Tips

The Complete Guide to Scout’s tips and advice for FPL Gameweek 4

Welcome to the Fantasy Football Scout Guide to Gameweek 4, the final round of fixtures before the October International Break. It’s another 11:00 BST deadline before the action gets underway with Chelsea hosting Crystal Palace in the early kick-off.

This week’s Guide focuses on Manchester City’s enticing encounter with Leeds United, and offers advice from a selection of Fantasy Football Scout contributors on the best players for our FPL teams.

STOP PRESS: Sadio Mané (£11.9m) has been ruled out of Gameweek 4.

Diogo Jota (£6.3m) is Neale‘s tip to replace the stricken Senegalese in the Liverpool starting XI. The doyen of the Team News has made his informed line-up predictions ahead of the weekend matches.

Elsewhere, Jose Mourinho has been keeping FPL managers guessing. Having originally ruled Son Heung-Min (£9.0m) out with a hamstring injury until after the international break, the Portuguese later opened the door to an early return:

I don’t believe [he can play]. But because he is so optimistic and always trying to give us positive feelings and hopes, I don’t want to say he is completely out – because maybe he can surprise us.

– Jose Mourinho

Son replacements were discussed on the Scoutcast. Commenting on the South Korean’s awkward £9.0m price tag, Pro Pundit Holly Shand suggested managers have an opportunity to reshape their attacks::

It makes sense just to go right down and if you’re in a 3-5-2 like we are Az, or if you’re not happy with your strikers anyway, you can get yourself a whole new forward line, get a load of attacking penalty takers.

– Holly

It’s been a high-scoring start to the season but without doubt the headline over the first few weeks has been the number of spot-kicks awarded. Should we all be stocking up on penalty takers and turning our FPL teams into ‘Penalty FC’?

Neale took an in-depth look at the players we might consider targeting should the present rate of spot-kicks continue. However, a Premier League meeting on Tuesday resolved to allow referees “greater subjectivity within the existing rules” in regards to handball decisions.

Although the controversial penalty awarded against Eric Dier (£5.0m) would still have stood.

Penalties were also a topic touched on by Pro Pundit Lateriser this week. Following a disappointing start to his Wildcard in Gameweek 3, the three-time top 200 manager is considering saving a transfer ahead of the international matches. 

As fellow Pro Pundit Zophar highlighted in the latest installment of The FPL Wire, some national teams are playing three times in the upcoming break, therefore saving a transfer could be a sensible decision.

And with three Manchester City players in his side, Lateriser is hoping for a green arrow to propel him up the leaderboard.

Pep Guardiola’s troops travel to Leeds United in what promises to be a high-scoring match. G-Whizz informs us that the Whites have just a nine per cent chance of a clean sheet but even that feels slightly generous given what we’ve seen so far.

Goalkeeper Illan Meslier (£4.5m) made a string of impressive saves to keep Sheffield United at bay, after conceding four to Liverpool on the opening day. 

Writing in Captain Sensible, Jan Sienkiewicz notes:

Unless Bielsa decides to play in a more defensive fashion against Manchester City, which I think is quite unlikely, we should expect to see plenty of goals in this game.

– Jan

As a result, Jan feels that Kevin De Bruyne (£11.6m) and Raheem Sterling (£11.5m) can offer better explosivity this week than Salah and Mané.

Speaking in the Captaincy Video, David feels that it’s the Beligan who can deliver the bigger points tally out of the two:

I don’t think Man City are as dangerous when Sterling has to play the centre-forward role. So I also don’t think Sterling is as dangerous when he has to play the centre forward role because it’s not really what he’s used to… De Bruyne is playing this advanced role, his stats so far have been more rounded than Sterling – he’s created more chances than him: nine chances that he’s created and four shots on target, Sterling only with two.

– David

Outside of the armband dilemma, Pro Pundit Tom Freeman has singled out Riyad Mahrez (£8.4m) as his headline differential pick.

Following his return from a positive COVID-19 test, the Algerian has completed 90 minutes in three successive matches. And he has the potential to deliver points as a goalscorer or creator, having registered 11 goals and 14 assists last year.

While an insight from Neale in his big numbers article offers further encouragement:

Fifteen chances conceded by Leeds United from their left flank this season, the highest total in the division from that side of the pitch. The Whites are up against Manchester City this weekend, and that possible weakness will be of interest to Riyad Mahrez (£8.4m) and, depending on the formation, Kevin De Bruyne (£11.6m).

– Neale

The excellent form of Dominic Calvert-Lewin (£7.5m) makes him the most popular acquisition for the second successive Gameweek.

Zophar consulted the stats after three matches before making his transfer decision: the Evertonian joining for the yet-to-impress Timo Werner (£9.4m).

Fellow Pro Pundit Andy has a similar decision to make with German occupying a spot in his side, but is considering a move for Raul Jimenez (£8.6m) instead. While for Career Hall of Fame No 1, Fábio Borges, there’s no question of selling him just yet:

Werner is a world-class forward with two excellent home fixtures ahead of him. I think these two factors overshadow all the possible reasons to lose faith in him so soon.

– Fábio

Concluding his research into the available forwards, the six-time top 5,000 manager, Zophar, agreed with Holly’s sentiment that 3-4-3 will be the successful formation this campaign:

The forward area certainly has more options than it did in previous years and I guess the only silver lining to the new handball rule is that it has made budget strikers more viable. I certainly plan to stick to my 3-4-3 formation going forward.

– Zophar

Meanwhile, during her foray into the numbers, Pro Pundit Sam Bonfield has decided to give underperforming striker Che Adams (£5.9m) a stay of execution. She suggests that his expected goal involvement (xGI) of 1.52 makes him worthy of some loyalty. West Brom should offer further opportunities to score.

However on FPL Black Box, Fantasy Football Scout founder Mark revealed that he has shipped out the Southampton forward in favour of the popular Calvert-Lewin.

And using stats from the Members Area, Mark revealed how much Wolves have struggled this season – only West Brom have a worse minutes per expected goals (xG) tally.

Nonetheless, this hasn’t dissuaded him from adding Jimenez to his squad.

Earlier this week, the Best of the Community feature focused on Chelsea and player value to find the perfect squad. It’s also rounded-up all FFScout Mini-Leagues and Community Competitions.

And finally, for those interested in the Head-to-Head Leagues, the main page can be linked to here. The fixtures for Gameweek 4 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

1,707 Comments Post a Comment
  1. Right In The Stanchion
    • 4 Years
    3 years, 5 months ago

    Chickened out and captained Salah. Too many options but it simply has to be a penalty taken.

    I bet Milner plays now too

    1. DA Minnion (Former great)
      • 11 Years
      3 years, 5 months ago

      Jota for Mane.

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

      Kdb?

  2. kamdaraji
    • 14 Years
    3 years, 5 months ago

    knickers down

  3. It's his Job.
    • 10 Years
    3 years, 5 months ago

    And Breathe

  4. WVA
    • 7 Years
    3 years, 5 months ago

    Sorry to all Salah captainers!

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

      Foolish Trent Capt here

      1. FPL Blow-In
        • 11 Years
        3 years, 5 months ago

        Nice

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

    Sterling (c) here.
    Only 7% of ppls in this game have the most expensive player in Premier league. This is shocking

    1. FPL Blow-In
      • 11 Years
      3 years, 5 months ago

      Good luck

    2. MINUS FOUR
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 6 Years
      3 years, 5 months ago

      Explosive even?

    3. diesel001
      • 7 Years
      3 years, 5 months ago

      Paul Pogba?

  6. Nightf0x
    • 8 Years
    3 years, 5 months ago

    Didnt do bruno davis -4 to ings barnes and rolled ft, hope barnes & ings stay quiet xD

  7. Sun Jihai
    • Fantasy Football Scout Member
    • 12 Years
    3 years, 5 months ago

    As a Saiss owner, I can't wait for:

    Goal - MITROVIC
    Assist - NONE

    Wolves 0-1 Fulham (4 mins)

    #WOLFUL #FPL

    1. DA Minnion (Former great)
      • 11 Years
      3 years, 5 months ago

      That would be lovely.

    2. DaisyDaisyDaisyDaisy
      • 10 Years
      3 years, 5 months ago

      Got to start first

    3. i am jose mourinho
      • 5 Years
      3 years, 5 months ago

      Same own Mitro . Also went Bavies benched Saiss

    4. The Polymath
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 8 Years
      3 years, 5 months ago

      You'll be waiting a very long time.

    5. Party time
        3 years, 5 months ago

        Var says No goal

      • fish&chips
        • Fantasy Football Scout Member
        • 13 Years
        3 years, 5 months ago

        As a Saiss and Semedo owner I fully expect this (again)

      • Nomar
        • Fantasy Football Scout Member
        • 14 Years
        3 years, 5 months ago

        Could happen.

        But final score likely to be something like Wolves 5-1 Fulham.

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

      Raz captain lfg

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

        O/

      2. Nanoelektronicar
        • 9 Years
        3 years, 5 months ago

        o/

    7. drughi
      • 14 Years
      3 years, 5 months ago

      I have a very nice team on paper, 40 points incoming

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

        Thats the way it works, i always get 30 points after a wildcard as well.

      2. Hulk Smash
        • 8 Years
        3 years, 5 months ago

        You'll do well when the average is 21

      3. It's his Job.
        • 10 Years
        3 years, 5 months ago

        I think we all feel we have a nice team on paper but is the team that is going to earn you max points? I hope mine does and that's why I chose the captain I did..

      4. Frucke
        • 9 Years
        3 years, 5 months ago

        Haha

      5. fish&chips
        • Fantasy Football Scout Member
        • 13 Years
        3 years, 5 months ago

        Good score these days

    8. Nightf0x
      • 8 Years
      3 years, 5 months ago

      Sorry kdb cappers, last minute i wenr jimi

      1. Firminooooo
        • Fantasy Football Scout Member
        • 8 Years
        3 years, 5 months ago

        Thank you. KdB haul incomming.

    9. diabydoesgallas
      • 10 Years
      3 years, 5 months ago

      Any good streaming sites for iPad ??

    10. It's his Job.
      • 10 Years
      3 years, 5 months ago

      So yep right or wrong I did Captain Jiminez..

      1. Nightf0x
        • 8 Years
        3 years, 5 months ago

        Same here bro

    11. tiger
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 12 Years
      3 years, 5 months ago

      Captain KDB
      Vice Salah

      1. Orion
        • 13 Years
        3 years, 5 months ago

        This

    12. fridge
      • 12 Years
      3 years, 5 months ago

      Anything worth a hit here or GTG?

      McCarthy
      TAA. Lamptey. Taylor
      Salah. KDB. Rodriguez. ASM
      Jiminez. Martial. DCL

      Fodder. McCarthy. Dallas. Douglas

    13. Klopp's Kids
      • 10 Years
      3 years, 5 months ago

      Wildcard done. Went hardcore on defenders.

      McCarthy
      TAA Robertson Castagne Taylor
      Sterling (C) Salah Podence
      Jimenez Ings Calvert-Lewin

      Bench: Forster, Lamptey, 4.5, 4.5

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

        Nice team

        1. Klopp's Kids
          • 10 Years
          3 years, 5 months ago

          Thank you!

    14. Hulk Smash
      • 8 Years
      3 years, 5 months ago

      Anyone braved it with Ings (c)? He has 100% goal involvement in the league so far...

      1. Brosstan
        • 9 Years
        3 years, 5 months ago

        Yep, fingers crossed

      2. AC Yew
        • 5 Years
        3 years, 5 months ago

        Yep been on him all week.

        1. Hulk Smash
          • 8 Years
          3 years, 5 months ago

          I applaud your sizeable cojones gentlemen. KDB (c) Ings (vc)

          1. AC Yew
            • 5 Years
            3 years, 5 months ago

            I did the opposite. Wouldn't mind a brace from both

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

        Blank incoming

        1. Nightf0x
          • 8 Years
          3 years, 5 months ago

          Hope so

      4. Rolls-Royce
        • 10 Years
        3 years, 5 months ago

        He's too good to blank against West Brom.

    15. Dangerous Dave
      • 10 Years
      3 years, 5 months ago

      If Son doesn't start, I've got Romeu coming off the bench to score me 20 points so no problems.

    16. Brosstan
      • 9 Years
      3 years, 5 months ago

      That tweet :O

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

        Shame it came out after deadline

      2. the dom 1
        • Fantasy Football Scout Member
        • 9 Years
        3 years, 5 months ago

        link?

      3. The Train Driver
        • 8 Years
        3 years, 5 months ago

        So frustrating it comes 1 minute after the deadline, many will be super mad, seems to be in most teams.

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

          What tweet?

        2. Brosstan
          • 9 Years
          3 years, 5 months ago

          Happy not to own him, was always a risk..

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

            You obviously get off on being a childish c0ck tease. The rest of us will move on.

            1. Brosstan
              • 9 Years
              3 years, 5 months ago

              'That tweet' is a staple of deadline posting mate, you should know after 8 years 😉

      4. Quackadoodz
        • 4 Years
        3 years, 5 months ago

        ?

    17. reason17
      • 8 Years
      3 years, 5 months ago

      Captain:
      A) jiminez
      B) de bruyne

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

        For next week?

        1. reason17
          • 8 Years
          3 years, 5 months ago

          This week

      2. Oggle22
        • 7 Years
        3 years, 5 months ago

        Own both really wanted to be brave and captain Jiminez but bottled it and went Salah

        1. Party time
            3 years, 5 months ago

            Dammit. That will bite you in the arse

        2. FPL Blow-In
          • 11 Years
          3 years, 5 months ago

          Kdb does well against Arsenal but Jimenez has Leeds. Tough one.

      3. diesel001
        • 7 Years
        3 years, 5 months ago

        Interested to see if Son starts tomorrow. A number of media outlets are suggesting he will.

        1. tokara
          • 9 Years
          3 years, 5 months ago

          I started him but dun think he w play

          1. kamdaraji
            • 14 Years
            3 years, 5 months ago

            it's the hope that kills you

      4. Nightf0x
        • 8 Years
        3 years, 5 months ago

        Ings and barnes stay quiet please

      5. Pinky Blinders
        • 7 Years
        3 years, 5 months ago

        What’s your current team value?

        1. the dom 1
          • Fantasy Football Scout Member
          • 9 Years
          3 years, 5 months ago

          101.6

          1. Pinky Blinders
            • 7 Years
            3 years, 5 months ago

            Wowsa, did you already WC?

        2. kamdaraji
          • 14 Years
          3 years, 5 months ago

          not important

        3. the dom 1
          • Fantasy Football Scout Member
          • 9 Years
          3 years, 5 months ago

          Yep GW3, think i was too hasty

      6. Firminooooo
        • Fantasy Football Scout Member
        • 8 Years
        3 years, 5 months ago

        If 7 players from Wolves, Chelsea and ManCity don’t give me any points one more GW.... I don’t know what to do.

        1. Flair
          • 3 Years
          3 years, 5 months ago

          8 here, I agree

          1. Camzy
            • Fantasy Football Scout Member
            • 13 Years
            3 years, 5 months ago

            Same. It's brutal. So much riding on these 3 teams.

        2. FPL Blow-In
          • 11 Years
          3 years, 5 months ago

          I have 1 player from those 3 teams!

        3. ivantys
          • 3 Years
          3 years, 5 months ago

          Add in Saints and I'll have 9 players from these 4 teams.

        4. fish&chips
          • Fantasy Football Scout Member
          • 13 Years
          3 years, 5 months ago

          9 here 😮

      7. Piggs Boson
        • 12 Years
        3 years, 5 months ago

        Nothing you can do now but sit back with a brew and relax 😎

      8. Pedram
        • 10 Years
        3 years, 5 months ago

        Jimi captain locked, now i'm worried KDB will burn me ugh

      9. OPTA FPL
        • 12 Years
        3 years, 5 months ago

        So Son injury was bullshjt? He just rested him for United

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

        Captained Salah at the end. Hope he atleast matches KDB.

      11. Denis Tueart on the wing
        • 14 Years
        3 years, 5 months ago

        What time is Chelsea v Palace kick-off?

        1. Dangerous Dave
          • 10 Years
          3 years, 5 months ago

          9.30pm

          1. Denis Tueart on the wing
            • 14 Years
            3 years, 5 months ago

            In OZ?

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

          It's on the FPL website...

          1. Denis Tueart on the wing
            • 14 Years
            3 years, 5 months ago

            Why is FPL updating 1hr 30mins before ko

      12. Ajax Hamsterdam
        • 9 Years
        3 years, 5 months ago

        2ft nice 🙂 gl all

      13. i am jose mourinho
        • 5 Years
        3 years, 5 months ago

        Dont worry fellas
        All premium strikers will score this gw