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. Professor Abel X
    • Fantasy Football Scout Member
    • 11 Years
    4 years, 7 months ago

    Yes Digne

  2. Sim Simma
    • Fantasy Football Scout Member
    • 13 Years
    4 years, 7 months ago

    ⚽ Team News 📰
    AVL: Heaton, Taylor, Mings, Engels, Guilbert, McGinn, Grealish, Douglas Luiz, Jota, Trézéguet, Wesley
    Subs: Steer, El Mohamady, Konsa, El Ghazi, Hourihane, Lansbury, Davis

    EVE: Pickford, Digne, Coleman, Mina, Keane, Richarlison, Schneiderlin, André Gomes, Bernard, Sigurdsson, Calvert-Lewin
    Subs: Stekelenburg, Holgate, Sidibé, Davies, Iwobi, Walcott, Kean

    1. diesel001
      • 7 Years
      4 years, 7 months ago

      Digne!!!!!!!!

    2. SPorting
      • 12 Years
      4 years, 7 months ago

      There she is.

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

        Good, Dinge in GW4.

    3. Balls of Steel
      • 8 Years
      4 years, 7 months ago

      Phew

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

      Gomes back already. Good for Everton.

    5. Point-one short
      • 7 Years
      4 years, 7 months ago

      Thanks

  3. SPorting
    • 12 Years
    4 years, 7 months ago

    Mings first sub. Hope EVE have another shocker.

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

    Digne 12 pointer incoming

    1. Maddi Son
      • 6 Years
      4 years, 7 months ago

      And that doesn't even include the second half

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

      Is that...all?

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

        No Kean though. Bad for WC's.

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

          why would anyone have brought in KEan on WC?

          1. Rigid Digit
            • 7 Years
            4 years, 7 months ago

            I needed the funds - and I stupidly thought after Saturday's cameo he would be above Calvert-Lewin in the pecking order for a starting place (plus for nigh on £30m, one would hope he's a regular starter).
            Oh dear ...

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

    Guilbert starts, 4.4

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

      Finally

    2. El-Kloppico
      • 8 Years
      4 years, 7 months ago

      Should have waited until he becomes 4.0

  6. Doosra - ☭DeclanMyGenius…
    • Fantasy Football Scout Member
    • 14 Years
    4 years, 7 months ago

    I am going with this:

    GW 3:

    Henderson
    Maguire, Digne, Boly
    Sterling(c), Mané, Martial, Mount
    Kane(vc), Pukki, Barnes

    Heaton; Lundstram, El Mohamady, Cantwell …T: WC 0.2 ITB, TV: 100.6

    Good luck. But not too much! 😉

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

      WC team?
      Gl!

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

      Very surprising defence.

  7. The Chosen One...
    • 11 Years
    4 years, 7 months ago

    Guilbert is alive

  8. EmreCan Hustle
    • 11 Years
    4 years, 7 months ago

    Guilbert starts! I have him 🙂

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

    Good luck for gw3 everyone...

    1. Bobby Digital
      • 6 Years
      4 years, 7 months ago

      Gl

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

      So much love!

  10. Bubz
    • 10 Years
    4 years, 7 months ago

    Martial (c) locked in.

    Am going to be at the game at OT tomorrow so thought why the hell not eh

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

      Because it's a bad idea?

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

        We shall see

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

          Good luck and try to enjoy the game regardless.

    2. Valar(Keith)
      • 14 Years
      4 years, 7 months ago

      I'd captain a player I could watch live too tbh

      1. *Reformed-Character*
        • Fantasy Football Scout Member
        • 6 Years
        4 years, 7 months ago

        And potentially ruin the event? Why would anyone do that!

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

          Could potentially make the event amazing though

    3. J ⚒ Gimme ur Mané
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 9 Years
      4 years, 7 months ago

      Love that! Enjoy Bubz

    4. Hy liverpool
      • 10 Years
      4 years, 7 months ago

      You will know why the hell no tomorrow

      1. Hy liverpool
        • 10 Years
        4 years, 7 months ago

        Just hope he outscores siggy
        GL anyways mate and enjoy it!

    5. S.Kuqi
      • 11 Years
      4 years, 7 months ago

      Adds little extra tension to see your captain playing. Have done it few times aswell.

      GL Bubz

    6. One Wheels Enough
      • 4 Years
      4 years, 7 months ago

      Have a good day, not sure you needed the extra pressure tho bud 🙂

    7. *Reformed-Character*
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 6 Years
      4 years, 7 months ago

      I wouldn’t have risked ruining he occasion curtesy of fantasy football... he’s enough of a differential to still want to do well without he armband - However, I bid you the best of luck sir.

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

        But imagine if he scores a hatty!

    8. Deeney-is-a-god
      • 7 Years
      4 years, 7 months ago

      Think he will do well again, if united score early it could be a goalfest

  11. Pacer.
    • 9 Years
    4 years, 7 months ago

    Sorry to be flakey, but has any crucial news popped up in the last 12 hours?

    1. Pacer.
      • 9 Years
      4 years, 7 months ago

      Ah, I see I missed the deadline hahaha

    2. SPorting
      • 12 Years
      4 years, 7 months ago

      Digne starts

  12. ⭐ Bemba_Da ⭐
    • 13 Years
    4 years, 7 months ago

    Guilbert bandwagon?

  13. how now brown cow
    • 9 Years
    4 years, 7 months ago

    Owners not Kean on that benching.

    1. Twisted Saltergater
      • 14 Years
      4 years, 7 months ago

      You could take David's job 😉

  14. Revival
    • Fantasy Football Scout Member
    • 11 Years
    4 years, 7 months ago

    Hopefully Martial is kind on me this weekend. Can't bring him in now as have 3 other Utd players in Rashford, AWB and Greenwood.

  15. Top Lad Dakes.
    • 7 Years
    4 years, 7 months ago

    Peens doon

  16. Twisted Saltergater
    • 14 Years
    4 years, 7 months ago

    Can't see that Everton mid putting in many tackles 😕

    1. Doosra - ☭DeclanMyGenius…
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 14 Years
      4 years, 7 months ago

      This.

    2. Tcheco
      • 6 Years
      4 years, 7 months ago

      That's Schneiderlin's job

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

    Don't know if I have

    Mane + Dunk

    or

    KDB + Trent

    changed last minute...

    what do i want??

    1. Twisted Saltergater
      • 14 Years
      4 years, 7 months ago

      KdB + Dunk

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

      B

  18. Valar(Keith)
    • 14 Years
    4 years, 7 months ago

    Got just Heaton tnite.. Still gonna watch the game though. Nothing more exciting than a keeper CS + Saves.. Atleast until villa concede.

  19. Big boy Bowen
    • 7 Years
    4 years, 7 months ago

    I had Guilbert first 2 game weeks. Transferred him out to El Mohamady this week.

    This game

    1. Valar(Keith)
      • 14 Years
      4 years, 7 months ago

      Did doosra convince you? He almost convinced me 🙂

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

        For shame!

      2. Doosra - ☭DeclanMyGenius…
        • Fantasy Football Scout Member
        • 14 Years
        4 years, 7 months ago

        H e will be back by half time. 😉

        1. Valar(Keith)
          • 14 Years
          4 years, 7 months ago

          Haha. I hope so. Love elmo

          1. Valar(Keith)
            • 14 Years
            4 years, 7 months ago

            Though I've forgotten which club he was in when I owned him :lol:.. Was a legend. Wigan I think

            1. Big boy Bowen
              • 7 Years
              4 years, 7 months ago

              Hull

              1. Doosra - ☭DeclanMyGenius…
                • Fantasy Football Scout Member
                • 14 Years
                4 years, 7 months ago

                Both correct, I think.

                1. Big boy Bowen
                  • 7 Years
                  4 years, 7 months ago

                  Sunderland and Hull. Not at Wigan, that was Valencia

      3. Big boy Bowen
        • 7 Years
        4 years, 7 months ago

        I just thought given the fact Guilbert was nowhere to be seen Elmo would be safe.
        Plus sounds like he played well last game and got max 3 bonus.

    2. Captain Remorse
      • 13 Years
      4 years, 7 months ago

      Aston Villa forum were predicting Guilbert to start

      1. Big boy Bowen
        • 7 Years
        4 years, 7 months ago

        How comes? Wasn't Elmo good last game?

        1. Doosra - ☭DeclanMyGenius…
          • Fantasy Football Scout Member
          • 14 Years
          4 years, 7 months ago

          Brilliant. They have a maverick manager.

          1. Big boy Bowen
            • 7 Years
            4 years, 7 months ago

            Grrr. Next week I'll switch him to Taylor so he can troll me a 4th time and play Targett

        2. Captain Remorse
          • 13 Years
          4 years, 7 months ago

          Not good enough! Seen as a weak link.

          1. Big boy Bowen
            • 7 Years
            4 years, 7 months ago

            Next best 4.5 after Soyuncu and Montoya to replace him with?
            Have Lundstram already

  20. DAVESAVES
    • 6 Years
    4 years, 7 months ago

    AVL - EVE 0-1
    Digne scores and Heaton saves a pen. Is that too much to ask.. probably

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

      Apparently yeah lol

  21. Yank Revolution
    • 12 Years
    4 years, 7 months ago

    Need a 0-0 here peeps....Heaton/Digne owner

    1. The_Socca_Philosopha
      • 9 Years
      4 years, 7 months ago

      Same haha

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

      Sig pen miss?

      1. Yank Revolution
        • 12 Years
        4 years, 7 months ago

        That'll work, but pens have a 75% chance of being converted into goals...so they scare me

    3. DAVESAVES
      • 6 Years
      4 years, 7 months ago

      What about 0-1: Digne scores and Heaton saves a pen.

      1. Yank Revolution
        • 12 Years
        4 years, 7 months ago

        Also acceptable!

    4. how now brown cow
      • 9 Years
      4 years, 7 months ago

      Me too. That's not happening.

      1. Yank Revolution
        • 12 Years
        4 years, 7 months ago

        Let us pray, Brown Cow

    5. THE SHEEP HUNTERS
      • 6 Years
      4 years, 7 months ago

      Fancy Villa to wake up here.

  22. The_Socca_Philosopha
    • 9 Years
    4 years, 7 months ago

    Looking to WC after the international break. Any players catch your eye to bring in just for GW4?

  23. Lacabacca
    • 5 Years
    4 years, 7 months ago

    Already regret not starting Guilbert.

  24. Random Name
    • 8 Years
    4 years, 7 months ago

    Last minute attempt to bring in Kane has fallen through...

    Deal sheet not submitted in time + unwilling to give up mount & wan bissaka

    1. ⭐ Bemba_Da ⭐
      • 13 Years
      4 years, 7 months ago

      Sky sports reporting deal sheet sent to wrong fax machine

    2. Dead Balls
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 6 Years
      4 years, 7 months ago

      Hope the house gets sold

  25. SPorting
    • 12 Years
    4 years, 7 months ago

    It's going to be great on here tomorrow at 11:30am.

    Laughs guaranteed.

  26. Rigid Digit
    • 7 Years
    4 years, 7 months ago

    Wildcard failure - already.
    Kean on the bench - b*gger!

  27. Abraham seed
    • 9 Years
    4 years, 7 months ago

    I made a last minute change. Soyoncu to Montoya. For some reason, I am already regretting it. What do you think? Was it a good move?

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

      Why bring in a Brighton def 😆

    2. Valar(Keith)
      • 14 Years
      4 years, 7 months ago

      Was that on a free? Or WC?

      1. Abraham seed
        • 9 Years
        4 years, 7 months ago

        Wildcard

  28. EmreCan Hustle
    • 11 Years
    4 years, 7 months ago

    I remember when we were all excited about Tosun, not even on the bench? Is he injured?

    1. KaNi
      • 4 Years
      4 years, 7 months ago

      "Eintracht Frankfurt’s move for Everton striker Cenk Tosun is ‘on hold’ because they have to trim their squad first"

      1. EmreCan Hustle
        • 11 Years
        4 years, 7 months ago

        Frankfurt have half a dozen forwards! What will they do with Tosun?

        1. KaNi
          • 4 Years
          4 years, 7 months ago

          I know very little about the Frankfurt team. Just thought this probably is why he's not in the squad.

  29. fatherted
    • 12 Years
    4 years, 7 months ago

    Probably been said before, but what's happening with fpl discovery this season?

  30. SAKA AND EMILE SMITH ROWE
    • 7 Years
    4 years, 7 months ago

    Martial (C)

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

      Should have rather captained Pukki.