Tips

The Complete Guide to Scout’s tips and advice for FPL Gameweek 3

Welcome to the Fantasy Football Scout Guide to Gameweek 3, once again we have the new normal deadline of 11:00 BST – half an hour earlier than last season.

It’s been a rollercoaster start for FPL managers with a record number of goals scored last Gameweek. In the Scoutcast‘s ‘rough with the smooth’ many surpassed the 100-point mark while one poor soul mustered just 16 points.

The contrasting fortunes prompted a flurry of Wildcards in the Community, leading Az to reflect in this latest Pro Pundit article:

It does feel like people’s strategies – along with all sense of order and meticulous pre-season planning – have been thrown out of the window somewhat after a truly crazy start to the season.

– Az

Citing the differing experiences for managers with Man United and Spurs assets, Az pointed out that what we want one week can dramatically change the next:

With so many players performing, you simply can’t keep chasing last week’s points. You need to build a core squad of players who you feel are likely to deliver over the coming period, give them a chance to repay your faith.

– Az

Az went on to raise questions about several of this week’s targets:

  • Will Son be productive against a Newcastle side that likes to defend deep? He was afforded plenty of space by Southampton’s high line;
  • Everton are set to come up against some resolute defences in their next three matches, are Calvert-Lewin and James Rodriguez essential?
  • And will the acquisition of Nélson Semedo impinge on the Fantasy credentials of Daniel Podence and his Wolves’ teammates? 

David tackled one of those questions when he examined how the new arrival at Molineux could fit in under Nuno Espirito Santo:

The addition of Semedo to the Wolves squad should relieve Traoré of his wing-back duties very soon and shift him back into competition with Podence, Neto and Vitinha further up the field.

– David

It looks likely that those four will be vying for two places in the Wolves’ attack, although David reasons that Podence has probably done enough to secure a starting spot for now.

Semedo’s new club tops the list for upcoming fixtures, as Neale revealed earlier in the week. It’s a very appealing run:

Clashes with newly promoted Fulham and Leeds United are sandwiched by matches against West Ham United, Newcastle United and Crystal Palace, with three of those five games staged at Molineux.

– Neale

Encouragingly for owners and those considering their assets, recent comments from their Portuguese manager suggest we will see a more attacking version of Wolves this season: 

The idea is to give them freedom to put their talent onto the pitch… I would like to be more dominant, I would like to have more of the ball, I would like to improve our tally of goals scored and at the same time, decrease goals (at the other end).

– Nuno Espirito Santo

Continuing his frisk of the fixtures, Neale agreed with Az that Gameweek 6 might be a better time to invest in Everton, when their matches get really good.

And former FPL winner Simon March supported Az’s idea that now is not the time to panic and reach for the Wildcard.

A graduate in behavioural economics, Simon introduced the concept of “The House Money Effect”: 

The House Money Effect often occurs when we receive money in an atypical manner. For example; winning a bet, receiving a bonus or profiting from an investment. Behavioural psychologists have observed that people take far greater risks with such sums… [because] people don’t perceive these sums to really be their money.”

– Simon

Simon applied this idea to FPL noting that the top 10,000 managers in Gameweek 1 took on average more hits compared to the masses and, crucially – scored below average points in Gameweek 2.

For those of you reading this and perhaps regretting playing your Wildcard, there is hope in the shape of a three-time top 200 manager. 

Lateriser has made his name by starting slowly and finishing strongly. And the Pro Pundit wielded his Wildcard after an underwhelming couple of Gameweeks. The upside-chasing manager has seen enough to encourage him in the first two rounds of fixtures, in particular the emergence of a few ‘glue guys’:

Glue guys are the kind of picks in a particular ‘value’ price bracket that you just need to set in your team and forget about for a long time because they will continue to offer bang for buck for the mid-to-long term.

– Lateriser

The new attack-minded Wolves is good news for first-choice striker Raul Jimenez, argues the Pro Pundit. While Brighton’s Tariq Lamptey offers excellent value at £4.5m and can produce returns at both ends of the pitch. Last season the buccaneering defender had a better big chance creation rate than the two Liverpool full-backs. 

Finally he picked out Everton’s Dominic Calvert-Lewin, who recently revealed the influence of manager Carlo Ancelotti:

Carlo Ancelotti is on me every day for first-touch finishes and to be in the box, in the right areas. It’s nice to know what I’m working on in training is coming off on the pitch.

– Dominic Calvert-Lewin

Good news for prospective buyers.

The Everton No 9 was also highlighted by Steven Reinaldo Rusli last week due to his impressive non-penalty xG stat. The Community Member looked at value (point per million) when making the case for a 3-4-3 formation to take advantage of the mid-priced forwards. 

While a value for money approach was echoed by TorpedoToien who looked back over recent seasons to reveal which players had provided the best bang for your buck. Will Jimenez and Calvert-Lewin be this season’s Mahrez and Vardy?

And the king of the puns Greyhead who finished in the top 100 overall just two seasons ago, examined the player ownership among his chosen managers in The Great and The Good. The Community scribe fancies Southampton players could be moved on after failing to live up to pre-season expectations. But with West Brom in Gameweek 4, is that a wise idea?

Captaincy and Manchester City

A major talking point this week has been Kevin De Bruyne’s performance for Manchester City as he lined up in an attacking midfield role. The question many have been asking is will Guardiola continue to use the Belgian as a No 10? 

David analysed his performance against Wolves and assessed the competition for places within the City squad.

And our new Captain Sensible writer Jan Sienkiewicz included the current PFA Player of the Year on his shortlist for the armband alongside Timo Werner, Kai Havertz, Mohamed Salah, and Sadio Mané. 

While City assets look particularly appealing, Neale and Andy reported a possible concussion for the De Bruyne sustained in Thursday evening’s EFL Cup tie.

And today, rumours of a possible injury to striker Gabriel Jesus were confirmed by the player himself:

Focusing on Chelsea, Jan described Werner and Havertz as the outstanding picks for Gameweek 3. The double-points maestro questioned whether the Baggies will have enough to stop the Blues from scoring.

While on FPL Black Box, Fantasy Football Scout founder Mark reaffirmed his strategy for selecting a captain this season – going with the player who has the best fixture – and following that rationale, he is handing Timo Werner the armband.

A look at the latest clean sheet odds provided by G-Whizz backs the decision to go with a Chelsea or Man City player. Their opponents West Brom and Leicester City have the worst odds of a shutout in Gameweek 3.

And BigManBakar revealed in his in-depth review of Gameweek 2 that he will be selecting De Bruyne for the captaincy: according to the bookies, Man City are the most likely team to score 2.5+ goals.

Community Round-up and The Scout Network

The spotlight in the Fantasy Football Scout Network this week fell on Mini-League Mate. If you want a stat-packed breakdown of how your mini-league rivals fare each Gameweek (complete with attractive charts and graphs) then this for you.

And it was also announced that Tor Mikkel Tokvamm, creator of the Transfer Algorithm, and FPL Poker Player will be joining the Scout Network

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

And for those interested in the Head-to-Head Leagues, the main page can be linked to here. The fixtures for Gameweek 3 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!

GET IN-GAME DATA AT LIVE FPL

Check your own rank and in-play FPL stats on LiveFPL.net every Gameweek

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

3,543 Comments Post a Comment
  1. Shark Team
    • 6 Years
    3 years, 6 months ago

    My three players who gave me the most PTS so far are:
    Vardy gw1 (13pts)
    James Rodriguez gw2 (12pts)
    DCL gw2 (17pts)

    What I 've noticed is that everyone was playing against WBA
    So maybeeee it's time for my boy Havertz to return big!
    Still the armband on KDB as I don't wanna risk it

    1. FPL Joker
      • 6 Years
      3 years, 6 months ago

      Exactly

    2. Miguel Sanchez
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 7 Years
      3 years, 6 months ago

      Just go for it with Havertz then

      1. Shark Team
        • 6 Years
        3 years, 6 months ago

        Captaincy?

    3. Top Lad Dakes.
      • 7 Years
      3 years, 6 months ago

      It’s Timo time

    4. sunzip14
      • 7 Years
      3 years, 6 months ago

      Werner*

  2. Salah’s Sonnet
    • 12 Years
    3 years, 6 months ago

    Martinez
    Saiss - XXX - James
    Son - Rodriguez - Foden - KDB - XXX
    DCL - Jiminez
    _________________________________
    Forster: Mitchell: Dunne: Brewster

    A) Sterling + TAA

    B) Salah + Robbo

    Helo people! Need to decide on this lol! Cheers!

    1. AdamJ91
      • 8 Years
      3 years, 6 months ago

      A.

      1. Salah’s Sonnet
        • 12 Years
        3 years, 6 months ago

        Cheers Adam

    2. Flowsick
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 7 Years
      3 years, 6 months ago

      B

      1. Salah’s Sonnet
        • 12 Years
        3 years, 6 months ago

        Cheers bud

    3. FPL Joker
      • 6 Years
      3 years, 6 months ago

      B. Liv treble always better than City treble, for many reasons, but mainly guaranteed starts

      1. Salah’s Sonnet
        • 12 Years
        3 years, 6 months ago

        Aye i guess, and i already have two city i suppose in midfield

    4. Stimps
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 10 Years
      3 years, 6 months ago

      B,

    5. iL PiStOlErO
      • 4 Years
      3 years, 6 months ago

      B

    6. Salah’s Sonnet
      • 12 Years
      3 years, 6 months ago

      Thank you everyone! Best of luck!

  3. AdamJ91
    • 8 Years
    3 years, 6 months ago

    Confirmed & locked, GL everyone.

    Martinez
    Saiss, James, Coleman
    Salah, KDB, Son, Klich
    Werner (c), DCL, Jimenez.

    (Steer, Lamptey, Anguissa, Ferguson)

    1. Mind över Mata
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 12 Years
      3 years, 6 months ago

      Like the Werner punt- good luck

      1. Pumpkinhead - I'm ITK …
        • 14 Years
        3 years, 6 months ago

        Hardly a punt 😉

  4. DeadStarComing
    • Fantasy Football Scout Member
    • 13 Years
    3 years, 6 months ago

    These Podence not training rumours are funny. I know for certain that most FPL managers don't even know what he looks like 😉

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

      Source? Im on the other side of the world and just woke up, 6:48 AM

      1. DeadStarComing
        • Fantasy Football Scout Member
        • 13 Years
        3 years, 6 months ago

        There is no real source. It's rumours.

    2. circusmonkey
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 13 Years
      3 years, 6 months ago

      He's vertically challenged.

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

      Shorter than most with short back and sides lol

  5. Mind över Mata
    • Fantasy Football Scout Member
    • 12 Years
    3 years, 6 months ago

    Play one -

    A) KWP (bur)
    B) Ayling (shu)
    C) Soucek (WOL)

    Currently on C, with A then B on the bench.

  6. Gorbitz
    • Fantasy Football Scout Member
    • 7 Years
    3 years, 6 months ago

    Who to bench

    Ings
    Klich
    Podence
    DCL

  7. Top Lad Dakes.
    • 7 Years
    3 years, 6 months ago

    Ready to rock n roll? 1.0 ITB on WC. Monitoring Trent, Son, MUN mostly.

    Martinez
    Robbo Saiss Lamptey
    Salah KDB JRodriguez Foden Podence
    Werner(c) Jimenez
    — Steer — Taylor — Mitchell — Davis

    🙂

  8. Coys96
    • 6 Years
    3 years, 6 months ago

    Just for this GW

    1) Sterling
    2) Bruno

    1. Ajax Hamsterdam
      • 9 Years
      3 years, 6 months ago

      Sterling

      1. C'mon the Fylde
        • 8 Years
        3 years, 6 months ago

        You have to keep Sterling for Leeds, too.

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

    Last desision on wc

    A. KDB
    B. Sterling

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

      A

    2. Top Lad Dakes.
      • 7 Years
      3 years, 6 months ago

      I’ve gone A. If Sterling goes big and Salah doesn’t may make that move next

    3. 2999 - Lady of Legend
      • 3 Years
      3 years, 6 months ago

      A.

    4. Ibralicious
      • 9 Years
      3 years, 6 months ago

      A. easy

    5. iL PiStOlErO
      • 4 Years
      3 years, 6 months ago

      B

  10. Ibralicious
    • 9 Years
    3 years, 6 months ago

    Captain KDB or Podence?

    1. Ibralicious
      • 9 Years
      3 years, 6 months ago

      Leaning towards Podence atm, but these fitness rumors might make me change my mind

      1. Gudjohnsen
        • 7 Years
        3 years, 6 months ago

        KDB C, Podence VC

    2. Stimps
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 10 Years
      3 years, 6 months ago

      Haha Is this a joke question?

      1. BremerHB
        • 7 Years
        3 years, 6 months ago

        Was wondering the same...

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

    Podence knee jerkers punished?

    1. Dynamic Duos
      • 10 Years
      3 years, 6 months ago

      Is he out?

      1. Ibralicious
        • 9 Years
        3 years, 6 months ago

        Obviously not. Last-minute panic based on an instagram picture

      2. Pieterke30
        • Fantasy Football Scout Member
        • 7 Years
        3 years, 6 months ago

        Rumours. Wont be confirmes

    2. Pieterke30
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 7 Years
      3 years, 6 months ago

      It’s not kneejerking btw

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

      So keep on wc?

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

        yes

  12. NATSTER
    • 13 Years
    3 years, 6 months ago

    Go Werner or no please?

    (A) Brewster + Zaha + Robertson
    (B) Werner + Burke + Taylor (BUR)

    1. Top Lad Dakes.
      • 7 Years
      3 years, 6 months ago

      B, probably.

      1. NATSTER
        • 13 Years
        3 years, 6 months ago

        Just because of WBA ?

  13. Kasper the ghost keeper
    • 8 Years
    3 years, 6 months ago

    Have Podence
    A) Wickham to Mitro (bench KWP)
    B) hold

  14. The Red Devil
    • 9 Years
    3 years, 6 months ago

    On WC

    A- Martinez+TAA
    B- Guaita+Robertson

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

      Interesting. Similar for me with Robbo/TAA - I'm probably too scared to go without Trent...

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

      TAA on set pieces edges

      1. Kabayan
        • 7 Years
        3 years, 6 months ago

        So does Robbo

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

          Free kicks

  15. PascalCygan
    • Fantasy Football Scout Member
    • 6 Years
    3 years, 6 months ago

    1) TAA & Lamptey
    2) Robbo & Reece James

    Cheers!

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

      2

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

        Thanks

  16. Garlana
    • 9 Years
    3 years, 6 months ago

    WC done, good luck guys, send me your prayers if werner and Salah haul:

    Martinez
    Robbo, James, Saiss
    Sterling(c), kdb, son, Foden, jrod
    Jimi, dcl

    Steer, lamptey, Mitchell, Brewster

    1. Muchentuchel
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 5 Years
      3 years, 6 months ago

      No Liverpool or Chelski?

      1. Garlana
        • 9 Years
        3 years, 6 months ago

        Yup

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

        Unless you don't count Robbo and James as either

        1. Muchentuchel
          • Fantasy Football Scout Member
          • 5 Years
          3 years, 6 months ago

          sorry forgot the word 'attacking'. Otherwise great team!

          1. Garlana
            • 9 Years
            3 years, 6 months ago

            Thanks, I'm very aware I don't have them, worries me but this WC was a real headache, I wanted to make impactful changes and really go for it. City the top scoring team and I'm backing that again.

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

      Good team.

      1. Garlana
        • 9 Years
        3 years, 6 months ago

        Thanks

  17. Bennyboy1907
    • 3 Years
    3 years, 6 months ago

    WC last spot:
    A : son in 352
    B: jiminez in 343

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

      It's what i cant decide. Time running out. Currently on Son

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

      Go with Son lad

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

      B

  18. trafalgarlaw
    • 5 Years
    3 years, 6 months ago

    Need help mate, Doucoure will drop tomorrow
    1FT 3.8ITB

    McCarthy
    VVD Justin Digne
    Doucoure KDB Bruno Podence
    DCL Jimenez Martial

    Nyland Mitchell Ayling Bissouma

    A. Doucoure > Barnes
    B. Martial > Vardy
    C. Ayling > Saiss (play 433 Doucoure bench)
    D. Both A and B (-4)

    Thx mate

  19. Chief Break-Everything
    • 8 Years
    3 years, 6 months ago

    Hamez or DCL on WC?

    1. iL PiStOlErO
      • 4 Years
      3 years, 6 months ago

      Dcl

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

      DCL

  20. Klip Klopp
    • Fantasy Football Scout Member
    • 8 Years
    3 years, 6 months ago

    Son, KDB or Salah for the armband?

    1. cuppatea78
      • 11 Years
      3 years, 6 months ago

      KDB

    2. Livinginapool - Top 100 Any…
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 14 Years
      3 years, 6 months ago

      KDB for me.

    3. iL PiStOlErO
      • 4 Years
      3 years, 6 months ago

      Sonny

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

      Salah

  21. Livinginapool - Top 100 Any…
    • Fantasy Football Scout Member
    • 14 Years
    3 years, 6 months ago

    Surprised there's not more love on here for C. Taylor. He's a steal.

    1. Top Lad Dakes.
      • 7 Years
      3 years, 6 months ago

      Got him first sub this week

    2. Top Lad Dakes.
      • 7 Years
      3 years, 6 months ago

      Not faffing about with Justin who’ll lose his spot and James who’ll be rotated

      1. Livinginapool - Top 100 Any…
        • Fantasy Football Scout Member
        • 14 Years
        3 years, 6 months ago

        Absolutely. No point wasting transfers on players like that.

  22. vandebeek
    • 7 Years
    3 years, 6 months ago

    Thoughts of this WC team? Was 0.1m short and had to downgrade Digne to James and then I distributed the 0.9 elsewhere
    Ryan/4.0
    TAA, Saiss, James, Lamptey, 4.0
    KDB, Salah, Havertz, Foden, Podence
    DCL, Jimenez, Adams

  23. Pukki Party
    • 6 Years
    3 years, 6 months ago

    Wolves haven't conseded a goal against West Ham in last 4 fixtures.
    0-2
    2-0
    3-0
    0-1

  24. Muchentuchel
    • Fantasy Football Scout Member
    • 5 Years
    3 years, 6 months ago

    Captaincy decision making me crazy,

    Son, Salah, Rodrigue, DCL, might even consider Martial

    help me out boys!

    1. Shark Team
      • 6 Years
      3 years, 6 months ago

      It's between Son and Salah. You choose. Mo at home vs Arsenal had always been fantastic. I suggest you to go with him

  25. sunzip14
    • 7 Years
    3 years, 6 months ago

    V Imp one: Mitchell or Justin first on bench?

  26. Jebiga
    • 11 Years
    3 years, 6 months ago

    Good luck to all !

  27. Benditlike
    • 9 Years
    3 years, 6 months ago

    On wc. Change James to Saiss? Is James really nailed??

    1. Third Eye Vision
      • 11 Years
      3 years, 6 months ago

      Get Saiss.

    2. Shark Team
      • 6 Years
      3 years, 6 months ago

      James will start the next few easy fixtures. If you don't have any planned transfers for the future then stick with it

    3. Danstoke82
      • 9 Years
      3 years, 6 months ago

      Saiss has great fixtures

  28. cuppatea78
    • 11 Years
    3 years, 6 months ago

    Who should I start with today?
    A) Lamptey Home to Man Utd
    B) Mitchell Home to Everton

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

      A....Just because Lamptey has more assist potential

    2. Shark Team
      • 6 Years
      3 years, 6 months ago

      B for me because last 2 Everton's visits to Selhust Park were both goalless draws

  29. aborg
    • 6 Years
    3 years, 6 months ago

    Who more likely to keep a clean sheet this GW and in what order? :

    A) Davies (home to Newcastle)
    B) Shaw (away to Brighton)
    C) Vinagre (away to Westham)

  30. Mooster©️
    • Fantasy Football Scout Member
    • 7 Years
    3 years, 6 months ago

    Werner and Anguissa
    or
    Zaha and Ings