Tips

The Complete Guide to Scout’s tips and advice for FPL Gameweek 28

Welcome to the Fantasy Football Scout Guide to Gameweek 28. 

Firstly don’t get caught out – we have an early deadline this week: Friday 19:00 GMT deadline.

Read on for help with those all-important transfer and captaincy decisions.

Captain candidates

Mohamed Salah once again tops the Rate My Team tool and the captaincy poll ahead of Liverpool’s trip to Watford.

However, is trusting a player who has scored just twice in away matches this season – and not at all when Mane has played – a good idea?

In his Captain Sensible article David left us in no doubt:

The case for Salah is very strong, considering his underlying data. Yes, he is still without a goal in an away match than Mané has started, but Salah’s underlying statistics suggest he is due at least something at Vicarage Road and that such an unwanted fact is nothing more than happenstance.

David

But he’s perhaps not the only option to consider. 

Form versus Fixtures

Heading into Gameweek 28, two players encapsulate the perennial form versus fixtures dilemma.

Dominic Calvert-Lewin is the form player. As Neale noted in his analysis of the underlying stats:

Since Carlo Ancelotti took charge in Gameweek 19, no other FPL asset has had more attempts on target or big chances than the Everton striker.

– Neale

However the fixtures stiffen for the Toffees, who are second bottom in our Season Ticker for the next three matches.

Although Pro Pundit Tom Freeman feels the fixtures aren’t as bad as they seem on first glance, and includes Calvert-Lewin as one of his forwards to consider. 

Leicester City, on the other hand, are top of the Season Ticker. 

But the out-of-form Jamie Vardy has failed to score since Gameweek 18. Did we see any signs of encouragement in Gameweek 27?

Pro Pundit Sam is one manager who will be keeping the Foxes forward:

There were some glimmers that the old Vardy we used to love pre-Christmas is coming back.

– Sam

Pep Pig – top of  RedLightning’s January to May League (league code aafkpq) – picks out Jamie Vardy as one of the three players to watch in Gameweek 28:

I’ve stuck with my plan to bring him in for the in-form Dominic Calvert-Lewin, and even giving him the armband over Mohamed Salah.

– Pep Pig

However David did caution in Captain Sensible:

When he was at the height of his powers earlier in the campaign, Vardy was not busting many statistics, he was simply dominating them. He was doing well because he was regularly top for shots in the box, big chances and shots on target for four-match blocks at a time. So the fact his numbers have dropped off in line with his returns is certainly more of a factor in his decreasing points potential than some would have us believe. 

– David

Both Calvert-Lewin and Vardy have been named in this week’s Scout Picks but rumours circulating on Friday night suggest the Leicester striker may not even be in the starting XI.

Grealish versus Harvey Barnes

A question many have been considering recently is what to do with Jack Grealish, who has provided just one assist in the last four Gameweeks. FPL Virgin asked the question – should we sell Grealish

Pro Pundit Az was fairly unequivocal in his answer:

I think Villa go down and their fixtures couldn’t be worse. He’s literally their only threat, teams that are capable in defence are surely just going to mark him out of the game. He might get the odd assist, but Leicester / Chelsea options may be more explosive with their run ins so I think I’m going to ditch.

– Az

Meanwhile JohnRoss concluded in his hot topic that it was worth selling Grealish if you are buying Harvey Barnes. 

And the Leicester City midfielder was one of the names picked out by Pro Pundit Zophar in his latest piece which looked at stats and upcoming fixtures to identify which players to target

Team News

Neale brought us the latest news with Rotation’s Alter Ego providing us his summary in a hot topic.

The headline is that Martial is doubt for Manchester United, Solskjaer revealed:

I don’t know with Anthony, to be honest. I’ve not asked. He tried [on Thursday] morning, so he wasn’t that bad, but we’ll have to do a scan [on Friday] probably.

– Solskjaer

Another United player who has got people talking this week is january-signing Bruno Fernandes.

He’s a player Joe transferred in for Son last week with the Portuguese delivering a 14-point return in Gameweek 27. He’s particularly good at penalties, scoring 22 out of 24 over his professional career. 

Speaking of his new signing Solskjaer said:

He has been known for his set plays. He has practised quite a few penalties and I wasn’t in doubt that he would score.

– Solskjaer

Although Karam noted on the Scoutcast that Fernandes does take the vast majority of his open play shots from distance, which isn’t great for Fantasy potential. 

Another player potentially taking over penalty-taking duties is Kevin De Bruyne. 

In the absence of Sergio Aguero, the Belgian stepped up and converted his spot-kick against Real Madrid in the Champions League. 

Holly (aka FFCommunity_) opened a hot topic on what to do with Kevin? 

Despite the blank fixture for Man City this Gameweek, the Scoutcast were unanimous in their decision to keep De Bruyne. Highlighting a potential Double Gameweek 29 for the champions.

Looking ahead

Considering what we know of the expected blank and double Gameweeks for the season, FPL Virgin outlined his trademarked plan – the “FPL Virgin Chip Strategy

In his community article he explained why he feels using his Wildcard in Gameweek 33, Bench Boost in Gameweek 34, and Free Hit in Gameweek 37 could reap rewards.

It was an excellent week for The Great and The Good, with all bar one of the featured managers gaining green arrows. The FPL General has played his Wildcard and Greyhead expects him to Bench Boost in Gameweek 29. Can he match Andy’s success in Gameweek 27

Finally in his Gameweek review, TheFantasyFreÆK looked back on data from the previous seven seasons before concluding:

After going through the data, I can confidently say that this season to date has witnessed some of the worst defending in the league’s history. To put things into context, at this stage, Villa have conceded 330 shots inside the box while West Ham have conceded 86 big chances. The FPL repercussion is that the findings cannot be more obvious, target attackers who play against these teams!

– TheFantasyFreÆK

Useful information for planning future transfers.

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

Don’t miss out on your chance to win a share of £300 in prize money by entering the latest edition of the open-to-all Fantasy Football Scout Cup

Sign up via the entry form here. The deadline for entries is 10:30am on Monday 2 March.

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 28 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

1,351 Comments Post a Comment
  1. FOO FIGHTER
    • 4 Years
    4 years, 1 month ago

    How many Vardy transfers out?

    1. St Pauli Walnuts
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 5 Years
      4 years, 1 month ago

      Not many. Most FPL players will be blissfully unaware

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

        Is it confirmed Vardy is out??

        1. St Pauli Walnuts
          • Fantasy Football Scout Member
          • 5 Years
          4 years, 29 days ago

          Certainly is.

  2. wulfrunian
    • 7 Years
    4 years, 1 month ago

    Any news on Martial?

  3. Catastrophe
    • 13 Years
    4 years, 1 month ago

    Panic!

    Anything worth a hit chaps? 1.8 ITB

    McCarthy
    TAA, VVD, Lascelles, Williams*
    Salah, Barnes, Fernandes, Traore*
    Jimenez, Ings

    (Button, AUBA**, KDB**, O'CONNELL**)

    Cheers.

  4. Pep Roulette
    • 6 Years
    4 years, 1 month ago

    Hey fam! Have 2 FTs & 0 ITB. What to do amid all this confusion?

    Pope Hendo*
    TAA Robbo Lascelles Taylor Stevens*
    Salah Traore Hayden KDB* Fleck*
    Ings Jimenez Kun*

    1. Catastrophe
      • 13 Years
      4 years, 1 month ago

      Not much flex with 0 ITB assuming you want to keep Kun.

      I guess either save and keep fingers crossed or go Kun & Hayden to Fernandes and someone

      1. Pep Roulette
        • 6 Years
        4 years, 1 month ago

        I have 2 FTs! Can save only 1!

    2. Pat Bonner
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 12 Years
      4 years, 1 month ago

      Tough with Vardy news as I see no decent replacement. DCL maybe? And get Leicester mid for fleck?

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

    If Vardy is out should I take a hit for a defender to field 11 players?

    1. Team Cruel
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 8 Years
      4 years, 1 month ago

      Vardy > Jota

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

        It could be just something minor so not keen on that

  6. Party time
      4 years, 1 month ago

      It is so stuffy in here

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

        Tell me about Iheanacho

    • Pat Bonner
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 12 Years
      4 years, 1 month ago

      Which do you prefer:

      A lacelles perez Gomez
      B Boly mane DCL (-4)

    • have you seen cyan
      • 4 Years
      4 years, 1 month ago

      Vardys missus should leak Jamies status more

      1. Taking the Mkhitaryan
        • 7 Years
        4 years, 1 month ago

        Thats so 2019

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

      So Martial, Traore and Vardy might all play and might all not.
      What the hell do we do?!

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

        martial might play?

      2. JC9
        • 7 Years
        4 years, 1 month ago

        i am in the same situation as you are bro. really crazy !

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

          Anu ideas?
          Only 1ft
          Martial to Bruno
          Traore to Barnes/Perez
          Vardy to Giroud/DCL etc

      3. Taking the Mkhitaryan
        • 7 Years
        4 years, 1 month ago

        Just another day at the office

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

        Just sold Martial for Fernandes

    • thepuntmaster
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 10 Years
      4 years, 1 month ago

      Bench one of:
      A) Lascelles (BUR)
      B) Cantwell (LEI)
      C) Murray (CRY)

    • iL PiStOlErO
      • 4 Years
      4 years, 1 month ago

      Do just Grealish to Barnes?

      Lets say if Martial play I could have 11 players, with Cathart on the bench for Vardy, if not 10 players. Not sure what to do now so don't want to take a hit and willing to take the risk.

      Ramsdale
      TAA Taylor Soy
      Salah(C) Martial* Dendo Barnes
      Firmino Vardy* Ings

      Martin Cathart KdB* Egan*

      1ft, 0.7itb

    • Garfield1001
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 10 Years
      4 years, 1 month ago

      Play Holgate or traore?

      Cheers

      1. iL PiStOlErO
        • 4 Years
        4 years, 1 month ago

        Holg probably

      2. J ⚒ Gimme ur Mané
        • Fantasy Football Scout Member
        • 9 Years
        4 years, 1 month ago

        Traore

    • ViperStripes
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 14 Years
      4 years, 1 month ago

      Whats the source for the Vardy rumour where did it start?

      1. Ajax Hamsterdam
        • 9 Years
        4 years, 1 month ago

        no idea. i m keeping

      2. Taking the Mkhitaryan
        • 7 Years
        4 years, 1 month ago

        Rainer

      3. Brosstan
        • 9 Years
        4 years, 1 month ago

        Seanfromenderby top Leicester ITK

    • Niho992
      • 5 Years
      4 years, 1 month ago

      OMG site down

      1. Taking the Mkhitaryan
        • 7 Years
        4 years, 1 month ago

        Baaaaaaaannnnnnn

      2. Pep Roulette
        • 6 Years
        4 years, 1 month ago

        This deserves a ban. Seriously.

    • UnitednationsXI
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 12 Years
      4 years, 1 month ago

      1) Boly, Saiss or Taylor?
      - rest of defense is taya/Robbo/aurier/Rico

      2) Perez or barnes

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

      Play Holgate or sell Vardy (-4)?

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

        Sell, sell, sell!

    • Firmino
      • 8 Years
      4 years, 1 month ago

      If Vardy out then Perez on pens, right? Better pick than Barnes then.

      1. Wilshere Knowledge
        • 10 Years
        4 years, 1 month ago

        I think Maddison is on them.

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

          Perez took the last one and scored when they were both on the pitch and Vardy wasnt

          1. Wilshere Knowledge
            • 10 Years
            4 years, 1 month ago

            I stand corrected.

            I bow to your superior knowledge. 🙂

      2. Aimar
        • 4 Years
        4 years, 1 month ago

        Maddison i think

    • Teror
      • 9 Years
      4 years, 1 month ago

      Does Vardy's absence suddenly make Barnes more or less appealing?

      1. Jebiga
        • 11 Years
        4 years, 1 month ago

        Hes been briliant, so more appealing

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

        Perez more appealing and Barnes less so I'd imagine. Though the sample size is.small

      3. Railwayman
        • 11 Years
        4 years, 1 month ago

        Less I guess...

    • HD7
      • 7 Years
      4 years, 1 month ago

      Have a feeling no hits this GW with full team is a win already 😀

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

        I have Rico first sub, hope he starts now

      2. ViperStripes
        • Fantasy Football Scout Member
        • 14 Years
        4 years, 1 month ago

        Williams 1st sub here

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

        Absoluetly right!

    • Jebiga
      • 11 Years
      4 years, 1 month ago

      should i play boly or traore ?

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

        Boly

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

        Boly - 1 point for Traore 🙁

    • ViperStripes
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 14 Years
      4 years, 1 month ago

      Who's the twitter guy that often gets leaked teamsheets

      1. Ange Ball
        • 9 Years
        4 years, 1 month ago

        FPLRockstar

      2. Ajax Hamsterdam
        • 9 Years
        4 years, 1 month ago

        fpl rockstar?

      3. Slitherene
        • 6 Years
        4 years, 1 month ago

        Rocky

    • Tmel
      • 13 Years
      4 years, 1 month ago

      1) Rico & Grealish > Stephens & Barnes
      2) Egan & Grealish > Soy & Barnes
      3) Traore & KDB > Barnes & Fernandes
      4) Egan, Grealish & Traore > Taylor, Fernandes & Saka (-4)

    • Orion
      • 13 Years
      4 years, 1 month ago

      Teams sheets are locked now... Cmon FPLRockstar

    • Henning
      • 9 Years
      4 years, 1 month ago

      Repost

      If No Vardy is it worth to take a hit to get
      Jimenez or just play Stephens?

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

        Play Stephens

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

          Thanx.

    • Obi-1 Kenobi-0
      • 8 Years
      4 years, 1 month ago

      If (big if) the rumours about Vardy being out for tonight's game are true, I'd only be fielding 10 men.

      As such, Grealish -> Richarlison for a -4 seems to be worthwhile to me as it'd give me 11 players and therefore hopefully equate to a maximum of a -2 assuming Richarlison completely blanks w/o a yellow card. Best case scenario for a hit, surely?

      1. Podorsky
        • Fantasy Football Scout Member
        • 14 Years
        4 years, 1 month ago

        Where does the Vardy rumour come from

        1. Obi-1 Kenobi-0
          • 8 Years
          4 years, 1 month ago

          A chap on Twitter who is supposedly fairly reliable with early team news for Leicester.

          @seanfromenderby

    • SHOOTER MCGINN
      • 8 Years
      4 years, 1 month ago

      Benching Salah and TAA for KDB and Mendy. Seems worth the risk.

    • Teror
      • 9 Years
      4 years, 1 month ago

      Play Boly or Taylor?

    • Royal5
      • 12 Years
      4 years, 1 month ago

      No smoke without fire right?

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

        Maybe

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

        It’s all SMOKE, cause it’s people in here causing the fire

      3. badgerboy
        • Fantasy Football Scout Member
        • 8 Years
        4 years, 1 month ago

        In real life, yes. In the Twitter world, no.

    • Irish Madridista ⭐
      • 13 Years
      4 years, 1 month ago

      Last minute WC activated.

      Pope
      Taa - Doherty - Pereira
      Salah - Fernandes - Traore - Barnes - Perez
      Jimi - Ings

      (4.0 - Taylor - Auba - Stevens)

      Let's goooo

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

        Vardy over Auba

        1. Irish Madridista ⭐
          • 13 Years
          4 years, 1 month ago

          Out of form, injured, and I own three Leicester.

          1. Irish Madridista ⭐
            • 13 Years
            4 years, 1 month ago

            Apart from that, what have the Romans ever done for us?

      2. Teror
        • 9 Years
        4 years, 1 month ago

        Go, go, go, go!

    • COLLIN QUANER
      • 7 Years
      4 years, 1 month ago

      DCL > Ings?

      Only using 1 of my 2 transfers this week

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

        Can you afford Vardy?

        1. COLLIN QUANER
          • 7 Years
          4 years, 1 month ago

          I have Vardy. Cantwell comes in for him if he's out

      2. Hazz
        • Fantasy Football Scout Member
        • 6 Years
        4 years, 1 month ago

        Don't fancy that. DCL still getting lots of chances.

        1. COLLIN QUANER
          • 7 Years
          4 years, 1 month ago

          Hmm. Don't want to sell Auba either.

          Just scared to go without Ings this week as his ownership is pretty high!