Tips

The Complete Guide to Scout’s tips and advice for FPL Gameweek 7

An exciting weekend ahead in Fantasy Premier League with a number of tasty-looking fixtures on the menu. As ever, Fantasy Football Scout is here to help you with those all important transfer and captaincy decisions. And, as Gameweek 6 served to remind us, vice-captain and bench order too. 

Transfers and Team News

Top of most people’s shopping list are Chelsea players. The Blues begin an enviable run of six matches in a row rated at just two on the FDR and, as discussed on the Scoutcast, they currently sit top of this site’s Fixture Ticker. 

Tammy Abraham and Mason Mount are the first and third most transferred-in players ahead of the 11:30 BST deadline. At the time of writing over 1million managers have signed the Chelsea duo. The pair are also included in the Scout Picks for Gameweek 7

And with good reason too. Using the data available to FFS Members, TheFantasyFreÆK highlighted their potential in his Gameweek 6 review:

Chelsea’s attack continues to impress, with Lampard’s men now standing second only to Man City for the highest xG (expected goals scored) over the past four Gameweeks. The main beneficiaries in terms of output in the coming weeks are likely to be Tammy Abraham and Mason Mount. The former is averaging at least 2 big chances per game over the past two Gameweeks, while the latter is not only averaging 1 big chance per game over the same period, but also stands as Chelsea’s top chance creator this season.

So while the attack looks in good shape, is it worth investing in their defence? 

This was a question posed to our FPL panel, particularly with budget £4.5m defender Fikayo Tomori in mind. The response was mixed. The Blues are without a clean sheet this season, so for FPL Heisenberg it’s a no-go:

I’m avoiding the Chelsea defence personally, as they are shipping too many goals for my liking.

But it wasn’t all doom and gloom, Joe pointed out that Chelsea’s underlying statistics show promise:

It is also worth noting that their 31 shots conceded over the last four matches is the third-best in the league. If they can translate those promising figures into actual clean sheets then Tomori is a strong value option indeed.

It was a sentiment shared by Az on the Scoutcast:

Tomori at £4.5m is gamble that doesn’t really have much of a downside.

Elsewhere, Neale revealed in his round-up of the latest Team News that another budget player could be handed an opportunity to impress this Gameweek.

Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer confirmed that both Martial and Rashford are unlikely to feature on Monday night, potentially paving the way for £4.4m forward Mason Greenwood to make his first Premier League start:

[Greenwood] might be [starting], because he’s proven when he’s been on the pitch in the last two games he’s started against Astana and Rochdale, when you get him in the box, he’s dangerous.

Rotation’s Alter Ego provided us with the latest team news in his usual team-by-team breakdown.

Captain Conundrum

Abraham joins a number of contenders all vying for the armband. Salah currently leads the way with just over 26% of the votes cast by FFS users. In addition, Sterling, Son, and Aguero are all attracting significant attention. 

The problem this season is selecting the right one. As Joe whimsically observed, referencing a famous line of Eric Morecambe’s:

I am playing all the right notes, but not necessarily in the right order. I am captaining all the right captains, but not necessarily in the right Gameweek.

The FPL General has been suffering too. He opened his opinion piece this week with the line:

Can we remove the captaincy aspect of Fantasy Premier League now, please?

This is all in marked contrast to last season when David went 17 Gameweeks in a row without a captain fail. In fact, he did so well at picking his captain that he ended up with more captain points than the overall winner, Adam Levy.

In both Captain Sensible and the Captaincy Video, David brought us his usual in-depth research assessing not only the form of the popular captain picks but also the quality of their respective opposition. 

Aguero was considered unlucky to have only scored once against Watford, David felt he could have scored two hat-tricks. But his recent form isn’t just about one match, as David highlighted: 

Of the 19 shots in the box Aguero has registered in his last four matches, only six of them were recorded against the Hornets (31.6%).

For those considering Sterling, an unused substitute in that 8-0 win over Watford, the Englishman played just 73 minutes in the League Cup in midweek, scoring and assisting.

Although if there is a downside to captaining a Manchester City player, it’s that despite conceding nine ‘big chances’, Everton’s defence has not been as porous as we might like: 

Only upcoming opponents Manchester City (28) have conceded fewer goal attempts than the Toffees (30)

Meanwhile Salah’s opponents Sheffield United could be considered slightly lucky to have only conceded six goals. According to the expected goals stats they should have conceded seven.  

Abraham, who has had more shots on target than Aguero and ranks second best for big chances, faces a Brighton side that is difficult to assess. “I don’t know which Brighton is going to turn up” admitted Seagulls-fan Joe. 

They’ve kept clean sheets at goal-shy Watford and Newcastle. However, their only road trip at a top-six side so far resulted in a 4-0 defeat at the hands of Manchester City.

In Case You Missed It

Unai Emery confirmed that despite letting Pepe take a penalty in Gameweek 6, Aubameyang remains the first-choice penalty taker

Norwich City have performed much better at home this season than they have on the road. 

And is the template settled already? Valar(Keith) began an interesting discussion in a popular hot topic. 

Before we leave the Premier League and head to Scandinavia, managers this week have been asking themselves, what if

What if you hadn’t changed your team since Gameweek 1, how many points would you have? Curiously, Greyhead discovered in his latest look at The Great and The Good, that only four of this elite bunch have actually made a positive impact with their transfer dealings.

The award for best retort of the week goes to Az. With Joe lamenting his woeful captaincy picks this season, as he discovered – using Fusen’s FPL Statisticothat he would have been nearly 50 points better off if he’d captained his vice-captain instead, Az remarked:

If my aunt had nuts, Joe, she’d be my Uncle.

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

For a full update on all FFS Mini-Leagues and Community Tournaments, please click here

Since publishing the article, there has been a midweek round of fixtures in Sweden. The latest from Meltens and Goktug is as follows:

A large number of managers deployed a chip in Gameweek 25. In the top 1,000 there were 130 “Park the bus” (all defenders get double points), 98 “Attack! Attack!” (all strikers get double points), 42 “Two Captains” and 8 wildcards. 

Daniel Sebestyen was one of the managers deploying the powerful “Park the bus” and he got an excellent score of 116. Clean sheets from all his defenders helped, and Lars Krogh Gersson even slotted home a penalty contributing an incredible 28-point return! 

Daniel overtakes Henrik Mäkitalo again and is now ranked second overall, just 11 points behind the top-ranked manager.

Henrik played a well-timed mini-Wildcard, as all three players he took out didn’t play a minute, while the ones he got in got him a total of 19 points. Third place still belongs to Simon Eriksson, who is seventh overall just 5 points behind Henrik now.

We were also given an update by Clouseau on the latest goings on in the Scout Fantasy League. I’ll probably have more to say about this entertaining and hard-fought competition once I’m doing a bit better in it! 

For those interested in the Head-to-Head Leagues, the main page can be linked to here. A link has also been added to the ‘Scout Leagues’ section on the home page.

Registration remains open for the Pundit’s Play-Off Community Tournament. The deadline for entry is Monday 30 September.

Best of luck with Gameweek 7!

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

2,627 Comments Post a Comment
  1. Garfield1001
    • Fantasy Football Scout Member
    • 10 Years
    4 years, 6 months ago

    Is it stupid going without Abraham?

    1. andres
      • 12 Years
      4 years, 6 months ago

      risky

    2. Epic Fail
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 13 Years
      4 years, 6 months ago

      No, but he's a top option.

    3. tissae
      • 9 Years
      4 years, 6 months ago

      Yes

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

      It's more stupid to rip your team up for him which I would have to do so it depends...

    5. Woy_is_back
      • 6 Years
      4 years, 6 months ago

      No, I dont rate him

    6. Now I'm Panicking
      • 9 Years
      4 years, 6 months ago

      Not at all

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

      Not quite stupid.

      Silly, let's say

    8. bigbudgie
      • 9 Years
      4 years, 6 months ago

      Fixtures, cheap, clearly no 1 at the moment and Chelsea are scoring a lot of goals. What's not to like?

  2. Murder On Zidanesfloor
    • 5 Years
    4 years, 6 months ago

    Kelly or Lundstram ahead on the bench?

    1. andres
      • 12 Years
      4 years, 6 months ago

      thinking to start Kelly actually

    2. Amey
      • 5 Years
      4 years, 6 months ago

      Kelly

    3. corderz
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 9 Years
      4 years, 6 months ago

      Kelly

    4. Murder On Zidanesfloor
      • 5 Years
      4 years, 6 months ago

      Yeah cheers. Lundy has just been so good for me, hate to give him that last spot

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

    I decided to play Dendoncker home against Watford due to my options are quite limited.

    Is this the correct bench order? 1. Montoya 2. Lundstram

    I figuerd Brighton is more likley to score and Montoya has some good data there.

  4. Brosstan
    • 9 Years
    4 years, 6 months ago

    Players I dont mind do well despite not owning because owners are smart and dare go against the grain

    Jota, Deulofeu, Zaha, Firmino

    Players I hope fail massively because owners are spoonfed casuals:

    Tammy, Mount, Soy, Son, Sterling, Tomori, Trossard

    What are yours?

    1. Woy_is_back
      • 6 Years
      4 years, 6 months ago

      Let's go Zaha 🙂

    2. DeadStarComing
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 13 Years
      4 years, 6 months ago

      I don't agree with Tammy or Sterling. Soy is the big one at the mo though. Is it Fantasy Skysports players getting confused with the scoring? Leicester don't keep many clean sheets do they?

    3. EMERGING STAR
      • 8 Years
      4 years, 6 months ago

      Dont mind Jota/Deulo/Zaha doing well. People transferred in Firmino simply based on last week points.

      Tomori is a calculated risk (I transferred him in) to find money for Pepe to Mane. So hopefully he does well

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

      Why is it smart to have lots of players that have failed so far (except Firrmino)

    5. conorbon
      • 10 Years
      4 years, 6 months ago

      I’m sorry but having any of those doesn’t make you a casual, get real.

      1. MattysFantasyFooty
        • 10 Years
        4 years, 6 months ago

        Agreed stupid post

      2. Brosstan
        • 9 Years
        4 years, 6 months ago

        Casual spotted, no shame though mate.

        1. Fitzy.
          • Fantasy Football Scout Member
          • 12 Years
          4 years, 6 months ago

          Troll spotted.

          1. Brosstan
            • 9 Years
            4 years, 6 months ago

            😮

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

      Being Maverick doesn't make you smart. Can you explain your rationale for Jota / Deulo / Firmino?

  5. De Gea Van Dijk. 10
    • 5 Years
    4 years, 6 months ago

    No Raz

    No Kun

    Hiding till next Gw.

    1. andres
      • 12 Years
      4 years, 6 months ago

      next GW is when you will need to hide, and for the later 3 as well...

      1. De Gea Van Dijk. 10
        • 5 Years
        4 years, 6 months ago

        Got the funds for one of them.

    2. Podge
      • 13 Years
      4 years, 6 months ago

      I’m unstressed

    3. Stef rocks
      • 6 Years
      4 years, 6 months ago

      You can’t have them all as you know. I also have no Raz and no Kun and doing well. I have De Bruyne Son Salah Tammy TAA Mount so not worried at all about this Gw

  6. VAR United
    • 7 Years
    4 years, 6 months ago

    Aguero owner but if I had Raz the armband would be on him.

    Think he’ll come out with a point to prove

    1. Now I'm Panicking
      • 9 Years
      4 years, 6 months ago

      Point to prove? He was rested, not dropped

      1. VAR United
        • 7 Years
        4 years, 6 months ago

        They scored 8 without him..

        1. Now I'm Panicking
          • 9 Years
          4 years, 6 months ago

          I fail to see your point - sorry 🙁

  7. Tmel
    • 13 Years
    4 years, 6 months ago

    Start Rico or Greenwood?

    1. FPL ElasticO
      • 9 Years
      4 years, 6 months ago

      Rico

    2. Arse Craic
      • 14 Years
      4 years, 6 months ago

      Greenwood

  8. snowman
    • 14 Years
    4 years, 6 months ago

    G2G????

    Pope
    Zaba TAA WBis
    Salah Sterling Dendonk Mount
    Abraham Jota Haller

    Subs: Ceballos, Digne, Montoya

  9. The Polymath
    • Fantasy Football Scout Member
    • 8 Years
    4 years, 6 months ago

    Is there a breakfast club this morning?

    1. De Gea Van Dijk. 10
      • 5 Years
      4 years, 6 months ago

      Fasting till kickoff.

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

    Who to cap:
    a) Son
    b) Kun
    c) Salah
    d) Tammy

    1. FPL ElasticO
      • 9 Years
      4 years, 6 months ago

      Salah

    2. Stef rocks
      • 6 Years
      4 years, 6 months ago

      Sonny

  11. Arse Craic
    • 14 Years
    4 years, 6 months ago

    GTG?

    Heaton
    TAA Robertson Soyuncu
    Sterling Son(vc) KDB Mount
    Vardy Abraham(c) King

    Button Tomori Rico Guendouzi

  12. JJeyy
    • 8 Years
    4 years, 6 months ago

    A) Aubamyeang, Soyuncu, Guilibert (Lund rotate)

    B) Wilson, Alonso, Otamendi

    Best otpion??

  13. TAT
    • 6 Years
    4 years, 6 months ago

    Crazy to consider C. Wilson > Abraham for a hit, even though I only got Wilson last gw?

    1. Woy_is_back
      • 6 Years
      4 years, 6 months ago

      Wilson will score

      1. TAT
        • 6 Years
        4 years, 6 months ago

        I sure hope you're right!

    2. fr3d
      • 6 Years
      4 years, 6 months ago

      Don’t

      1. TAT
        • 6 Years
        4 years, 6 months ago

        Mini league fears is the reason I'm considering. Everyone in my mini league has Abraham.

    3. Gregor
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • Has Moderation Rights
      • 14 Years
      4 years, 6 months ago

      Probably, Wilson has a great record against the hammers.

      1. TAT
        • 6 Years
        4 years, 6 months ago

        Good enough to match Abraham's potential this GW, you think?

    4. andres
      • 12 Years
      4 years, 6 months ago

      hold

      1. TAT
        • 6 Years
        4 years, 6 months ago

        Leaning that way right now, but all my mini league rivals got him.

    5. bigbudgie
      • 9 Years
      4 years, 6 months ago

      Wilson is seriously over-performing. But West Ham at home. Could be anything

      1. TAT
        • 6 Years
        4 years, 6 months ago

        Yeah, that's the fear. He was lucky with his goal last GW…

    6. Garfield1001
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 10 Years
      4 years, 6 months ago

      I have this exact same conundrum. Think I’m going to have to hold unfortunately

      1. TAT
        • 6 Years
        4 years, 6 months ago

        Yeah, don't like taking hits, so I'm more likely to hold I guess. Backfire's every time I do hold though.

        Good luck with whoever you end up playing!

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

      Thought about the same.

      But i hold Wilson for now.
      He scored everey single GW and have a nice fixture.

    8. TRE2
      • 6 Years
      4 years, 6 months ago

      Same dilemma. I've decided to hold

      1. TAT
        • 6 Years
        4 years, 6 months ago

        Leaning that way too. It's one of those decisions that go wrong I feel. Hold, Abraham scores big, taking the hit, and nothing comes out of it, and the guy you transfer out scores a brace…

  14. TheSteel
    • Fantasy Football Scout Member
    • 11 Years
    4 years, 6 months ago

    These GWs never go well. On here scrambling to decide my captain last minute

  15. Game of Throw_ins
    • 8 Years
    4 years, 6 months ago

    Start any 2:
    Tomori-Rico-Mings-Kelly-Cantwell

    1. Wag the Drog
      • 12 Years
      4 years, 6 months ago

      Tomori, Cantwell. Ming close 3rd.

  16. Taegugk Warrior
    • 5 Years
    4 years, 6 months ago

    Chose 1 to play
    A. Rico
    B. Digne
    C. Lundstram

    1. Railwayman
      • 11 Years
      4 years, 6 months ago

      Rico

  17. The Red Devil
    • 9 Years
    4 years, 6 months ago

    on WC

    A- pope toby otamendi rico mount auba

    B- heaton diop otamendi hanley mane tammy

    C- heaton soy tomori rico sterling tammy

    1. Wag the Drog
      • 12 Years
      4 years, 6 months ago

      B. But not aware who Hanley is lol

      1. The Red Devil
        • 9 Years
        4 years, 6 months ago

        norwich def 4.0

  18. Wag the Drog
    • 12 Years
    4 years, 6 months ago

    More likely to happen?
    A) cantwell returns
    B) villa hold Burnley goalless

  19. Optimus.
    • 13 Years
    4 years, 6 months ago

    Remember, if you are taking a hit or 2, don't forget to press confirm!

    Yes, I need all the help that I can get

  20. Tekkerslovakiaftw
    • 8 Years
    4 years, 6 months ago

    What time is the breakfast club usually on?

    1. Epic Fail
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 13 Years
      4 years, 6 months ago

      Its' on now.

  21. Ribus
    • 10 Years
    4 years, 6 months ago

    5th bench midfielder
    A) Cantwell (bought at 4.9)
    B) 4.5-4.6 mid (Guendouzi)

    1. Murder On Zidanesfloor
      • 5 Years
      4 years, 6 months ago

      Guendo

    2. Wag the Drog
      • 12 Years
      4 years, 6 months ago

      Cantwell

  22. andres
    • 12 Years
    4 years, 6 months ago

    Guys, please help!

    Start Kelly or Pieters (have Pope in goal)

    1. fr3d
      • 6 Years
      4 years, 6 months ago

      Kelly

    2. Railwayman
      • 11 Years
      4 years, 6 months ago

      Pieters

  23. Railwayman
    • 11 Years
    4 years, 6 months ago

    Play Cantwell or Greenwood ?

    1. JohnBlack
      • 5 Years
      4 years, 6 months ago

      Cantwell

    2. Arse Craic
      • 14 Years
      4 years, 6 months ago

      Greenwood

  24. corderz
    • Fantasy Football Scout Member
    • 9 Years
    4 years, 6 months ago

    GTG?

    Pope
    TAA Robbo Soyuncu Tomori
    Sterling(vc) Salah Dilva Mount
    Vardy(C) Pukki

    Button Greenwood Cantwell Lundstram

    1. Niho992
      • 5 Years
      4 years, 6 months ago

      Like C punt

  25. thewhitepele
    • 8 Years
    4 years, 6 months ago

    Which defender for Zinchenko? Have max 5.7m. Rest of defence:
    Pope
    TAA Digne Soyuncu Rico X

    1. MattysFantasyFooty
      • 10 Years
      4 years, 6 months ago

      Otamendi?

      1. thewhitepele
        • 8 Years
        4 years, 6 months ago

        Yeah thats what im leaning towards, just sounds kind of boring

  26. Arteta
    • 8 Years
    4 years, 6 months ago

    Soyuncu or Tomori?

    1. conorbon
      • 10 Years
      4 years, 6 months ago

      Soy

  27. George Agdgdgwngo
    • 14 Years
    4 years, 6 months ago

    I have Aguero, sterling and kdb.

    Do I captain son to spread the risk or captain a Man City player?

    1. conorbon
      • 10 Years
      4 years, 6 months ago

      Sterling

    2. Jambot
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 13 Years
      4 years, 6 months ago

      Just Captain the player you think will score the most points. Also In my opinion captaining Son is creating risk not spreading it anyway why trust spurs when you have those city assets? I’d go Aguero

    3. Genji3lade
      • 6 Years
      4 years, 6 months ago

      Kun

  28. Pointless
    • Fantasy Football Scout Member
    • 8 Years
    4 years, 6 months ago

    Will there be a live Breakfast Club this week?

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

      Already started

  29. Niho992
    • 5 Years
    4 years, 6 months ago

    GtG ?

    Heaton
    Ota-Soy-Tomori
    Son-Mount-KdB-Salah
    Pukki-Kane(C)-Abraham

    Button-Diop-Lundstram-Nakamba

  30. mdm
    • 12 Years
    4 years, 6 months ago

    Who to captain:

    A. Salah
    B. Sterling
    C. Kane
    D. Abraham

    Thanks