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. SAKA AND EMILE SMITH ROWE
    • 7 Years
    4 years, 5 months ago

    Wow Winks is not far off 24, average player at best but thought he was 19/20 so was giving him the benefit of the doubt

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

      Underrated by fantasy football managers everywhere

  2. bench boost for every gamew…
    • 7 Years
    4 years, 5 months ago

    at least Lamela starts and Poch have fielded a good attacking set up. phew

    1. Magic Zico
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 5 Years
      4 years, 5 months ago

      Loads of saves for Ryan, good!

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

    Why

  4. fr3d
    • 6 Years
    4 years, 5 months ago

    Updated

    just practicing

  5. Random Name
    • 8 Years
    4 years, 5 months ago

    Why do people have this consensus that Brendan Rodgers is a bad manager? Just because he’s not as flashy as a pep or klopp.

    Imo one of the best managers in the world - promoted Swansea, almost won Liverpool the league and made the best Celtic team of all time. Now Leicester with a serious shot at top 4. He’s a transcendental manager that United have been crying out for the last 8 years

    1. diesel001
      • 7 Years
      4 years, 5 months ago

      Because he always gets close and then flops at the last hurdle. Look at Celtic in the CL under him. Liverpool blew the title etc.

      1. ‘Tis the Season
        • 5 Years
        4 years, 5 months ago

        Steven slipping against Chelsea was Brendan’s fault. Really?

      2. Random Name
        • 8 Years
        4 years, 5 months ago

        Took klopp 4 years, he was only given three

        1. Supersonic Marv'
          • 7 Years
          4 years, 5 months ago

          Because he was going nowhere.

    2. Cilly Bonnolly
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 12 Years
      4 years, 5 months ago

      Best Celtic team of all time? They had one that won the European Cup.

      1. Wild Rover
        • 13 Years
        4 years, 5 months ago

        Plus his Celtic team had no opposition

      2. Random Name
        • 8 Years
        4 years, 5 months ago

        Completely different era

        1. Cilly Bonnolly
          • Fantasy Football Scout Member
          • 12 Years
          4 years, 5 months ago

          And? You wanted to compare teams from different eras.

      1. soup natsi
        • 9 Years
        4 years, 5 months ago

        painted by a disabled fan and given to him as a present, but ok

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

          Nice. Cheers

    3. Wild Rover
      • 13 Years
      4 years, 5 months ago

      I wasn't aware that the consensus was that he is a bad manager. Oh wait, it isn't

      1. Random Name
        • 8 Years
        4 years, 5 months ago

        Then why did people recoil when he was suggested as arsenal manager over the summer?

    4. Top Lad Dakes.
      • 7 Years
      4 years, 5 months ago

      He’s a very good manager

    5. Supersonic Marv'
      • 7 Years
      4 years, 5 months ago

      He horribly mismanaged scores of players at Liverpool. We nearly won the league because Suarez was the best player in the league and was virtually unplayable. Look how well we did before and after Suarez.

      1. Wild Rover
        • 13 Years
        4 years, 5 months ago

        Konchesky's mum likes this

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

      He even got 20+ goals out of Sturridge in one season.

      1. have you seen cyan
        • 4 Years
        4 years, 5 months ago

        Sterling was good then as well, the assister 😀

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

      Good or bad doesn't matter, I like his style of football ...

  6. Bury94
    • Fantasy Football Scout Member
    • 6 Years
    4 years, 5 months ago

    I love how we're so eager for the game to update so we can arrange our bus teams for GW9 when we have 2 weeks to do it

    1. All For One
      • 5 Years
      4 years, 5 months ago

      I just want to see my rivals transfers

    2. Qaiss
      • 8 Years
      4 years, 5 months ago

      Some people have a wildcard to play he he he

    3. syke63
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 10 Years
      4 years, 5 months ago

      Wildcard time!!!

    4. Erdogan
      • 5 Years
      4 years, 5 months ago

      For me it’s more about checking out rival teams rather than set up my team for next GW

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

    Lads I bought KDB at 9.6, sold him before the drop last night. If I decide to buy him back, how much will I earn or lose? Thx

    1. Grand Thibauto
      • 9 Years
      4 years, 5 months ago

      0.1

    2. La Roja
      • 12 Years
      4 years, 5 months ago

      Drop last night?

    3. Left Wingers Utd
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 13 Years
      4 years, 5 months ago

      He didn't drop last night did he?

      1. diesel001
        • 7 Years
        4 years, 5 months ago

        Looks set to drop over this weekend though. Question is whether he drops again.

      2. Magic Zico
        • Fantasy Football Scout Member
        • 5 Years
        4 years, 5 months ago

        Nope maybe tonight?

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

      Depends

      Likely 0.1
      Maybe 0.2

    5. diesel001
      • 7 Years
      4 years, 5 months ago

      If you got him at £9.6m and sold him yesterday when his PP was £10.0m then you would have sold him for £9.8m making a £0.2m profit.

      So you need him to drop twice to £9.8m for it not to cost you (money wise) overall.

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

        Thanks mate

    6. Fitzy.
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 12 Years
      4 years, 5 months ago

      You'll probably be buying back at 9.9 or 9.8 I think, so nothing to worry about.

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

        If he misses the next game too he’ll drop further.

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

      He didn't drop lady night. He will cost you 0.1m more than the value you sold him for, until he drops next.

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

        What diesel said actually, my maths is off.

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

          Haha thx

      2. La Roja
        • 12 Years
        4 years, 5 months ago

        Sounds like he pulled a fit one last night

    8. Cok3y5murf
      • 7 Years
      4 years, 5 months ago

      Nothing. You'll break even. If he drops, you'll make a profit.

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

    Spurs this season in the PL:
    Eriksen on the pitch: 425 minutes - 13 goals.
    Without Eriksen: 205 minutes - 1 goal.

    1. Magic Zico
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 5 Years
      4 years, 5 months ago

      Wow

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

    Any news on Trossard?

  10. Grand Thibauto
    • 9 Years
    4 years, 5 months ago

    Just realized the scout pick has three Sheffield players. Don't really understand the reasoning, is Everton (away) suddenly an easy fixture? Or is there some sort of an inside joke?

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

      Yeah Watford are terrible

    2. diesel001
      • 7 Years
      4 years, 5 months ago

      They are budget picks and playing Watford away. Watford have not been great.

    3. Grand Thibauto
      • 9 Years
      4 years, 5 months ago

      My bad, they play Watford, not everton

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

        They beat Everton 2-0 2 weeks ago.

  11. diesel001
    • 7 Years
    4 years, 5 months ago

    Updated

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

    Updated

  13. have you seen cyan
    • 4 Years
    4 years, 5 months ago

    LOL dammit, no rivals have taken hit, wtf. One played free hit to make a worse team then mine tho

  14. have you seen cyan
    • 4 Years
    4 years, 5 months ago

    lets go (K)ane

  15. Taegugk Warrior
    • 5 Years
    4 years, 5 months ago

    Why everybody loves cresswell..?

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

      Scores freekicks

  16. RAFA THE GAFFA
    • 7 Years
    4 years, 5 months ago

    Spurs that bad again?

  17. Mufc123
    • 6 Years
    4 years, 5 months ago

    Soyunca or tomori?

  18. Colonel Shoe 肝池
    • 12 Years
    4 years, 5 months ago

    no heaton and taa cleanie really hurts!