Tips

The Complete Guide to Scout’s tips and advice for FPL Gameweek 17

Happy New Year and welcome to the Fantasy Football Scout Guide to Gameweek 17 ahead of today’s 16:00 GMT deadline.

As Fantasy managers, 2020 certainly kept us on our toes and its 366th day was no exception with the announcement of additional fixtures for Gameweeks 18 and 19.

Those with assets from both Manchester clubs, Aston Villa and Burnley now have more players available for the upcoming blank and double.

But are you leaping for joy or simply scratching your head wondering what to do?

As Pro Pundit Andy was at pains to point out when talking through the implications of the fixture changes yesterday, the ideal solution will depend on your team and chip situation.

Step forward the innovative FPL Community with two tailor-made graphics.

The first, by Legomané, helps us plan transfers by using a traffic-light colour code to highlight the rest periods between matches:

(click on graphic to enlarge)

And the second, by FPL Zh0u, is a handy flowchart on strategy, which can steer our teams in the right direction.

(click on graphic to enlarge)

Andy wondered if it was time to abandon our plans for Double Gameweek 19, especially with Manchester City now having arguably the most attractive fixtures, at home to Crystal Palace and Aston Villa.

The Pro Pundit, who leads the Mods & Cons mini-league, originally wanted to play his Bench Boost chip but is debating whether targeting his transfers to bring back Kevin De Bruyne (£11.7m) is perhaps the better course of action.

Liverpool also enjoy two home fixtures in the upcoming Double Gameweek and Mohamed Salah (£12.6m) had been the default captain choice for many, however two frustrating blanks has dampened our enthusiasm.

But reporting on the match against his beloved Newcastle United, Neale emphasised that it could have been very different for those who backed the Egyptian:

This was one of those games when the margins between double-digit haul and a three-pointer were slim …  But Salah has historically had a profligate side to his game and occasional frustrating afternoons come with the territory.

– Neale

Something our Captain Sensible writer Jan Sienkiewicz does when making his recommendations for the armband, is to consider how the games will unfold.

Often Fantasy managers like to target teams thought of as ‘whipping boys’, but sides frequently adapt their approach based on the opposition – and Newcastle are no exception:

The Magpies resemble a solid outfit in a backs-to-the-wall 5-4-1 but look less so in a 4-4-2/4-2-3-1, conceding goals against the likes of Burnley, Fulham, West Bromwich Albion and Brighton and Hove Albion – all at home – this season when playing without a third centre-half.

– Neale

Leeds United, however, take a different approach: employing the same style of play no matter who they are facing.

The open end-to-end nature of their games means that no team has conceded more big chances than the Whites this season and, at the same time, no team has taken more shots in the box. 

On the Scoutcast, Joe and Az both identified the trip to a rested Tottenham Hotspur as the standout fixture for captaincy. And Jan agreed, making Harry Kane (£11.0m) and Son Heung-min (£9.7m) his top candidates for the armband, despite their recent poor attacking form.

But it was the attacking displays of Marcelo Bielsa’s side that caught the attention of Pro Pundit Zophar. Considering their budget options, the seven-time top 10,000 manager noted:

Raphinha’s numbers, in particular, are excellent as he is second for shots in the box (nine) and joint-top for chances created (10).

– Zophar

And like Zophar in his column piece, David picked out a cheap midfielder whose displays have impressed recently for Aston Villa:

His total of 24 attempts on goal is the highest in the league between Gameweeks 12 and 16, at least 10 more than any other midfielder at the time of writing. El Ghazi is also top of the league for big chances (six) and shots on target (15)

– David

However, it remains to be seen if Ross Barkley (£5.9m), returned to fitness and available for selection, will dislodge El Ghazi from the starting XI.

Moving up in price, the recent performances of Christian Pulisic (£8.2m) have been encouraging. In his Scout Notes on the match at Stamford Bridge, David observed:

It was noteworthy to see Christian Pulisic start a second game in two days and manage to last 90 minutes each time – perhaps suggesting he can offer a robust route into Chelsea’s attack for matches against Fulham (away) and Leicester (away) in Double Gameweek 19.

– David

Finally, Harry Maguire (£5.4m) is the headline differential pick for the New Year. Pro Pundit Tom is impressed by his attacking threat with no defender having taken more shots in the box, and Manchester United sitting top of the ticker from a defensive perspective until Gameweek 25.

Community Competitions and Head-to-Head Fixtures

RedLightning rounded-up the Community mini-leagues and competitions in a hot topic yesterday.

As mentioned, the Manager of the Month in the Community Members mini-league is Josh Paulin. Josh wins a £50 Amazon voucher. Josh, please contact Geoff (geoff@fantasyfootballscout.co.uk) to claim your prize.

The Manager of the Month winners in 2020 were:

SeptemberHamdy Sameeh
OctoberEmmanuel Oloche
NovemberJames Frimpong
DecemberJosh Paulin

And for those interested in the Head-to-Head Leagues, the main page can be linked to here. The fixtures for Gameweek 17 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

2,511 Comments Post a Comment
  1. ⚔★Vibudh★⚔
    • 7 Years
    3 years, 2 months ago

    Start Rodrigo or John Stones?

    1. dbeck
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 6 Years
      3 years, 2 months ago

      Rod

    2. Sid1891
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 6 Years
      3 years, 2 months ago

      Rodrigo

  2. NUFCAndrew
    • 7 Years
    3 years, 2 months ago

    Bench 1:

    Bowen
    Allisoski
    Coufal

    Have Dallas

    1. Sun Jihai
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 12 Years
      3 years, 2 months ago

      B
      Wouldn't double up on Leeds defence this week

      1. NUFCAndrew
        • 7 Years
        3 years, 2 months ago

        Oh I’ve messed up. Meant to say bench 2, not 1

        1. Sun Jihai
          • Fantasy Football Scout Member
          • 12 Years
          3 years, 2 months ago

          Allisoki and Coufal then
          Suspect DCL will score

    2. IN SANE IN DE BRUYNE
      • 7 Years
      3 years, 2 months ago

      Alioski

    3. MyBall MyRules
      • 5 Years
      3 years, 2 months ago

      Allioski

    4. NUFCAndrew
      • 7 Years
      3 years, 2 months ago

      Bench 2. Not 1

  3. McPollolocco
    • Fantasy Football Scout Member
    • 3 Years
    3 years, 2 months ago

    McCarthy or Martinez to start?
    Zaha, Kane or Salah captain?

    1. IN SANE IN DE BRUYNE
      • 7 Years
      3 years, 2 months ago

      Martinez
      Not Zaha

    2. bring_on _the_fantasy
      • 13 Years
      3 years, 2 months ago

      Kane

  4. JollyGoodYellows
    • 5 Years
    3 years, 2 months ago

    Pick one for the next few weeks

    A) AWB
    B) Dier
    C) Maguire

  5. E25
    • 8 Years
    3 years, 2 months ago

    Who to get in this week and for the DGW19?
    A) Dallas (means triple Leeds and no City defence)
    B) Stones

  6. THFC4LIFE
    • Fantasy Football Scout Member
    • 7 Years
    3 years, 2 months ago

    Starting these.
    Cancelo Chilwell Holding

    Benching these.
    Coufal Mitchel

    Correct?

    1. Hart-ake
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 6 Years
      3 years, 2 months ago

      I would start Mitchell, just in case he plays again.

      1. THFC4LIFE
        • Fantasy Football Scout Member
        • 7 Years
        3 years, 2 months ago

        Who would you bench?

    2. Sid1891
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 6 Years
      3 years, 2 months ago

      Correct to me

  7. Jet5605
    • 9 Years
    3 years, 2 months ago

    Predicted scores:

    A - Man Utd v Villa
    B - Spurs v Leeds

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

      3-1
      2-1

    2. Won't sleep till after…
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 14 Years
      3 years, 2 months ago

      2-1
      2-2

    3. THFC4LIFE
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 7 Years
      3 years, 2 months ago

      2-1
      Spurs Leeds could be any score lol

    4. Bobby Digital
      • 6 Years
      3 years, 2 months ago

      2-1
      4-2

    5. Sun Jihai
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 12 Years
      3 years, 2 months ago

      3-2
      2-2

    6. SAKA AND EMILE SMITH ROWE
      • 7 Years
      3 years, 2 months ago

      0-0
      2-2

    7. COLLIN QUANER
      • 7 Years
      3 years, 2 months ago

      2-0
      4-2

    8. Sid1891
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 6 Years
      3 years, 2 months ago

      3-1
      4-2

    9. Tinkermania
      • 4 Years
      3 years, 2 months ago

      1-1 1-1

  8. Over Midwicket
    • Fantasy Football Scout Member
    • 12 Years
    3 years, 2 months ago

    What are Pope owners doing?

    1. Well you know, Triffic
      • 13 Years
      3 years, 2 months ago

      Kissing the ring

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

      Praying

  9. WVA
    • 7 Years
    3 years, 2 months ago

    Who should I sell for Holding?

    A. Lamptey
    B. Taylor (going to lose 0.1 on him)

    1. ZimZalabim
      • 7 Years
      3 years, 2 months ago

      A

  10. Sloane426
    • 4 Years
    3 years, 2 months ago

    Please help me decide on Lowton or Balbuena?

    1. Manani
      • 12 Years
      3 years, 2 months ago

      Balbuena. better fixture

    2. MyBall MyRules
      • 5 Years
      3 years, 2 months ago

      Balbuena, because West Ham have much stronger fixtures in double gameweek

  11. Manani
    • 12 Years
    3 years, 2 months ago

    bench 1:
    Holding Chiwell Coufal Diaz

  12. IN SANE IN DE BRUYNE
    • 7 Years
    3 years, 2 months ago

    Bottomed..

    Who to bench?

    A) Zouma (MCI)
    B) Stones (che)
    C) Cresswell (eve)

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

      B

      1. IN SANE IN DE BRUYNE
        • 7 Years
        3 years, 2 months ago

        Thanks!

  13. Tomsk
    • 3 Years
    3 years, 2 months ago

    West Brom or Leeds keeper for DGW19? (Can't afford anyone else).

    1. Tomsk
      • 3 Years
      3 years, 2 months ago

      Meant Fulham not Leeds doh

  14. g40steve
    • 6 Years
    3 years, 2 months ago

    Martinez vs United or Johnstone vs Arsenal?

    1. BenDavies
      • 11 Years
      3 years, 2 months ago

      johnstone

      1. g40steve
        • 6 Years
        3 years, 2 months ago

        Cheers that’s how I have it

    2. IN SANE IN DE BRUYNE
      • 7 Years
      3 years, 2 months ago

      Johnstone

    3. Sid1891
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 6 Years
      3 years, 2 months ago

      Johnstone

    4. g40steve
      • 6 Years
      3 years, 2 months ago

      Cheers & GL

  15. Davekitson
    • 9 Years
    3 years, 2 months ago

    Johnstone (Ars H) or Areola (Bur A)?

    Tempted by Johnstone

  16. Igz08
    • 6 Years
    3 years, 2 months ago

    Kane vs Son

    captain ??

    1. bring_on _the_fantasy
      • 13 Years
      3 years, 2 months ago

      Kane

    2. Sid1891
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 6 Years
      3 years, 2 months ago

      Gone with Kane myslelf

    3. 'Broadsword Calling Da…
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 7 Years
      3 years, 2 months ago

      Son

  17. Ady87
    • 10 Years
    3 years, 2 months ago

    (C) Son or Bruno?

    Does Bruno get rested?

  18. ZimZalabim
    • 7 Years
    3 years, 2 months ago

    with ederson out

    shd i start

    Stones or Coufal ?

  19. Lucky Z
    • 6 Years
    3 years, 2 months ago

    DDG in

    A. Yes or B. No?

    1. Sid1891
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 6 Years
      3 years, 2 months ago

      B

  20. Ribus
    • 10 Years
    3 years, 2 months ago

    Dias worth the price over Dias concerning nailedness?

    1. Ribus
      • 10 Years
      3 years, 2 months ago

      *over Stones

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

      Prefer Dias

    3. Maximus Bonimus Pointimus
      • 14 Years
      3 years, 2 months ago

      Tough to call

      Dias probably worth it, but also very strong case for Dias

      Whichever one you go for, best of luck

      1. Robe Wan
        • Fantasy Football Scout Member
        • 11 Years
        3 years, 2 months ago

        Lol

    4. Won't sleep till after…
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 14 Years
      3 years, 2 months ago

      Yes, Dias is the lynchpin of that defence. Funny how Laporte has fallen out of favour.

    5. Flair
      • 3 Years
      3 years, 2 months ago

      Yes, he is worth it over Stones.

  21. Gunners in Haaland
    • 4 Years
    3 years, 2 months ago

    A) KDB/Firmino -> Rashford/Kane (have Bruno)
    B) KDB/Brewster -> Soucek/Kane

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

      B

    2. squits
      • 14 Years
      3 years, 2 months ago

      Will you not want kdb back for gw 18 /19?

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

    Grealish to cheaper DGWer for cash.

    A Maddison or Barnes
    B Raphina or Harrison
    C other DGWer

    Ta!

    1. MyBall MyRules
      • 5 Years
      3 years, 2 months ago

      B raphina

  23. corderz
    • Fantasy Football Scout Member
    • 9 Years
    3 years, 2 months ago

    Play one (Have Bamford)

    A) Soucek - EVE
    B) Raphinha - TOT

    1. ZimZalabim
      • 7 Years
      3 years, 2 months ago

      A

  24. RAFA THE GAFFA
    • 7 Years
    3 years, 2 months ago

    Didn’t even think of starting Johnstone over McCarthy? Worth it??

  25. Greyling
    • 7 Years
    3 years, 2 months ago

    Captain?

    1. Son
    2. Salah
    3. Bruno
    4. DCL

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

      1

  26. Kun Tozser
    • 8 Years
    3 years, 2 months ago

    Any wolves fans want to predict the starting lineup?

  27. Zladan
    • 6 Years
    3 years, 2 months ago

    Adams to Wood for free?

    1. Sigurd's Son
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 8 Years
      3 years, 2 months ago

      Fixture could be off so no

  28. Deeney-is-a-god
    • 7 Years
    3 years, 2 months ago

    Dias or stones?

    1. Bubz
      • 10 Years
      3 years, 2 months ago

      Dias

  29. Rains of Castamere
    • 9 Years
    3 years, 2 months ago

    Help me decide... who to start out of these two?

    A) Brewster (cpl)
    B) Raphina (tot)

    Have Bamford too.

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

      Raphinha surely.

    2. MyBall MyRules
      • 5 Years
      3 years, 2 months ago

      B

  30. Starky22
    • Fantasy Football Scout Member
    • 5 Years
    3 years, 2 months ago

    Bench one:
    Chilwell
    Coufal
    Dias

    1. Rains of Castamere
      • 9 Years
      3 years, 2 months ago

      Coufal