Tips

The Complete Guide to Scout’s tips and advice for FPL Gameweek 25

Welcome to a slightly earlier than normal Fantasy Football Scout Gameweek Guide ahead of Saturday’s 11:30 GMT deadline

After a divisive Double Gameweek in which many suffered from Triple Captaining Sadio Mane, we’ve had wise words from several of our Pro Pundits. In his Meet the Manager interview with Joe, Utkarsh Dalmia (aka Pro Pundit Zophar) reminded us:

Evaluate the decision, not the outcome.

– Pro Pundit Zophar

Clearly Mane was an excellent choice and it’s extremely unlucky he went off injured after just 33 minutes against Wolves.

Referencing Poker in his latest piece Lateriser cautioned that it would be very easy to go ‘on tilt’ after facing a bad beat. He echoed the words of fellow Pro Pundit Simon March, who has spoken in the past about the “What the heck? Effect” – where we are more likely to take risks following a loss:

Keeping your temperament in control is incredibly important.

– Pro Pundit Lateriser

This week, in his article discussing the ‘sunk cost fallacy’, former FPL winner Simon brought us more thoughtful advice:

Literally, the only thing that matters in this game are the points you score going forward so we’d do well to ensure that we make our decisions on that basis, no matter how loudly our past decisions might continue to echo in our ears.

– Simon March

So what moves should we be considering ahead of Gameweek 25?

The Scoutcast trio of Joe, Az, and Lee were unanimous in their recommendation of switching Mane to Salah, if you don’t already own the Egyptian.

Joe and Lee both feel that with a crunch Champions League tie against Atletico Madrid following hot on the heels of their Gameweek 26 trip to Norwich, Mane is unlikely to get many minutes even if he is fit to play.

However, for managers who already own Salah, the options to replace the Senegal international in our squads – in the words of Pro Pundit Ash – look bleak.

Raheem Sterling is similarly priced but is lacking in form. While Son Heung-min has had the second-highest number of goal attempts (14) this calendar year among midfielders but embarks on a poor run of upcoming fixtures, with the exception of Aston Villa in Gameweek 26.

Shifting funds to our front lines may be the way to go.

Pro Pundit Holly Shand points out that Aguero is making a compelling case to be included in our Fantasy squads when she cast her eye over the goal threat, creativity and clean sheets for January. While Aubameyang is tempting Pro Pundit Andy. The Arsenal forward faces Burnley (away), Newcastle (home), and Everton (home) in his next three matches.

And a cut-price striker has caught the attention of several managers. Pro Pundit Tom Freeman highlights Chris Wood in his differentials article:

With Arsenal, level with Burnley on 30 points, due at Turf Moor on Sunday, Wood’s aerial ability could be key. His five goals from set plays are more than any other player this season, whilst only Newcastle United have conceded more attempts from dead ball situations than the Gunners.

– Pro Pundit Tom Freeman

Community member Luv4rotties agrees, as he told us when he considered Mane replacements earlier this week. While Top Gun Luke is hoping the New Zealander will kick start his surge up the ranks.

And Pro Pundit Zophar also talked up the Kiwi when disclosing his plans for his FPL team.

Finally keep an eye on the moves of The Great and The Good. Greyhead was in pun-tastic form as he brought us a light-hearted look back on the Double Gameweek. Many of these managers boast excellent track records, and it’s somewhat reassuring to know that they suffered like millions of others.

Armband Candidates

Mohamed Salah is the runaway leader in our captain poll following his Double Gameweek heroics with over 56% of the vote.

But as David reported in his usual in-depth Captain Sensible article, Liverpool’s upcoming opponents could provide a stiff examination of their attacking credentials:

Southampton have been in fantastic shape, which may cause some slight concern for those hoping to trust Salah with the armband. Over the last four matches, when the Saints have faced Spurs, Leicester, Wolves and Crystal Palace, Ralph Hasenhüttl’s men have conceded just 22 shots in the box, just 5.5 per game. Considering that Southampton will be away from home against Liverpool, this data suggests that if they, as suspected, park the proverbial bus, it could limit Liverpool’s attack.

– David

He offers up Aguero as a viable alternative for our armband affections:

Aguero comes into this weekend in better statistical shape than the Egyptian (as far as goal threat is concerned) with superior figures for shots in the box, big chances and shots on target. Furthermore, the defensive data of recent matches suggests that Spurs could actually be easier to penetrate than Southampton at Anfield.

– David

However if the threat of Pep Roulette makes you feel uneasy, Salah is undeniably a good option. He comfortably tops this site’s Rate My Team and his prowess can be explained by his home form. Neale’s analysis of the key underlying stats revealed:

45 attempts on goal, 38 shots in the box, 22 efforts on target, 13 big chances and ten goals recorded by Mohamed Salah (£12.5m) at Anfield this season. No FPL midfielder can surpass any of those totals in home fixtures. Liverpool face Southampton on Merseyside this weekend.

– Neale

Salah is also one of the three ‘players to watch’ in Pep Pig’s Gameweek 25 preview and Liverpool are miles ahead in the latest DS stats, fixtures and clean sheet odds provided by G-Whizz.

Looking ahead

The FA Cup and League Cup results are beginning to shape the landscape for FPL managers. 

David reviewed the current permutations for Blank Gameweek 31: two matches will definitely be postponed while the FA Cup replays due to take place on February 4th and 5th will lead to further fixture disruption. 

The League Cup final will be contested by Aston Villa and Manchester City, meaning their fixtures against Sheffield United and Arsenal will be rearranged. Therefore highly-owned players such as Kevin De Bruyne, John Lundstram, Dean Henderson and Jack Grealish will all blank in Gameweek 28.

Of course these same players will also benefit from a yet-to-be-announced Double Gameweek.

Team News

Among this week’s press conferences was the news that Willy Boly is ready to return to action. 

The Scoutcast trio found his price of £4.7m enticing. The Wolves defender could be a good replacement for Soyuncu or possibly Lundstram, should the Sheffield United star find his starting role under threat.

To add to his appeal the Frenchman scored three goals from headers last season. Tom Freeman highlighted the importance of set-piece threat in his latest article. Newcastle United offer a few budget options ahead of fixtures against Norwich and Arsenal.

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.

Fantasy Football Scout Memberships are now available for a reduced price of £9.99 for the remainder of the season. Rolling monthly subscriptions are also available for £2.99 per month. Click here to sign up or upgrade your account.

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 25 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.

May your arrows be green!

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

3,434 Comments Post a Comment
  1. SHOWSTOPPERRR
    • 6 Years
    4 years, 1 month ago

    Start
    A) greenwood
    B) soyu
    C) holgate

    1. Tonyawesome69
      • 5 Years
      4 years, 1 month ago

      C

  2. j.m
    • Fantasy Football Scout Member
    • 12 Years
    4 years, 1 month ago

    Is Richarlison likely to start?

    1. Twisted Saltergater
      • 14 Years
      4 years, 1 month ago

      Certainly

    2. Zladan
      • 6 Years
      4 years, 1 month ago

      Yep up top. Captain potential this week.

  3. the dom 1
    • Fantasy Football Scout Member
    • 9 Years
    4 years, 1 month ago

    Still tossing up whether to do Vardy to Auba?

    1. BigCoupes
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 5 Years
      4 years, 1 month ago

      I've gone Auba, guaranteed to start

    2. Twisted Saltergater
      • 14 Years
      4 years, 1 month ago

      Nah, not with the GW28 blank.

      Worth a shot if you plan to captain.

  4. S.Kuqi
    • 11 Years
    4 years, 1 month ago

    Currently Hendo my only playing gk.

    Is sub gk McCarthy really worth it? Would probably play him just in gw28 when they have West Ham away?

    1. Old Man
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 12 Years
      4 years, 1 month ago

      No need to rush into it yet.

      1. S.Kuqi
        • 11 Years
        4 years, 1 month ago

        Need to plan carefully cos I have 6 blanking players in my current wildcard team.

        If no major injuries I'm able to field 10 players in gw28

      2. Amey
        • 5 Years
        4 years, 1 month ago

        He's on WC

    2. Holmes
      • 10 Years
      4 years, 1 month ago

      Depends if cash is available or not. Always good to get 2-3 extra pts in weeks like that.

      1. S.Kuqi
        • 11 Years
        4 years, 1 month ago

        I could get McCarthy and play hom every week or get Gomez instead of Vvd to raise funds.

        Thoughts?

        1. Holmes
          • 10 Years
          4 years, 1 month ago

          Don't think it's worth downgrading Van Dijk to Gomez

          1. S.Kuqi
            • 11 Years
            4 years, 1 month ago

            Thanks

  5. BigPointDipper
    • 4 Years
    4 years, 1 month ago

    G2G?

    Hendo
    Soy - VVD - Holgate
    Mahrez - Grealish - BrunoF - Traore
    Aguero - Ings - Jimi

    Pope - Lundstram - Williams - Mane

    Any advice appreciated.

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

      Play Lunds with Soy first Sub?

      Think Bruno will start?

      1. BigPointDipper
        • 4 Years
        4 years, 1 month ago

        I’d be surprised if he does start, but, think he will come on and make an impact.

    2. IN SANE IN DE BRUYNE
      • 7 Years
      4 years, 1 month ago

      I would consider WC

  6. Nightf0x
    • 8 Years
    4 years, 1 month ago

    Which.?

    A) mane simpson -4 to robo grelish/fleck
    B) sidibe to egan/basham
    C) simpson to lascels

  7. Tonyawesome69
    • 5 Years
    4 years, 1 month ago

    How's the team looking? GTG?

    0ft 2itb
    Pope
    Evans* TAA lundstram Lascelles
    Grealish KDB salah(c) traore
    vardy ings

    Ryan Rico connolly* mane

    1. Tonyawesome69
      • 5 Years
      4 years, 1 month ago

      Anyone?

  8. Up the tics
    • 8 Years
    4 years, 1 month ago

    On to my final decision for the gw then im ready to go. Which two would you play out of these sorry lot? (Need to include atleast one defender)

    A. Soy
    B. Holgate
    C. Kelly
    D. Ings
    E. Cantwell

    1. Tonyawesome69
      • 5 Years
      4 years, 1 month ago

      BD

    2. fc_skrald
      • 8 Years
      4 years, 1 month ago

      Ings and Holgate/Kelly

    3. IN SANE IN DE BRUYNE
      • 7 Years
      4 years, 1 month ago

      BD

    4. Up the tics
      • 8 Years
      4 years, 1 month ago

      Thanks a lot fellas

  9. Kaptenen
    • 7 Years
    4 years, 1 month ago

    Bench one;

    A) Lascelles
    B) Fernandez
    C) Lund

    Double newcastle defense too punty?

    1. Tonyawesome69
      • 5 Years
      4 years, 1 month ago

      Bench A or B

  10. FCSB
    • 8 Years
    4 years, 1 month ago

    Both on the bench, but first sub?

    1. Greenwood (WOL)
    2. Soyuncu (CHE)

    Thanks

    1. popcoin
      • 12 Years
      4 years, 1 month ago

      Greenwood

    2. Tonyawesome69
      • 5 Years
      4 years, 1 month ago

      1

  11. the dom 1
    • Fantasy Football Scout Member
    • 9 Years
    4 years, 1 month ago

    G2G?

    Pope,
    VVD, Luns, Lascelles
    Salah, KDB, Grealish, Traore, Fleck
    Vardy, Kun

    McCarthy, Ings, Rico, Williams(man u)

    1.8ITB, On WC

    Thoughts?

    1. CONNERS
      • 5 Years
      4 years, 1 month ago

      Pretty good, just needs more TAA.

    2. Tonyawesome69
      • 5 Years
      4 years, 1 month ago

      I would play Ings instead of Fleck

    3. IN SANE IN DE BRUYNE
      • 7 Years
      4 years, 1 month ago

      Get TAA in, get rid of Lund

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

        Cant afford TAA without taking VVD out!

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

      Could do VVD to TAA but too much value tied up in Lunds atm.

    5. Takedog1
      • 10 Years
      4 years, 1 month ago

      use the 1.8 and put into the team

  12. CONNERS
    • 5 Years
    4 years, 1 month ago

    Morning,

    Anything need changing with team or bench order? Thanks.

    Ryan
    TAA - Robbo - Lund
    Salah (c) - KDB - Grealish - Fleck
    Aguero - Vardy - DCL

    Button / Cantwell - Williams - Sidibe

    1. popcoin
      • 12 Years
      4 years, 1 month ago

      G2G maybe Sidibe higher up bench

    2. CONNERS
      • 5 Years
      4 years, 1 month ago

      Cheers

  13. diesel001
    • 7 Years
    4 years, 1 month ago

    Hope there is some early team news e.g. leaked line up.

    1. Amey
      • 5 Years
      4 years, 1 month ago

      Rockstar is on a break sadly ...

  14. Fpl Richie
    • Fantasy Football Scout Member
    • 8 Years
    4 years, 1 month ago

    For the forthcoming...
    A. Auba Vvd
    B. Kun Gomez

    1. popcoin
      • 12 Years
      4 years, 1 month ago

      B

    2. S.Kuqi
      • 11 Years
      4 years, 1 month ago

      B

    3. Tonyawesome69
      • 5 Years
      4 years, 1 month ago

      B

    4. sthelenslad92
      • 8 Years
      4 years, 1 month ago

      a

    5. IN SANE IN DE BRUYNE
      • 7 Years
      4 years, 1 month ago

      A

  15. popcoin
    • 12 Years
    4 years, 1 month ago

    Start 1:

    A) Martial
    B) Maddison
    C) Rico
    D) Soy

    1. Esalman
      • 14 Years
      4 years, 1 month ago

      Martial

    2. Tonyawesome69
      • 5 Years
      4 years, 1 month ago

      A

    3. CONNERS
      • 5 Years
      4 years, 1 month ago

      A

  16. ZeBestee
    • 9 Years
    4 years, 1 month ago

    Any chance of a DGW for City/Arsenal in GW26?

    1. Amey
      • 5 Years
      4 years, 1 month ago

      All guesswork. Shouldn't be one tbh. It's winter break time

      1. ZeBestee
        • 9 Years
        4 years, 1 month ago

        Yup, cheers mate.

    2. tucaoneo
      • 5 Years
      4 years, 1 month ago

      Yesterday I said the likelihood of a DGW in 25/26 was 25%... now I think it's under 5%.
      - Ben Crellin

    3. Arteta
      • 8 Years
      4 years, 1 month ago

      https://www.arsenal.com/news/arteta-how-well-approach-winter-break

      Doesn't sound like he's thinking about Man City.

  17. Smudger’s Dirty Dozen
    • 12 Years
    4 years, 1 month ago

    Team is
    Ryan
    TAA Cathcart Lund
    Salah KDB Traore Grealish
    Jimi Vardy Ings
    Subs Button Holgate Dendoncker Soyunchu

    A Save FT
    B Soy to VVD
    C Button to Henderson
    D B and C for -4
    E Soy to Lascelles

    1. Tonyawesome69
      • 5 Years
      4 years, 1 month ago

      E

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

      E

  18. davies
    • 9 Years
    4 years, 1 month ago

    1) GTG lads?
    2) Salah (c) or Auba (c)?

    McCarthy
    TAA Lundstram Holgate
    Salah KDB Martial Grealish Traoré
    Auba Vardy

    Martin Ings Soyuncu Kelly

    Cheers.

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

      G2G, Salah (C)

      1. Tonyawesome69
        • 5 Years
        4 years, 1 month ago

        this

  19. S.Kuqi
    • 11 Years
    4 years, 1 month ago

    I hate these chips. 60 point lead in my cash league down the drain for not having Salah(tc)

    Tilted. Pushed the wildard button even my team was pretty good.

    1. NABIL - FPL otai
      • 11 Years
      4 years, 1 month ago

      Same here buddy. Salah captain, 66 points wasn't enough n still got a red.

      WC to a crazy team atm

    2. IN SANE IN DE BRUYNE
      • 7 Years
      4 years, 1 month ago

      Just remove the captaincy

    3. Amey
      • 5 Years
      4 years, 1 month ago

      Same here

  20. N00B
    • Fantasy Football Scout Member
    • 9 Years
    4 years, 1 month ago

    Bench one:
    - Lundstram
    - Williams
    - Holgate

    1. Nightf0x
      • 8 Years
      4 years, 1 month ago

      W or H

    2. Tonyawesome69
      • 5 Years
      4 years, 1 month ago

      Williams

    3. Arteta
      • 8 Years
      4 years, 1 month ago

      Oh hi you handsome mofo!

    4. NABIL - FPL otai
      • 11 Years
      4 years, 1 month ago

      W

    5. IN SANE IN DE BRUYNE
      • 7 Years
      4 years, 1 month ago

      A

  21. Nightf0x
    • 8 Years
    4 years, 1 month ago

    Ryan (buton)
    Taa soy lund (sidibe simpson)
    Traore martial salah kdb (mane)
    Vardy dcl maupay

    Which?
    A) WC
    B) simpson to lascels
    C) simpson mane -4 to robo grealish/fleck
    D) sidibe to egan/basham

    1. Tonyawesome69
      • 5 Years
      4 years, 1 month ago

      B

    2. CONNERS
      • 5 Years
      4 years, 1 month ago

      Just do a couple of transfers over next 2 or 3 weeks. Your team is looking good for for the blank GW coming up.

      1. Nightf0x
        • 8 Years
        4 years, 1 month ago

        Thats the plan already, couple of -4 incoming maupay martial then dcl sidibe

  22. sthelenslad92
    • 8 Years
    4 years, 1 month ago

    A) Traore & Aubameyang
    B) Martial & Jimenez

    1. S.Kuqi
      • 11 Years
      4 years, 1 month ago

      A

  23. Arteta
    • 8 Years
    4 years, 1 month ago

    Captain Salah or Aubameyang? Damn, this is hard.

    1. NABIL - FPL otai
      • 11 Years
      4 years, 1 month ago

      S for safety

    2. S.Kuqi
      • 11 Years
      4 years, 1 month ago

      Salah. Something like 8 points avg at home.

      Auba rarely gets dd

    3. Tonyawesome69
      • 5 Years
      4 years, 1 month ago

      salah

    4. Weasel Boy
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 11 Years
      4 years, 1 month ago

      Salah 100%

      Not sure Burnley are roll over for Arsenall.

    5. tucaoneo
      • 5 Years
      4 years, 1 month ago

      Salah (C) Auba (V) here.

    6. Maximus Bonimus Pointimus
      • 14 Years
      4 years, 1 month ago

      Looking at pool’s Opposition (11 conceded in last 11 away games) I’m not sure they’ll score 3 or 4!

      1. tucaoneo
        • 5 Years
        4 years, 1 month ago

        And to add to that, all Auba's double-digit hauls have come from away games. 😉

        1. Maximus Bonimus Pointimus
          • 14 Years
          4 years, 1 month ago

          Yep that is a fact - Watford, West Ham, Norwich

  24. Jet5605
    • 9 Years
    4 years, 1 month ago

    Morning all,

    Is my bench order correct? Note that I have Williams and Webster starting so feel free to switch either for someone on the bench.

    Holgate Cantwell Lund

  25. Maximus Bonimus Pointimus
    • 14 Years
    4 years, 1 month ago

    I didn’t actually realise how good Southampton have been on the road of late

    cpl, lei, che, avl, new, ars, mci, wol, tot, shu, bha

    11 away games

    Only 11 goals conceded!

    1. Long ago I drew a walrus
      • 13 Years
      4 years, 1 month ago

      Also Ings away record is insane. Struggling to bench him (other option Lascelles)

      1. Maximus Bonimus Pointimus
        • 14 Years
        4 years, 1 month ago

        Playing away from home must really suit Hassenhutl’s style

        Really interested now to watch this game today - if Liverpool do manage to crack them open and score 3 or 4 for example, especially without Mané

  26. The King
    • 10 Years
    4 years, 1 month ago

    Play:

    A)Greenwood
    B)Fleck
    C)Williams

    Cheeeers

    1. GE
      • 7 Years
      4 years, 1 month ago

      A

  27. GE
    • 7 Years
    4 years, 1 month ago

    What would you do here? 🙂

    (1FT, 0.0 itb)

    Pope
    TAA/Soy/Lundstram/Rico
    Salah/KDB/Martial
    Vardy/Ings/DCL

    Bench: Button, Williams, Dendoncker, Mane*

  28. Jet5605
    • 9 Years
    4 years, 1 month ago

    United likely to concede at home to Wolves right? I also fancy Watford to score at home to Everton.

    1. Old Man
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 12 Years
      4 years, 1 month ago

      agreed

  29. ZeBestee
    • 9 Years
    4 years, 1 month ago

    Would you WC this team?

    Ryan
    Sidibe TAA Lundy Hanley Kelly
    Salah KDB Mahrez Grealish Cantwell
    Ings Deeney Kun

    to

    Henderson
    TAA VVD Baldock Lasc Ward
    Salah KDB Grealish Traore Fleck
    Kun Ings Jimi

    1. CONNERS
      • 5 Years
      4 years, 1 month ago

      I'd probably just shift Aguero/Mahrez after the W Ham game for two GW28 starters, then consider WC after that.

  30. Johnny Drama
    • 7 Years
    4 years, 1 month ago

    Can't decide who to captain, Auba or Salah.
    Anyone with the same dilemma?

    1. Chandler Bing
      • 7 Years
      4 years, 1 month ago

      Going Auba myself