Tips

The Complete Guide to Scout’s tips and advice for FPL Gameweek 21

Gameweek 21 must be the easiest deadline of the season to miss. Coming, as it does, after the biggest party of the year. For those of you nursing New Year’s Eve hangovers, congratulations if you are reading this before the 11:30 GMT deadline. You’ve done your FPL team proud.

For others stumbling in a little later you may want to skip the insightful debate and compelling statistics contained within, and head straight to David Wardale’s Fantasy Premier League assets of the decade.

In his entertaining review, the author of “Wasting Your Wildcard” looks back on the achievements of FPL luminaries Aguero, Baines, and Suarez as well as some less fondly-remembered players. Find out which forward reminded us to “never trust a man whose first name sounds like a cinema”.

The big debate ahead of the new decade has revolved around which Liverpool players to own. Double Gameweek 24 was recently announced and the question facing many is whether to double-up in defence or attack?

Joe and Andy tackled the subject on the Scoutcast this week, while Pro Pundit Zophar examined the candidates for our teams in his aptly titled – Which Liverpool assets should we buy for Double Gameweek 24?

The six-time top 5,000 manager has made his bed early, taking a -8 to include Trent Alexander-Arnold and Mohamed Salah alongside Sadio Mane. Fellow Pro Pundit and five-time top 1,000 manager, Tom Freeman, added the same trio on his Gameweek 20 Wildcard.

Owning all three of the premium-priced players is a combination favoured by just 4.17% of the current top 10,000.

Conversely, Joe and Andy prefer going with two defenders. They reason that the sacrifices required elsewhere make it difficult to justify buying two players costing over £12m. Joe commented:

In terms of squad structure for the rest of my fifteen, and the eleven I want to play each week, I think I’m in danger of actually losing points, bizarrely, if I get Mané in.

– Joe

The dilemma facing him is which defender to pair with Alexander-Arnold.

Andy noted that Robertson and van Dijk have the same points-per-match averages this season of 4.5. Could the Dutchman, at £0.6m cheaper, be the better option?

While there are valid reasons for getting either Salah or Mane, an under-the-radar option not being considered as heavily is Roberto Firmino. Priced at an appealing £9.2m Andy reported on the Scoutcast that in nine away matches this season the Brazillian has six goals. Both Liverpool’s matches in Double Gameweek 24 are on the road.

However the captaincy will surely come down to either Salah or Mane. The Senegal international has been afforded more big chances than his Egyptian counterpart in recent Gameweeks, but Salah’s position against Wolverhampton Wanderers caught Neale’s attention:

While Salah blanked on Sunday, there was at least encouragement in that he was again playing as the centre-forward in a 4-2-3-1. It was in this formation that Salah had his purple patch last season, while his 16-point haul against Watford in Gameweek 17 also came when stationed centrally.

– Neale

West Ham fan G-Whizz brought us the news that his beloved Hammers had parted company with Manuel Pellegrini. Although he seemed less impressed with the re-appointment of David Moyes. Like Liverpool, West Ham also have two matches in Gameweek 24.

Looking at this site’s fixture ticker the Hammers top the table for attack over the next four Gameweeks. Should we be considering the likes of Michail Antonio for our fantasy teams?

Rotation Boost for Captain Pick

Jamie Vardy is the popular choice for the armband in the first Gameweek of 2020. 

And with good reason too – he’s rested after missing the trip to East London to attend the birth of his child. He now looks set to resume his place spearheading the Leicester attack as they travel to the North East.

Newcastle’s defensive numbers were scrutinised by David in his Captain Sensible article, offering hope to those favouring the Foxes forward. Many are anticipating the rocking-a-baby celebration this afternoon.

Vardy is one of three Leicester City players to feature in this week’s Scout Picks.

As ever, there are other contenders vying for the captaincy. Liverpool’s Salah and Mane feature prominently as does Man City’s Kevin De Bruyne. The Citizens top the latest DS stats, fixtures and clean sheet odds provided by G-Whizz.

Squad rotation could be a factor when considering your captain and starting XI.

In addition to Vardy several key players were afforded rests in Gameweek 20 – Soyuncu, Jimenez and Traore among them. All three are expected to return to action later today. In his Pro Pundit article, Andy revealed that he is contemplating adding the Wolves speed-merchant to his side. 

There was positive news on the injury front concerning John Lundstram, as Neale reported in his Team News summary. The out-of-position defender missed the encounter against Man City after turning his ankle but is predicted to feature against Liverpool.

There was also welcome news regarding another defender, Aymeric Laporte, who according to Guardiola is on course to return to full training in a week to ten days.

Having played the entire 270 minutes over the festive period, rotation may affect the minutes of Dele Alli, Serge Aurier, and Harry Kane in the Spurs ranks. Although Joe feels, Kane in particular, that they are too integral to be afforded a rest

Other players possibly at risk include Calvert-Lewin, Deulofeu, Grealish, Zaha, Willian, and Abraham.

Everton striker Calvert-Lewin is near the top of Tom Freeman’s watchlist. Following today’s trip to the Etihad, the Toffees enjoy a kind run of fixtures from Gameweek 22. At £5.8m and with impressive underlying stats, he’s one to consider.

Finally, if you’ve not enjoyed the best 2019 remember, as Greyhead reminded us in bumper edition of The Great and The Good, “Ings can only get better in 2020.

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.

Rolling monthly subscriptions are now available for £2.99 per month. Click here to sign up or upgrade your account.

Join a new Mini-League for 2020?

Track your progress in the New Year by joining RedLightning’s January to May League. Scoring will start in Gameweek 21. So far 270 managers have entered, to join them the league code you need is aafkpq.

Community Competitions

For an update on all FFS Mini-Leagues and Community Competitions, 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. The fixtures for Gameweek 21 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 2020!

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

1,527 Comments Post a Comment
  1. Azzastaan
    • Fantasy Football Scout Member
    • 5 Years
    4 years, 2 months ago

    Tammy ali grealish to salah ings 4.3 for -8!!!!

    1. thom830g
      • 6 Years
      4 years, 2 months ago

      nope!

    2. HonestBlatter
      • 13 Years
      4 years, 2 months ago

      NO

    3. Hotdogs for Tea
      • 8 Years
      4 years, 2 months ago

      omg no

  2. Gobigorgohome
    • 12 Years
    4 years, 2 months ago

    Pulisiccccc punish those sellersssss

    1. Ginkapo FPL
      • 12 Years
      4 years, 2 months ago

      Even a brace wouldnt punish me. Sold him weeks ago...

      Revenge is rarely satisfactory

  3. Killitzer
    • 14 Years
    4 years, 2 months ago

    Morning. Was thinking of bringing TAA for a hit but might just roll the transfer and do it for week 24.

    Pope Button
    Soy Chilwell Rico Kelly Lundstram
    Mane Salah KDB Cantwell Traore
    Abraham Vardy Ings

    1FT 1m itb

    G2G?

    1. Hotdogs for Tea
      • 8 Years
      4 years, 2 months ago

      yip gtg

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

    pulisic & mount start, no Tomori

  5. Ginkapo FPL
    • 12 Years
    4 years, 2 months ago

    Quick, do I still have time to wildcard?

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

      Of course 1 minute is plenty

    2. g40steve
      • 6 Years
      4 years, 2 months ago

      Remove all auto pick JD.

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

    Kelly (NOR) or Rico (WHU)?

    1. drughi
      • 14 Years
      4 years, 2 months ago

      rico

      1. Miniboss
        • 5 Years
        4 years, 2 months ago

        Cheers

    2. kraftwerker
      • 12 Years
      4 years, 2 months ago

      gone Kelly

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

    Last minute someone talk me into capping Salah over Vardy

    1. Oggle22
      • 7 Years
      4 years, 2 months ago

      Same dilemma I went Vardy for safety

      1. JollyGoodYellows
        • 5 Years
        4 years, 2 months ago

        I'm bored of safety though haha!

        1. Oggle22
          • 7 Years
          4 years, 2 months ago

          I'm bored of playing it safe to mirror those above me and logging on and they've changed there team or when of my other differentials doesn't play haha

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

      Baby celebration

    3. Dele
      • 7 Years
      4 years, 2 months ago

      Salah

  8. Nightf0x
    • 8 Years
    4 years, 2 months ago

    Quick
    Get dcl or jimi (have traore)

    1. Crunchie
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 5 Years
      4 years, 2 months ago

      DCL for liverpool

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

    Bench one

    Rico, Digne or Lund?

  10. Ribus
    • 10 Years
    4 years, 2 months ago

    A) Tammy -> Jim

    B) Aurier -> Soy

    C) save

    1. the dom 1
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 9 Years
      4 years, 2 months ago

      B if anything or just save

    2. waldo666
      • 13 Years
      4 years, 2 months ago

      A

  11. drughi
    • 14 Years
    4 years, 2 months ago

    Got rid of alli, maddison and rashford for a hit, oops. Could be a painful evening this

  12. Sgt Frank Drebin
    • 7 Years
    4 years, 2 months ago

    Hasn't Newcastle not lose at home this season? Is captaining Vardy really good idea? They play really well at home this season...

    1. Ginkapo FPL
      • 12 Years
      4 years, 2 months ago

      Jonjo...

    2. potatoace
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 12 Years
      4 years, 2 months ago

      Winning or losing is largely immaterial. Vardy scoring is all that matters.
      It may not be a whipping, but then again New have suffered more defensive whoes since last gw.

    3. Rotation's Alter Ego
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • Has Moderation Rights
      • 12 Years
      4 years, 2 months ago

      They lost at home Vs Everton last gameweek, so no not unbeaten!

  13. the dom 1
    • Fantasy Football Scout Member
    • 9 Years
    4 years, 2 months ago

    Hope Tammy punishes all his sellers lol.

    1. Cube
      • 6 Years
      4 years, 2 months ago

      Exactly

  14. jernej93
    • 9 Years
    4 years, 2 months ago

    Who to bench?
    1. Traore
    2. Ings
    3. Maddison

    1. Kun Tozser
      • 8 Years
      4 years, 2 months ago

      1

  15. Nightf0x
    • 8 Years
    4 years, 2 months ago

    Cap. Mane vardy kdb ali ??!

    1. drughi
      • 14 Years
      4 years, 2 months ago

      mane or vardy

    2. Oggle22
      • 7 Years
      4 years, 2 months ago

      I've gone Vardy but don't own your other players

  16. as33
    • 8 Years
    4 years, 2 months ago

    Vardy or Salah captain?

    1. Dannyb
      • 6 Years
      4 years, 2 months ago

      Mo

    2. the dom 1
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 9 Years
      4 years, 2 months ago

      Vardy

      Salah (vc)

    3. Dele
      • 7 Years
      4 years, 2 months ago

      Mo

  17. Azzastaan
    • Fantasy Football Scout Member
    • 5 Years
    4 years, 2 months ago

    Vardy kdb or mane captain

    1. g40steve
      • 6 Years
      4 years, 2 months ago

      Vardy C KDB VC

  18. Pia06rc
    • 5 Years
    4 years, 2 months ago

    Tammy or jimenez on WC? Have traore and no other chels

  19. Moose™
    • 11 Years
    4 years, 2 months ago

    Start Grealish or Cantwell???

  20. BENOIT
    • Fantasy Football Scout Member
    • 8 Years
    4 years, 2 months ago

    Start Soy (new) or Kiko (WOL) ?

  21. The Red Devil
    • 9 Years
    4 years, 2 months ago

    VC Kane or Kdb?

    1. Oggle22
      • 7 Years
      4 years, 2 months ago

      Just transfered Kane to Vardy bottled it as the 3 above me in ml own Vardy

  22. Pep Roulette
    • 6 Years
    4 years, 2 months ago

    GTG?

    Schmeichel
    TAA B.Williams Rico
    Mane KDB Martial Traore
    Kane(C) Vardy Tammy

    Button Kelly Lundy Dendo

    1. Moose™
      • 11 Years
      4 years, 2 months ago

      Yes

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

      I ended up keeping Kane too and captaining

      Good luck 🙂

    3. Cholito
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 4 Years
      4 years, 2 months ago

      Can u explain why u're captaining Kane when he has one of his worst season in terms of stats, shots, goals, xG etc?

  23. Dele
    • 7 Years
    4 years, 2 months ago

    Salah captain?

    1. Hotdogs for Tea
      • 8 Years
      4 years, 2 months ago

      nope ... but may be good off the bench against tired legs 😉

    2. JollyGoodYellows
      • 5 Years
      4 years, 2 months ago

      My dilemma as well

  24. OldBenKenobi
    • 7 Years
    4 years, 2 months ago

    Last minute captain change from Salah > Vardy

    Am I going to regret it?

    1. Gobigorgohome
      • 12 Years
      4 years, 2 months ago

      yes

    2. SB007
      • 6 Years
      4 years, 2 months ago

      No.

  25. Lucky Z
    • 6 Years
    4 years, 2 months ago

    DCL or Grealish to bench? Quick 🙂

    1. fantasyfog
      • 8 Years
      4 years, 2 months ago

      g

    2. Alonso The Great Midfielder
      • 12 Years
      4 years, 2 months ago

      late

  26. Gaddafi
    • 4 Years
    4 years, 2 months ago

    Chelsea XI: Kepa, Azpilicueta, Tomori, Rudiger, Emerson, Jorginho, Pulisic, Kovacic, Mount, Willian, Batshuayi

    Source: https://twitter.com/the_lampard/status/1212334493845114886
    As always, I'm not responsible, just reposting what I found on Twitter.

    1. Ginkapo FPL
      • 12 Years
      4 years, 2 months ago

      Lol. Different

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

      That's wrong btw.

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

      You are responsible for where you found it in twitter though

      1. Gaddafi
        • 4 Years
        4 years, 2 months ago

        I posted the source. It's up to you to decide whether or not it's trustworthy. The user seems a little sketchy to me, but I still wanted to pass on the line-up posted. 🙂

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

          Lol. I had my vc on Tammy since the leak said he would start.. Switched to Mane vc and kept Vardy c. So dint really effect me that much tbh.

          1. Gaddafi
            • 4 Years
            4 years, 2 months ago

            I'm sorry, just saw the line-up on Chelsea's Twitter and it's incorrect.

            That was the only line-up leak I could find on Twitter all day.

    4. Garfield1001
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 10 Years
      4 years, 2 months ago

      Is there somebody to ban this idiot?

    5. Hotdogs for Tea
      • 8 Years
      4 years, 2 months ago

      best you don’t actually post it here, so many bogus lineup tweets around these days ? it just stirs the community up ?

      1. Gaddafi
        • 4 Years
        4 years, 2 months ago

        I always post predicted line-ups so that we can figure out if they're real or not.

        I actually changed my captain last minute from Abraham to Jimenez because of it. Raging.

        1. Hotdogs for Tea
          • 8 Years
          4 years, 2 months ago

          unless you know the source, or know the source has some inside information or has decent track record with lineups, then you really shouldn’t dump random tweets on here imho ... what’s the point ?

  27. Hotdogs for Tea
    • 8 Years
    4 years, 2 months ago

    pens down ... if you haven’t decided by now then it’s too late 😉

  28. SB007
    • 6 Years
    4 years, 2 months ago

    Break the template.

    Barnes. Wood.

  29. FirMinaMiMo
    • 4 Years
    4 years, 2 months ago

    Good luck lads 🙂 cheers !!! BOOM

  30. tiger
    • Fantasy Football Scout Member
    • 12 Years
    4 years, 2 months ago

    Pants down...