts: AWB Jonny Stones...

    1. #FPLBhuna
      • 7 Years
      5 years, 1 month ago

      A) bench fab
      B) same order as you

  6. iamNwB
    • 8 Years
    5 years, 1 month ago

    What 3 def to play?
    1. Doherty vs Newcastle
    2. Van Dijk vs Bournemouth
    3. Lindelof vs Fulham
    4. Wan Bissaka vs West Ham
    5. Bamba vs Southampton

    Currently on 1, 2 and 3

    1. Daniel Exeter
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 11 Years
      5 years, 1 month ago

      123

      1. iamNwB
        • 8 Years
        5 years, 1 month ago

        Thanks Daniel - The assurance i needed...

    2. Gandolph
      • 11 Years
      5 years, 1 month ago

      Depends on rest of squad but if you’re intent on playing 3 @ back then 1,2,3 it’ll have to be

      1. iamNwB
        • 8 Years
        5 years, 1 month ago

        Rest of the squad
        Siggy, Salah, Son, Pogba and Jota

        Aguero and Deeney (King on the bench)

    3. #FPLBhuna
      • 7 Years
      5 years, 1 month ago

      124

      I’ve read Lindelof ain’t travelled anyway

      1. iamNwB
        • 8 Years
        5 years, 1 month ago

        Oh oh...

    4. myteamissheeeeeeeet
      • 14 Years
      5 years, 1 month ago

      Lindelof not in the squad so play AWB. That sorts that problem out for you!

      1. iamNwB
        • 8 Years
        5 years, 1 month ago

        Indeed it does. Thank you

  7. Cookie Kid
    • Fantasy Football Scout Member
    • 7 Years
    5 years, 1 month ago

    Had planned to get Auba in this week for a -4

    Best to avoid now?

    He’s also due to drop tonight

    1. waldo666
      • 13 Years
      5 years, 1 month ago

      Definitely wouldn't do it for a hit.

    2. Gandolph
      • 11 Years
      5 years, 1 month ago

      Might not even play

  8. Buck The Trent
    • 12 Years
    5 years, 1 month ago

    Any tweet from Anfield Express on pool line up ?

    *TAA owner

    1. Daniel Exeter
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 11 Years
      5 years, 1 month ago

      Thought that stopped last season?

    2. Revival
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 11 Years
      5 years, 1 month ago

      They tweeted 2 days ago that Trent is expected to be back. No word on if he starts or not.

      1. Buck The Trent
        • 12 Years
        5 years, 1 month ago

        Thanks

  9. Daniel Exeter
    • Fantasy Football Scout Member
    • 11 Years
    5 years, 1 month ago

    Siggy to Pogba for -4?

    1. JohnBlack
      • 5 Years
      5 years, 1 month ago

      Yay

  10. Where dahoud at
    • 6 Years
    5 years, 1 month ago

    Gtg

    Etheridge
    Bennett, robertson, kola
    Mane, de bruyne, hazard, pogba
    Batshuayi, aguero(vc), rashford(c)

    Bench, boruc, awb, mc arthur, scook

  11. Gandolph
    • 11 Years
    5 years, 1 month ago

    Team is:

    Fab

    Bennet Lindelöf Holebas

    Pogba Haz Son Rich Salah

    Kun Rashford

    Subs: Speroni / AWB / Chilwell / Quaner

    1FT - would you take out any of Haz / Rich / Kun?

    Was thinking Rich - Jota or Kun - Auba (but now he’s doubtful so will probably hold until next weekend)

    Or would you save the transfer?

    Cheers

  12. micsway
    • 10 Years
    5 years, 1 month ago

    Anyone starting TAA?

    1. Fitzy.
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 12 Years
      5 years, 1 month ago

      Without a doubt.

    2. Lucky Z
      • 6 Years
      5 years, 1 month ago

      Any reason not to?

      1. micsway
        • 10 Years
        5 years, 1 month ago

        Concerned he might come on as a sub late game

  13. KuntaKante
    • 5 Years
    5 years, 1 month ago

    Which of these two to start:
    Digne (Wat A)
    Or
    Holebas ( Eve H)

    Already have Robbo, Doherty and AWB

    1. Gandolph
      • 11 Years
      5 years, 1 month ago

      Play both and bench AWB

  14. Nightf0x
    • 8 Years
    5 years, 1 month ago

    Which plan???

    A) gw27- button to boruc, 11 players to play, Gw28- lovren ederson -4 to periera ryan

    B) gw27- lovren to periera, 10 players to play, Gw28- ederson to ryan

  15. Michelle Davin
    • 7 Years
    5 years, 1 month ago

    Who to Bench ?

    A)Barnes

    B)Digne

  16. Denis Tueart on the wing
    • 14 Years
    5 years, 1 month ago

    Help needed - Which of these to play in first eleven, and second best if Auba doesn't play

    a) Richarlison WAT (A)
    b) Shaw FUL (A)
    c) Holebas EVE (H)
    d) Suárez HUD (A)

  17. Atimis
    • 7 Years
    5 years, 1 month ago

    Any changes between starting XI and bench?
    Maybe start Bednarek?

    Fabianski
    Doherty/Shaw/WB
    Salah(c)/Mane/Son/Pogba
    Auba/Rashford/Jimenez

    Hart/Bednarek/Digne/Puncheon

  18. Wild Rover
    • 13 Years
    5 years, 1 month ago

    Haha, precianabrown the so called ITK who posted the original Auba not trained or travelled tweet has now deleted it and has tweeted this

    Can people stop messaging me at 8am about squad news

    I am sick and In bed

    Leave me the feck alone you’ll find out just like me at 2pm

    I've edited a word in the last bit 😀

    1. Now I'm Panicking
      • 9 Years
      5 years, 1 month ago

      Or she could turn her phone off

      1. Wild Rover
        • 13 Years
        5 years, 1 month ago

        'you’ll find out just like me at 2pm'

        Clearly has no idea

        1. Now I'm Panicking
          • 9 Years
          5 years, 1 month ago

          She'd fit in well on here

      2. Fitzy.
        • Fantasy Football Scout Member
        • 12 Years
        5 years, 1 month ago

        Sick and in bed, but still checking the phone!

    2. waldo666
      • 13 Years
      5 years, 1 month ago

      Hilarious!

    3. Burger
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 8 Years
      5 years, 1 month ago

      Isn't it funny these people are desperate for attention 99% of the tone bit throw their toys out the pram when it's not convenient for them.

  19. Chandler Bing
    • 7 Years
    5 years, 1 month ago

    Aguero -> Auba/Laca (which one?) -4 worth a hit? Will be taking a hit next GW anyway as I currently have 4 non starters for the blank week.

    1. waldo666
      • 13 Years
      5 years, 1 month ago

      Not sure either is worth a hit, certainly not Auba. I was set to do Kun to Auba for free but reckon I might hold off now.

      1. Chandler Bing
        • 7 Years
        5 years, 1 month ago

        So you suggest holding back here? What about Richarlison -> Son? One for this week or the next one?

        1. waldo666
          • 13 Years
          5 years, 1 month ago

          I'd prefer that move but reckon it can wait until next week.

        2. Teddy Brewski
          • 9 Years
          5 years, 1 month ago

          Yeah that sounds a better use of a hit

    2. Rohirrims
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 8 Years
      5 years, 1 month ago

      No.. Whoever comes in will have to do 1+ over 2 weeks to break even.

    3. abaalan
      • 7 Years
      5 years, 1 month ago

      Think I'm leaning towards Laca since auba may not start

      1. abaalan
        • 7 Years
        5 years, 1 month ago

        Wouldn't for a hit though

  20. Eat my goal!
    • Fantasy Football Scout Member
    • 5 Years
    5 years, 1 month ago

    Chances of Auba playing?

    1. Party time
        5 years, 1 month ago

        90% 😉

      • Eytexi
        • 5 Years
        5 years, 1 month ago

        Nobody knows, everyone has their own guess haha.

        40%.

        1. Party time
            5 years, 1 month ago

            but I know. He will start

      • EgyptianKing
        • 5 Years
        5 years, 1 month ago

        No idea on what to do mates... Advice, please? 1 FT 0.5 itb

        Ederson
        Robertson, TAA, Doherty
        Sane, Pogba, Salah, Hazard, Son
        Rashford, Jimenez

        Guaita, Bednarek, Bissaka, Kamara

        Cheers!

      • Pirlø's Pen
        • 8 Years
        5 years, 1 month ago

        Anything worth a hit here?

        Patricio
        Robertson Doherty TAA Kolasinac
        Salah (c) Sané Pogba Son
        Aubameyang Rashford

        Button Laporte Gunnarsson Kamara

        1. Chandler Bing
          • 7 Years
          5 years, 1 month ago

          Looks good to go. Care to answer me above?

      • fc_skrald
        • 8 Years
        5 years, 1 month ago

        Was Bednarek just lucky with his assist last week? Or can we expect more attacking points from him. I'm in doubt if I should play Bednarek (home to Cardiff) or Pereira (away to Tottenham).

        1. Danstoke82
          • 9 Years
          5 years, 1 month ago

          I’d play Bednarek probably

        2. the Penman
          • Fantasy Football Scout Member
          • 12 Years
          5 years, 1 month ago

          Oh, Bednarek definitely.

      • corderz
        • Fantasy Football Scout Member
        • 9 Years
        5 years, 1 month ago

        Transfer help required

        2 FT's 0.1 ITB

        Fabianski Foster
        Luiz Doherty Digne Holebas AWB
        Salah Hazard Pogba Richarlison Deulofeu
        Kane Rashford Kamara

        1. corderz
          • Fantasy Football Scout Member
          • 9 Years
          5 years, 1 month ago

          Aguero not kane....... Ooops

        2. Chandler Bing
          • 7 Years
          5 years, 1 month ago

          Richarlison -> Felipe Anderson
          Digne -> Kolasinac

          Possible?

      • #FPLBhuna
        • 7 Years
        5 years, 1 month ago

        Siggy > vaping (-4)?

        1. Miguel Sanchez
          • Fantasy Football Scout Member
          • 7 Years
          5 years, 1 month ago

          just quit

          1. #FPLBhuna
            • 7 Years
            5 years, 1 month ago

            Don’t smoke just thought it was funny

      • mcrayeps
        • 7 Years
        5 years, 1 month ago

        Hi, need advice, please pick one to play from :
        A. Sane
        B. AWB
        C. Bednarek

        Fabs
        Doherty / Robbo / AWB / Kolasinac
        Son / Salah / Mane / Pogba
        Jimenez / Rashford
        (3.9 / Sane / Bednarek / Kamara)

        Cheers

      • The Train Driver
        • 8 Years
        5 years, 1 month ago

        Lindelöfs wife confirms in her blog that Viktor will miss the Fulham game.

        https://www.aftonbladet.se/a/9m7V59

        1. #FPLBhuna
          • 7 Years
          5 years, 1 month ago

          Where’s the translation button

          1. The Train Driver
            • 8 Years
            5 years, 1 month ago

            Just trust me :p

            She is writing about that they are having a full saturday together free from work.

            1. fc_skrald
              • 8 Years
              5 years, 1 month ago

              She is in charge in that relationship, she decided, he just agreed...

      • Srv210
        • 6 Years
        5 years, 1 month ago

        Final thoughts on this please

        who to play (worried about TAA cameo)
        A) TAA
        B) AWB

        Who to captain
        1) Salah
        2) Aubameyang

      • Danstoke82
        • 9 Years
        5 years, 1 month ago

        Morning all, start one out of these three?;

        A) Wan Bissaka
        B) Jonny
        C) Bednarek

        1. SB8
          • 5 Years
          5 years, 1 month ago

          B

      • corderz
        • Fantasy Football Scout Member
        • 9 Years
        5 years, 1 month ago

        2 free transfers to use to sort this team out. Any suggestions?

        Fabianski Foster
        Luiz Doherty Digne Holebas AWB
        Salah Hazard Pogba Richarlison Deulofeu
        Aguero Rashford Kamara

        1. DMP
          • Fantasy Football Scout Member
          • 8 Years
          5 years, 1 month ago

          Hazard - > Son
          Deulofeu > F. Andersson or Kamara -> Jimmy