Tips

The Complete Guide to Scout’s tips and advice for Double Gameweek 19

Welcome to the Fantasy Football Scout Guide to Double Gameweek 19 ahead of today’s 11:00 GMT deadline.

The fixture schedule has shifted once again. Like a surreal game of Grandmother’s Footsteps, it’s moved every time you turn to look at it. 

Aston Villa lost and regained their Double Gameweek in a matter of hours, although they now face Newcastle United instead of Everton in addition to Manchester City. But the clever fixture juggling did not extend to Leeds United and Southampton, with their upcoming midweek game postponed to accommodate Southampton’s rescheduled FA Cup tie.

During these testing times, we can expect further changes with little warning.

In a letter sent last week, Premier League chief executive Richard Masters alerted clubs that they should plan for more matches being postponed or rearranged at short notice. And a joint statement from the Premier League, FA and EFL, restated the desire to complete the season in May.

So, who knows what twists and turns await? Could we yet see Leeds vs Southampton rearranged for Gameweek 19?

Shrewsbury, already without their manager Steve Cotterill for Tuesday’s tie, may suffer more ill-effects from coronavirus (COVID-19), or, by some miracle, could the Shrews beat Southampton on Tuesday? However unlikely, Leeds and Southampton would then both have a free weekend slot.

But that might be taking ‘Fantasy’ football a step too far. Sticking with what we know, here’s Legomané’s updated fixture ticker:

‘TBA’ fixtures Possible Gameweek Slots
Aston Villa v Everton24-to-28, 30-to-34, 37
Aston Villa v Tottenham Hotspur 26, 32, 37
Burnley v Fulham24-to-28, 30-to-34, 37
Everton v Manchester City24, 26, 27, 32, 37
Fulham v Tottenham Hotspur26, 32, 37
Leeds United v Southampton24-to-28, 30-to-34, 37
Manchester City v Southampton24, 26, 27, 32, 37

Triple Gameweek Scenario

Future Double Gameweeks, and possibly Triple Gameweeks, await Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester City.

The two sides contest the EFL Cup final (coinciding with Gameweek 33), and are both still in the FA Cup and European competitions: should they progress to the latter stages, Spurs will potentially have to squeeze five matches into three available Gameweek slots, and Man City would have to fit five games into five free slots.

So no COVID-19 leeway and additional fixture shenanigans could lie ahead.

To Bench Boost or not to Bench Boost?

After the latest changes, a question facing many managers – and one tackled by our Scoutcast trio of Joe, Seb, and Karam – is now that Leeds and Southampton don’t have two matches in Gameweek 19, is it still worth using the Bench Boost?

The thing is, if you already Wildcarded in Gameweek 16, and you set up your team to Bench Boost, you need something bigger than this to back out from it. Because it’s one of the chips that if you don’t do it now, you will wait for another chance [and] you might have a lot of funds remain on your bench.

– Karam

Leeds-fan Seb added:

Ideally I want to be Bench Boosting all 15 players for double, unless someone crazy has got a great fixture, [but] often they might be more expensive, so typically you’re going to have medium to cheap assets on the bench, that’s the goal … On Leeds, so I think if you’ve been forced into this a little bit and you still want to use that Bench Boost, it’s not terrible. They’re playing Brighton at home … if you’ve got Bamford, Dallas, and Raphina on your bench maybe that is a Bench Boost – Bamford could score three!

However not all managers feel the same. Pro Pundit Az has been reduced to eight Double Gameweek players, scuppering any hopes he had for using the chip.

So, with fixture rescheduling putting any plans I had for a Bench Boost on hold, I am considering which chip I should use if any.

Instead the co-host of FPL BlackBox is contemplating using his Triple Captain. But Manchester United go to Liverpool with Bruno Fernandes (£11.3m) a booking away from a one-match ban, and Mohamed Salah (£12.5m) is out of form. Although both sides have favourable second fixtures against Fulham and Burnley respectively.

Buying Manchester City Players

The other challenge facing Az and those like Pro Pundit Darren Wiles, who used their first Wildcard late to set up a Gameweek 19 Bench Boost, is how to accommodate Manchester City players?

The Citizens didn’t feature in Darren’s original plans, given that they had just a single Gameweek before their fixture with Aston Villa was rearranged.

But they’ve since come into form with an eye-catching 3-1 win away to Chelsea, and Pep Guardiola’s side have now kept six clean sheets in their last eight matches, giving them the best defensive record in the league.

Ahead of enticing homes matches against Crystal Palace and West Brom, Jan Sienkiewicz sides with the captain poll in backing De Bruyne with the armband:

De Bruyne is a truly world class player and it should be only a matter of time before he matches his outstanding underlying statistics. With two home games against non-top-six sides, Manchester City should continue their winning run and De Bruyne is expected to be at the heart of the action.

All this leads Darren, in his latest article, to contemplate a minus 12 to bring in Kevin De Bruyne (£11.8m), Rúben Dias (£5.8m), John Stones (£5.0m) and Michail Antonio (£6.2m) for Harry Kane (£11.1m), Marcus Rashford (£9.6m), Kyle Walker-Peters (£4.8m) and Fabián Balbuena (£4.4m).

I am not rushing into any decisions but I feel multiple hits could be on the cards in order to get two or three Manchester City players in prior to the Double Gameweek and as part of my long term thinking.

– Darren

But the Live Hall of Fame No 2 remains undecided on whether to use the Bench Boost as it would include players like Che Adams (£6.0m), who is available for selection after recovering from concussion.

Tasty Transfers

In direct contrast to Darren’s multiple hit, Former FPL Champion Simon March used Marshmallows to demonstrate that patience is a virtue.

A graduate in behavioural economics, Simon referred to the Stanford Marshmallow Experiment in which children were given the choice of eating a marshmallow now or instead being given a second marshmallow in 15 minutes.

When they followed up 10 years later, the scientists found that the children who delayed gratification and waited for the second marshmallow, had scored better in their SATs, performed better in school generally and even had healthier BMIs.

Pro Pundit Simon likened this to wise FPL managers who save their chips for later in the season (traditionally the better time to play them), and the benefits of rolling a transfer.

Aside from giving you more flexibility in who you can sign, potentially shifting funds to different areas of your team, it also buys you an extra Gameweek of information and more thinking time.

Fantasy Favourite

A player both Darren and Az are tempted by is Michail Antonio. West Ham enjoy an appealing pair of fixtures in Gameweek 19, at home to Burnley and West Brom, but the question mark, as ever, is over Antonio’s fitness.

Ted Talks FPL offered some encouragement, observing that:

With Haller joining Ajax, West Ham must be confident that 1.9% owned Antonio must be back to full fitness, certainly in the short-term. He looks to be an excellent pick for Double Gameweek 19.

Pro Pundits Tom and Andy agreed, giving the Hammers striker the nod:

Michail Antonio is a bit of a favourite of mine and now he’s fit and got through 90 minutes I can’t leave him out. He’s averaging 0.47xG per 90 minutes so far this season. It’s down on 2019/20, but still excellent given his price. – Andy

I’m also backing Michail Antonio. Though he looks short of match fitness, he needs games, and as West Ham United’s only recognised striker, should see enough minutes across the two fixtures. – Tom

While Big Man Bakar, who was looking dashing in pink on the latest installment of The FPL Wire, reminded us of Antonio’s excellent early season form, despite the tricky start.

But is it too soon to take the plunge?

Team News

Frustratingly, as Colm Hayes noted in his press conference round-up, David Moyes did not provide a specific update on his injury-prone centre-forward, leaving Fantasy bosses wondering what to do.

In other news, Anthony Martial (£8.8m) and Pedro Neto (£6.0m) are doubts after suffering knocks in Gameweek 17. But both may still feature this weekend.

And Joel Matip (£5.4m) could return to Liverpool’s backline depending on how well he does in the next two training sessions.

Finally, new Fantasy Football Scout writer Jamie, ran the rule over Manchester United’s latest signing Amad Diallo and assessed the impact Robert Snodgrass (£5.7m) could make under Sam Allardyce at West Brom.

Community Competitions and Head-to-Head Fixtures

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

The January to May League, which started scoring in Gameweek 17, remains open for those who want to track their progress until the end of the season. The code to join is h62bh1. The current leader is Denville Tyrell, who has risen from 29,903rd to 5,121st in the last two Gameweeks.

For those interested in the Head-to-Head Leagues, the main page can be linked to here. The fixtures for Gameweek 19 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

5,142 Comments Post a Comment
  1. QUEN
    • 5 Years
    3 years, 2 months ago

    -4 to remove McCarthy to a dgw player like Johnstone

    Currently have Mendy and McCarthy

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

    Stones, Rashford & Son -> Creswell, Foden & Salah (C) (-8) crazy?

    Did not plan to get Foden, but looks more nailed than earlier this season, and would have to sell Stones/Dias to get him. The good thing about it is getting Creswell, and I would need a -4 anyway to bring in Salah.

    Would give me:
    Areola
    Dias - Creswell - AWB - Coufal
    Salah (C) - KDB - Bruno - Foden
    Kane - Antonio

    (Martínez, Holding, Smith Rowe, Brewster)

    1. The 12th Man
      • 10 Years
      3 years, 2 months ago

      I’d rather sacrifice Kane than Rashford for Salah. Uniteds fixtures are great.
      Bring Kane back later.

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

        True 🙂
        But then I would do Kane + Son -> Wilson & Salah. Not sure I Fancy Wilson 😀

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

    What it is my best option ? Looking to use the BB

    Areola - Mendy

    Cancelo - Dias - AWB - Coufal - Dier

    KDB - Fernandes - Son - Saka - Soucek

    Bamford - Wood - Kane

    A : Kane & Son > Antonio & Salah -4
    B : Kane & Fernandes > Werner & Salah -4
    C : Kane, Salah & Saka > Antonio, Salah & Mount -8
    D : Kane, Son, Saka, Dier > Mitrovic, Salah, Pulisic & Cresswell -12
    E : Other suggestions

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

      Likes how every option gets worse and worse down the line 😀

      A looks good to me!
      D is horrible 😀

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

        hahaha ty

  4. Netters2018
    • 5 Years
    3 years, 2 months ago

    Play Dallas or Holding...

    Safe 6 from Robbie, or risk it with Stu? I can see brighton scoring but Dallas always has a chance of getting a return..

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

      In same boat. I'm going with Dallas on off chance the dgw is back on.

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

    Anyone else considering captaining Vardy?

    1. Bubbles1985
      • 7 Years
      3 years, 2 months ago

      I would if i had him

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

      Nice. Sadly i can't get him.

    3. Whiskerz
      • 10 Years
      3 years, 2 months ago

      He's my vice at the moment, but don't think I'll move it off salah

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

    Tammy Abraham... Any Chelsea fans with insider info? He does well against London clubs.

  7. Scooby75
    • 4 Years
    3 years, 2 months ago

    A. DCL, TAA to Vardy, Cancelo
    B. DCL, Jones to Antonio, Foden
    C. DCL, SON to KDB, Bamford

    Thank you for your advice.

    1. Hansel
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 13 Years
      3 years, 2 months ago

      A

      1. Scooby75
        • 4 Years
        3 years, 2 months ago

        Thanks Hansel. Rival has Vardy.

  8. Bubbles1985
    • 7 Years
    3 years, 2 months ago

    GTG?

    Martinez
    Cancelo Ayling Coufal
    KDB(c) Bruno Son Sterling Soucek
    Wilson Antonio(vc)

    Forster KWP Brewster Mitchell

    No hits to get this squad. Have all chips available but not risking the TC this week.

    I have 2.4itb and 0ft

    Thoughts please?

    Cheers!

    1. tbos83
      • 3 Years
      3 years, 2 months ago

      Would do Sterling to Salah

      1. Bubbles1985
        • 7 Years
        3 years, 2 months ago

        Tempted with that but unsure for the -4

        1. Keep Calm and Play On
          • 8 Years
          3 years, 2 months ago

          I would

  9. scream7cfc
    • 6 Years
    3 years, 2 months ago

    Planed the bench boost team in gw 16
    now Fabianski is doubtful.
    should I take a hit to get another dgw keeper and who?

    1. Party time
        3 years, 2 months ago

        Yeah. Ederson

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

      Triple captain?

      A Salah
      B KDB

      1. Hansel
        • Fantasy Football Scout Member
        • 13 Years
        3 years, 2 months ago

        B

      2. Peter Ouch
        • Fantasy Football Scout Member
        • 5 Years
        3 years, 2 months ago

        Α

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

        Salah

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

        Cheers guys. It's too close to call. I've woke up this morning now leaning towards Salah.

    3. ‘Tis the Season
      • 5 Years
      3 years, 2 months ago

      Play Watkins or Bamford???

      1. jomikijiq
        • 8 Years
        3 years, 2 months ago

        Watkins

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

          Agree

      2. ‘Tis the Season
        • 5 Years
        3 years, 2 months ago

        I believe there is talk of a LEEDS DGW

    4. The Frenchie
      • 7 Years
      3 years, 2 months ago

      Would you bench boost?

      Meslier - Holding - Smith Rowe - Brewster

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

        No

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

        No. Definitely no if you still have your WC

        1. The Frenchie
          • 7 Years
          3 years, 2 months ago

          I use it in GW17 to avoid FH on BGW18..

      3. N00B
        • Fantasy Football Scout Member
        • 9 Years
        3 years, 2 months ago

        No

    5. Evasivo
      • 13 Years
      3 years, 2 months ago

      Good to go?

      McCarthy
      Dias Stones Zouma Coufal
      Salah(C) Soucek Grealish Bruno(vc)
      Bamford Kane

      Forster Dallas Klich DCL

    6. Vlekz
        3 years, 2 months ago

        On a FH

        A) Johnstone souchek
        B) Mendy lookman

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

          A

        2. jomikijiq
          • 8 Years
          3 years, 2 months ago

          A

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

          A for me too

        4. Vlekz
            3 years, 2 months ago

            Cheers all

        5. t4thomas
          • Fantasy Football Scout Member
          • 11 Years
          3 years, 2 months ago

          Johnstone | 4m

          Cancelo | Stones | Coufal | Mitchell | Struijk

          Salah | De Bruyne | Fernandes | Soucek | Burke

          Vardy | Bamford | Antonio

          I have 1.2m in the bank to improve this team; any suggestions? I was keeping the money for Vardy --> Kane + 0.2m, but now wondering if I should just spend it on a better bench.

        6. The 12th Man
          • 10 Years
          3 years, 2 months ago

          Transfers made. All set. Gtg?
          Bench Boosting.

          Martinez
          Cancelo,Dias,Chilwell
          Salah(c)KDB(vc)Fernandes,Grealish,Soucek
          Watkins,Antonio

          Johnstone,Coufal,Bamford,Dallas 1m itb -8.

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

            Strong

          2. Heisenberg W. W.
            • 3 Years
            3 years, 2 months ago

            Looking good

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

          KWP > Coufal -4

          Or play Konsa

          Ta

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

            Roll the dice

          2. The 12th Man
            • 10 Years
            3 years, 2 months ago

            Coufal

          3. Keep Calm and Play On
            • 8 Years
            3 years, 2 months ago

            I think Coufal would get you that -4 back this week, if you’re happy with him going forward I would do it

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

          Who would you play out of the following?

          Anguissa
          Alioski
          Raphina

          1. Keep Calm and Play On
            • 8 Years
            3 years, 2 months ago

            I like Raphina

          2. jomikijiq
            • 8 Years
            3 years, 2 months ago

            Anguissa

          3. Pompey5
            • Fantasy Football Scout Member
            • 10 Years
            3 years, 2 months ago

            Alioski

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

            Raphina

          5. The 12th Man
            • 10 Years
            3 years, 2 months ago

            Rafa

          6. wheato
            • 11 Years
            3 years, 2 months ago

            Thanks all

          7. Party time
              3 years, 2 months ago

              Raphinha

          8. Keep Calm and Play On
            • 8 Years
            3 years, 2 months ago

            Should I pull the trigger on:

            A) Grealish, Kane, Justin to KDB, António, Dias (-8)
            B) Grealish, Kane to KDB and Antonio (-4)
            C) Save FT

            Current team:
            Martinez
            Robbo-Justin-Coufal
            Salah (C)-Bruno-Son-Grealish
            Kane-Bam-Adams

            Any help appreciated...doing my head in

            1. Pompey5
              • Fantasy Football Scout Member
              • 10 Years
              3 years, 2 months ago

              Why are you dropping Grealish?

              1. The 12th Man
                • 10 Years
                3 years, 2 months ago

                Guessing he has value tied up in Son and Grealish is the only other spot to make way for KDB.

                1. Keep Calm and Play On
                  • 8 Years
                  3 years, 2 months ago

                  Yeah that’s exactly it

            2. Scooby75
              • 4 Years
              3 years, 2 months ago

              C. KDB mins may be managed

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

            Mo 3 games in a row with blanks, he is due a big haul soon. Salah > KDB for this gw, with this whole week rest. Considering the TC chip

            1. mcsteely
              • Fantasy Football Scout Member
              • 14 Years
              3 years, 2 months ago

              Could work out great. Could go badly. This is the game in a nutshell

            2. jomikijiq
              • 8 Years
              3 years, 2 months ago

              There's no correlation between 3 blanks in a row and his performance this week

          10. Pompey5
            • Fantasy Football Scout Member
            • 10 Years
            3 years, 2 months ago

            Who would you bring in for Mendy. Rest of midfield, KDB Son Grealish Bruno
            A Gundogan or
            B Soucek?

            1. mcsteely
              • Fantasy Football Scout Member
              • 14 Years
              3 years, 2 months ago

              B

          11. mcsteely
            • Fantasy Football Scout Member
            • 14 Years
            3 years, 2 months ago

            Bench one:
            Bamford
            Dier
            Targett

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

              Dier

            2. Booked4Dissent
              • Fantasy Football Scout Member
              • 3 Years
              3 years, 2 months ago

              Hard! Honestly can’t say. Maybe Bamford cos single gw. I have same predicament

            3. wheato
              • 11 Years
              3 years, 2 months ago

              Tough one. Maybe Dier

            4. Pompey5
              • Fantasy Football Scout Member
              • 10 Years
              3 years, 2 months ago

              Dier
              Bamford could easily score and Targett has a double inc Newcastle

          12. ZeBestee
            • 9 Years
            3 years, 2 months ago

            We all know Son and Kane will get more points that most DGW players but somehow want to remove them. Sit tight.

            1. French Gooner
              • Fantasy Football Scout Member
              • 11 Years
              3 years, 2 months ago

              over exceeding for weeks according to stats - I don't expect a mega haul from them this week

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

              Nah

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

              I can’t bring myself to get rid of Son.. but want KDB... Was thinking of swapping Bruno for him given his yellows... can never make my mind up!

          13. Booked4Dissent
            • Fantasy Football Scout Member
            • 3 Years
            3 years, 2 months ago

            Still can’t decide! Bench
            A) Bamford (Bri)
            B) Justin (Sou, Che)

            Good luck all

            1. mcsteely
              • Fantasy Football Scout Member
              • 14 Years
              3 years, 2 months ago

              Tough. Bamford I think

          14. French Gooner
            • Fantasy Football Scout Member
            • 11 Years
            3 years, 2 months ago

            How is she looking ?

            Martinez
            Cancelo - Stones - Coufal - Dallas
            KDB (C) - Salah (vc) - Bruno - Grealish
            Antonio - Bamford

            X 1. Adams 2. KWP 3. Burker

            Not using any chips

          15. Ci Siamo
            • 8 Years
            3 years, 2 months ago

            Which transfer do you think pays off best?

            a) Mane and Adams --> KDB and Antonio (-4)

            b) Kane, Raphinha, AdAMS --> Davis, KDB and Antonio (-8 in 352)

            Option B would mean I have a juicy midfield of Salah, Mane, KDB, Bruno AND Soucek

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

              B

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

              I don't see a massive difference between Adams and Antonio that is worth a hit.

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

                Although I gather DGW is the forefront of this decision.

                1. Ci Siamo
                  • 8 Years
                  3 years, 2 months ago

                  Yes it is indeed, I am trying to decide whether another -4 is worth it to just keep Mane this week but ditch Kane in the process

          16. OptimusBlack
            • 10 Years
            3 years, 2 months ago

            Wait to C Son or Kane for thier upcoming DGW ?

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

              TC*

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

            To improve BB which one folks?
            A. Son > Mane
            B. Holding > Zouma/Chilwell
            C. ESR > Soucek
            D. B and C (-4)

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

            A : Kane, Son, Saka, Dier
            B : Antonio, Salah, Saka, Dier -4
            C : Cavani, Son, Pulisic, Cresswell -8
            D : Vardy, son, saka, Creswell -4