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Spurs midfield assets continue good form ahead of Virtual FPL double-header

There’s another double-header of Virtual FPL action upon us this weekend, with Gameweeks 10 and 11 taking place on Saturday and Sunday.

The deadline for both Gameweeks, as ever, is at 19:00 BST.

In our latest piece, we look back on Gameweek 9 of Ragabolly’s excellent Fantasy management game and preview the forthcoming simulated action.

READ MOREHow to sign up and play Virtual FPL

GAMEWEEK 9 NOTES

(The full results from Gameweek 9 are available via the Virtual FPL fixtures page or the game’s Twitter account.)

ALLI RETURNS

After three matches on the sidelines through injury, Dele Alli (£8.3m) returned to the Spurs starting XI and scored in the Lilywhites’ 3-1 win over Sheffield United.

The midfielder has racked up seven attacking returns in six appearances this season (one of which was curtailed by injury) and averages 8.1 vFPL points per match – the same as Sadio Mane (£12.4m) and the joint-fourth-best among players in his Fantasy position.

Alli is sixth among midfielders for attacking involvements per 90 minutes (10.73), too.

Spurs are now a clear third for goals scored in Virtual FPL, just three behind Liverpool.

The cut-price Erik Lamela (£5.7m), who has started seven of Spurs’ last eight matches, recorded his second successive double-digit haul on Thursday, while Son Heung-min (£9.8m) maintained his ever-present record with a goal of his own against the Blades.

THE FERNANDES EFFECT
How Bruno Fernandes fared on his United debut as fit-again Boly solidifies Wolves

Will the brief absence of Bruno Fernandes (£8.5m) have an impact on Manchester United’s attack?

The 4-1 win over Bournemouth on Thursday would suggest not, with Paul Pogba (£8.3m) and Anthony Martial (£8.5m) stepping up in the Portuguese midfielder’s absence with double-digit hauls in that rout of Eddie Howe’s side.

However, it should be noted that United recorded their second-lowest number of attacks in a game this season, in what was effectively their easiest fixture.

The favourable nature of the Red Devils’ next three games might make those underlying stats a moot point but it would not be a surprise to see their total number of attacks continue to be below the usual levels given how influential Fernandes was before his injury.

Villa’s Defence

Virtual FPL managers who dip into our team attacks spreadsheet on the odd occasion (see below) will have noticed that Aston Villa have been surprisingly sitting second for fewest attacks conceded for some time now.

Those decent underlying stats haven’t really translated into too many clean sheets (only two of them), however, and only six teams have shipped more goals.

Furthermore, Villa have actually enjoyed one of the best fixture runs in the division in the opening quarter of the season.

The Villans have yet to face any of the top five teams for goals scored and it’s league leaders Liverpool up next in Gameweek 10.

Expect to see Dean Smith’s simulated side slide down the defensive rankings soon, then.

On the subject of Villa, Jack Grealish (£6.5m) scored from the spot for the second successive game – pretty much confirming that the midfielder is first in line for penalties, given that Wesley (£5.5m) was on the field at the same time.

Attack v Defence
Vote in the FPL Gameweek 30 captain poll

Liverpool have racked up 308 attacks this season, a whopping 250 more than Newcastle United have managed.

The gap between the top and bottom attacking sides is chasmic but it’s less so when analysing defensive stats – just 78 attacks separate Liverpool, the side who have conceded the least chances this season, from West Ham, the team who have allowed the most.

This follows on from what we discussed on Tuesday about clean sheets being relatively scarce even amongst the bigger sides: 13 of the 20 top-flight clubs have kept a meagre two shut-outs or fewer in the opening nine Gameweeks, with the best being Liverpool, Palace and Burnley’s four.

While attackers are proving adept at finding the target in even the most testing of matches, fixture difficulty does seem to make a bit of a difference when it comes to defensive returns (revisit our research we did in Tuesday’s article on this).

Indeed, not a single clean sheet has yet been registered against either Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United, Wolves or Spurs.

GAMEWEEK-BY-GAMEWEEK PLAYER DATA

Another day and yet another excellent feature Ragabolly has added to the game.

Week-by-week player data is now available via the top menu bar (click on ‘Player Data’), which provides a breakdown of each player’s key information, such as minutes played, goals scored and bonus points accrued.


VIRTUAL FPL PREMIER LEAGUE TABLE

UPCOMING FIXTURES

TOP SCORERS/ASSIST-MAKERS

STATS TABLES

Our spreadsheet that details team attacks (both for and against) by Gameweek and overall has been updated after the latest matches.

The fixture difficulty rating colour (according to Ragabolly’s ticker) is reflected in the relevant Gameweek.

The updated standings are below:

TopMarx has updated his interactive player stats spreadsheet after Thursday’s matches, meanwhile.

The new ‘Player Picker’ feature, which can help with your transfer-making decisions, has also been optimised.

The stand-alone spreadsheet can be accessed via this link, with Fantasy managers able to make their own copy by selecting “File>Make a copy”.

INJURIES AND BANS

It was a fairly uneventful evening on Thursday in terms of player unavailability, with not one player picking up an injury or red card.

We do have two returning Fantasy assets in Gameweek 10, with Tyrone Mings (£4.5m) and Alex Iwobi (£5.6m) now available for selection after enforced lay-offs.

Dominic Solanke (£5.2m) and Charlie Taylor (£4.3m) will be back for Sunday’s fixtures, meanwhile.

Fernandes will return for next Thursday’s matches.

RANKINGS

Eddie Campbell remains top of the pile in the overall Virtual FPL standings and heads the Fantasy Football Scout mini-league, although MCR Reds has narrowed the gap to three points in both.

Six of the top ten managers above are all signed up to our mini-league.

Mr Hindsight leapfrogged Francisco Lamarque to reach the summit of Greyhead’s Great and the Good league, with the league creator himself sitting in third.

In the Mods and Cons mini-league, elfozzie remains in first place and has moved up to joint-62nd in the world.

You can join the Fantasy Football Scout mini-league by entering the code 9RV4A via the below link.

JOIN THE FANTASY FOOTBALL SCOUT VIRTUAL FPL LEAGUE HERE

81 Comments Post a Comment
  1. Countess Weffie von Wobbego…
    • Fantasy Football Scout Member
    • 14 Years
    3 years, 11 months ago

    When I began the slow wildcard weeks ago it felt like I'd have unlimited transfers just like real wildcard, but now I'm looking at just three left. Could do with a couple more really.

    1. Amey
      • 5 Years
      3 years, 11 months ago

      I wasted one FT last GW 😮

  2. DeadStarComing
    • Fantasy Football Scout Member
    • 13 Years
    3 years, 11 months ago

    Oh Neale! I just posted on the last article! 🙂 . Sorry but I'm reposting...

    Hi all and hope you're all well,

    My question is actually aimed towards someone senior at Scout but thought i'd share with all incase I've missed something in recent weeks. I'm wondering if someone at Scout could ask FPL what their plan is to do with the game should (big should) the Premier league return to action? I'm thinking someone at Scout would have a much more likely chance of getting a proper answer compared to the usual template stuff someone like me gets back on the rare occasion I email them.

    Surely they should have planned for this scenario (however unlikely) and if they know it would be nice of them to share with us FPL managers as we now only have 3 game weeks left of the normal game. As an example, If it really is the case they won't add additional game weeks then that means we should be making use of our remaining few transfers.

    To finish I just want to say I do personally feel it's more likely the season will be cancelled but I don't see any reason why FPL can't give us an update on their intention with just a few weeks left of the game. Regardless of what action the Premier league take they should know what they can do.

    1. Epic Fail
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 13 Years
      3 years, 11 months ago

      This is genius. I'm surprised the Scouts just didn't think of asking them in the first place.

      1. DeadStarComing
        • Fantasy Football Scout Member
        • 13 Years
        3 years, 11 months ago

        Cheers Epic. I'm sure they had asked but I don't remember seeing any update to us users (certainly not recently). There's been all this content about imaginary games. Why can't FPL just announce what they would do? Whether the league restarts or not is irrelevant. Imagine how frustrating it would be for the season to restart and FPL just say well it's one big GW38 but you've all had plenty of time and transfers to get your teams ready 🙂

      2. Pumpkinhead - I'm ITK …
        • 14 Years
        3 years, 11 months ago

        If i didn't know i would think this wasn't sarcasm too 😉

    2. Skonto Rigga
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • Has Moderation Rights
      • 6 Years
      3 years, 11 months ago

      Hello! Still none-the-wiser, I'm afraid, and it'll be FPL themselves who announce any update - they won't want us to be the ones revealing new information. Just going off their last press release (https://www.premierleague.com/news/1646851), they say: "We will make a further announcement on any fixtures scheduled for after 17 May, 2020". I would guess, from the wording, that makes a colossal Gameweek 38 less likely. But who knows!

      1. DeadStarComing
        • Fantasy Football Scout Member
        • 13 Years
        3 years, 11 months ago

        Cheers Neale. Frustrating not knowing whether the remaining few transfers will have any significance. It would be a huge frustration if they already know they can't add further game weeks!

    3. circusmonkey
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 13 Years
      3 years, 11 months ago

      I got a similar template answer and I told them that they don't look after their stakeholders, which is what we are in the modern, touchy feely use of the word.

      1. DeadStarComing
        • Fantasy Football Scout Member
        • 13 Years
        3 years, 11 months ago

        I think I'm right in saying the last update from FPL regarding the game was the 20th of March. I appreciate they don't know about the Premier league concluding but they must have an idea about the capability of their website so could advise on what's likely to happen FPL wise.

        1. DeadStarComing
          • Fantasy Football Scout Member
          • 13 Years
          3 years, 11 months ago

          Correction it was early April the last update.

    4. Pumpkinhead - I'm ITK …
      • 14 Years
      3 years, 11 months ago

      The scouts really shouldn't have any more access to FPL Towers than us. Why should they ? They a separate site just giving Fpl advice. They are not linked

  3. Nomar
    • Fantasy Football Scout Member
    • 14 Years
    3 years, 11 months ago

    Right!

    No mucking about now. Mane out Salah in, perma captain on vFPL.

    Done.

    1. BNMC
      • 4 Years
      3 years, 11 months ago

      Not sure I'm as confident in captaining Salah for away games, and Liverpool have 3 of those in a row. I would like to be proven wrong though.

      1. Nomar
        • Fantasy Football Scout Member
        • 14 Years
        3 years, 11 months ago

        He’s been on fire in vFPL, but likely to be a bust now I’ve got him in.

  4. troux
    • 7 Years
    3 years, 11 months ago

    VFPL Friendly Results:

    Man Utd 1-0 Spurs
    Rashford G, James A

    Players with the most involvement in attack:
    Martial: 11, Pogba: 9, James: 8, Son: 6, Lucas Moura: 5, Wan-Bissaka: 4

    Aston Villa 0-2 Wolves
    Jiménez G, Traore A
    Jiménez G, Jota A

    Players with the most involvement in attack:
    Doherty: 14, Jiménez: 12, Jota: 11, Traoré: 7, El Ghazi: 7, Trézéguet: 6

    Man Utd 2-1 Liverpool
    Fred G, Maguire A
    Rashford G, Pogba A

    Mane G

    Players with the most involvement in attack:
    Salah: 10, Rashford: 8, Pogba: 7, Mané: 4, Maguire: 4, Alexander-Arnold: 4

    1. denial
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 14 Years
      3 years, 11 months ago

      Jimenez seriously nailing it in vFPL

    2. Hazz
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 6 Years
      3 years, 11 months ago

      I got a Man United vs. Liverpool sim too:

      Man Utd 2-4 Liverpool
      Pogba G, Martial A
      Greemwood G, James A

      Mané G, Salah A
      Salah G, TAA A
      Salah G, Mané A
      Salah G, Fabinho A

      Gomez injured.

      Players with the most involvement in attack:
      MARTIAL: 15, SALAH: 14, POGBA: 10, FIRMINO: 10, MANÉ: 9, ALEXANDER-ARNOLD: 8

      vFPL likes Pogba, and Salah(!) 😮

      1. Nomar
        • Fantasy Football Scout Member
        • 14 Years
        3 years, 11 months ago

        It loves Mo.

        If it was up to vFPL Mo would beat Lamps or Aguero in the World Cup FPL final, by a landslide!

  5. goriuanx
    • 13 Years
    3 years, 11 months ago

    Via Telegraph

    All remaining games will be played at neutral venues, no team will ever play at their home stadium

    ^This changes FPL somewhat. Rumoured venues include London Stadium, Etihad and Emirates

    1. el polako
      • 6 Years
      3 years, 11 months ago

      Makes sense, two of these veneus are usually empty anyway.

      1. Nomar
        • Fantasy Football Scout Member
        • 14 Years
        3 years, 11 months ago

        Boom boom!

    2. Epic Fail
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 13 Years
      3 years, 11 months ago

      Ever? 😮

      1. goriuanx
        • 13 Years
        3 years, 11 months ago

        For the remainder of the season at least :p

      2. Nomar
        • Fantasy Football Scout Member
        • 14 Years
        3 years, 11 months ago

        Boom boom, pt 2!

    3. Pumpkinhead - I'm ITK …
      • 14 Years
      3 years, 11 months ago

      A few clubs are against it and rightfully so.

    4. Pumpkinhead - I'm ITK …
      • 14 Years
      3 years, 11 months ago

      God i hope these teams who are put at a disadvantage take legal action. Put an end to this madness. How anyone thinks that is acceptable is beyond me

  6. CONNERS
    • 5 Years
    3 years, 11 months ago

    Still subject to government approval though so we'll have to wait and see what develops.

    I also read today that its likely games will be played behind closed doors well into next season too.

    Most of the revenue for EFL clubs comes from gate receipts so how will that work?

    1. CONNERS
      • 5 Years
      3 years, 11 months ago

      (Meant as reply to BF's post).

    2. alastair
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 14 Years
      3 years, 11 months ago

      Probably the whole of next season will be behind closed doors. Some of the lost revenues can be made up by having many more live games on TV but it is difficult to see how the highest paid players aren't going to be facing significant wage cuts.

    3. CONNERS
      • 5 Years
      3 years, 11 months ago

      Problem is that EFL games just don't get the TV audiences the PL can attract.
      I can see several Championship clubs going bust

      1. alastair
        • Fantasy Football Scout Member
        • 14 Years
        3 years, 11 months ago

        Actually I was referring to the PL re having more TV games although I now see your post did specify the EFL. For the EFL the clubs can stream each game for the fans of the 2 teams involved which will generate some revenue on top of the existing TV deal - but the point regarding wage cuts stands and they will have to be severe.

      2. Epic Fail
        • Fantasy Football Scout Member
        • 13 Years
        3 years, 11 months ago

        Yeah they don't get the TV audiences that the PL attract, no league does, but they still have a massive audience. The EFL gets bigger audiences than most top leagues in Europe.

    4. CONNERS
      • 5 Years
      3 years, 11 months ago

      They get paid much less per televised game than PL teams though, therefore I don't see a few extra TV slots covering lost revenue from gate receipts.

      1. alastair
        • Fantasy Football Scout Member
        • 14 Years
        3 years, 11 months ago

        No I was referring to screening extra PL games not EFL - I agree with you that the deal for extra games in the EFL would not make a huge difference - teams there currently get about £7m to £8m from their TV deals so it pales in comparison with the PL where there is about £3bn for the 20 clubs.

    5. CONNERS
      • 5 Years
      3 years, 11 months ago

      I think the FA and PL clubs will have to step up and agree some sort of support package to help the EFL clubs under the circumstances.

      1. alastair
        • Fantasy Football Scout Member
        • 14 Years
        3 years, 11 months ago

        I agree with you and I think it would be a strong argument for having pretty much every PL game on TV so as to provide the revenue required. I would extend the package down to all clubs playing under the FA aegis which require some level of paying customers to survive. But it would have to be accompanied by a salary cap - say £2.5m total salaries in Division 2, £4.5m in Division 1 and £12m in the Championship.

    6. Ógie
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 11 Years
      3 years, 11 months ago

      I think the FA will have to get their act together and raise a shed load of money in some kind of long term low interest loan and use the cash to bail out the clubs that are in trouble or the English game will be decimated.This does not come without it's problems as many clubs were being badly run anyway and would probably have went bust regardless so a bailout to the likes of these clubs will just be an exercise in burning money.

      The other option is just to let market forces do their thing and let the clubs go to the wall which will be devastating to lots of clubs,players and fans.In time new owners might come in and the situation might improve for some but it will be a major setback for these type of clubs.

    7. Pumpkinhead - I'm ITK …
      • 14 Years
      3 years, 11 months ago

      At least from next season its a level playing field. Why any team fighting escape relegation should be made to play home games with no fans or even worse at a neutral ground with no fans, i they should tell the Prem to stick it. Its usually a punishment to play with no home fans...Serbia style

  7. TorresMagic™
    • Fantasy Football Scout Member
    • Has Moderation Rights
    • 14 Years
    3 years, 11 months ago

    Any obvious transfers for FPL outside upgrading a McCarthy?

    Pope McCarthy
    TAA Doherty Egan Taylor Holgate
    Salah KDB Fernandes Sarr McCarthy
    Auba Jimmy DCL

    2 FT, 1.4 in bank
    FH and BB left.

    Cheers

    1. Polar_Bear
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 5 Years
      3 years, 11 months ago

      Upgrade Holgate?

      1. TorresMagic™
        • Fantasy Football Scout Member
        • Has Moderation Rights
        • 14 Years
        3 years, 11 months ago

        He was my last transfer in. Guess it's an option.

        1. Polar_Bear
          • Fantasy Football Scout Member
          • 5 Years
          3 years, 11 months ago

          Woops sorry. Or Mccarthy

    2. CONNERS
      • 5 Years
      3 years, 11 months ago

      I would just upgrade midfield McCarthy to someone like Saka, Cantwell, Fleck, etc.

      1. TorresMagic™
        • Fantasy Football Scout Member
        • Has Moderation Rights
        • 14 Years
        3 years, 11 months ago

        If Auba goes, could be a bigger upgrade if a big BB GW

        1. Polar_Bear
          • Fantasy Football Scout Member
          • 5 Years
          3 years, 11 months ago

          Auba to Rashford could let you go crazy

    3. CONNERS
      • 5 Years
      3 years, 11 months ago

      I also have Auba and thinking of getting rid. Allows for nice upgrades elsewhere.

    4. TorresMagic™
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • Has Moderation Rights
      • 14 Years
      3 years, 11 months ago

      Cheers both.

  8. Polar_Bear
    • Fantasy Football Scout Member
    • 5 Years
    3 years, 11 months ago

    In a dreamland where normal football returns... Would you:
    A) Richarlison & Traore
    B) 2 or Sarr/Mount/Barnes (6-7m really)

  9. Shipstontrev
    • 14 Years
    3 years, 11 months ago

    Virtual FPL? What is this rubbish?

    1. TorresMagic™
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • Has Moderation Rights
      • 14 Years
      3 years, 11 months ago

      FPL without the 90 minutes or the watching.

    2. Basil1977
      • 7 Years
      3 years, 11 months ago

      if you don't know what it is, how can you say it is rubbish?

      1. Shipstontrev
        • 14 Years
        3 years, 11 months ago

        Boom boom

        1. Nomar
          • Fantasy Football Scout Member
          • 14 Years
          3 years, 11 months ago

          Stealing my lines! 😀

    3. George Sillett
      • 8 Years
      3 years, 11 months ago

      A desperate attempt to pass some time. I tend to spend mine munching my way through loads of sweets . Currently M & M 's . You got any favourites ?

      1. Old Schoolᴼˢ “disa…
        • 12 Years
        3 years, 11 months ago

        I kinda like jelly tot s

    4. Ógie
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 11 Years
      3 years, 11 months ago

      Don't knock it until you try it.

      If you enjoy fpl then you will probably enjoy vfpl.
      Over 2k teams entered for gw1 and it has snowballed after that.

      1. Epic Fail
        • Fantasy Football Scout Member
        • 13 Years
        3 years, 11 months ago

        Does anyone boast about their rank?

        1. Ógie
          • Fantasy Football Scout Member
          • 11 Years
          3 years, 11 months ago

          Of course, doing well in fpl in no craic unless you can laud it over the haters. 😉

        2. FPL Pillars
          • 7 Years
          3 years, 11 months ago

          I’ve seen it 😆 “top 50 in the WORLd”

          1. Skonto Rigga
            • Fantasy Football Scout Member
            • Has Moderation Rights
            • 6 Years
            3 years, 11 months ago

            This is the one Fantasy game where you boast about your actual rank, rather than give an arbitrary percentage.

            "I'm just inside the top 1k in the world" = I'm doing terribly, there are only 3,000 managers and a third of them registered after GW1.

            1. Ógie
              • Fantasy Football Scout Member
              • 11 Years
              3 years, 11 months ago

              I know 3k managers is very small compared to the the real game but it is safe to say of those 3k that they are all dedicated fpl addicts and the competition is fierce.

              Not casual in sight in vfpl. 🙂

              1. Skonto Rigga
                • Fantasy Football Scout Member
                • Has Moderation Rights
                • 6 Years
                3 years, 11 months ago

                True, and some much-needed mitigation for my abysmal start. I'm just telling people I'm not really trying and "having fun" with it. You're flying, though!

                1. Ógie
                  • Fantasy Football Scout Member
                  • 11 Years
                  3 years, 11 months ago

                  I got a decent start and was lucky enough to have a great run with armband selection after that.

                  Like in real fpl success breads success and it is easy to be interested when you are doing well.

                  It is when you are after a few bad gameweeks that you will have to dig deep and try to guide the ship through the storm but in vfpl you don't have much time to dwell on your failures or be getting notions of yourself when you are doing well as the turn around between gameweeks is so fast.

              2. Pumpkinhead - I'm ITK …
                • 14 Years
                3 years, 11 months ago

                Haha ill give you that one. To be fair RB has done a great job. Id rather play FM and not have to wait days for the next game though

          2. Pumpkinhead - I'm ITK …
            • 14 Years
            3 years, 11 months ago

            Does the winner get their own YouTube channel, an appearance on meet the manager and 2,000 free twitter likes ? On his way to pro pundit and Patreon status

            1. Ógie
              • Fantasy Football Scout Member
              • 11 Years
              3 years, 11 months ago

              😆

        3. Pumpkinhead - I'm ITK …
          • 14 Years
          3 years, 11 months ago

          Yes , sadly they do. Guy on boasting he was basically number one 😀 . Its like me coming on and telling you all im number one in the world at championship manager because the algorithm used say so.

          I like the Woy like A and B questions best.

    5. Pumpkinhead - I'm ITK …
      • 14 Years
      3 years, 11 months ago

      😆

  10. Nomar
    • Fantasy Football Scout Member
    • 14 Years
    3 years, 11 months ago

    VFPL Sim

    Norwich v Brighton

    Norwich 2-1 Brighton
    Cantwell 2 Maupay

    Assists: Buendia, Godfrey; No assist for Brighton goal
    BAPS: Cantwell 3, Maupay 2, Buendia 1

    Buendia injured for 5 weeks.

    1. TorresMagic™
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • Has Moderation Rights
      • 14 Years
      3 years, 11 months ago

      *buys Buendia*

      1. Nomar
        • Fantasy Football Scout Member
        • 14 Years
        3 years, 11 months ago

        Sounds about right.

        FWIW, the sim absolutely loves Pogba.