Tips

The Complete Guide to Scout’s tips and advice for FPL Gameweek 2

Welcome to the Fantasy Football Scout Guide to Gameweek 2, don’t forget the new normal deadline of 11:00 BST – half an hour earlier than last season.

Captain set? Transfers made?

Before delving into the nitty-gritty of the best advice for the next round of matches, we received a welcome reminder this week on how to enjoy FPL.

If you find yourself clicking a little too often on transfers page, Community Member and Mindfulness trainer DomWatts23 explained why:

We get a dopamine hit released in our brain every time we look at our team and remember that we might be rewarded in the future for those players doing well this weekend.

– Dom Watts

Which is of course exactly what we want but, realistically, doesn’t always happen.

Dom’s thoughtful article is full of tips that help put FPL in perspective, and could possibly improve your decision-making process. 

And remember, even the best can have a bad Gameweek, as three-time top-200 finisher Lateriser proved with a below-average 43 points. Well, he wouldn’t be called ‘Late Riser’ if he didn’t start slowly. Reflecting on his pre-season decisions, the Pro Pundit considered:

Being stubborn will not make you a good FPL player. You have to respond to what you see on that television screen.

– Lateriser

It’s an exciting Gameweek with both Manchester clubs returning to action following their opening blank, and let’s not forget Aston Villa and Burnley too. Man United-fan Lateriser is sensing an opportunity to give Anthony Martial (£9.0m) the armband.

Although writing in Captain Sensible, Jan Sienkiewicz identified a weakness on Crystal Palace’s right flank that could be exploited by Marcus Rashford (£9.5m).

Encouragingly for Man United backers, the latest clean sheets odds provided by G-Whizz reveal that the Eagles are the team most likely to concede in Gameweek 2.

However, double-points king Jan notes that the safe captain pick is the popular Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (£12.0m):

We can trust Aubameyang, who has been in fantastic goalscoring form over recent months and does have the underlying statistics, as well as penalties, to back it up.

– Jan

Arsenal entertain West Ham this weekend and, reflecting on the Hammers’ home defeat to Newcastle, David struck an ominous tone in the Best Captain video:

It’s quite rare to see a team get – I don’t want to say played off the park – but Newcastle were in full control of that game and I can’t remember the last time I really saw Newcastle be in control of a game and be on the front foot.

– David

One person who no doubt enjoyed that win was Neale. This week, our resident Geordie cast his eye over the statistics from Gameweek 1 in his latest Big Numbers offering. Among the many pearls highlighted was the frailty of the newly-promoted defences:

2.83 expected goals conceded (xGC) by West Bromwich Albion in Gameweek 1, the worst total in the division. In fact, the three newly promoted clubs had the worst xGC tallies in the first round of 2020/21 matches, with Leeds United (2.76) and Fulham (1.97) not far behind.

– Neale

That could be good news for owners of Everton players, with the Baggies visiting Goodison Park in the early kickoff.

The Toffees topped Pro Pundit Andy’s Gameweek 1 take-aways: underestimated following a series of sub-par performances during Project Restart, Andy noted how the arrival of midfield trio Allan (£5.5m), Abdoulaye Doucouré (£5.5m) and James Rodríguez (£7.5m) transformed their attack. 

Calvert-Lewin will get the plaudits for the goal (and what a header it was), but Richarlison (£8.0m) was brilliant. He managed seven shots, with five of them in the box and his non-penalty expected goals (nPxG) was 0.74, not a bad start. He’ll be a hard sell because of the extra £1m he costs over Calvert-Lewin, but he could be a shrewd pick for the next three fixtures.

– Andy on Everton

Although investing heavily in Carlo Ancelotti’s troops might be tricky without a Wildcard, especially with the Manchester clubs back on the menu. Pro Pundit Zophar weighed up the Pros and Cons of making wholesale changes to your squad this early in the season. 

Depending on the make-up of your team, you may want to act fast to take advantage of low-owned players from Manchester City as well capitalising on the appealing fixtures for Everton and Manchester United. Although, typically cautious in nature, Zophar ultimately prefers to wait until he has a little more data to go on and the transfer window is closed.

However, rumour has it that his fellow member of the FPL Wire, BigManBakar, has pushed the button ahead of Gameweek 2. Does this mean he’s sold Salah? His latest Gameweek review suggests he might have:

I would be more tempted to sell Salah however, if I was on a wildcard because that would have meant that I could have upgraded elsewhere easily. And I think that might be a smart strategy, because this is where the concept of VORP (value over replacement player) comes into play and if you are unlikely to captain Salah in the next four (che ARS avl eve) that ploy might be fruitful.

– BigManBakar

If you are looking for further encouragement to play the early Wildcard, Pro Pundit Tom Freeman was on hand with a selection of enticing differentials. Raheem Sterling led the way with nine goals during Project Restart:

Five of his nine double-digit hauls arrived following the resumption, which ensured he outscored teammate Kevin De Bruyne (£11.5m) by 86 FPL points to 73.

– Tom on Raheem Sterling

And a trip to Wolverhampton Wanderers is not necessarily such a bad fixture for the Englishman, argues Tom:

Sterling also thrived on his travels – 70% of his league goals arrived during away games, while his 26 big chances in such matches was comfortably more than any other player.

– Tom on Raheem Sterling

The Aston Villa fan also ran the rule over the Villans’ new striker Ollie Watkins (£6.0m):

Amazingly, every single one of [his] 26 goals came from open play and, when you exclude penalties, Watkins scored more league goals than any other player in English football last season.

– Tom on Ollie Watkins

A partnership with Jack Grealish could bear fruit, and Tom suggests the time to invest might be Gameweek 6 when the fixture ticker turns blue for Dean Smith’s men.

This week’s Scoutcast featured former FPL winner and Pro Pundit Simon March. Despite concerns about their defence, one player who caught the eye of the Chelsea fan was Reece James (£5.0):

We saw the goal last night, I watched that back without the crowd noise and just the sound it makes when it leaves his boot – it was like a sonic boom! Just an absolute pile driver of a shot.

– Simon on Reece James

With new signings like Timo Werner (£9.5m) and Kai Havertz (£8.5m) to get on the end of his deliveries, Simon feels that £5.0m could be a steal. And, excluding his goal, Neale pointed out that the 20-year-old could benefit from the bonus points system:

20 baseline bonus points (BBPS) registered by Reece James on Monday night, the joint-highest total in Gameweek 1. Baseline BPS is simply a player’s BPS score with all the appearances, goals, assists and clean sheets stripped away.

– Neale on Reece James

Another defender who posed a goal-threat on the opening weekend was Matt Doherty (£6.0m). Spurs were rightly criticised for their defeat to Everton but the former Wolves player made a couple of encouraging “underlapping” runs into the box: the best resulting in a glorious chance from six yards out that Jordan Pickford (£5.0m) blocked with his legs.

Final Checks

Before making any final decisions ahead of Gameweek 2 be sure to check up on the latest team news and the predicted line-ups.

Pep Guardiola has revealed that Sergio Aguero and Aymeric Laporte will miss out this weekend:

Meanwhile Frank Lampard has confirmed that Timo Werner is fit to face the reigning Champions.

Community Competitions

The Head-to-Head leagues are back! The Gameweek 1 results and tables are currently showing on the main Head-to-Head page.

The fixtures for Gameweek 2 are below:

This is your last opportunity to join The Great and The Good mini-league, the entry code is jxisbl.

And Greyhead is also recruiting for a Community Team to take on the established glitterati. Put your name forward in this Hot Topic if you are interested in taking part.

For an update on all featured FFS Mini-Leagues and Community Competitions, please click here to read the latest round-up.

Finally, Pro Pundit Sam brought us the latest on the Scout Network, a new initiative this season, highlighting both new and established voices in the FPL Community.

Enjoy Gameweek 2 and may your arrows be green!

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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

2,956 Comments Post a Comment
  1. Mesh
    • Fantasy Football Scout Member
    • 10 Years
    3 years, 6 months ago

    Those with Auba & Bruno, who are you captaining?

    1. GROBARI
      • 3 Years
      3 years, 6 months ago

      Auba

    2. Grounderz
      • 12 Years
      3 years, 6 months ago

      Bruno.

    3. linkafu
      • 4 Years
      3 years, 6 months ago

      Vardy

    4. IN SANE IN DE BRUYNE
      • 7 Years
      3 years, 6 months ago

      Auba

    5. I SPEAK ENGELS AND DRINK GI…
      • 4 Years
      3 years, 6 months ago

      Bruno

    6. El Presidente
      • 4 Years
      3 years, 6 months ago

      Rash

  2. Scout
    • 6 Years
    3 years, 6 months ago

    Who do I start saiss or leeds def

    1. the dom 1
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 9 Years
      3 years, 6 months ago

      Leeds def....

  3. noquarternt
    • 8 Years
    3 years, 6 months ago

    Forgot how bad it gets here on game days

    1. Weak Become Heros
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 5 Years
      3 years, 6 months ago

      Yep, do your business no later than Fri.

    2. the dom 1
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 9 Years
      3 years, 6 months ago

      Crazy

  4. Tim2012
    • 11 Years
    3 years, 6 months ago

    Klich or Prod

  5. Pep Roulette
    • 6 Years
    3 years, 6 months ago

    Which 5.0 defender is worth a hit? Or just play Mitchell instead? Please help!

    1. the dom 1
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 9 Years
      3 years, 6 months ago

      Shaw
      Coleman
      Coady (after this GW)

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

        Cheers mate

    2. nolard
      • 9 Years
      3 years, 6 months ago

      You want to take a hit to upgrade a starting 4.5 defender to a 5.0 one?

      You done the math?

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

        Mitchell is 4.0. Should I start him and avoid the hit?

        1. Peteex
          • 11 Years
          3 years, 6 months ago

          Yes

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

            Cheers guys!

  6. Brosstan
    • 9 Years
    3 years, 6 months ago

    Lucky wildcarders getting that free info that Jesus is nailed

    1. Hairy Potter
      • 8 Years
      3 years, 6 months ago

      Gundogan false 9?

      1. Halftime
        • Fantasy Football Scout Member
        • 12 Years
        3 years, 6 months ago

        KDB maybe

    2. Reddonkeyham 42
      • 10 Years
      3 years, 6 months ago

      If you're wilcarding week 2, im not sure how lucky you can be.

  7. Knallie
    • 9 Years
    3 years, 6 months ago

    Did I bench the right people?

    Martinez
    VVD - Justin - Lamptey
    Salah - KDB - Bruno (C) - Jorginho - Bissouma
    Vardy (VC) - Martial

    Peacock-Farrel - Saiss - Mitchell - Brewster

    1. Peteex
      • 11 Years
      3 years, 6 months ago

      Yes

    2. Vlekz
        3 years, 6 months ago

        Playing bissouma over saiss? Wolves did a double last year

    3. boroie
      • 5 Years
      3 years, 6 months ago

      Last 2 decisions

      Should I?

      A - Son -> Greenwood
      B - Save FT

      Bench 1:

      1 - Davies
      2 - Adams

    4. Jam0sh
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 11 Years
      3 years, 6 months ago

      Would you do Havertz to James for free or just save?

      1. Gregor
        • Fantasy Football Scout Member
        • Has Moderation Rights
        • 14 Years
        3 years, 6 months ago

        Do it.

      2. YEAH PITCH!
        • 5 Years
        3 years, 6 months ago

        Save

    5. LucasD
      • 12 Years
      3 years, 6 months ago

      Salah or Bruno captain?

      1. Gregor
        • Fantasy Football Scout Member
        • Has Moderation Rights
        • 14 Years
        3 years, 6 months ago

        Bruno.

      2. King Kun Ta
        • 8 Years
        3 years, 6 months ago

        Salah

      3. GROBARI
        • 3 Years
        3 years, 6 months ago

        Bruno

        1. LucasD
          • 12 Years
          3 years, 6 months ago

          Thanks guys

    6. Hairy Potter
      • 8 Years
      3 years, 6 months ago

      Good luck all

      1. Gregor
        • Fantasy Football Scout Member
        • Has Moderation Rights
        • 14 Years
        3 years, 6 months ago

        You too, HP!

    7. King Kun Ta
      • 8 Years
      3 years, 6 months ago

      WCin'!

      One place to fill....

      A Lamptey
      B Ayling
      C Dallas
      D other 4.5 def

      Ta & GL lads!

      1. King Kun Ta
        • 8 Years
        3 years, 6 months ago

        anybody?

        1. Couch Potato
          • 5 Years
          3 years, 6 months ago

          Ayling

          1. King Kun Ta
            • 8 Years
            3 years, 6 months ago

            ta!

    8. Differentiator
      • 8 Years
      3 years, 6 months ago

      SOS

      Callum Wilson or DCL?

      1. Gregor
        • Fantasy Football Scout Member
        • Has Moderation Rights
        • 14 Years
        3 years, 6 months ago

        DCL.

      2. Magic Zico
        • Fantasy Football Scout Member
        • 5 Years
        3 years, 6 months ago

        DCL better fixtures next few

      3. wulfrunian
        • 7 Years
        3 years, 6 months ago

        dcl

    9. wulfrunian
      • 7 Years
      3 years, 6 months ago

      Which one?
      a)Richarlison+Son+Coleman(-4)
      b)Martial+Grealish+Digne(-8)

      1. I SPEAK ENGELS AND DRINK GI…
        • 4 Years
        3 years, 6 months ago

        Really?

    10. Team Forza
      • 5 Years
      3 years, 6 months ago

      RMT TEAM PLEASE....
      Mcarthy steer
      Justin james kwp Mitchel Lewis
      Auba salah KDB Fernandes Hendricks
      Wilson DCL Brewster

      Captain Fernandes this week
      Steer Brew Mitchel Kwp bench

      1. Scout
        • 6 Years
        3 years, 6 months ago

        It’s goodn

      2. King Kun Ta
        • 8 Years
        3 years, 6 months ago

        attack too low in price

      3. Hulk Smash
        • 8 Years
        3 years, 6 months ago

        Looks a bit too knee jerky for me. Great midfield though.

    11. Scout
      • 6 Years
      3 years, 6 months ago

      Starting saiss over leeds defender. Is that stupid?

      1. Gregor
        • Fantasy Football Scout Member
        • Has Moderation Rights
        • 14 Years
        3 years, 6 months ago

        I’d start the Leeds defender but I don’t think it’s stupid.

        1. Scout
          • 6 Years
          3 years, 6 months ago

          I just think saiss is a threat from corners. Just don’t no what to do

          1. the dom 1
            • Fantasy Football Scout Member
            • 9 Years
            3 years, 6 months ago

            Leeds defender

            1. King Kun Ta
              • 8 Years
              3 years, 6 months ago

              who to choose between Dallas and Ayling?

          2. Gregor
            • Fantasy Football Scout Member
            • Has Moderation Rights
            • 14 Years
            3 years, 6 months ago

            Go with your gut then.

    12. spamking
      • 3 Years
      3 years, 6 months ago

      On a WC, is Shaw likely to start?

      Already have Sais and Digne, any better alternatives that aren't Liverpool defenders?

      1. Scout
        • 6 Years
        3 years, 6 months ago

        Yeah shaw starts imo

      2. Mr. Funny Name
        • 8 Years
        3 years, 6 months ago

        Reece james

        1. King Kun Ta
          • 8 Years
          3 years, 6 months ago

          this

    13. linkafu
      • 4 Years
      3 years, 6 months ago

      Alli or no Alli..???

      Better hit for Greenwood?

    14. FPL_DON
      • 9 Years
      3 years, 6 months ago

      Alliiiiiiiiiiii

    15. andre_c
      • 5 Years
      3 years, 6 months ago

      Pls help!

      a) Digne and Foden
      b) Saiss and Rodriguez

    16. Hulk Smash
      • 8 Years
      3 years, 6 months ago

      Start Saka (WHU) or Webster (new)? I can't imagine Saka starts...

    17. JURGENAUT
      • 3 Years
      3 years, 6 months ago

      Hi, can some help with my bench order. It’s quite thin but is it g2g?

      Steer / Mitchell / Brewster / Douglas

      Although Brewster is linked to Sheffield, is it possible he could be given a cameo against Chelsea if Liverpool require his services or will he be completely nailed to the bench even if they are losing?

      Douglas, I have no idea about him. Does he have more chance of playing than Brewster this weekend?

      Thanks all

    18. Mr. Clueless
      • 10 Years
      3 years, 6 months ago

      Pulisic to Willian worth -4

      WC GW3

      1. It’s gonna Ben Mee
        • 10 Years
        3 years, 6 months ago

        Who’s on your bench?

    19. itsmeguneet
      • 7 Years
      3 years, 6 months ago

      Thoughts on this, people?

      Ramsdale
      TAA- Tierney - Doherty
      Mane - Auba- A. Perez- Bissouma
      Werner- Ings - Mitrovic

      Nyland- Vinagre- Mitchell- Lemina

      Thinking to take a hit, shall I
      Ings + Perez>
      1) Wilson + James Rodriguez??
      Or
      2) DCL + Greenwood?

    20. HonestBlatter
      • 13 Years
      3 years, 6 months ago

      Field SAKA or ADAMS

    21. Jones Kusi
      • 5 Years
      3 years, 6 months ago

      Bench 1.
      A. Mitro
      B. Asm
      C. Adams
      D. Lamptey

      1. Halftime
        • Fantasy Football Scout Member
        • 12 Years
        3 years, 6 months ago

        Lamptey

    22. timawflowers
      • 6 Years
      3 years, 6 months ago

      Which one pls for this gw only
      A - salah and bamford
      B - willian and vardy
      C - sterling and bamford

      1. Halftime
        • Fantasy Football Scout Member
        • 12 Years
        3 years, 6 months ago

        B imo

    23. Tripleh123
      • 3 Years
      3 years, 6 months ago

      Repost. Pls advise who to start?

      A. Taylor vs LEI
      B. Soucek vs ARS

      1. KINGS
        • 5 Years
        3 years, 6 months ago

        B

    24. Kiwi Don
      • 12 Years
      3 years, 6 months ago

      Chances of Bruno being benched due to lack of fitness?

      1. GROBARI
        • 3 Years
        3 years, 6 months ago

        1%

    25. WillyP
      • 12 Years
      3 years, 6 months ago

      Pick 1 for defence:

      Davies (Saints) or
      Taylor (Leicester) or
      KWP (Spurs)

      1. Kiwi Don
        • 12 Years
        3 years, 6 months ago

        Davies

        1. WillyP
          • 12 Years
          3 years, 6 months ago

          thanks!

      2. the dom 1
        • Fantasy Football Scout Member
        • 9 Years
        3 years, 6 months ago

        Im playing Taylor myself and benching Davies.

        1. WillyP
          • 12 Years
          3 years, 6 months ago

          That's what i was originally thinking.. 4mins... agghhh!!!