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. Saka Punch
    • 5 Years
    3 years, 2 months ago

    Dallas -> Chilwell worth a -4?

    Y or N

    1. boroie
      • 5 Years
      3 years, 2 months ago

      Y

    2. Nolberto Solano
      • 12 Years
      3 years, 2 months ago

      Prefer City defender

      1. Saka Punch
        • 5 Years
        3 years, 2 months ago

        Got 2

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

      no

  2. Garfield1001
    • Fantasy Football Scout Member
    • 10 Years
    3 years, 2 months ago

    Is Lowton or Dallas the better option this week? Thanks

    1. boroie
      • 5 Years
      3 years, 2 months ago

      Dallas

    2. Nolberto Solano
      • 12 Years
      3 years, 2 months ago

      Dallas

  3. thom830g
    • 6 Years
    3 years, 2 months ago

    Bottomed - thoughts guys?

    A) Podence -> Foden for -4
    B) Dier/Justin -> Stones for -4
    C) Neither

    Not bench boosting

    Team is

    McCarthy - 4m
    Dias - Robertson - Justin - Dier - Coufal
    Salah (C) - Fernandes (VC) - Grealish - Bissouma - Podence
    Antonio - Kane - Bamford

  4. Il Capitano
    • 3 Years
    3 years, 2 months ago

    BB these guys?

    McCarthy - Adams Raphinha Lowton

    McCarthy likely to start?

    1. boroie
      • 5 Years
      3 years, 2 months ago

      Very tough one...

      McCarthy will defs start

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

    Martinez
    Konsa Mari Holding
    Salah Son Bruno Soucek
    Firmino Bamford Kane

    Steele Saka Mitchell Kilman

    Just Mari to stones

    Mari and Firmino to stones and Antonio -4

    Mari Firmino and Saka to Stones Antonio and Foden - 8?

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

      Not the -8. I’d definitely bring in Stones, Antonio is a gamble but given he has two games, if he plays 60 in both your -4 becomes a -2. Probably worth the risk.

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

      Just Mari toStones

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

    Captain the guy with:

    A) 3 Goals, 9 Assists and 2 home fixtures
    B) 11 Goals, 8 Assists and 2 home fixtures

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

      A

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

      A

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

      The one with the better fixtures and less rotation risk. Don't score points for previous games...

    4. Jam0sh
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 11 Years
      3 years, 2 months ago

      xD

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

      Interesting...

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

      Vardy

    7. FDMS All Starz
      • 8 Years
      3 years, 2 months ago

      Take into account their opponents too

  7. cianoc1999
    • Fantasy Football Scout Member
    • 4 Years
    3 years, 2 months ago

    I have no Man City cover and only three possible moves, all for a -4:
    Holding -> Cancelo
    Neto -> Foden
    Mitchell -> Stones
    I'm worried Stones won't play both games, people might prefer Cancelo for attacking potential but he only has one assist all season, what do others think?

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

      Until I see output from Cancelo i’m not bothering and happy with Dias/Stones.

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

      I mean if you’ve watched City recently you’ll realise Cancelo’s low attacking output has been a lot to do with wastefulness from other players. It will definitely come. Just hard to know when.

  8. Pep Roulette
    • 6 Years
    3 years, 2 months ago

    Play Dallas or Targett(4 YC, Covid uncertainty)?

  9. Zack Attack
    • 12 Years
    3 years, 2 months ago

    A) Kane, Adams, Son, Dias
    B) Vardy, Antonio, KDB, Stones

    Have A but do I change to B for -12?

    1. iL PiStOlErO
      • 4 Years
      3 years, 2 months ago

      No, thats too much atm.

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

      Fwiw I’ve done B but Areola instead of Vardy.
      YOLO

  10. nicholasporteous
    • 7 Years
    3 years, 2 months ago

    Noone has mentioned Foden this DGW... His form and fitness has been great, surely minutes being managed around him he can match the output of KDB over the DGW?

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

      He can do, quite easily. Will he? That’s the concern. It’s a gamble.

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

      I've got him and happy that I have.

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

      Own Soucek and don’t have the midfield spot for him
      Nor the luxury transfer given other priorities

    4. Yes Ndidi
      • 4 Years
      3 years, 2 months ago

      Good value. He'll get plenty of minutes, and is their form player at the moment. He's the only MC forward in my team
      KdB just looks shot to me.

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

        This all gives me the comfort to do a last minute knee jerk transfer for this gameweek!

  11. iL PiStOlErO
    • 4 Years
    3 years, 2 months ago

    Took my first -8 this season and now pretty happy with this squad. Just need some final help with choosing cpt - KdB or Salah?

    McCarthy
    Cancelo Justin Coufal
    Kdb Salah Bruno Soucek
    Kane Antonio Bamford

    Forster Dallas Lowton Romeu

  12. Nolberto Solano
    • 12 Years
    3 years, 2 months ago

    Bottomed:

    Which option?

    A) Lowton -> Cancelo (-4)
    B) Dallas -> Cancelo (-4)
    C) Lowton & Dallas -> Cancelo & Dias (-8)

    1. iL PiStOlErO
      • 4 Years
      3 years, 2 months ago

      A

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

      B

    3. Tango74
      • 3 Years
      3 years, 2 months ago

      Same I toying with 2 city for -8

      -8 is ouch ,first season I’ve not taken hits so far

      Let me know what u decide lol

  13. have you seen cyan
    • 4 Years
    3 years, 2 months ago

    What a horrific fixture to start the GW with, ugh
    No chance im watching that, football starts at 1500 guys

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

    Stones Vardy for Kane Taylor (-4).??

    1. iL PiStOlErO
      • 4 Years
      3 years, 2 months ago

      You mean the opposite or?

  15. aapoman
    • 10 Years
    3 years, 2 months ago

    TC Salah or KDB?

    1. iL PiStOlErO
      • 4 Years
      3 years, 2 months ago

      Neither. Save the chip and just do the C.

  16. jaywills
    • 8 Years
    3 years, 2 months ago

    A) Balbuena, Rafinha, Regulon out -> Stones, Lowton, Foden In (-8)
    B) Balbuena, Rafinha, Kane out -> Craig Dawson, KDB, Brewster In (-8)
    C) Balbuena, Son , Kane out -> Stones, KDB, Antonio In (-8)

    Cheers chaps!

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

    A TC
    B BB
    C keep chips

    Martinez
    Coufal Lowton Stones Cancelo Justin
    Kdb Salah Bruno Soucek
    Vardy

    Leno Bamford F Silva Saka

    Cheers and good luck

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

    Own your own decisions, it’s just a game

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

      This is great advice.

  19. JBG
    • 5 Years
    3 years, 2 months ago

    Kdb TC here we go!

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

      With you good luck

      1. JBG
        • 5 Years
        3 years, 2 months ago

        To you as well!

  20. Weilong7
    • 7 Years
    3 years, 2 months ago

    1) son out for salah
    2) dier out for coufal
    3) do both for -4

    mccarthy 4.0
    dier cancelo dias targett 3.8
    son bruno kdb soucek bissouma
    kane bamford brewster

    3.9 itb

    thanks.

  21. Kante Touch This
    • 6 Years
    3 years, 2 months ago

    Would you start Lookman or get Foden in for -4?
    (Klich to Foden)

  22. Andre_The_Giant
    • 4 Years
    3 years, 2 months ago

    Start 1:

    A) Dallas
    B) Rodrigo
    C) Adams

    1. iL PiStOlErO
      • 4 Years
      3 years, 2 months ago

      B

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

      Rodrigo

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

    As much as I’ve tried to convince myself Salah isn’t essential for the double, the fear of not owning him has engulfed me. Need a sanity check on this move - the only way I am willing to bring him in.

    Kane, Grealish, Lowton > Salah, Antonio, Mitchel (-8)

    Yay or nay?

    1. iL PiStOlErO
      • 4 Years
      3 years, 2 months ago

      If that helps I had this same fear about KdB so I went with Son,DCL and Meslier out for KdB, Antonio and Forster for -8.

    2. iL PiStOlErO
      • 4 Years
      3 years, 2 months ago

      And love my team now, should score good pts....

      McCarthy
      Cancelo Justin Coufal
      Kdb Salah Bruno Soucek
      Kane Antonio Bamford

      Forster Dallas Lowton Romeu

  24. Better luck next year
    • 4 Years
    3 years, 2 months ago

    Bench Saiss or Reguilon?

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

      Saiss

    2. iL PiStOlErO
      • 4 Years
      3 years, 2 months ago

      Saiss

  25. tbs91
    • 5 Years
    3 years, 2 months ago

    Thoughts on the final striker spot?

    Podence, Kane & Adams >>>
    KDB, Antonio & £5.3m

    Could potentially use a BB as I would have Dalas & Bamford on the bench

  26. Differentiator
    • 8 Years
    3 years, 2 months ago

    ARE YOU PLAYING A CHIP THIS WEEK (TC/BB)

    Reply Yes or No with which one

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

      No. Saving it

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

      BB19
      FH18

    3. Mike2795647
      • 9 Years
      3 years, 2 months ago

      No, 11 DGW’s plus son and Laca. City still have a game in hand after this week so saving triple captain for then. Wildcard and bench boost for later double game week and free hit for some random week when injuries or cancellations etc pile up.

  27. Ibra
    • 5 Years
    3 years, 2 months ago

    Bench one:

    A) Dallas
    B) Taylor

    1. iL PiStOlErO
      • 4 Years
      3 years, 2 months ago

      B

  28. pompeyben21
    • 8 Years
    3 years, 2 months ago

    Fabianski
    Zouma, Dias, Stones, Coufal,
    Fernandes, Foden, Rashford, Tielemans, Grealish
    Antonio

    Bench: Martinez, Justin, Kane, Bamford

    Should I BB or GTG?

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

      Oh yes

      1. pompeyben21
        • 8 Years
        3 years, 2 months ago

        Leaning towards BB, unsure of who to captain. Currently got Dias down although big boy Antonio is looking like a potential points fest

  29. dsefton
    • 8 Years
    3 years, 2 months ago

    does James play both games?

    1. iL PiStOlErO
      • 4 Years
      3 years, 2 months ago

      Who knows

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

      Prob not

  30. UpTheCherries
    • 5 Years
    3 years, 2 months ago

    No Salah or soucek

    Should I try and get them in for hits?

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

      Depends how many and who you’re binning

      1. UpTheCherries
        • 5 Years
        3 years, 2 months ago

        Grealish and son would be axed for -8

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

          Then yeah I think so. As long as you haven’t taken any previous hits.