Tips

The Complete Guide to Scout’s tips and advice for FPL Gameweek 8

With the next international break breathing down our necks, be sure to savour the thrills, heartache, jam, and (fingers crossed) joy that Gameweek 8 will undoubtedly provide.

As ever, Fantasy Football Scout is here to help you separate fact from rumour, stat from gobbledegook, and Pep from his roulette wheel. Well, ok separating Pep from his roulette wheel is probably surgically impossible, but two out of three ain’t bad. And, just for the heck of it, we’ll even explain what a “compound differential” is. Oh yes.

Talking points

The main headline this week has undoubtedly been the injury to Kevin De Bruyne. Guardiola confirmed on Friday that the brilliant Belgian will miss Gameweek 8

No, tomorrow [De Bruyne] is not fit. After the international break, he will be ready. It’s not a big, big problem.

Over half a million managers have wasted no time in ditching De Bruyne with Mount, Yarmolenko, and Mahrez (more on him later), the popular replacements. 

For other more patient souls – willing to trust Pep when he says the midfield maestro will return for Gameweek 9 – this will mean a substitute taking his place in their fantasy teams. 

If you’ve got options like John Lundstram (£4.5m) or Todd Cantwell (£5.0m) on your bench, hold on to Kevin.

The FPL General

However, as Neale reported in his team news round-up, some may have reason to worry. Speaking on Friday, Norwich City boss Daniel Farke reported a problem with 27%-owned Todd Cantwell:

There is a little doubt, a little question mark behind Todd Cantwell. He’s got some hamstring problems. He was out Wednesday and Thursday, returned back today on the training pitch, it looked alright. We have to wait a bit, how his body reacts. I hope to have him available for tomorrow.

For the low-down on all the treatment room latest, we not only have Neale’s quote-filled articles, but Rotation’s Alter Ego has kindly summarised the key points for each team. Could Allison be about to make his return this weekend?

Who to trust with the armband?

Raheem Sterling leads the captain poll with 25.8% of the vote, ahead of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Mohamed Salah, and Sergio Aguero. Without an overwhelming favourite to stick the armband on, FPL managers face another tricky decision. 

The underlying statistics once again point to the potential of Manchester City assets ahead of their home encounter with Wolverhampton Wanderers, as David highlighted on the Captaincy Video

Only three teams have conceded more shots in the box [than Wolves], and no team has had more shots in the box than Manchester City.

Digging a little deeper – using data available to FFS Members – TheFantasyFreÆK focused on Wolves’ defensive problems this campaign:

… the stark contrast I notice in Wolves 19/20 v Wolves 18/19 from a defensive point of view is very worrying. Wolves have conceded triple the number of big chances this season than they did at this stage last season (12 v 4), hence their xGC (expected goals conceded) has nearly doubled (5.5 to 10). Shots in the box conceded have also witnessed an alarming rise of 46%.

The problem is knowing which City player to trust. 

In Gameweek 7, many FPL pundits and experts felt Aguero would definitely start following his midweek rest. They were wrong. This week it’s Raheem Sterling’s turn to be the favoured captain pick.

Sterling has scored in his last three matches in all competitions and emerged from the bench in the Champions League on Tuesday night to inspire City to victory. The 24-year-old will lead the FPL General’s troops on Sunday. 

However, one manager who won’t be giving Sterling the armband is Career Hall of Fame number one Sean Tobin. Sean, as Greyhead informed us in the latest installment of The Great and The Good, omitted Sterling from his Gameweek 7 Wildcard. Instead he’s chosen to go with Aguero and Salah as his only players costing over £11.0m.

Backing up Sean’s decision to favour Aguero, David observed in his Captain Sensible article:

Once again, we come into a Gameweek with Aguero as the busiest attacking player in the penalty box over the previous four matches. He has shot 17 times there from Gameweek 4 onwards, more than any other player in their last four outings.

While The FPL General feels that we shouldn’t be put off by Salah’s upcoming fixtures:

On paper, Liverpool have a tricky run of games but is it really that difficult? It’s Leicester at home this weekend (Salah’s lowest score at Anfield this season is nine points), then a trip to face mid-table side Manchester United before a home tie against a Spurs outfit who conceded seven goals to Bayern Munich this week.

Second in the captain poll, Aubameyang is attracting interest and it’s easy to understand why. Brandon pointed out in FPL Question Time:

With no blanks through the first seven weeks of the season, Aubameyang is indeed the real deal.

Discussing the Gabonese international in the Captaincy Video, Joe enthused:

It’s a six-point floor!… At the Emirates Bournemouth have conceded eleven goals and scored just three over their last three league visits, and Aubameyang has scored in his last two encounters against the Cherries.

High-end Purchases on a Limited Budget

The challenge facing many FPL managers is deciding which of the £11.0m+ players to own, with many offering the promise of points. Three premium-priced assets make this week’s Scout Picks: Salah, Sterling, and Aubameyang.

To help ease the pressure on our limited budgets players such as McGinn, Pukki, and Abraham – as well as a shift towards cheap defenders – are proving popular. All three offer the promise of goals this weekend.

In his analysis of the underlying stats, Neale revealed that Abraham had been presented with nine big chances in the last four Gameweeks:

Abraham had four of those gilt-edged opportunities in the last two Gameweeks, so he has still been getting into dangerous positions despite recording back-to-back blanks.

And goals are expected when Norwich City host Aston Villa later today:

486 shots conceded by Arsenal (126), Aston Villa (121), Norwich City (121) and Bournemouth (118) combined this season. Those four clubs have allowed the most attempts on goal in the Premier League this season and play each other this weekend, with Norwich entertaining Aston Villa and Arsenal hosting the Cherries.

Compound Differential

The form of Riyad Mahrez has been discussed this week. The injury to Kevin De Bruyne and a potential ban for Bernardo Silva increasing his appeal.

Neale goes into impressive depth exploring not only how well Mahrez has performed this season, but also his potential for minutes. While the Algerian does not have the luxury of guaranteed game-time, Neale observed:

If we are to accept the occasional rest for [Sterling, Aguero, and De Bruyne], then why not the more affordable Mahrez?

The most transferred-in player ahead of the Gameweek 8 deadline and with an ownership fast approaching 10%, Mahrez just about squeezes into the differential category

But it’s as a “compound differential” that he could really make a difference. Appearing on the Scoutcast this week Tom, from Who Got The Assist?, explained:

Where I think Mahrez is really interesting is that because he’s a compound differential, so it’s not really a differential in and of itself, it’s a differential because you’re pairing him with other players and making a unique combination, which is a little bit different to everybody else.

Tom went on to point out that selecting a triple City midfield of Sterling, De Bruyne, and Mahrez is pretty maverick: that combination is owned by just 0.04% of managers.

Even selecting City’s three most highly-owned players – Sterling, De Bruyne, and Aguero – each owned by over 29% of managers, as a combination is only selected by 2.3%

In Case You Missed It

There was another take on the De Bruyne injury / Mahrez appeal, tuvok thinks that perhaps De Bruyne’s absence could have a negative impact on Mahrez.

Elsewhere, Sebastes asked can Spurs bounce back? And Meltens kindly previewed Gameweek 27 (only four Gameweeks to go!) in Fantasy Allsvenskan.

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 to read the latest round-up. 

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

The fixtures for Gameweek 8 can be found below:


Use the drop-down menus to show your league and division. To find out which league and division you are in, follow the instructions on the main Head-to-Head page.

Once the Gameweek starts, if you click on your opponent’s name you will be linked to their team on the FPL website.

Best of luck for Gameweek 8!

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

2,244 Comments Post a Comment
  1. HurriKane
    • 11 Years
    4 years, 5 months ago

    Unconfirmed rumors Son is Benched

    1. DAZZ
      • 9 Years
      4 years, 5 months ago

      Ideal.

          1. g40steve
            • 6 Years
            4 years, 5 months ago

            Nice hint

      1. TheBabyfacedAssassin
        • 14 Years
        4 years, 5 months ago

        Smh. Source?

    2. Team Cruel
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 8 Years
      4 years, 5 months ago

      Source or ban

    3. Goat
      • 6 Years
      4 years, 5 months ago

      Confirm it

    4. FOO FIGHTER
      • 4 Years
      4 years, 5 months ago

      I will freak 🙂

    5. Annie
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 11 Years
      4 years, 5 months ago

      Ban this guy

      1. Royal5
        • 12 Years
        4 years, 5 months ago

        This

  2. Big boy Bowen
    • 7 Years
    4 years, 5 months ago

    Adrian to Pope with FT or save?

    Button sub keeper.

    Thanks

    1. Ejaaz11
      • 8 Years
      4 years, 5 months ago

      No Adrian will play.

      1. Big boy Bowen
        • 7 Years
        4 years, 5 months ago

        OK, has Allison in the predicted line ups though?

  3. mcmd11
    • 7 Years
    4 years, 5 months ago

    Sterling or Auba (C)?

    1. The FPL Units
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 14 Years
      4 years, 5 months ago

      Sterling

      1. Wxdz
        • 5 Years
        4 years, 5 months ago

        Sterling, haul coming

    2. AzzaroMax99
      • 7 Years
      4 years, 5 months ago

      Auba for me

  4. Bruno Bruno!!
    • 8 Years
    4 years, 5 months ago

    announce Son bench warming party in 14 minutes 🙂

    1. Wakanda
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 6 Years
      4 years, 5 months ago

      That would be solid ... maybe all the second string players will come in

  5. Bubz
    • 10 Years
    4 years, 5 months ago

    Liverpool vs Leicester score prediction?

    Going to put a little wager on it

    1. Pacer.
      • 9 Years
      4 years, 5 months ago

      1-0

    2. Eleven Hag
      • 6 Years
      4 years, 5 months ago

      2-1

      firmino winner

    3. Holmes
      • 10 Years
      4 years, 5 months ago

      0-0

    4. Warby84
      • 8 Years
      4 years, 5 months ago

      2-0

    5. Eleven Hag
      • 6 Years
      4 years, 5 months ago

      Sheffield united shud ve scored atleast 2 and with matip missing, I see leics scoring

    6. Sim Simma
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 13 Years
      4 years, 5 months ago

      4 - 0 to Pool

  6. Tozier
    • Fantasy Football Scout Member
    • 11 Years
    4 years, 5 months ago

    This is a DRAFT question:

    One week punt - would you rather have Mata (newcastle away) or Saka (bournemouth at home)?

    1. jomikijiq
      • 8 Years
      4 years, 5 months ago

      Saka

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

      Saka

    3. Corgz Dark side of the Loon
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 8 Years
      4 years, 5 months ago

      Saka

    4. Tozier
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 11 Years
      4 years, 5 months ago

      Thanks all

  7. French Gooner
    • Fantasy Football Scout Member
    • 11 Years
    4 years, 5 months ago

    Breakfast club on today ?

  8. Shultan
    • 7 Years
    4 years, 5 months ago

    Cap Kun or Sterling?

  9. IRBOX ⚽
    • 7 Years
    4 years, 5 months ago

    Green or red?

    Pope
    TAA Walker Tomori Lundstram
    Sterling (c) Salah Mount James
    Pukki Abraham

    Button KDB* Dunk Wickham

    1. Iceball
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 9 Years
      4 years, 5 months ago

      Green since Lundstram 15 pointer

  10. Camzy
    • Fantasy Football Scout Member
    • 13 Years
    4 years, 5 months ago

    Predict the City lineup:

    Ederson
    Walker Fernandinho Otamendi Zinchenko
    Rodri Dilva Gundogan
    Bilva Aguero Sterling

    1. jomikijiq
      • 8 Years
      4 years, 5 months ago

      this, but Mahrez for Gundo

    2. Pacer.
      • 9 Years
      4 years, 5 months ago

      scenes etc

    3. Pacer.
      • 9 Years
      4 years, 5 months ago

      City will get beat 0-1.

      This is football

    4. Klein
      • 8 Years
      4 years, 5 months ago

      Jesusss

      1. Camzy
        • Fantasy Football Scout Member
        • 13 Years
        4 years, 5 months ago

        I'd be surprised if Jesus starts. Home games for Kun seems to make a lot of sense especially with the International Break coming up where he's not involved.

    5. Nanoelektronicar
      • 9 Years
      4 years, 5 months ago

      Ederson
      Walker Dinho Otamendi Zinch
      Dilva Rodri Foden
      Mahrez* Aguero Sterling

      *Owner bias, Bilva will start in the end probably.

    6. IRBOX ⚽
      • 7 Years
      4 years, 5 months ago

      Ederson
      Walker Otamendi Dino Mendy
      Gundo Rodri Dilva
      Bilva Jesus Sterling

  11. snowman
    • 14 Years
    4 years, 5 months ago

    Start Ceballos or Montoya?

    1. jomikijiq
      • 8 Years
      4 years, 5 months ago

      Ceballos

  12. The Red Devil
    • 9 Years
    4 years, 5 months ago

    Captain
    Aguero
    Pukki
    Tammy
    Mane

    1. Wxdz
      • 5 Years
      4 years, 5 months ago

      Aguero

      1. The Red Devil
        • 9 Years
        4 years, 5 months ago

        Vice pukki?

  13. Catastrophe
    • 13 Years
    4 years, 5 months ago

    Captain

    A) Aguero
    B) Mahrez
    C) Pukki

    On B! Which will hopefully not end in tears.

    1. Wxdz
      • 5 Years
      4 years, 5 months ago

      Im on Aguero C
      Mahrez VC

  14. Wxdz
    • 5 Years
    4 years, 5 months ago

    Who would u pick as 1st bench in case Cantwell doesn’t play:

    A) Rico (ars)
    B) Bednarek (CHE)

  15. Christina.
    • 14 Years
    4 years, 5 months ago

    good luck knobs.

    1. IRBOX ⚽
      • 7 Years
      4 years, 5 months ago

      calm your tits

    2. FOO FIGHTER
      • 4 Years
      4 years, 5 months ago

      Good luck to you too 🙂

    3. Dirty Harry
      • 8 Years
      4 years, 5 months ago

      I know it's hard, but there is no need to carry on like a flop

  16. Garlana
    • 9 Years
    4 years, 5 months ago

    Who would you captain from my team?

    Pop
    Lund, taa, ota
    Son, mane, mahrez, mcginn
    Pukki, aguero, tammy

    1. bitm2007
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 9 Years
      4 years, 5 months ago

      Kun

      1. Garlana
        • 9 Years
        4 years, 5 months ago

        Did last week and he was benched so I'm worried

        1. Fodderx4
          • 6 Years
          4 years, 5 months ago

          Me too but risking it.

        2. bitm2007
          • Fantasy Football Scout Member
          • 9 Years
          4 years, 5 months ago

          City players are risk and reward, most of us have gone Sterling and the same could happen to him.

    2. Fodderx4
      • 6 Years
      4 years, 5 months ago

      aguero

  17. Football Heaven
    • 7 Years
    4 years, 5 months ago

    Wait a week for Salah, greenwood, aurier > yarmo, pereira, Auba?
    Could go Maddison and soy instead of yarmo and pereira
    Thanks

  18. Ben Marlin
    • 4 Years
    4 years, 5 months ago

    King
    Yarmolenko
    McGinn

    Which player out of these 3 is best?

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

      King and Yarmo

  19. joersherman
    • 7 Years
    4 years, 5 months ago

    Last decision, would really appreciate any last minute thoughts!

    A) Tomori & Maddison
    B) Otamendi & Yarmolenko
    C) Otamendi & McGinn

    1. Camzy
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 13 Years
      4 years, 5 months ago

      A.

  20. Rupert The Horse
    • Fantasy Football Scout Member
    • 11 Years
    4 years, 5 months ago

    So many Son benched rumours. Great if true.

    1. DeadStarComing
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 13 Years
      4 years, 5 months ago

      Poch did give a slight warning.

      1. Rupert The Horse
        • Fantasy Football Scout Member
        • 11 Years
        4 years, 5 months ago

        Yeah. Open to ones own interpretation though.

  21. arndff_
    • 12 Years
    4 years, 5 months ago

    Who should you prefer this GW:

    A) Soy
    B) Rico

    1. RamaJama
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 11 Years
      4 years, 5 months ago

      B

  22. Rik Waller
    • 6 Years
    4 years, 5 months ago

    McGinn or Saka for one week only?

    1. DeadStarComing
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 13 Years
      4 years, 5 months ago

      Saka

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

      McG

  23. bitm2007
    • Fantasy Football Scout Member
    • 9 Years
    4 years, 5 months ago

    as first sub (potentially for Cantwell)

    A) Soyuncu (liv)
    B) Greenwood(new)

    1. jomikijiq
      • 8 Years
      4 years, 5 months ago

      B

    2. James VARdy
      • 8 Years
      4 years, 5 months ago

      A as more likely for 2 points compared to B's 1

  24. Whats the Mata?
    • Fantasy Football Scout Member
    • 9 Years
    4 years, 5 months ago

    Would you bench Son for Digne????

    1. jomikijiq
      • 8 Years
      4 years, 5 months ago

      no

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

    If Son is benched then Poch wants to be sacked. Benching your best player smh

    1. Klein
      • 8 Years
      4 years, 5 months ago

      Nobody wants to bench their best player. Everybody needs a rest.

  26. HollywoodXI
    • 9 Years
    4 years, 5 months ago

    Play one of Dunk, Rico or Kelly. Which one?

    1. Nanoelektronicar
      • 9 Years
      4 years, 5 months ago

      Rico

  27. The Red Devil
    • 9 Years
    4 years, 5 months ago

    Captain who?
    Aguero
    Pukki
    Tammy
    Mane

    1. bitm2007
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 9 Years
      4 years, 5 months ago

      Kun

      1. The Red Devil
        • 9 Years
        4 years, 5 months ago

        Vice pukki?

        1. bitm2007
          • Fantasy Football Scout Member
          • 9 Years
          4 years, 5 months ago

          yes

  28. wijohnson85
    • 9 Years
    4 years, 5 months ago

    Start Lundstram or digne?

  29. pjomara
    • 13 Years
    4 years, 5 months ago

    Ppg when starting this season:
    Salah 7
    Sterling 7
    Mahrez 10

    Mahrez (c) for me

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

      He wont be starting the game though

    2. Garlana
      • 9 Years
      4 years, 5 months ago

      Is that with kdb in the team?

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

      Gl

  30. Ronny Sandstone
    • 9 Years
    4 years, 5 months ago

    Start Ceballos or Lundstram?