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. winchester
    • 3 Years
    3 years, 1 month ago

    Lads, would you BB this lot? would get that team for a -4.

    martinez pope
    dias cancelo dallas targett taylor
    bruno salah gundo son raphinha
    dcl bamford watkins

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

      Yes

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

        cheers

    2. Dee Lixon
      • 7 Years
      3 years, 1 month ago

      Go for it

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

        thanks dude

    3. Taegugk Warrior
      • 5 Years
      3 years, 1 month ago

      Yup

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

        cheers. feel relieved spending the BB chip

  2. -GK22-
    • Fantasy Football Scout Member
    • 11 Years
    3 years, 1 month ago

    Green or red arrow?

    Martinez
    Keane, Dias, Stones
    Salah, Bruno, Gundogan, Barnes, Raphinha
    Kane (TC), DCL

    Areola, Bamford, Dallas, Dawson

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

      Green

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

      Red. Kane fail

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

    Worth still keeping TC or just go with the flow TC DCL ?

    1. Weak Become Heros
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 5 Years
      3 years, 1 month ago

      Thats some flow bro 🙂 good luck.

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

      I'm using it this week on DCL. He could blank but the fixtures are great for him and you have to use it at some point, there's always a larger element of chance about all the chips as they are one week bets where anything can happen but I can't see many better opportunities later on than a double against 2 of the worst teams in the league currently.

  4. Miguel Sanchez
    • Fantasy Football Scout Member
    • 7 Years
    3 years, 1 month ago

    Went boring template moves in end cause everytime I try and go different it backfires.

    Kane(c)

    Good luck all.

  5. The Count of Monte Cristo
    • 11 Years
    3 years, 1 month ago

    Are most starting Raphinha over Bamford?

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

      I’m going Raphinha

    2. Weak Become Heros
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 5 Years
      3 years, 1 month ago

      Raph on form.

    3. Art Vandelay
      • 13 Years
      3 years, 1 month ago

      I feel he (well his team mates) still owe me from captaining him last week. He definitely has a proper haul in him and hope it comes this week.

      1. The Count of Monte Cristo
        • 11 Years
        3 years, 1 month ago

        Thanks all for the responses. Best of luck to you all!

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

        Might go Both. Look below.

    4. Limbo
      • 13 Years
      3 years, 1 month ago

      Bamford for me.

    5. DARE TO BISCAN
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 5 Years
      3 years, 1 month ago

      I'd go Raph, of the two.

    6. LǝgleSs e|even
      • 8 Years
      3 years, 1 month ago

      Bam Bam

  6. Buck The Trent
    • 12 Years
    3 years, 1 month ago

    I am looking for 4.5 GK for BB in GW 28 or 30. Options are:

    McCarthy vs BRI BUR
    Johnstone vs cpl che
    Sanchez vs sou mun
    Areola vs MCI avl

    Has to be McCarthy, right ?

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

    Son, Salah, DCL or Bruno for captain?

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

      DCL for me

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

        DCL TC

    2. Sgt Frank Drebin
      • 7 Years
      3 years, 1 month ago

      I'm going for Salah, although the rest is not bad either. If I had to rank them I would go Salah, DCL, Bruno & Son

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

    Is it worth loosing Grealish for Lookman/Barnes (-4) or play Raphinha/Bamford and keep Jack for GW28/29 instead?

    Stick or go Lookman gives 6 GW29 players, with Barnes, only 5.

    Johnstone
    Dias Stones Digne
    Salah Fernandes Gundo Raphinha*
    DCL Kane BamBam

    McCarthy Dallas Coufal Grealish

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

    Free Hit, BB and TC activated!

    If I score less than 150 points this gw then I will be very disappointed

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

      Play all out attack

      1. Art Vandelay
        • 13 Years
        3 years, 1 month ago

        Those were the days. A rubbish chip but things were simpler back then....

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

          Agreed.

        2. Hybrid.power
          • Fantasy Football Scout Member
          • 14 Years
          3 years, 1 month ago

          I remember a time when there were no chips. Only one wildcard for the entire season.

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

            What year was that? I've been playing for quite a while but my memory is awful, so I can't remember what it was like back pre 2015

            1. Art Vandelay
              • 13 Years
              3 years, 1 month ago

              It was long before then. TC was about in 15 - I remember because I handed it to Andy Carroll whilst c 80 OR. Happy days...

          2. Art Vandelay
            • 13 Years
            3 years, 1 month ago

            Sure. I much preferred the game back then (he says while shouting at clouds)

    2. Nightcrawler
      • 4 Years
      3 years, 1 month ago

      Shd have activated wc too

  10. Chelsea91
    • 5 Years
    3 years, 1 month ago

    Maddison and Antonio to Kane abd Smith Rowe for -8? Good to go?

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

    Diagne owners unite

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

      #0,7%

  12. OptimusBlack
    • 10 Years
    3 years, 1 month ago

    WC Team.
    if you have Dias and Cancelo would u keep both or get Stones and save money for upgrade ?

    1. Weak Become Heros
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 5 Years
      3 years, 1 month ago

      Im on WC and got rid of Stones for Cancelo!

      I got a pretty solid team without the need for the extra cash so got Cancelo in.

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

      If i'd be on WC i'd probably go with Gundo+Foden/KDB. But out of your options Dias & Cancelo

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

      Cheers Guys

    4. The Hunt
      • 14 Years
      3 years, 1 month ago

      Personally, I think Stones at the best part of a million cheaper offers more bang for your buck. They'll all get rotated so I'd rather have 5.2m on the bench than 6.1m.

  13. Gabbiadini
    • 6 Years
    3 years, 1 month ago

    Vardy, Salah or Bruno TC?

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

      I got those three, and went with Salah.

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

        But not TC.

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

      Was on Vardy C

      But he did get benched over Xmas pile up so moved off him - Maddison out too a huge factor.

      Think Bruno is the one with the tastiest fixture. Palace much more likely to roll over than SHU imo. Their all out defence ploy won't work against a team that isn't as intrinsically awful in attack as Brighton

      1. Gabbiadini
        • 6 Years
        3 years, 1 month ago

        Interesting point regarding Vardy.

        The other two you would say are un-benchable considering the player/their team's position.

  14. Weak Become Heros
    • Fantasy Football Scout Member
    • 5 Years
    3 years, 1 month ago

    Good luck all

  15. TVPlugSockets
    • 3 Years
    3 years, 1 month ago

    Cavani > Kane (TC)
    Son > Barnes
    (-4)

    Worth it or not? The only easy way I can get Kane in. Nervous about not having him.

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

    Bale locked in FH over Son. Have Kane too

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

      Nice - great differential, good luck to ya. Hope you have an interesting FH team

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

        Thanks mate. GL to you too!!

  17. Taegugk Warrior
    • 5 Years
    3 years, 1 month ago

    Chance Reguillon will play booth game..?

    1. Nedvěd11
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 8 Years
      3 years, 1 month ago

      Yes

      1. Thomas Jerome Newton
        • 7 Years
        3 years, 1 month ago

        Chance Reguilon won't play both games?

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

    Just considered playing Free Hit for the first time. Would save me from multiple hits I'm tempted to take...

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

      I am on FH. Much more fun!! Gone with Bale.

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

    Vardy over Barnes if funds permit?? On a FH.

  20. Bobadoba
    • 14 Years
    3 years, 1 month ago

    Gundogan is surely a better captain pick than Kane looking at form.

    Anyone captaining him like me?

    1. King Kun Ta
      • 8 Years
      3 years, 1 month ago

      Thinking TC Bruno....

    2. LǝgleSs e|even
      • 8 Years
      3 years, 1 month ago

      Yes armband is on Mo

  21. King Kun Ta
    • 8 Years
    3 years, 1 month ago

    Holding to start?

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

    DCL (TC) locked in.

    Long wait until Monday night.

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

      \o

      Good luck.

      With City at 12.30 today, it might well be. I'd guess a lot of DGW captains going Gundo.

  23. Nedvěd11
    • Fantasy Football Scout Member
    • 8 Years
    3 years, 1 month ago

    Already BB this lot:

    Martinez, Pick
    Digne, Shaw, Cancelo, Dier, Dunk
    Gundo, Sterling, Bruno, Son, Raph
    Bam, Kane (C), DCL

    12 DGW, Bamford out for Diagne or Watkins...? Would be -4

  24. ball c
    • Fantasy Football Scout Member
    • 3 Years
    3 years, 1 month ago

    Start a) Dallas or b) Lowton?

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

    Who's going Kane-less this DGW?!!

    Hit me with your reasoning?...

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

    Don't understand why KDB isn't predicted to start in the team news?

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

      just a guess, city media have him and gundo starting

      1. Buck The Trent
        • 12 Years
        3 years, 1 month ago

        How abt cancelo ?

    2. Ange Ball
      • 9 Years
      3 years, 1 month ago

      He will start reckon Gun will be benched today

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

    best 5.2 dgw defender not from city?

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

      Targett, dier

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

      Shaw, Targett

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

      Keane/Dier

  28. shiraz
    • Fantasy Football Scout Member
    • 3 Years
    3 years, 1 month ago

    Who should i start?

    Backline 3: Cancelo Dias xx
    A. Dallas
    B. Mitchell
    C. Coufal

    Front 7(quite template)
    1. Bamford
    2. Raphinha

    Captain (will activate tc):
    W. DCL
    X. Bruno
    Y. Gundogan
    Z. Kane

    Thanks

    1. ball c
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 3 Years
      3 years, 1 month ago

      A
      1
      Z

  29. Salah_Fingers
    • 9 Years
    3 years, 1 month ago

    Is mee to target for a -8 worth it? Or should I start Struijk

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

      Is he injured or why sell?

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

        Not convinced by his dgw is all, I'll put my phone away until after deadline

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

      Definitely not.

  30. Ange Ball
    • 9 Years
    3 years, 1 month ago

    currently stuck need advice.

    Who do I play

    A) Firmino
    B) Raphin

    Should I take out Justin to Castagne for minus for -4 in total be -8 for the week.

    Thanks to those who reply. Hope every has decent game week.