Tips

The Complete Guide to Our FPL Gameweek 3 Tips and Advice

To Wildcard or not to Wildcard? 

That is the question many FPL managers are already asking themselves even at this early stage of the season. Before you think there’s something fishy going on, a reminder that with an evening kick-off in the Premier League we have a Friday deadline of 19:00 UK time

As the FPL General observed in his opinion piece:

“The beauty of FPL is that there is no right or wrong way to play it… Do what’s right for your squad and ignore everything else.”

As usual, Fantasy Football Scout provides the perfect mix of stats, reviews, and expert opinion to help Wildcarders and non-Wildcarders alike. 

Making the headlines in Gameweek 2 was Teemu Pukki (£6.8m). FPL managers have been clamouring to squeeze the red-hot Finn into their sides, with nearly 1 million taking the plunge so far. David examined his credentials in a members-only article this week, concluding that:

“There is a lot to like about Pukki, both in terms of his underlying statistics, and his upcoming opponents.”

A more controversial talking-point has been the merits of doubling-up on Liverpool’s defence. So far, the Reds have failed to keep a clean sheet – a disappointing start after recording 21 shut-outs last season. 

The decline in their underlying stats was highlighted by David on the Scoutcast:

“Last season [Liverpool’s] average xGC (expected goals conceded) was 0.76, against Southampton it was 1.94 – the worst xGC that Liverpool have recorded since the start of last season.”

This prompted a strong rebuttal from Az, who feels that two weeks is not nearly long enough to judge Liverpool’s defence. He also pointed out that Trent Alexander-Arnold (£7.0m) and Virgil van Dijk (£6.5m) both recorded attacking returns in Gameweek 1. 

Meanwhile Neale took a closer look at which defenders have been the most attacking in the opening two Gameweeks of the season. The members-only article uses stats to analyse involvement, distribution, and goal threat for FPL defenders. Neale ends the article with a word on out-of-position defender John Lundstram (£4.1m), whose midfield exploits have caught the eye:

“[Lundstram] currently sits top of the FPL defenders’ xGI table after two Gameweeks – an outcome most of his owners wouldn’t have dreamed of ahead of Gameweek 1.”

The Sheffield United defender makes the starting eleven in this week’s Scout Picks, along with two Manchester United defenders in the shape of Aaron Wan-Bissaka (£5.6m) and goalkeeper David de Gea (£5.6m). Part of the thinking behind the double-up is that opponents “Crystal Palace are bottom of the league for total goal attempts, shots inside the box and big chances”.

TheFantasyFreÆK would no doubt approve of their selection, noting in his Gameweek 2 review that Manchester United’s defense conceded “zero big chances” to Wolves. United are second behind Tottenham Hotspur for a clean sheet in G-Whizz’s DS stats, fixtures and clean sheet odds for Gameweek 3.

Transferred in by over half a million managers, Anthony Martial (£7.7m) with two goals in two games, added further weight to those considering an early Wildcard. Prosckol observed in his community article “Wildcard activation tips”:

“A guaranteed forward who is classified as a midfielder in FPL at £7.6 at the time of writing can’t be ignored considering the threat he provides.”

With so many players performing well, it’s potentially a tricky choice for the armband this week. David’s Captain Sensible article looks at the best candidates. With favourable fixtures Harry Kane (£11.0m) and Raheem Sterling (£12.2m) appear the front runners for the job.

Elsewhere, Greyhead provided us with an update on The Great and The Good

“After two weeks Mark is just ahead of the rest, but Joe is just behind along with Sean Tobin, but they all still sit outside the 150,000 rank at this early stage.”

It will be interesting to see how many of this elite bunch deployed their Wildcard in Gameweek 3.

For Scandinavians and lovers of all things fantasy, Meltens and TallestJohn have once again kindly provided us with their regular articles. Meltens previews Gameweek 21 in Fantasy Allsvenskan while TallestJohn gives us his guide to Gameweek 18 in Eliteserien Fantasy. Updates on the respective FFS mini-leagues in Eliteserien and Allsvenskan are found later in this article.

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

Mark Fisk retains the lead in our Fantasy Football Scout mini-league and is up to eleventh overall. Mark played his Wildcard in Gameweek 2 after using his Bench Boost in Gameweek 1. Will he play a third chip in Gameweek 3? 

The current top three in the Scout mini-league all opened the season playing either their Bench Boost or Triple Captain chip followed by a Wildcard.

There are currently 42,639 managers participating in the Fantasy Football Scout mini-league, to join them enter code ooyz44 in your Leagues’ section on the FPL site. 

Jill Lees tops our FFS Members mini-league for the second week running with 181 points. Impressively, Jill’s explosive start has been achieved without using a chip. She is up to 252 overall in only her second season playing FPL.

The code to join the FFS Members League can be found on the Members page

In TorresMagic’s Last Man Standing the safety score for Gameweek 2 was 35, this saw 236 managers fall at the second fence. 3,934 teams are through to Gameweek 3, the threshold for elimination remains at 5%.

It is possible to enter the competition up until Gameweek 22 using the code bcvy39, however you must pass all the previous safety scores to qualify. Aside from bragging rights, the winner will receive a free Fantasy Football Scout Membership for the 2020/21 season.

Steve Horan (aka FPL Fairy) moves to the top of the FFS Mods & Cons mini-league aided by double-digit returns from Lundstram, Digne, and De Bruyne. Steve is up to 13,595 overall in this his twelfth FPL season. He’s finished in the top 4k on four previous occasions.

Gareth Oakes is the new leader in RedLightning’s Top 10k Any Season mini-league after captaining Pukki. This bold decision sees him move up to 1,573 in the overall standings. Gareth is also in his twelfth FPL season, his best finish is 6,578. Managers with a top 10k finish may join the league using the code m0tq9y.

Double-figure returns from Pukki and Lundstram have helped Frenchman Francois Jacquemot to first place in Chaballer’s Top 1,000 HoF League. Francois has three top 10,000 finishes in the last four seasons, his highest end-of-season rank is 472, which came in 2016/17.

In the FPL Champions League run by 2014/15 FPL winner Simon March (aka Dufflinks), 2016/17 champion Ben Crabtree retained his lead. Everton-fan Ben, who famously doesn’t pick Liverpool players, scored a very impressive 72 points. 

In addition to Gameweek 2 heroes Lundstram, Digne, and De Bruyne, Ben captained Sterling and gained 9 points from Henderson in goal. He moves up to 11,574 overall. To qualify for this mini-league you must have won FPL!

To the 5,983 managers who have entered the FFS Head-to-Head Leagues – thank you for your continued patience! Mark Reynolds (aka MIR) this week provided the latest update on the leagues.

Behind the scenes Mark, Geoff, Mat (aka matzi11a), and Chris Atkinson (aka RMT’s Professor) are working hard to get this competition out as fast as they can. Watch this space. There will be 300 divisions spread across 8 leagues with promotion and relegation taking place at the end of the season. 

In the FFS Eliteserien mini-league Svein Johansen held onto first place despite managing only 29 points in Gameweek 18. He’s dropped to seventh overall. With 11 rounds to go he’ll be hoping to beat his previous finish of 4,420. 

Luke Dyer remains in second place now just 8 points behind Svien, while Eirik Pedersen moves up to third.

It’s as you were in the FFS Allsvenskan mini-league with Daniel Sebestyen and Simon Eriksson still topping the charts. Daniel successfully played his Attack! Attack! chip in Gameweek 20, where all strikers get double points. He moves up a nose-bleeding second overall after scoring 85 points!

Not to be out done, Simon deployed the Park The Bus chip, where all defenders get double points. A whopping 108 points, his first three-digit score of the season, pushed Simon up to sixth overall. Henrik Mäkitalo jumped into third spot, he played his Park The Bus to even greater success scoring 118 points, moving up to eighth overall.

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

Lessons learned from Gameweek 2

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

1,687 Comments Post a Comment
  1. Clarity
    • 5 Years
    4 years, 7 months ago

    is kyle walker worth considering over laporte?

    1. Peter Ouch
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 5 Years
      4 years, 7 months ago

      No

    2. ScratchingTheMud
      • 13 Years
      4 years, 7 months ago

      Not with Cancelo lurking

    3. Hairy Potter
      • 8 Years
      4 years, 7 months ago

      Consider, but may soon be a rotation risk

    4. Geriatric Unathletic
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 13 Years
      4 years, 7 months ago

      Deffo a rotation threat hanging over him now, so no.

  2. El Lobito 10
    • 6 Years
    4 years, 7 months ago

    Anyone on Firmino (C)? 8 goals in 8 games v Arsenal including a hatty last year

    1. mixology
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 11 Years
      4 years, 7 months ago

      It’s a massive punt with sterling and Kane having excellent fixtures

    2. Geriatric Unathletic
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 13 Years
      4 years, 7 months ago

      If I could afford on my W.C for sure, but I can't.

    3. benbro
      • 5 Years
      4 years, 7 months ago

      Nope

  3. Hairy Potter
    • 8 Years
    4 years, 7 months ago

    Which would you play?

    A) Cantwell
    B) Lundstram

    1. Freshy
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 13 Years
      4 years, 7 months ago

      B) Lundstram

    2. Geriatric Unathletic
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 13 Years
      4 years, 7 months ago

      Play Lundstram. Not even close for me.

    3. Hazz
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 6 Years
      4 years, 7 months ago

      B easy

  4. ScratchingTheMud
    • 13 Years
    4 years, 7 months ago

    Moura > KDB for -4?

    Chances of Moura starting I make maybe 60-40

    1. West Hammered
      • 7 Years
      4 years, 7 months ago

      Do it next week

      1. ScratchingTheMud
        • 13 Years
        4 years, 7 months ago

        Yep, this was my thinking. Just a slight rotation risk

  5. Drogba Legend
    • 6 Years
    4 years, 7 months ago

    Play one:

    1) King
    2) Lundstram
    3) Donkers

    1. West Hammered
      • 7 Years
      4 years, 7 months ago

      King, just.

      1. Drogba Legend
        • 6 Years
        4 years, 7 months ago

        On him as well. Think Leicester will score for some reason.

        1. evilfish
          • 8 Years
          4 years, 7 months ago

          If it helps the bookies have priced Blades more likely to keep a clean sheet than King scoring.

        2. West Hammered
          • 7 Years
          4 years, 7 months ago

          Yeah Leicester will score they are usually better away from him.

          1. West Hammered
            • 7 Years
            4 years, 7 months ago

            Home*

  6. mcgrejam
    • 10 Years
    4 years, 7 months ago

    Play Lundstram this week??

    1. West Hammered
      • 7 Years
      4 years, 7 months ago

      No

  7. jimmyabs1987
    • Fantasy Football Scout Member
    • 6 Years
    4 years, 7 months ago

    Bottomed:

    Cantwell and Kane
    Or
    Trossard and Firmino

    Already have Son and Firmino would be only pool

    1. Coys96
      • 6 Years
      4 years, 7 months ago

      CK

    2. FOO FIGHTER
      • 4 Years
      4 years, 7 months ago

      Trossard and Bobby better value in my humble opinion.

    3. Geriatric Unathletic
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 13 Years
      4 years, 7 months ago

      Cant/Kane

    4. Studini
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 5 Years
      4 years, 7 months ago

      Cantwell and Kane

  8. Geriatric Unathletic
    • Fantasy Football Scout Member
    • 13 Years
    4 years, 7 months ago

    On W.C. debating Haller V Jota V Barnes. Looks like Haller is back and fixtures very nice but not seeing a lot of love for him. Reasons not to go with Haller please?

    1. Coys96
      • 6 Years
      4 years, 7 months ago

      Go for him. Not many

      1. Geriatric Unathletic
        • Fantasy Football Scout Member
        • 13 Years
        4 years, 7 months ago

        TY

    2. West Hammered
      • 7 Years
      4 years, 7 months ago

      I would go for Haller over those two, could be a nice differential

      1. Geriatric Unathletic
        • Fantasy Football Scout Member
        • 13 Years
        4 years, 7 months ago

        Thanks

  9. COLLIN QUANER
    • 7 Years
    4 years, 7 months ago

    Who's your captain this week?

    1. ScratchingTheMud
      • 13 Years
      4 years, 7 months ago

      Salah

    2. SoShy
      • 8 Years
      4 years, 7 months ago

      Martial

    3. Hairy Potter
      • 8 Years
      4 years, 7 months ago

      Sterling

    4. Rolls-Royce
      • 10 Years
      4 years, 7 months ago

      My Nan.

    5. mookie
      • 10 Years
      4 years, 7 months ago

      Sterling(C), Son(VC)

    6. Pinturicchio10
        4 years, 7 months ago

        Sterling

      • Drogba Legend
        • 6 Years
        4 years, 7 months ago

        Kaner

      • El Matador
        • 10 Years
        4 years, 7 months ago

        Mane

      • West Hammered
        • 7 Years
        4 years, 7 months ago

        Kane

      • Artemis Titans
        • 9 Years
        4 years, 7 months ago

        Kdb

    7. pundit of punts
      • 11 Years
      4 years, 7 months ago

      Pick one on WC -

      A. Zinchenko
      B. Alderweireld

      P.S. - Got Laporte

      1. Coys96
        • 6 Years
        4 years, 7 months ago

        a

      2. mookie
        • 10 Years
        4 years, 7 months ago

        B as you might want two City mids.

        1. rambo.
          • 5 Years
          4 years, 7 months ago

          This

      3. 1zverGGadeM
        • 6 Years
        4 years, 7 months ago

        B

    8. Firmino
      • 8 Years
      4 years, 7 months ago

      First on the bench, Greenwood or Wickham?

      1. Hairy Potter
        • 8 Years
        4 years, 7 months ago

        Is there a third option?

        1. Firmino
          • 8 Years
          4 years, 7 months ago

          Rico 😀

    9. kysersosa
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 9 Years
      4 years, 7 months ago

      A

    10. SoShy
      • 8 Years
      4 years, 7 months ago

      Martial captain punt?

      Ryan
      Vvd Shaw Montoya Digne
      Salah KDB Siggy Martial
      Kane King

      Pope Norwood Greenwood Rico

      O in the bank
      2FTs

      TIA!!

      1. ScratchingTheMud
        • 13 Years
        4 years, 7 months ago

        Has to be Kane (c) doesn’t it

        1. SoShy
          • 8 Years
          4 years, 7 months ago

          Overthinking it aren't I

    11. Coys96
      • 6 Years
      4 years, 7 months ago

      Please help:

      1. KdB, Montoya + Wickham (have to play 2 of Lundstram, Kelly, Cantwell + Montoya each GW)

      2. Dunk, Mount, Haller + £0.5m (have to play Lundstram, Dunk or Kelly each GW)

      I would use the £0.5m to upgrade Zinchenko -> Mend

    12. Zenith UK
      • 7 Years
      4 years, 7 months ago

      A is leading the way...;
      Pope, McGovern
      Digne, AWB, Kelly, XXX, XXX
      Sterling, Mane, Ceballos, XXX, XXX
      Kane, Wickham, XXX

      A) Lund, Zinc, KDB, Martial & Greenwood - (0 ITB)
      B) Lund, Zinc, KDB, Cantwell & Pukki - (0.9 ITB)
      C) Laporte, Lund, Son, Cantwell & Pukki - (0 ITB)
      D) Laporte, Mina, Martial, Cantwell, Pukki - (0.5 ITB)
      E) Other option?

    13. rodragon
      • 5 Years
      4 years, 7 months ago

      Keep bernado silva for one last week or switch to martial?

      1. FOO FIGHTER
        • 4 Years
        4 years, 7 months ago

        Swith to KDB.

      2. ScratchingTheMud
        • 13 Years
        4 years, 7 months ago

        Martial

      3. West Hammered
        • 7 Years
        4 years, 7 months ago

        Make the switch

      4. Wakanda
        • Fantasy Football Scout Member
        • 6 Years
        4 years, 7 months ago

        from last match, he is playing deeper than kdb...so switch

    14. rdpx
      • 12 Years
      4 years, 7 months ago

      A. Dunk & Walker
      B. Kelly & Laporte

      ?

      1. FOO FIGHTER
        • 4 Years
        4 years, 7 months ago

        Do you have VVD?

        1. rdpx
          • 12 Years
          4 years, 7 months ago

          Nope. Is he better than an MCI?

      2. rambo.
        • 5 Years
        4 years, 7 months ago

        B

    15. Wakanda
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 6 Years
      4 years, 7 months ago

      last 30 mins panic
      New WC Team
      Pope
      Emerson,Digne,Rose,Lundstram
      Mane,Sterling,KDB Martial, McGinn
      Kane

      GTG ?

      1. Pinturicchio10
          4 years, 7 months ago

          Not a fan of it myself.

        • 1zverGGadeM
          • 6 Years
          4 years, 7 months ago

          Looks cute, but Im not sure bout Kane's points in mind Son is there to steal them and Eriksen situation...
          Lack of Pool/ City defence imo..

        • Freshy
          • Fantasy Football Scout Member
          • 13 Years
          4 years, 7 months ago

          way to play it conservatively.

        • West Hammered
          • 7 Years
          4 years, 7 months ago

          do you really want to start Lundstram every week?

        • rambo.
          • 5 Years
          4 years, 7 months ago

          Like everything but the defence.

        • Geriatric Unathletic
          • Fantasy Football Scout Member
          • 13 Years
          4 years, 7 months ago

          Great midfield, same as mine. I have tried Kane as well, but completely unbalances the team/weakens deffence considerably. With that midfield I have Haller and The Puk up front and playing 3 at the back in a nailed (I hope) La Porte, WAn B and VVD.

          Trust me jamming Kane in there too will end in tears.

      2. Dynamic Duos
        • 10 Years
        4 years, 7 months ago

        Hi all just a quick G2G please?. On a -4.

        Pope
        Digne VVD Lundstram Soyuncu Zinchencko
        Salah Mount Martial Sterling
        Kane(c)

        Button King Dendoncker Greenwood

        1. Holmes
          • 10 Years
          4 years, 7 months ago

          Yep

        2. Shankly611
          • 7 Years
          4 years, 7 months ago

          Hahaha can't believe it. We have the exact same bench, while I'm considering should I drop Lundstram or Soyuncu for someone else haha.

          1. Dynamic Duos
            • 10 Years
            4 years, 7 months ago

            Love the user name , YNWA

      3. Hazz
        • Fantasy Football Scout Member
        • 6 Years
        4 years, 7 months ago

        Reckon I should play Wood, Dendoncker or Montoya?

        1. Holmes
          • 10 Years
          4 years, 7 months ago

          Montoya I guess

          1. benbro
            • 5 Years
            4 years, 7 months ago

            For sure

      4. El Lobito 10
        • 6 Years
        4 years, 7 months ago

        Change owt?

        Pope
        Zinch KWP Digne
        Sterling KdB Martial Mount
        Kane Firmino Pukki

        Bench: fodder

        1. El Lobito 10
          • 6 Years
          4 years, 7 months ago

          WC btw

        2. Supersonic Marv'
          • 7 Years
          4 years, 7 months ago

          You're neglecting Liverpool a little too much.

          1. El Lobito 10
            • 6 Years
            4 years, 7 months ago

            I am aware. I had Mane but feel that Kane will outscore him over next 6

      5. Jones Town
        • Fantasy Football Scout Member
        • 12 Years
        4 years, 7 months ago

        Captain Sterling or Martial?

        1. Coys96
          • 6 Years
          4 years, 7 months ago

          Ster

        2. Holmes
          • 10 Years
          4 years, 7 months ago

          S

          1. Jones Town
            • Fantasy Football Scout Member
            • 12 Years
            4 years, 7 months ago

            Ta!

        3. The King
          • 10 Years
          4 years, 7 months ago

          Sterling for me

      6. Shankly611
        • 7 Years
        4 years, 7 months ago

        Play two: King, Soyuncu, Lundstram, Dendoncker

        1. Holmes
          • 10 Years
          4 years, 7 months ago

          SL

        2. ChelseaGuy
          • Fantasy Football Scout Member
          • 7 Years
          4 years, 7 months ago

          King Soyuncu

      7. Coys96
        • 6 Years
        4 years, 7 months ago

        Is KDB essential

        1. Pinturicchio10
            4 years, 7 months ago

            No

          • Firmino
            • 8 Years
            4 years, 7 months ago

            I think so

          • Holmes
            • 10 Years
            4 years, 7 months ago

            No

        2. Fpl Richie
          • Fantasy Football Scout Member
          • 8 Years
          4 years, 7 months ago

          Just one last check...
          A. Play King and hope. Watch Haller/Kean.
          B. Take a hit. Get Haller.

        3. mcgrejam
          • 10 Years
          4 years, 7 months ago

          Kane essential this week?

          1. Pinturicchio10
              4 years, 7 months ago

              No

            • Miguel Sanchez
              • Fantasy Football Scout Member
              • 7 Years
              4 years, 7 months ago

              No

          2. Burger
            • Fantasy Football Scout Member
            • 8 Years
            4 years, 7 months ago

            Is Zinchenko a safe bet for a while?

            1. Coys96
              • 6 Years
              4 years, 7 months ago

              yep

              1. Burger
                • Fantasy Football Scout Member
                • 8 Years
                4 years, 7 months ago

                Ta muchly.

          3. Gorky
            • 9 Years
            4 years, 7 months ago

            Play a) Perez or b) Murray?

          4. Forza Papac
            • Fantasy Football Scout Member
            • 8 Years
            4 years, 7 months ago

            Start Montoya or Lundstram?

            1. Firmino
              • 8 Years
              4 years, 7 months ago

              Monty

          5. Fernando Torres
            • 12 Years
            4 years, 7 months ago

            A)Son + Digne/Walker + Mina
            Or
            B)Mane + 2 4.5m defs

            3-5-2 with Kane, Sterling and AWB, no liverpool.

            First to 2. On WC