Tips

The Complete Guide to Scout’s tips and advice to Double Gameweek 24

Welcome to the Fantasy Football Scout Guide to Double Gameweek 24 ahead of today’s 11:00 GMT deadline. A small double in which only four sides – Everton, Manchester City, Burnley and Fulham – are playing twice.

Following the FA Cup results and quarter-final draw in midweek, the Fantasy landscape has shifted once more. 

We now have a better idea of how the upcoming Gameweeks will shape up and, unfortunately, those cup ties have handed us a few injury blows to contend with.

Team News

The Double Gameweek 24 announcement at the start of February thrust Dominic Calvert-Lewin (£7.7m) high up on our list of targets – he was even spoken about as a potential captaincy candidate by Hall of Fame No 1 Fábio Borges and five-time top 1,000 manager Tom Freeman.

However, such plans have since been shelved with Carlo Ancelotti confirming that his main striker is set to miss Sunday’s encounter against Fulham, along with goalkeeper Jordan Pickford (£4.8m):

Both (Calvert-Lewin and Pickford) will not be available for the game on Sunday. We are looking for the next game on Wednesday where we think both of them will be available. I think (Calvert-Lewin) stopped [playing] before the problem [developed]. He only had a sensation, a feeling that something was not good and he stopped. He has a little problem, he can play on Wednesday.

– Carlo Ancelotti

One match against Manchester City is much less appealing than a double that includes Fulham.

And there was worse news for owners of James Justin (£5.2m), the most-popular defender in FPL, with the Leicester City full-back ruled with a long-term injury:

Elsewhere, Callum Wilson (£6.7m) faces at least six weeks on the sidelines, while Michail Antonio (£6.7m) isn’t certain to be available when West Ham United host Sheffield United on Monday. Although David Moyes did say his striker is “doing well” and would “hopefully be close” to being involved against the Blades.

On a more positive note, fears that Nick Pope (£5.5m) and Rúben Dias (£6.1m) were set to miss the Double Gameweek have been allayed. Both were reported to have trained ahead of the weekend after missing out in the FA Cup. 

For a full recap on the latest press conferences, read David’s round-up and check out Neale’s Predicted Line-Ups

Fixture Fun

Neale looked at the possible implications on the fixture schedule resulting from the FA Cup. 

At the moment, just three Premier League matches are confirmed for Gameweek 29, when the quarter-final ties are due to take place:

  • Brighton and Hove Albion v Newcastle United
  • Fulham v Leeds United
  • West Ham United v Arsenal

The other seven matches from that round of fixtures will therefore have to be rescheduled – the option of moving them to midweek isn’t possible as Gameweek 29 is followed by an international break. 

The most likely destination appears to be Gameweek 26, which would make it the biggest Double Gameweek of the season. But with four other matches also needing to be rearranged, a fair amount of juggling is expected. 

Legomané updated his ticker, which includes non-Premier League matches.

(click on image above to enlarge)

As Neale explained in his article, there’s a balancing act for Fantasy managers when it comes to planning for Blank Gameweek 29 as the six teams with a confirmed fixture are unlikely to play twice in Gameweek 26.

Managers with their second Wildcard and Free Hits chips still at their disposal will be at an advantage. But if you are trying to navigate the fixtures without them, all is not lost.

Every FPL boss will receive three free transfers between the Blank and Double Gameweeks and, combined with a judicious use of bench players, this should help us field a respectable side.

And the FPL Gods may spring a surprise with additional fixtures in Gameweek 29, a possibility for teams already knocked out of the FA Cup.

Pro Pundit Plans

Tom, who has a full set of chips to choose from, is considering the following strategy:

  • Gameweek 25 – Wildcard
  • Gameweek 26 – Bench Boost
  • Gameweek 29 – Free Hit

The only downside, he noted, is that because Gameweek 25 is a Double for Leeds and Southampton, his Gameweek 26 Bench Boost would include players who play once. Not ideal.

The alternative he is considering is to use his Bench Boost now, followed by a Wildcard in Gameweek 26. Although with the injury to Calvert-Lewin, he might be reconsidering. 

Az was having similar thoughts before the news of Calvert-Lewin’s injury. Faced with a benching dilemma between West Ham duo Tomas Soucek (£5.4m) and Vladimir Coufal (£4.7m), who enjoy a home game against Sheffield United, playing his Bench Boost now seemed a good solution.

But speaking on the latest episode of FPL Black Box, Az mentioned the possibility of switching Calvert-Lewin to Richarlison (£7.9m) and saving his Bench Boost.

Although fellow Pro Pundit Seb isn’t convinced: “Richarlison doesn’t particularly interest me, I wouldn’t have considered him before DCL was out, the latter’s absence doesn’t change that.

Instead, he’s potentially joining Pro Pundit Lateriser in moving to Danny Ings (£8.4m) as his Calvert-Lewin replacement. 

When Seb shared his thoughts 12 hours before the deadline, the Saints striker had found a place in his XV. Although with his Wildcard active, that is subject to change:

I’m not sold on Ings but the Calvert-Lewin injury has forced a front-line rethink. He is the best suited to my plans due to his upcoming doubles and ability to be converted easily to a number of other strikers in due course. He has missed a lot of big chances recently (four in two matches), which can be read in two ways: he’s been poor or he’s been unlucky. My reading will probably be decided by if I pick him or not!

– Seb

Lateriser was slightly more upbeat:

It might even be a good idea to jump on Danny Ings, who has a decent looking fixture against Wolves in Gameweek 24 before his Double Gameweek in 25 … I particularly mention Ings here because, to me, he looked really sharp against Newcastle and got a lot of shots off which hasn’t been the case with him normally.

Seb’s Wildcard

This week’s Scoutcast used Seb’s Wildcard plans to structure debate around a number of key talking points ahead of Gameweek 24. But, given that it was recorded before Everton’s thrilling 5-4 win over Tottenham Hotspur in the FA Cup, it included the now stricken Calvert-Lewin.

To bring us up-to-date, Seb has kindly revealed his revamped Wildcard squad as it stood on the eve of the new Gameweek:

The eagle-eyed amongst you will have noticed that nothing has changed, aside from the introduction of Ings for Calvert-Lewin.

As Joe was quick to observe last Tuesday, Seb has answered the “Which Man City trio?” question by doubling-up in attack.

The Raheem Sterling pick allows Kevin De Bruyne back in the future with ease. Or a simpler return to Mohamed Salah (whose absence does concern me; we’re all casting him off very easily, especially with Fulham in Gameweek 27). I’ll miss the extra City defender, but there are plenty of other options in that department over the coming weeks.

– Seb

It’s a move that was first mooted on site by Camzy ahead of Gameweek 23 – and which proved to be correct with Ilkay Gündogan (£6.0m) and Raheem Sterling (£11.6m) combining for 21 points against Liverpool. And last week’s Scoutcast also promoted the England international as an option for our midfields.

This week, David and Jan have put their weight behind the switch to double attack.

Part of their reasoning has to do with how poor Man City’s upcoming opponents, Spurs and Everton, have been of late. Especially at the back. Over the last four Premier League matches they feature among the worst defences in terms of expected goals conceded (xGC):

On balance, it looks as if Spurs and Everton are both much more likely to concede, maybe even heavily, against Manchester City – than struggle to ask questions of their own going forward.

– David

Gündogan and Sterling top the expected goal involvement (xGI) for Pep Guardiola’s troops in the last six matches. And Sterling’s position on the left of Man City’s attack could be crucial given a weakness down the right flank for both Everton and Spurs.

Over the last six matches, only Southampton (27) have given up more chances down their right-hand side than Jose Mourinho’s men (25). Everton have conceded 22 chances there, the seven-worst in the Premier League, and more than they have given up through the middle or the left.

– Jan

This vulnerability sees Sterling favoured narrowly ahead of his team-mate in Jan’s Captain Sensible article. 

Community Competitions and Head-to-Head Fixtures

You can now enter the Fantasy Football Scout Cup competitions, qualifying will get underway in Gameweek 25.

A total of £300 in prizes is available across the two tournaments, entry is free for the open-to-all Fantasy Football Scout Cup but only Premium Members may sign up for the Members Cup.

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

For those participating in the Head-to-Head Leagues, the main page can be linked to here. There’s been a small tweak this week by Mat (aka matzi11a) to the fixtures and results displayed on that page.

From now on, the main page automatically shows the current Gameweek rather than requiring a manual intervention each time. The final scores will therefore be available quicker at the end of the Gameweek.

The fixtures for Gameweek 24 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

3,176 Comments Post a Comment
  1. Snapes on a Plane
    • 9 Years
    3 years, 1 month ago

    Pick one to play
    A) Soucek(shu)
    B) Coufal (shu)
    C) DCL

    1. Digital-Real
      • 7 Years
      3 years, 1 month ago

      A

  2. Von Lipwig
    • Fantasy Football Scout Member
    • 5 Years
    3 years, 1 month ago

    Will Son and Kane rise by more than 0.1 combined before I can transfer them in right after GW25 starts?

    1. Ross Geller
      • 14 Years
      3 years, 1 month ago

      No. People are selling Son atm and they’ll probably blank vs City so they won’t be popular

      1. Von Lipwig
        • Fantasy Football Scout Member
        • 5 Years
        3 years, 1 month ago

        cheers

  3. Mr. Mystic
    • 13 Years
    3 years, 1 month ago

    Play (a) Son or (b) Coufal?

    1. Digital-Real
      • 7 Years
      3 years, 1 month ago

      a

  4. Pukki Blinders
    • 4 Years
    3 years, 1 month ago

    Play Son or Dallas?

    1. Pat Bonner
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 12 Years
      3 years, 1 month ago

      Son

  5. YuvalFPL
    • 13 Years
    3 years, 1 month ago

    Pick two strikers for my WC to join Bamford for this week please:

    A) Richarlison
    B) Ings
    C) Watkins
    D) Cavani

    Will have Grealish.

    1. Pat Bonner
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 12 Years
      3 years, 1 month ago

      B and C

    2. zdrojo187
      • 9 Years
      3 years, 1 month ago

      AC

    3. FplGlory
      • 3 Years
      3 years, 1 month ago

      B and C. Southampton have a double or possible triple coming up.

  6. Jdpz
    • 4 Years
    3 years, 1 month ago

    Pope
    Cancelo | Coufal | Mee
    Bruno | Salah | Sterling | Gundogan | Raphinha
    Antonio* | DCL*

    [Johnstone Alioski Bamford Justin*]

    2 ft., 1.3m in the bank

    a) DCL to Cavani/maybe Richarlison
    b) another option

    1. FPL_Crisis
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 13 Years
      3 years, 1 month ago

      I did DCL to Cavani

  7. JohannaAdams10
    • 5 Years
    3 years, 1 month ago

    Would you do DCL to Mee for a minus 4 hit?

    1. RamaJama
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 11 Years
      3 years, 1 month ago

      No

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

      Yes

  8. Jimmy Boy
    • 7 Years
    3 years, 1 month ago

    Seems a strange question but should I start Neto over Son?

    1. Digital-Real
      • 7 Years
      3 years, 1 month ago

      no

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

      No though i dont think itll happen Son has a tendency to score big against City. He's ceiling is just too high to leave him out
      https://twitter.com/Fpl_glory

  9. Mornar Bar
    • 3 Years
    3 years, 1 month ago

    Would you play BB here?
    Pope
    Cancelo Mee Dias
    Salah Grealish Gundo (c) Bruno
    Bamford Antonio Watkins
    Bench: Martinez Dallas Coufal Saka

    1. CRO KLOPP
      • 6 Years
      3 years, 1 month ago

      Yes

  10. Plagued by indecision
    • 13 Years
    3 years, 1 month ago

    If you could get 11 doublers for 26, incl Kane, Bruno, 3x City, Grealish, Salah for -4 would you keep your chips for later? WC, FH, BB, TC all intact. May use TC on Kane in 26.

    1. Holmes
      • 10 Years
      3 years, 1 month ago

      maybe use TC. too many chips can cause headache in later stage, especially BB.

      1. Plagued by indecision
        • 13 Years
        3 years, 1 month ago

        Thanks. GW26 team would involve leaving Saka, Bamford and Dallas on the bench. 4.0 GK makes me reluctant to use BB then, though this is a necessary enabler to get Kane.

        1. FplGlory
          • 3 Years
          3 years, 1 month ago

          In that scenario i feel like a BB is justified. Target the upside in points.

  11. Jam0sh
    • Fantasy Football Scout Member
    • 11 Years
    3 years, 1 month ago

    Hello guys. Any ideas what to do here with 2 FT's?

    Pope
    Cancelo, Dias, Digne
    Fernanders, Salah, Gündogan, Grealish, Son
    DCL, Watkins

    Subs: Meslier --- Bamford, Dallas, Bernardo --- 2 FT, 0.1 ITB

    1. teknicolourfox
      • 10 Years
      3 years, 1 month ago

      Great team, sometimes hard to leave alone with FT...

      Don’t like grealish myself so I’d out him

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

      DCL isnt in for the double this week but will still get some game time. You could move to someone like Antonio to free up some money and then switch Bernardo to someone with a double gameweek coming up
      https://twitter.com/Fpl_glory

  12. Jealous Viper
    • 5 Years
    3 years, 1 month ago

    Start 2
    A. Chillwel
    B. Creswell
    C. Soucek
    D. Bamford

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

      B D

  13. HollywoodXI
    • 9 Years
    3 years, 1 month ago

    TC Sterling?

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

      Yep

    2. D.Glynn
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 4 Years
      3 years, 1 month ago

      Considering it

    3. Saka_me_sideways
      • 3 Years
      3 years, 1 month ago

      No, there will be better doubles imo.

  14. YEAH PITCH!
    • 5 Years
    3 years, 1 month ago

    Anyone brought G.Jesus in?

  15. Bury94
    • Fantasy Football Scout Member
    • 6 Years
    3 years, 1 month ago

    People WC'ing in GW25 - are you waiting for fixture confirmation before activating it or doing it today to catch price changes?

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

      Probably just activate it.

    2. Ross Geller
      • 14 Years
      3 years, 1 month ago

      Just activate right after deadline

  16. Ross Geller
    • 14 Years
    3 years, 1 month ago

    Help would be appreciated! 🙂
    A) Cancelo, Son, Gundogan(c) (bench DCL)
    B) Cancelo, Gundogan(c), Richarlison -4 (Son bench)
    C) Mee/Tark, Gundogan, Sterling(c) -8 (bench DCL, sell Son)

    WC next week so looking for one week punt(s)

  17. Digital-Real
    • 7 Years
    3 years, 1 month ago

    Bench one, first to three wins:
    a) Grealish (bri)
    b) Coufal (SHU)

    1. Saka_me_sideways
      • 3 Years
      3 years, 1 month ago

      B, attackers over defenders

      1. Digital-Real
        • 7 Years
        3 years, 1 month ago

        bench attacker?

    2. Gizzachance
      • 9 Years
      3 years, 1 month ago

      B

    3. Balls of Steel
      • 8 Years
      3 years, 1 month ago

      Coufal

  18. OverTinker
    • 5 Years
    3 years, 1 month ago

    Bench one
    1.Grealish
    2. Coufal
    3. AWB
    4. Bamford

    1. Digital-Real
      • 7 Years
      3 years, 1 month ago

      same as me, definitely play 3 and 4

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

        so its between 1 and 2 but which one

    2. Gizzachance
      • 9 Years
      3 years, 1 month ago

      2

  19. Saka_me_sideways
    • 3 Years
    3 years, 1 month ago

    Play one of:

    A) Cresswell (SHU)
    B) Maguire (wba)?

    ?

    1. Holmes
      • 10 Years
      3 years, 1 month ago

      B

  20. ILOVEBAPS
    • 11 Years
    3 years, 1 month ago

    Is Chillwell gonna play?

    Best free transfer... ?
    A. Salah > Sterling (C)
    B. Chillwell > Shaw

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

      A

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

    Bench 2:

    A) Soucek - SHU(H)
    B) Coufal - SHU(H)
    C) Chilwell - NEW(H)
    D) Dallas - ARS(A)

  22. ⭐ ABHISHEK - THE CURIOUS …
    • 13 Years
    3 years, 1 month ago

    Do Everton have DGW 26 ?

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

      I believe so

    1. winchester
      • 3 Years
      3 years, 1 month ago

      and there goes all the planning

    2. BERGKOP
      • 12 Years
      3 years, 1 month ago

      Ban 😉

  23. CRO KLOPP
    • 6 Years
    3 years, 1 month ago

    GTG? Bench boost activated 0FT

    Fabianski
    Dias Stones Maguire Mee
    Salah Bruno Gundo(c) Lookman
    Cavani Antonio
    Martinez Bamford Son Coufal

  24. as33
    • 8 Years
    3 years, 1 month ago

    Any1 TC Sterling?

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

      I have such a poor record on TC City players that I will never do it again.

    2. BERGKOP
      • 12 Years
      3 years, 1 month ago

      No. I think C is enough on Sterling this week.

    3. D.Glynn
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 4 Years
      3 years, 1 month ago

      Strongly considering it but I've a terrible record with TC

  25. ExpressoMySonny
    • Fantasy Football Scout Member
    • 3 Years
    3 years, 1 month ago

    Planning on WC next week only planning on making a -4 hit to get three city asset currently have Dias and Cancelo
    A) Salah and DCL to Sterling (c) and Cavani
    B) Souceck and DCL to Gundo (c) and Che adams
    C) son and DCL to Sterling and Brewster

    1. teknicolourfox
      • 10 Years
      3 years, 1 month ago

      A all day

  26. winchester
    • 3 Years
    3 years, 1 month ago

    Good day lads! have 1 ft and 2.3m itb. wc bb tc available.
    GTG? correct bench? cheers..

    pope
    dias cancelo coufal taylor
    bruno salah gundo soucek
    antonio bamford

    martinez son adams dallas

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

      Play Son over Taylor

      1. winchester
        • 3 Years
        3 years, 1 month ago

        Taylor touch&go? could play both games? or is he confirmed out? cheers. yeah dallas or son then over taylor..

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

          Don't think he'll play both. Maybe just the second one. But I'd definitely play Son over him.

  27. Tinchy770
    • Fantasy Football Scout Member
    • 8 Years
    3 years, 1 month ago

    Is De Gea to Areola worth a 4 point hit?

    1. Ross Geller
      • 14 Years
      3 years, 1 month ago

      No

      1. Tinchy770
        • Fantasy Football Scout Member
        • 8 Years
        3 years, 1 month ago

        Fair enough

  28. Arteta
    • 8 Years
    3 years, 1 month ago

    How confident are we that Antonio starts against SHU? Might just play Saka who is fit and ready to go.

    1. Holmes
      • 10 Years
      3 years, 1 month ago

      would play Saka

    2. FPL_Crisis
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 13 Years
      3 years, 1 month ago

      Enough to think he either starts or doesn’t play at all (that’s the hope)

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

      They say 50-50, but probably starts...

  29. Arteta
    • 8 Years
    3 years, 1 month ago

    No. The only GK worth a hit this GW is Pope in my opinion.

    1. Arteta
      • 8 Years
      3 years, 1 month ago

      Reply fail to question above ➡