Tips

The Complete Guide to Scout’s tips and advice for Double Gameweek 26

Strap yourselves in for the biggest Double Gameweek 26 of the season, with 17 matches and 14 teams playing twice. The next six days promise to be another rollercoaster ride of unrelenting (Fantasy) Premier League action.

With potentially season-defining decisions to be made ahead of today’s 11:00 GMT deadline, the feeling among the Fantasy Community is that we are spoilt for choice.

The roll call of potential armband candidates ranges from the reassuringly expensive to enticing differentials. And for those with a selection of chips at their disposal the choice is made even trickier.

A Double Gameweek is the perfect time to deploy one of our four power-ups with the points ceiling raised for Bench Boost, Triple Captain, Free Hit and Wildcard thanks to the extra fixtures.

Indecision is final.

– Alan Hansen

Famous words from the king of pundits and decorated centre-half Alan Hansen. Although, strangely, the former Liverpool captain wasn’t referring to his Fantasy football team. Given the furore surrounding Aston Villa and their players this week you could be forgiven for thinking otherwise.

But we’re not about to hesitate at the crucial moment when it comes to FPL decision-making. And you can’t fault the effort, attitude and commitment of our very own pundits and experts. 

Divisive Kane

The captain poll favourite heading into the bumper round of fixtures is Harry Kane (£11.1m). A vote that left David and Joe somewhat perplexed. Never ones to dilly-dally when presented with an opportunity, the pair aren’t convinced of Kane’s credentials, despite the support among Community members.

The fixtures on paper do look nice but both Burnley and Fulham are very capable these days of chucking everyone behind the ball knowing full well that Spurs are having problems breaking people down … Both of these teams will take a point against Spurs, so they’re not going to overstretch themselves to go and win the game.

Over the last four matches, Burnley have the third-best expected goals conceded in the league, 3.18, the only two teams better than that are Chelsea and Man City. Fulham are in the top five, 3.23 goals they should have conceded, and they’ve only actually conceded the one goal. Their defence is doing much better as well and they’ve both got fantastic goalkeepers too … These are teams that can frustrate Spurs.

– David, Captaincy Video

Alan Hansen once said that for Tottenham to be a successful side they will need to get away from the philosophy of ‘pretty football’. Well, with Jose Mourinho in charge they’ve arguably done just that. Except without the success.

But what does Alan Hansen know about Fantasy football? We need a real expert, a man with three top 10,000 finishes and a best-ever rank of 817. Step forward Az

According to the FPL Black Box co-host, Harry Kane is the best captaincy pick. The handsome and dashing Az backs up his opinion with some impressive stats: citing Twitter user FPL_Swede he pointed out that in 10 games against the bottom eight teams, Kane has delivered an attacking return in every one, averaging 9.2 points a match. 

And the trio of wise Pro Pundits appearing on the latest episode of the FPL Wire, Zophar, Lateriser and Tom Freeman, all have the armband placed on the top-points-scoring forward in FPL this season. 

More heavyweight backing for the Spurs striker came from FFScout founder Mark Sutherns. Perhaps not that much of a surprise given that “Mark loves Kane”, to quote AZ, but Mark was worried he was being blinded by his own bias.

The best person to help us understand the flaws in our thinking is Pro Pundit and behavioural economics graduate, Simon March.

Expected Yakult

Stats are probiotics for gut feelings, reasoned the former FPL winner is his latest offering. 

Instinct may help you see opportunities that other managers don’t, or avoid the traps that others will fall into, but it may also create such traps if followed without sufficient interrogation. This is why it is important to sense-check decisions with some form of objective data or a second-opinion.

– Simon March

Jan Sienkiewicz noted in his Captain Sensible article that the form stats don’t favour Kane and co:

Both [Kane’s] and Spurs’ attacking statistics have been somewhat underwhelming in recent weeks. Only Crystal Palace have recorded fewer shots inside the box than Jose Mourinho’s team in their last six matches.

– Jan Sienkiewicz

So was Mark able to find a healthy dollop of Bifidobacterium Statisticalus to support his gut instinct?

The expected data is a problem, but with expected data, you’ve got to bear this in mind – that Kane and Son are just complete outliers … Son and Kane are the top two players in the Premier League [for xG Delta], they have exceeded their expected data by the biggest margins for goal involvement … they don’t need a lot of good quality chances to score goals.

– Mark Sutherns.

So convinced is Mark that he’s using his Triple Captain chip on Harry Kane.

But, as ever, other options are available. 

Mohamed Salah (£12.6m), a player who’s perhaps been slightly overlooked by the masses, is Jan’s top pick. The leading goalscorer in the Premier League with 15 goals, Salah boasts impressive underlying stats: second only to team-mate Sadio Mané (£11.8m) for shots in the penalty box over the last six matches.

In the first of their two fixtures Liverpool take on a Sheffield United side down to the bare bones in defence. Their three first-choice centre-backs that helped them reach dizzying heights last season, John Egan (£4.7m), Jack O’Connell (£4.7m) and Chris Basham (£4.6m), are all ruled out for Chris Wilder.

But it’s their second fixture against Chelsea that, along with Liverpool’s poor form, is putting many off the Egyptian. However, Jan did unearth some encouraging news for Salah captainers:

Klopp holds an impressive head-to-head record against Thomas Tuchel. Out of the 14 meetings between the Germans, Klopp came out victorious on nine occasions. Additionally, those matches have produced as many as 43 goals, which makes it over three goals per game on average.

– Jan Sienkiewicz

Meanwhile, city rivals Everton are top of the fixture ticker when looking at Gameweek 26 in isolation: the Toffees host Southampton before a midweek trip to West Brom. Dominic Calvert-Lewin (£7.7m) therefore comes into contention.

And once again the stats make impressive reading. The forward has been particularly threatening on the road in recent times, accumulating 4.32 xG in his last six away matches – more than any other forward in the Premier League.

But the list of armband contenders goes on. Let’s not forget the Manchester teams with the in-form Bruno Fernandes (£11.6m), İlkay Gündoğan (£6.2m), Raheem Sterling (£11.6m), and the returning Kevin De Bruyne (£11.8m).

If only we could fit them all in.

It’s Mo Sacrifice

Karam, Tom, and Zophar are all using their Wildcards and face several tricky selection dilemmas. 

On the Scoutcast Karam was given a hard time by Joe and David over his omission of Mohamed Salah.

Joe argued that it was easier to run from Salah than it was to run to him, explaining that because of Salah’s lofty price tag, downgrading to the likes of Son or De Bruyne is easy, whereas upgrading would be harder without sufficient funds in the reserve.

However, Tom Freeman is also sacrificing the most expensive FPL asset in order to benefit from a more balanced squad. A particular concern for Tom given that he plans to Bench Boost in Gameweek 27. 

One intriguing pick in his side is Jesse Lingard (£5.9m). West Ham take on Leeds United next Gameweek and Tom feels the direct running of the on-loan Manchester United midfielder could trouble Marcelo Biesla’s side. 

Ricardo Pereira (£5.9m) is another differential to catch the eye, featuring in both Tom’s and Karam’s Wildcard XV’s. 

Karam is going all-in on Leicester City – tripling up with Harvey Barnes (£6.9m) and Jamie Vardy (£10.2m) coming in alongside Pereira. He’s even trusting the evergreen Englishman with the armband.

Manchester City-fan Karam has decided to abandon his conservative approach and take a few calculated risks in the hope of surging up the ranks. Encouragingly, the Foxes are on a par with Man City when it comes to shots on target (21) over the last four Gameweeks. 

Another forward to consider is Mbaye Diagne (£6.0m). The Senegalese has been on the end of five big chances in his four and a half games since joining West Brom, and is included in the Scout Picks, Tom’s Wildcard team, and was talked up by Lateriser.

Interestingly, all three Wildcarders still have their Free Hit chip available but none have committed to using it in Blank Gameweek 29.

When planning ahead in his usual meticulous fashion, Zophar identified Gameweek 33 as a better round for the Free Hit. The League Cup Final takes place between Spurs and Man City, meaning they will blank along with their scheduled opponents Southampton and Fulham.

The six-time top 5,000 manager sees greater potential for a big score compared to the four-match Gameweek 29.

Finally, Neale frisked the upcoming fixtures. The Team News compiler included a look at Gameweek 30 and beyond for those considering “dead-ending” their squads in Gameweek 29 and Wildcarding straight after.

Community Competitions and Head-to-Head Fixtures

This is the last chance for Premium Members to enter the FFS Members Cup with qualifying for the first round taking place in Gameweek 26. Click here for details on how to enter.

The draw for the first round of the Fantasy Football Scout Cup has thrown up a real ‘David vs Goliath’ clash with the highest-ranked team, The Fighting Cock (273rd overall), taking on the lowest-ranked manager in the competition, Ahmed Eid, who is not far off the five-million mark.

A total of £300 in prizes is available across the two tournaments.

Elsewhere, RedLightning rounded-up the rest of the Community mini-leagues and competitions. And the Head-to-Head fixtures for Gameweek 26 can be found below. 

The scores and tables update each night on the Head-to-Head Leagues main page, so you can keep track of the action as the Gameweek unfolds. 

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

3,547 Comments Post a Comment
  1. Razmataz
    • 13 Years
    3 years, 1 month ago

    Any thoughts on KDB game time?

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

      Should start at least 1 after his full rest midweek

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

      I'm going for KDB captain. Could be madness...could be genius

    3. JJO
      • 11 Years
      3 years, 1 month ago

      Shoul start both of those
      80+70 i would say

  2. Thunder Warrior
    • 9 Years
    3 years, 1 month ago

    TAA and Bamford to Digne and DCL for -8??

    1. Bubbles1985
      • 7 Years
      3 years, 1 month ago

      Yes.

    2. KEN YA DIG IT
      • 6 Years
      3 years, 1 month ago

      Just TAA

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

        This

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

    On BB, 2FT, 1.9 ITB

    Pope. McCarthy
    Dallas. Dias. Stones. Lowton. Coufal
    Salah. Bruno. Rash. Gundo. Raphinha
    Bamford. DCL. Antonio

    A) Coufal, Antonio > Digne, Watkins
    B) Coufal, Rash, Antonio > Digne, Lookman, Kane (-4)

    1. Bubbles1985
      • 7 Years
      3 years, 1 month ago

      A

    2. Kuzser
      • 6 Years
      3 years, 1 month ago

      A

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

      A

    4. Saosin
      • 10 Years
      3 years, 1 month ago

      A

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

    Guys, have 2 questions for my WC. Appreciate your opinions.
    1) Shaw or Pereira?
    Have 2 city defs and leaning towards Pereira as a more fun pick + immediate fixtures are really nice: ARS, bur; bha; SHU. Shaw has che, cry; city; whu

    2) Burn or White from Brighton?
    Leaning towards Burn is more attacking and March is out for this season, but is he 100%nailed considering Lamptey is coming back? In case Potter plays. Veltman and Lamptey, and drops Burn.

    Current WC team with 1.3itb
    Martinez (Fabri)
    Stones Cancelo Pereira (White, Strujik)
    Salah Gundo Bruno Son Barnes
    Dcl Kane (Brewster)

    1. tom_p77
      • 3 Years
      3 years, 1 month ago

      1) I like the Pereira shout as a nice differential (as long as you don’t need the £ for another move)

      2) I wouldn’t expect many attacking returns from a Brighton defending so I would always just go for the more nailed minutes

  5. R.C
    • 6 Years
    3 years, 1 month ago

    City attacker (C)

    Yes or no?

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

      Who?

    2. KEN YA DIG IT
      • 6 Years
      3 years, 1 month ago

      Kdb

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

      Yes for the one you believe will start both games

    4. Saosin
      • 10 Years
      3 years, 1 month ago

      No

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

    Creswell to pereira for a hit?

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

      Yep

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

      Who’s on the bench?

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

        It’s bench boost mate

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

          Ok go for it then

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

    Who would you captain?

    A. Bruno
    B. Salah
    C. Son
    D. DCL

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

      D

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

      I'm on DCL and Son vc

    3. Bubbles1985
      • 7 Years
      3 years, 1 month ago

      Spurs just don't look like they will blow anyone away. Jose is happy with 1-0

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

        I agree but Aurier is back and Bale should start, hopefully we go on the front foot a bit more

    4. KEN YA DIG IT
      • 6 Years
      3 years, 1 month ago

      A

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

      currently Bruno c, DCL vc

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

      Bruno

    7. Saosin
      • 10 Years
      3 years, 1 month ago

      D or A

  8. Razmataz
    • 13 Years
    3 years, 1 month ago

    I hear KdB is fully fit. Does this mean we can expect 180mins from him? Interested to hear thoughts on this.

    1. R.C
      • 6 Years
      3 years, 1 month ago

      Only Pep knows

    2. The Suspended One
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 10 Years
      3 years, 1 month ago

      No way

    3. Bubbles1985
      • 7 Years
      3 years, 1 month ago

      Yes imo.

    4. Saosin
      • 10 Years
      3 years, 1 month ago

      Prob not 180 min. I think 120+. Who knows.

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

    Grealish to Barnes and have no Spurs player and spare a FT? That's what I'm about to do

    The team:
    2ft - 0.0 itb

    Martinez
    Shaw, Dias, Mee, Coufal, Dallas
    Grealish, Salah, Bruno, sterling, Gundogan
    Watkins, Antonio, Bamford

    1. Konstaapeli
      • 7 Years
      3 years, 1 month ago

      Good transfer.

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

      I would Antonio -> Diagne. Best of luck

  10. john25
    • Fantasy Football Scout Member
    • 11 Years
    3 years, 1 month ago

    Repost.

    Hey guys, do you think Mitchell will start both games this week against FUL and MUN? Or most likely one game?

    Cheers

  11. Notorjus
    • 5 Years
    3 years, 1 month ago

    A or B?

    A) Reguilon for free
    B) Digne -4? (downgrads johnstone to non playing GK)

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

      A

    2. Straobalno
      • 5 Years
      3 years, 1 month ago

      A

  12. Sarri-ball
    • 14 Years
    3 years, 1 month ago

    With gw26/27/28/29 in mind

    Dcl or banford +8

    1. Sarri-ball
      • 14 Years
      3 years, 1 month ago

      Scared not owning dcl but would need a -8 to get in

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

      Both!

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

    Are any of the Tottenham defenders free of rotation risk?

    1. Konstaapeli
      • 7 Years
      3 years, 1 month ago

      Don't go there.

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

      Not really no, Dier maybe but don’t expect any attacking returns

      1. Konstaapeli
        • 7 Years
        3 years, 1 month ago

        Or clean sheets...

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

          True lol

    3. Van der Faart
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 12 Years
      3 years, 1 month ago

      The CBs. Aurier is back so id suggest he'll be most nailed.

  14. Pukkipartyy
    • 5 Years
    3 years, 1 month ago

    Is there been more rumors of Watkins injury? Have to make the moves now...safe to bring him in?

    1. Konstaapeli
      • 7 Years
      3 years, 1 month ago

      Don't buy, don't sell for me. Villa are tight bunch with injury news.

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

        Do u have any links to these rumors? Cant find any atm.

        1. Konstaapeli
          • 7 Years
          3 years, 1 month ago

          Nope. Only heard the chatter in here. But it feels a bit similar to Grealish stuff last week that turned out to be true.

  15. AWOL-Ekotto
    • 12 Years
    3 years, 1 month ago

    Is it madness taking hits transferring out DGW players?
    I have 10 DGW players + Bamford as is, but really want Barnes and Digne.

    A) Rashford to Barnes -4
    B Rashford + Mee to Barnes + Digne -8
    ?

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

      Rash is a solid player to have this DGW. Wouldn't touch him now.

  16. estheblessed
    • 9 Years
    3 years, 1 month ago

    lve Hit the save button and that's it now BB;

    Martinez*
    Shaw*, Cancelo*, Stones*
    Bruno*, Son*, Gundo*, Salah*, Barnes*
    DCL*(c), Watkins*

    Pope*, Bamford, Dier*, Konsa*

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

    Play one:
    A. Bamford (AVL)
    B. Mee (tot LEI)
    C. Robinson (cry TOT)
    D. Dallas (AVL)

  18. Aaa
    • 9 Years
    3 years, 1 month ago

    GTG???

    Martinez/Johnstone
    Cancelo/Digne/Lowton/Targett/Dallas
    Salah/Bruno/Barnes/Gundo/Raph
    Kane(c)/DCL/Bamford

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

      Playing BB

  19. Mike82
    • 6 Years
    3 years, 1 month ago

    A

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

    On a WC , pick and start which combo, with the 3rd player in place in the squad?

    A. Digne + Watkins, (Targett)
    B. Pereira and Watkins, (Keane)
    C. Pereira and Digne (Welbeck/Maja)

    Cheers all!

  21. Razmataz
    • 13 Years
    3 years, 1 month ago

    KDB poll - How many minutes will he get this gameweek?

    A) less than 120 minutes
    B) 120-150 minutes
    C) 150-170 minutes
    D 170-180 minutes

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

      A

  22. KEN YA DIG IT
    • 6 Years
    3 years, 1 month ago

    madness to do Mee Coufal Antonio to Dier Aina Vardy?

    1. KEN YA DIG IT
      • 6 Years
      3 years, 1 month ago

      for a -8 btw

  23. HanS14
    • 5 Years
    3 years, 1 month ago

    Who will score most this dgw

    Cancelo or digne?

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

      Must be digne. Cancelo will play only one game

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

        You can't possibly know this

    2. KEN YA DIG IT
      • 6 Years
      3 years, 1 month ago

      Cancelo if he plays both

  24. Futureform
    • 3 Years
    3 years, 1 month ago

    Kane dilemma!

    I really want Kane BUT have to take Sterling out to do it.

    Sterling has 4 fixtures in 2 weeks!

    What would you do?

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

      Same situation here, decided to go without Kane

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

      Yep, it's painful! Feels like everyone will have Kane so need to cover him, but taking out Sterling who could have loads of minutes in 2 weeks in the best team feels worrying.

  25. Straobalno
    • 5 Years
    3 years, 1 month ago

    Last spot on WC for City def. Cancelo, Dias or Stones?

    1. Konstaapeli
      • 7 Years
      3 years, 1 month ago

      Cancelo

  26. DA Minnion (Former great)
    • 11 Years
    3 years, 1 month ago

    Mee to Dias for a hit ?

    Yes or no

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

      Y

  27. TheDragon
    • 5 Years
    3 years, 1 month ago

    Why is everyone captaining Kane?

    Only twice got 10+ points in last 20 gameweeks. Hasn’t scored more than 1 goal in a game since GW5

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

      dunno, I decided to go Sterling

    2. Konstaapeli
      • 7 Years
      3 years, 1 month ago

      Gota be Bruno this week.

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

      Don’t have Kane, Bruno c
      Dcl v/c so far

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

    Which one combo scores more?:
    a) Aina, Son
    b) Pereira, Digne

  29. Nightf0x
    • 8 Years
    3 years, 1 month ago

    Pope (forster)
    Lowton stones dias target (dalas)
    Salah son gundo bruno (raphinha)
    Dcl bamford (ings)

    Ings pope -4 to pickford kane ? Y or N
    BB or TC ?

  30. ChippyT
    • 13 Years
    3 years, 1 month ago

    Martinez
    Shaw|Konsa|Shaw
    Bruno|Salah|Son|Gundo|Raph
    Watkins|Kane

    Fabri|Bamford|Dallas|White

    BB or TC Kane?

    Any other changes needed ?

    Worried about DCL & Barnes.