Tips

The Complete Guide to Scout’s tips and advice for FPL Gameweek 36+

Welcome to the Fantasy Football Scout Guide to Gameweek 36+. Today’s deadline is at 19:15 BST – still time to consider those all important transfer and captaincy decisions.

Following a Gameweek in which many differential options scored well, managers are on the lookout for the next opportunity to help them climb the ranks.

The two outstanding bets appear to be a flutter on the Pep Roulette or a fired-up Chelsea against an already-relegated Norwich City.

A total of six players from these teams feature in the Scout Picks.

Pep Roulette

Since the restart, Manchester City have been creating by far the best chances of any Premier League side. Their expected goals total of 19.21 is way ahead of the second-best team for this statistic, Chelsea, on 12.73.

But we don’t need stats to tell us City are a good bet – the problem is picking the right player.

Joe stunned Az and Andy on the Scoutcast this week when the typically safe and unadventurous manager revealed he is looking to sign and captain David Silva.

And Joe is not alone in coveting El Mago.

Gran Canaria’s most successful footballing export is picked out by Pro Pundit Tom Freeman in his regular differentials piece. 

After being omitted from the starting line-up against Brighton, he is fancied to start against a Bournemouth side missing influential centre-back Nathan Aké

Since the restart, and bearing in mind he’s been limited to just four starts, Silva has had more opposition half touches than any other teammate. He also sits top for successful passes in the final third, and second for chances created and big chances created.

– Pro Pundit Tom Freeman

At under five per cent ownership, the Spanish playmaker looks to be this week’s standout differential.

However, in David’s Captain Sensible article, it’s the Brazilian Jesus who tops a number of key stats.

Over his last four matches, Az’s favourite player has taken 16 shots inside the box, including six big chances.

And while opponents Bournemouth have been better at the back in recent games than one might expect, that really shouldn’t put us off:

The four teams who have most recently faced Manchester City are all in the bottom half for this statistic, especially Brighton and Newcastle, whose xGC scores took a battering during a battle with Guardiola’s relentless attackers.

– David

Of course the big question is who will start for City?

As mentioned, David Silva is widely expected to be named in the starting XI but nothing is certain with Señor Guardiola.

To help us, site moderator Legomané has put together a useful colour-coded matrix:

Detailing the minutes played by each key asset, it gives us a clue about what we might expect against Bournemouth.

It’s also worth keeping in mind that following their outing against the Cherries on Wednesday, Pep’s troops have just two days rest before their important cup semi-final against Arsenal. A match in which the rotating Catalan is sure to name his strongest line-up.

Chelsea to bounce back?

Frank Lampard was fuming after his side’s defeat at Sheffield United.

They were better than us physically, in the mind and with the ball, so you lose the game. They were stronger than us. We don’t have crowds at the minute so you hear every voice and all I could hear was Sheffield United voices, so they were stronger in that sense.

– Frank Lampard

Fair to say we can expect a reaction against Norwich City.

And following Daniel Farke’s side’s capitulation at the hands of West Ham – and a delighted Michail Antonio in particular – the Blues are expected to profit.

Willian and Christian Pulisic would appear to offer the best routes into the Chelsea attack. David notes: 

If Willian is going to play, he seems the most complete Chelsea asset when weighed up across all the categories. He is the most creative, competes reasonably with Pulisic and the two forwards for shots in the box but gets bigger chances and is more accurate than the American.

– David

Managers could benefit from early team news ahead of today’s deadline, and that could bring Olivier Giroud or Tammy Abraham into the equation.

The pair have shared minutes since the restart. But a place in the first XI for either would surely mark them out as an enticing differential, albeit not one that would be a reliable starter for the remainder of the season.

And let’s not forget West Ham and Antonio. The out-of-position midfielder is thriving in the centre-forward’s role, and his promising underlying stats ahead of the Canaries clash persuaded well-known Scoutcasters to invest.

Greyhead was his usual puntastic-self in the latest installment of The Great and the Good. The chronicler of the FPL Rat Pack reported on the positive rank swings for Az and Andy, who both benefited from Antonio’s incredible haul. The Hammers’ talisman remains a differential at just 3.4 per cent ownership.

Scintillating Saints

Southampton scored the last goal of Gameweek 35+ to level the scores at Old Trafford. The Saints started strongly with Stuart Armstrong scoring the opening goal of the evening. 

But while the Scot has been putting in some excellent performances of late – producing attacking returns in four of his last six matches – the focus for many is on Danny Ings.

Still in the race for the Golden Boot – four goals behind Jamie Vardy – he has the backing of his manager Ralph Hasenhuttl. Speaking after the win over Watford in Gameweek 32+, the Saints boss enthused: 

I think anything is possible [with regards to the race for the Golden Boot]. We will play with him the last six games and then he will have six chances to score. If he gets the chance you can see how fantastic his finishing is at the moment. He seems fitter than ever. He was very hard working in the shutdown and that gives him now fantastic physical options.

– Ralph Hasenhuttl (speaking after victory over Watford in Gameweek 32+)

However, the demands of the fixture schedule is giving FPL managers pause for thought.

Pro Pundit Zophar updated us on the varying rest periods for Premier League teams in this latest offering. Southampton’s “harsh schedule” could make the six-time top 5,000 boss reconsider his planned move:

I was originally thinking of doing the Jamie Vardy to Ings move but the Saints’ congested schedule has me a bit worried. Ings has been a machine of late but his fitness issues in the past are well documented and will they possibly flare up again with matches so close? The Saints’ pressing style could suffer too with low recovery periods. Something to ponder.

– Pro Pundit Zophar

Vardy Party, Manchester Six and Misfiring Salah

Selling Jamie Vardy is a dilemma for many in the community.

Maximus Bonimus Pointimus sought opinion in a hot topic – Leicester’s fixtures and a number of first-team absentees could potentially see the Golden Boot leader shown the door.

Compared to Pep’s squad spinning, Ole Gunnar Solskjær is wonderfully reliable. The Norwegian named an unchanged side for the fifth game running against Southampton.

Although selecting the right three to own still requires some thought, with a number of options vying for a place in our squads. Pro Pundit Sam invited opinion on the ideal trio in the comments section.

Meanwhile, TheFantasyFreÆK shared his insights in his regular Gameweek review. Top of the agenda was just how unlucky Mohamed Salah-owners had been:

Salah recorded as many big chances as Sterling (two each) and in fact, fared better for shots in the box (four vs three) and minutes per expected goal involvement (66 vs 74).

– TheFantasyFreÆK

With impressive underlying stats – the Egyptian tallied eight shots in his previous outing against Brighton – Salah remains a contender for the captaincy.

Final checks

FPL relaunches with/without unlimited transfers for all managers

Don’t forget to check out the latest Team News and Predicted Line-ups brought to us by Neale and, as usual, G-Whizz has been kind enough to supply the best odds of a clean sheet.

Lastly, a heads up that the penultimate FPL deadline of the season is this coming Saturday at 16:30 BST.

Community Competitions

A full round-up of community competitions will follow this article.

The Head-to-Head leagues have been updated for Gameweek 35+, results and tables are currently showing on the main Head-to-Head page.

The fixtures for Gameweek 36+ are below:

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

2,186 Comments Post a Comment
  1. deathcabofdevil
    • 10 Years
    3 years, 8 months ago

    Ballsiest decision of my season doing Foden(c).

    Playing catch-up so had no other choice.

    1. tim
      • 14 Years
      3 years, 8 months ago

      Same here!

    2. Jebiga
      • 11 Years
      3 years, 8 months ago

      Good luck!

    3. deathcabofdevil
      • 10 Years
      3 years, 8 months ago

      Woah posting here after 2 years and got 2 top of the page in a row :O

      1. Amey
        • 5 Years
        3 years, 8 months ago

        Welcome gift 🙂
        Enjoy !!

    4. girthdevon
      • 13 Years
      3 years, 8 months ago

      And me....

    5. Balls of Steel
      • 8 Years
      3 years, 8 months ago

      Good shout he will be motivated to score after his rest

    6. Tempestic
      • 5 Years
      3 years, 8 months ago

      Should be good, my second favourite option after Pulli. Vice captained here

  2. Orion
    • 13 Years
    3 years, 8 months ago

    Willian C here... First time in my FPL life having Willian 🙂

    1. FOO FIGHTER
      • 4 Years
      3 years, 8 months ago

      GL!

      1. Orion
        • 13 Years
        3 years, 8 months ago

        Thanks you too mate! 🙂

    2. Eat my goal!
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 5 Years
      3 years, 8 months ago

      Likely to be the last

      1. Orion
        • 13 Years
        3 years, 8 months ago

        Don’t be so rude mate 🙂

        1. Eat my goal!
          • Fantasy Football Scout Member
          • 5 Years
          3 years, 8 months ago

          Couldn’t resist - Only messing

    3. Balls of Steel
      • 8 Years
      3 years, 8 months ago

      Went Alonso, Pulisic, Giroud on FH, dreading not owning Will I An!

      1. Orion
        • 13 Years
        3 years, 8 months ago

        Same here for not owning Pulisic 🙂

      2. FC Hakkebøf
        • 7 Years
        3 years, 8 months ago

        Prolly the best combo you could make tbh

    4. Sandy Ravage
      • 8 Years
      3 years, 8 months ago

      could be a roller coaster gameweek

      1. Orion
        • 13 Years
        3 years, 8 months ago

        Hopefully for me 🙂

  3. It’s gonna Ben Mee
    • 10 Years
    3 years, 8 months ago

    Come on update

  4. WD27
    • 5 Years
    3 years, 8 months ago

    Any Puli (c) feeling very unoptimistic about it . Could make or break the GW in the first night ..

    1. It’s gonna Ben Mee
      • 10 Years
      3 years, 8 months ago

      I’m never optimistic until my captain scores

    2. Balls of Steel
      • 8 Years
      3 years, 8 months ago

      Gonna be a long week if Pulisic don't return...

      1. WD27
        • 5 Years
        3 years, 8 months ago

        Thats my concern waiting for everyones captains to destroy .. although a haul would set you off to a flyer. Be happy with a goal tonight.

    3. bhh
      • 5 Years
      3 years, 8 months ago

      Hate captaining a player in the first game of a week. If it works then brilliant. If it doesn't then your rank starts of bad and just gets worse throughout the week when city and united bang in the goals and all the dead accounts get the haul from Salah scoring

      1. Lazaretti
        • 6 Years
        3 years, 8 months ago

        Very much this. Changed armband from Pulisic back to Sterling... and then back to Pulisi(c) really need haul from him to be able to compete top spot in my ML

        1. no1pokadon
          • Fantasy Football Scout Member
          • 8 Years
          3 years, 8 months ago

          This.....big chance IMO

  5. adstomko
    • 7 Years
    3 years, 8 months ago

    Drop one:
    A) Vardy
    B) Giroud
    C) Jesus

    1. FPLtfs
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 7 Years
      3 years, 8 months ago

      B

    2. FC Hakkebøf
      • 7 Years
      3 years, 8 months ago

      B

  6. TomSaints
    • Fantasy Football Scout Member
    • 6 Years
    3 years, 8 months ago

    If Norwich win this game 1/0... I’m going to be quite upset

    1. Balls of Steel
      • 8 Years
      3 years, 8 months ago

      Upset would be an understatement...

    2. Amey
      • 5 Years
      3 years, 8 months ago

      I'm used to it

  7. Fudgy
    • 4 Years
    3 years, 8 months ago

    Fpl rockstar receiving so much abuse on twitter right now !!!

    1. Aftermath
      • 8 Years
      3 years, 8 months ago

      Why? He posted the correct teams

    2. Amey
      • 5 Years
      3 years, 8 months ago

      Why ?

    3. OverTinker
      • 5 Years
      3 years, 8 months ago

      why???

    4. It’s gonna Ben Mee
      • 10 Years
      3 years, 8 months ago

      Why?

    5. Tempestic
      • 5 Years
      3 years, 8 months ago

      This why he privated his account?

    6. OverTinker
      • 5 Years
      3 years, 8 months ago

      may be you have followed the wrong rockstar

      1. Wild Rover
        • 13 Years
        3 years, 8 months ago

        Maybe you and the others don’t know Fudgy

        1. OverTinker
          • 5 Years
          3 years, 8 months ago

          you mean he is the One?

    7. deathcabofdevil
      • 10 Years
      3 years, 8 months ago

      Don't feed the troll.

  8. Yoshioka
    • 5 Years
    3 years, 8 months ago

    Last minute captain change to Alonso... wish me luck.

    1. Fudgy
      • 4 Years
      3 years, 8 months ago

      Holy

    2. Amey
      • 5 Years
      3 years, 8 months ago

      Luck ??
      What the ...
      Enjoy the haul 😉

    3. Dynamic Duos
      • 10 Years
      3 years, 8 months ago

      Same

    4. Dannyb
      • 6 Years
      3 years, 8 months ago

      Balls on this guy

  9. Champions League Varane
    • 5 Years
    3 years, 8 months ago

    Very early but thoughts on Auba for next week?

    1. Champions League Varane
      • 5 Years
      3 years, 8 months ago

      For the last 2 weeks

    2. Amey
      • 5 Years
      3 years, 8 months ago

      Laat one
      Villa ain't pushovers
      Might even beat Arsenal

      1. Pep Roulette
        • 6 Years
        3 years, 8 months ago

        This.

    3. jdp219
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 7 Years
      3 years, 8 months ago

      Is there such a thing as "very early" these days? There was one day between gameweeks.

    4. no1pokadon
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 8 Years
      3 years, 8 months ago

      removed for Jesus......left flank restricts points imo

  10. Fudgy
    • 4 Years
    3 years, 8 months ago

    Once again the update takes years....

    1. It’s gonna Ben Mee
      • 10 Years
      3 years, 8 months ago

      Lots of chips. Will probably take another 20 minutes.

    2. jdp219
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 7 Years
      3 years, 8 months ago

      I'm guessing this is why the deadline is one hour out from kickoff.

  11. Pep Roulette
    • 6 Years
    3 years, 8 months ago

    Bought Pulisic for the first time this season and gave the armband to him! Come on Captain America!

    1. no1pokadon
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 8 Years
      3 years, 8 months ago

      Snap......gud luck

  12. My heart goes Salalalalah
    • 7 Years
    3 years, 8 months ago

    No way to mute/block someone on here?

    1. Homer21
      • 7 Years
      3 years, 8 months ago

      Anyone in particular? 😉

    2. Drexl Spivey
      • 5 Years
      3 years, 8 months ago

      Just draw over the screen with a felt tip pen.

  13. jdp219
    • Fantasy Football Scout Member
    • 7 Years
    3 years, 8 months ago

    I changed the armband to Ings at some point after activating FH, maybe for someone more assured of minutes...? Don't even remember why -- way too much anxiety over this cursed gameweek/FH. Forgot to change my captaincy. May just end my ML reign.

    Pope
    Azpi, Digne, Trent
    Willian, Pulisic, Sterling, Dilva, Bruno
    Jesus, Ings

    1. It’s gonna Ben Mee
      • 10 Years
      3 years, 8 months ago

      You’ll be fine

      1. jdp219
        • Fantasy Football Scout Member
        • 7 Years
        3 years, 8 months ago

        Much appreciated. After a poor gw35, I'm very nervous about this one.

  14. Eat my goal!
    • Fantasy Football Scout Member
    • 5 Years
    3 years, 8 months ago

    Looking forward to checking rival ML teams

    1. OverTinker
      • 5 Years
      3 years, 8 months ago

      same, can't wait 😀

  15. OverTinker
    • 5 Years
    3 years, 8 months ago

    Have to play age of empires to avoid watching Chelsea game now - No Chelsea 😀

    1. Eat my goal!
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 5 Years
      3 years, 8 months ago

      Wow

  16. Andy_Social
    • 11 Years
    3 years, 8 months ago

    FPL_Rockstar
    @FPL_Rockstar
    ·
    1m
    That’s me done for early team news this season, thanks for all the love, it’s been a crazy, see you around
    Folded hands
    Sign of the horns

    1. OverTinker
      • 5 Years
      3 years, 8 months ago

      why? what happened?

    2. It’s gonna Ben Mee
      • 10 Years
      3 years, 8 months ago

      ;(

    3. La Roja
      • 12 Years
      3 years, 8 months ago

      🙁

    4. Supertrooper
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 11 Years
      3 years, 8 months ago

      Noooooo, wanted to fh with early team news in gw38

  17. Kaiser123
    • 4 Years
    3 years, 8 months ago

    Come Giroud you useless Donk!

  18. AC/DC AFC
    • Fantasy Football Scout Member
    • 8 Years
    3 years, 8 months ago

    I can see a case for Jesus starting.

    But in what world does Sterling start against Bournemouth in a dead rubber with the league done and two trophies to play for?

    He doesn't need match fitness. He needs to avoid injury so the club can clinch silverware. Surely the point of a huge, talented and expensive squad is to deploy your best players when it counts for honours.

    Only scenario i can see is that the Man City squad team can't beat Bournemouth and he comes off the bench to help them out, if he isn't rested at home completely.

    I could be wrong, i have been before and the top 10,000 players and Scouts all largely went with Sterling.

    Will be interesting to see...

    1. FC Hakkebøf
      • 7 Years
      3 years, 8 months ago

      Avoided doing Salah -> Sterling this week the exact same reason. Pep Roulette though. So who knows. Only had KDB and I definetely wanted another city for the run in. So I went with Vardy -> Jesus. If it goes as we both think (hope!), Sterling will be my next buy for GW37 for sure.

      1. AC/DC AFC
        • Fantasy Football Scout Member
        • 8 Years
        3 years, 8 months ago

        Don't buy any City players until you see how the Arsenal game goes on Saturday.

        If it goes into extra time then rest and rotation likely again for a match less than 3 days later with more travel away at Watford.

  19. Greyling
    • 7 Years
    3 years, 8 months ago

    Which moves to make for final gw?

    1. Mane, Greenwood to Antonio, Kane(-4)
    2. TAA, Mane, Greenwood to VVD, D. Silva, Kane (-8)
    3. Mane to Salah

    Pope
    TAA, Pieters, Boly
    Mane, Sterling (TC), Pulisic, Martial, Fernandes
    Ings, Greenwood

    Bench: Nketiah, Dawson, Lundstram