Tips

The Complete Guide to Scout’s tips and advice to FPL Gameweek 21

Welcome to the Fantasy Football Scout Guide to Gameweek 21 ahead of today’s 11:00 GMT deadline.

The headlines in this edition: Everton are discussed as key players return and the fixtures improve, Chelsea’s new manager Thomas Tuchel is put under the spotlight, Manchester City continue to excel, and Raphinha (£5.4m) stars for Leeds United with Patrick Bamford (£6.7m) in a slump.

Elsewhere, Pro Pundit Tom is excited about Wilfried Zaha (£7.2m) as he looks to target an easy run for Crystal Palace and a match against Newcastle United in particular. While Az suggests taking more risks with our armband choices – but does Captain Sensible writer Jan agree?

Couldn’t score for Toffees

Dominic Calvert-Lewin (£7.6m) started the season in sensational form bagging 10 goals in the opening nine Gameweeks, but the Everton No 9 has since endured a barren spell, last scoring in Gameweek 11. 

However, with an appealing set of fixtures and key players returning, Joe asked the Scoutcast panel – can good fixtures breed good form?

For Ted the answer is an emphatic yes. The visual stats creator revealed that he has taken a minus eight to triple up on Carlo Ancelotti’s men:

What I really like about Everton is that you‘ve also got Lucas Digne as a ‘world class’ left-back, he’s just a sensational crosser of the ball, and you’ve got James Rodriguez on that other side, a perfect marriage of creativity on either flank. Dominic Calvert-Lewin just needs to get some form going, because he’s without a goal in seven matches, he’s underperforming his stats, and once he starts scoring in the league – he got one in the cup – if he starts scoring in the league I think he could really start firing with the fixtures.

In fact, Lucas Digne (£6.0m) played out-of-position on the left of midfield against Leicester City, further enhancing his prospects of attacking returns. 

Everton average positions vs Leicester City (FFS Match Data)

And with Abdoulaye Doucouré (£5.2m) returning from suspension to add thrust in midfield, could Everton be on the brink of a purple patch?

Ted is not the only one adding a Toffee to his selection with Az eyeing-up Digne and Calvert-Lewin.

Owners of Harry Kane (£11.2m) have an easy route to the Everton target man after the Tottenham Hotspur striker was ruled out by Jose Mourinho.

Bamford’s Pukki Moment

Another way to free up a slot in our forward lines is to sell Patrick Bamford, whose recent downturn in performance makes him a prime candidate for the chop. 

Joe described it as a ‘Pukki Moment’, which is defined as “a highly-owned-once-high-performing player, who you can hop-off for a player that you are assuming will be the next big thing.

Against Newcastle United, the Leeds striker managed just one attempt, an off-target header, and three penalty area touches. Instead it was left to Raphinha to write the headlines, the Brazilian now has three goals and as many assists from a season in which he only started his first match in Gameweek 10.

But questions are being asked about Bielsa’s side, who suffered recent defeats to Spurs and Brighton before the narrow win over the Magpies. 

The convenient narrative is that they are knackered, Bielsa is like this harsh taskmaster and these poor Leeds guys are all sitting in the Victorian orphanage, all like “oh I can’t move any more” – and I just don’t buy that myself because these are fit blokes.

– Joe

But how do we explain the recent performances – have they been found out?

I think these players are at the maximum level of their ability and they are, on average, Championship players.

– Seb

Speaking on the Scoutcast, Leeds fan Seb gave an insightful explanation about the problems his beloved team encountered against Newcastle, before outlining what needs to change:

The solution for us is a new left-back and a new centre-mid but until that happens if teams continue to put pressure on us in the right places, which is the midfield and not centre-back … and force us into pressing high up the field and then out-numbering us with quality one-on-one players … teams can beat us.

Not a particularly optimistic outlook.

Chelsea’s New Tuch 

However, things are decidedly more upbeat in affluent West London with the arrival of head coach Thomas Tuchel. His appointment has got Fantasy managers wondering which Chelsea players will thrive under his stewardship.

Jamie highlighted a possession style of football and a preference for a narrow 4-2-2-2 formation, as well as an impressive number of goals per game achieved at previous clubs Paris Saint-Germain and Borussia Dortmund.

It’s worth noting that Tuchel tends to use high possession as a means of defending rather than attacking. And Tom included cut-price centre-back Antonio Rüdiger (£4.5m) in his trio of differentials for Gameweek 21, the 27-year-old could prove to be a budget route into the Blues backline.

Tuchel’s teams also favour shot quality over shot quantity. Consequently they can be a little boring to watch, as the goalless draw with Wolverhampton Wanderers illustrated.

And there will be question marks over several players including Reece James (£5.1m), who may find himself marginalised under a manager whose previous teams have produced a very low number of crosses.

Instead, Kai Havertz (£8.2m) could become a key figure for Chelsea, thanks to his ability to get the ball into the penalty box from central areas. Pro Pundit Lateriser noted the German playing closer to goal in Tuchel’s first match.

Target Teams Playing Newcastle

Tom signed midfielder Wilfried Zaha ahead of Gameweek 20 and is another looking to incorporate Calvert-Lewin. 

Part of his thinking behind those moves is a good run of immediate fixtures for both sides, especially upcoming matches against Newcastle. The Aston Villa fan noted:

Towards the end of Steve Bruce’s reign at Aston Villa, they were lacking any kind of structure with the same approach in every game, and there are a lot of similarities at Newcastle now.

– Tom

Az is even considering handing Calvert-Lewin the armband for Everton’s home encounter with Newcastle. Reflecting on a failed captaincy pick, the co-host of FPL Black Box wondered if we should start taking risks:

The logic of Fernandes was completely sound of course, but there is huge potential to get ahead if you can get the captaincy call right. The captaincy allows us to roll the dice for one week and if we want to elevate our seasons to the next level, getting on the right end of some of these calls could be a great way to rise up the ranks.

However Jan is not ready to trust Calvert-Lewin with the armband just yet:

Over the last six matches, only three teams have registered fewer goal attempts than Carlo Ancelotti’s men. While Everton are expected to win this match, it is probably a step too far to trust any of their attacking assets with an armband, especially as Newcastle and Steve Bruce will be “fighting for their lives”.

Instead, the double-points maestro turns to Pep Guardiola’s troops for his preferred armband picks.

Manchester City’s impressive form continued with lkay Gündogan (£5.8m) and João Cancelo (£6.0m) thriving against West Brom as Raheem Sterling (£11.6m) posted impressive stats and Aymeric Laporte (£6.0m) put pressure on John Stones (£5.2m).

And, courtesy of G-Whizz, the clean sheet odds favour returns at both ends of the pitch, with City most likely to record a shutout (61 per cent) and Sheffield United least likely (nine per cent).

Sterling, Gündogan, and Cancelo all have their merits. But if you are struggling to decide between them, or suffering from ‘decision fatigue’, Seb has some advice:

There are too many variables to consider them all, you’ve got to make a decision that you can explain and then be happy with, and move on.

Community Competitions and Head-to-Head Fixtures

RedLightning rounded-up the latest Community mini-leagues and competitions

The FFScout Community Members mini-league remains the Best League in FPL just ahead of Andy‘s youtube channel with the open-to-all league in fifth.

In the Head-to-Head Leagues, the fixtures have been generated for the second half of the season. The main page includes links for each Gameweek, while the fixtures for Gameweek 21 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

3,029 Comments Post a Comment
  1. Buck The Trent
    • 12 Years
    3 years, 1 month ago

    Pants down

  2. Dosh
    • 10 Years
    3 years, 1 month ago

    Chickened out of Digne cap! Went Gundo in the end. :/

    1. Magic Zico
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 5 Years
      3 years, 1 month ago

      Wise

  3. FER FUSCH AKE
    • 7 Years
    3 years, 1 month ago

    I never do last minute captain swaps. Captaincy blank is less brutal that way.

  4. Jordan.
    • Fantasy Football Scout Member
    • 14 Years
    3 years, 1 month ago

    panties down

  5. Tango74
    • 3 Years
    3 years, 1 month ago

    Captain call

    I chose Gundogan in end

    Tempted DCL

    1. matiakez
      • 13 Years
      3 years, 1 month ago

      I've ended up on Mo..

    2. Dosh
      • 10 Years
      3 years, 1 month ago

      gundo

    3. Il Capitano
      • 3 Years
      3 years, 1 month ago

      Salah

    4. Scots Gooner
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 7 Years
      3 years, 1 month ago

      Gundo, DCL vice

    5. Party time
        3 years, 1 month ago

        Ings

    6. mezza
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 9 Years
      3 years, 1 month ago

      Started Bamford over Soucek, already regret it

    7. Party time
        3 years, 1 month ago

        Ings(C)

        1. Steve The Spud
          • Fantasy Football Scout Member
          • 4 Years
          3 years, 1 month ago

          No feast

          1. Party time
              3 years, 1 month ago

              Amateur

        2. melvinmbabazi
          • Fantasy Football Scout Member
          • 10 Years
          3 years, 1 month ago

          PENS DOWN

        3. Big boy Bowen
          • 7 Years
          3 years, 1 month ago

          Good luck all and pants down!

        4. Champions League Varane
          • 5 Years
          3 years, 1 month ago

          No hit taken keeping faith with my boy Soucek and Bamford

          1. Pukki Party
            • 6 Years
            3 years, 1 month ago

            Good call

        5. Tempestic
          • 5 Years
          3 years, 1 month ago

          Switched to Grealish captain...

        6. bennydebull
          • 11 Years
          3 years, 1 month ago

          Soucek (liv) or Mtichell (WOLVES)

          Please take the decision out of my hands 🙂

        7. Steve The Spud
          • Fantasy Football Scout Member
          • 4 Years
          3 years, 1 month ago

          Swapped fabianski to areola at the last second, no idea if it went through, don’t know why I do these things

          1. Hulk Smash
            • 8 Years
            3 years, 1 month ago

            None of us do, Steve, none of us do.

          2. DropkickMurphys
            • 3 Years
            3 years, 1 month ago

            Need of adrenaline

        8. ZimZalabim
          • 7 Years
          3 years, 1 month ago

          Updating..

          Best of luck everyone

          May ur arrows be green

        9. tiger
          • Fantasy Football Scout Member
          • 12 Years
          3 years, 1 month ago

          Pants on Gundogan!

        10. waltzingmatildas
          • 13 Years
          3 years, 1 month ago

          So boring, went for Salah cap.

          1. Salan
            • 14 Years
            3 years, 1 month ago

            Same here. Good luck all

        11. ⭐ Bemba_Da ⭐
          • 13 Years
          3 years, 1 month ago

          Barnes c
          Maddison vc

          1. ⭐ Bemba_Da ⭐
            • 13 Years
            3 years, 1 month ago

            and salah to mane

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

            Bemba points loading.

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

            I just got Barnes in myself, good luck

          4. thegaffer82
            • 12 Years
            3 years, 1 month ago

            Lets hope there's no Leic game Covid cancellation

            I was gunna go Gundy(c) & Cancelo (vc) but decided against just incase some freak cancellation happens

            1. Tempestic
              • 5 Years
              3 years, 1 month ago

              wise

          5. La Roja
            • 12 Years
            3 years, 1 month ago

            Nailed on for a blank

        12. Oggle22
          • 7 Years
          3 years, 1 month ago

          Went Bamford over Soucek uh oh

        13. Joey Tribbiani
          • 3 Years
          3 years, 1 month ago

          Any Sterling captainers?
          o/

          1. Champions League Varane
            • 5 Years
            3 years, 1 month ago

            o/

            Need him this week badly

          2. Weeb Kakashi
            • 8 Years
            3 years, 1 month ago

            Here.

        14. Salan
          • 14 Years
          3 years, 1 month ago

          Very interesting this week. So many different captain choices

        15. camarozz
          • Fantasy Football Scout Member
          • 9 Years
          3 years, 1 month ago

          Oh my.
          Got my annual rush of blood to the head.

          Cancelo/dcl/digne in - 8

          Capt Digne!!!

          1. grumpyman
            • Fantasy Football Scout Member
            • 8 Years
            3 years, 1 month ago

            Good luck!

          2. Big boy Bowen
            • 7 Years
            3 years, 1 month ago

            Nice moves, who came out though?

            1. camarozz
              • Fantasy Football Scout Member
              • 9 Years
              3 years, 1 month ago

              Bamford/Dallas and Holding

              1. Hulk Smash
                • 8 Years
                3 years, 1 month ago

                That looks a good -8 tbf

        16. Bubz
          • 10 Years
          3 years, 1 month ago

          People benching Soucek are nuts

          1. grumpyman
            • Fantasy Football Scout Member
            • 8 Years
            3 years, 1 month ago

            Yep. Should have transferred them out like me.

          2. Pukki Party
            • 6 Years
            3 years, 1 month ago

            This

        17. Jordan.
          • Fantasy Football Scout Member
          • 14 Years
          3 years, 1 month ago

          morning of torment ,glad its deadline,,,

          1. Steve The Spud
            • Fantasy Football Scout Member
            • 4 Years
            3 years, 1 month ago

            Me to, that was a tough one

            1. Jordan.
              • Fantasy Football Scout Member
              • 14 Years
              3 years, 1 month ago

              justin or bamford
              soucek vs robbo,trent
              capt salah,gundogan or bruno
              robbo to mitchell ,saka to son -4
              play wood or saka

              and breathe ,did nothing after 4 hours torment ,playing jj and saka

        18. Weeb Kakashi
          • 8 Years
          3 years, 1 month ago

          Chickened out of getting DCL Ings or Werner. Kept Bamford.

        19. Magic Zico
          • Fantasy Football Scout Member
          • 5 Years
          3 years, 1 month ago

          That's it! GL fellows!

        20. Pukki Party
          • 6 Years
          3 years, 1 month ago

          I'm predicting a back to basics gameweek, premiums all returning, DCL back on scoresheet and ManCity not scoring many goals.

        21. Firminooooo
          • Fantasy Football Scout Member
          • 8 Years
          3 years, 1 month ago

          Pants down, diapers on!

        22. Big boy Bowen
          • 7 Years
          3 years, 1 month ago

          Welcome back Martinez, 0.6 more than I originally got you for in GW2!

        23. Hulk Smash
          • 8 Years
          3 years, 1 month ago

          Soucek to Gundogan
          Robertson to Digne -4

          Masterstroke or disasterclass? We will see!

        24. J ⚒ Gimme ur Mané
          • Fantasy Football Scout Member
          • 9 Years
          3 years, 1 month ago

          DCL Captain ..... !

          1. thegaffer82
            • 12 Years
            3 years, 1 month ago

            He's my vice.

            No goals in 5 games put me off the armband, but I think he'll score this week

            1. tokara
              • 9 Years
              3 years, 1 month ago

              scored in FA Cup

            2. J ⚒ Gimme ur Mané
              • Fantasy Football Scout Member
              • 9 Years
              3 years, 1 month ago

              It just seems a great week to go for a different captain to the usual picks.

              Fingers crossed!