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. Ajax Hamsterdam
    • 9 Years
    3 years, 1 month ago

    Kane....Salah ....kane .....Salah ....

    Who to TC ????

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

      Dom

      1. Ajax Hamsterdam
        • 9 Years
        3 years, 1 month ago

        No way 😉

    2. Vev
      • 8 Years
      3 years, 1 month ago

      Kane

      1. Ajax Hamsterdam
        • 9 Years
        3 years, 1 month ago

        Thanks

    3. g40steve
      • 6 Years
      3 years, 1 month ago

      Watch black box about 2/3 way through to see pairs of weeks scores

      1. Ajax Hamsterdam
        • 9 Years
        3 years, 1 month ago

        No time now 🙂

    4. Peter Ouch
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 5 Years
      3 years, 1 month ago

      Kane

      1. Ajax Hamsterdam
        • 9 Years
        3 years, 1 month ago

        Cheers

    5. SHOWSTOPPERRR
      • 6 Years
      3 years, 1 month ago

      Mark tc kane

      1. Ajax Hamsterdam
        • 9 Years
        3 years, 1 month ago

        Good for mark

    6. HD7
      • 7 Years
      3 years, 1 month ago

      Im goink Kane TC

      1. Ajax Hamsterdam
        • 9 Years
        3 years, 1 month ago

        Cheers

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

      You will be fuming if you tc Salah. Our season is over and he's already at Barcelona or Real in his head.

      1. Ajax Hamsterdam
        • 9 Years
        3 years, 1 month ago

        Cheers

  2. asdf_1
    • 5 Years
    3 years, 1 month ago

    schmiechel or pickford?

    1. Ajax Hamsterdam
      • 9 Years
      3 years, 1 month ago

      Schmeichel

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

      Kasper

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

    WC activated. GTG?
    Martinez
    Cancelo--Targett--Pereira--Digne
    KDB--Gundo--Bruno--Barnes
    Kane--DCL
    Areola, Raph, Bamford, Struijk

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

      Looks good, and set for gw29

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

        Thanks

    2. RAFA THE GAFFA
      • 7 Years
      3 years, 1 month ago

      Very nice mate

    3. RAFA THE GAFFA
      • 7 Years
      3 years, 1 month ago

      Possibly play Raphina or Bamford over Targett would be my only change

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

        Thanks dude. Good luck

  4. Lecky Legs FC
    • 8 Years
    3 years, 1 month ago

    TC one :

    A) Kane

    B) Bruno

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

      personal choice

    2. chriscosta
      • 13 Years
      3 years, 1 month ago

      kane

    3. Ajax Hamsterdam
      • 9 Years
      3 years, 1 month ago

      A

    4. PascalCygan
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 6 Years
      3 years, 1 month ago

      Same call for me. Think I want to do Bruno but going for Kane!

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

      A

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

    WC team - good to go?
    Martinez (Fabri)
    Cancelo Dias Digne (Rudiger Dallas)
    Salah Fernandes Barnes Gundogan (Smith-Rowe)
    Kane Bamford DCL

    1. RAFA THE GAFFA
      • 7 Years
      3 years, 1 month ago

      Lovely

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

    Konsa or Dallas?

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

      Konsa

  7. jam
    • 14 Years
    3 years, 1 month ago

    Hey folks. Think there'll be a better week to TC than this? Have Kane/DCL/Gundo etc.Still have BB.

    1. Mighty Banana
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 4 Years
      3 years, 1 month ago

      Probably not many better weeks to bench boost, depending on your team ofc, but i think there will be a chance of some good fixtures for a TC too.

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

        My bench is Meslier/Bamford/Bednarak/Coufal

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

    Start:

    A) Raphinha
    B) Bamford

    Captain
    1) Bruno
    2) DCL

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

      A
      2

    2. chriscosta
      • 13 Years
      3 years, 1 month ago

      A1

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

      I decided to start Bamford because he had a hat trick against Villa last time.

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

        Interesting, this is something I haven’t considered

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

        so did DCL vs WBA

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

    Buy 1 Spurs def and 1 Spurs gk
    or
    1 Spurs def and 1 Aston Villa gk?

    a) Dier and Lloris
    b) Dier and Martinez?

  10. MIGHTY JOE
    • Fantasy Football Scout Member
    • 4 Years
    3 years, 1 month ago

    Martinez
    Dias Lowton Cancelo
    Son Gundo Salah Bruno Raph
    DCL Vardy

    4.0 Bamford Alioski Coufal.
    G2G?? GL all.

  11. MoSalad
    • 10 Years
    3 years, 1 month ago

    Leaning towards TC Salah now, on pens, Sheff is a great fixture & plays last in DGW which is appealing.

    1. MIGHTY JOE
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 4 Years
      3 years, 1 month ago

      Would be a nice diff

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

    Captain DCL or Bruno?>

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

      Bruno

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

      DCL

  13. Mighty Banana
    • Fantasy Football Scout Member
    • 4 Years
    3 years, 1 month ago

    What's the thoughts on Cooper from leeds? The last 5/6 weeks he has more xGI than Dallas? Worth the 0.6 saving?

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

      He’s just missing sitters, xG doesn’t take into account how bad of a finisher he is

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

      That is heavily skewed because of chances missed Raphinha put on a plate for him. Dallas is a far superior option.

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

      Problem is that Dallas has scored actual points.

      Would be a different argument if both had low scores.

  14. davies
    • 9 Years
    3 years, 1 month ago

    Where to lose 0.8 from this BB?

    Martinez Areola
    Cancelo Stones Targett Dallas Amartey
    Salah Bruno Son Gundogan Raphinha
    Kane DCL Watkins

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

      Son to Barnes? Kane to vardy? Not sure having both spurs is necessary and Leicester are playing well

  15. citizenkane
    • 5 Years
    3 years, 1 month ago

    Is Dan Burn nailed until 29?

  16. Party time
      3 years, 1 month ago

      OMG

      Not a good news for Bruno owners

      https://www.instagram.com/p/CLuZB26lZiz/?igshid=1l3xqpk8xwcqt

      1. Dirty Harry
        • 8 Years
        3 years, 1 month ago

        Ban

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

        Locked up in a pen. Seems realistic

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

        you had me in the first half, not gonna lie

      4. Phil's Stamps
        • 13 Years
        3 years, 1 month ago

        hohoho I love these, every time.

    • FPL_DON
      • 9 Years
      3 years, 1 month ago

      Mee to Periera for a -4? -12 in total!

      All responses will receive a prayer

      1. Mighty Banana
        • Fantasy Football Scout Member
        • 4 Years
        3 years, 1 month ago

        Go big or go home!

        Do it 😀

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

          I think it could pay off... If you're sure he'll get both games then go for it!

    • pjomara
      • 13 Years
      3 years, 1 month ago

      If this week's DGW is causing you stress, just remember 80% of your team is probably template anyway.

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

        I'm playing Mitchell 🙂

    • Sun Jihai
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 12 Years
      3 years, 1 month ago

      Is Rudiger pretty nailed to start with games?

    • acidicleo
      • 7 Years
      3 years, 1 month ago

      Help please

      A) Bamford to Watkins
      B) Dallas to Targett (bench bam)
      C) Do neither and play Bamford

    • Shark Team
      • 6 Years
      3 years, 1 month ago

      Dallas or Shaw(-4) scores more in this gw?

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

        Probably Shaw

    • PascalCygan
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 6 Years
      3 years, 1 month ago

      I think my final move will be Mee to Reguilon for -4.

      Hopeful he more than makes it up this week, and he plays in 29 as I have no FH.

      Gives me:
      -4, 0FT, 0ITB
      Martinez
      Cancelo Stones Reguilon
      Salah Bruno Son Gundogan
      Kane Watkins Bamford

      McCarthy Raphinha Dallas Coufal

      GTG?

      Thanks

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

        All good !

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

          Thanks, good luck!

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

        is Reguilon nailed on? thinking of bringing him over too as i can't fit Kane

        Martinez
        Stones, Cancelo, Lowton, Shaw, Dunne to Reguilon
        Barnes, Salah, Bruno (c), Gundo,
        DCL

        Bamford, Raphinha, Ings

        i don't have FH, so i can either save FT for GW29 or use it to someone that have a game in GW29

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

          Now he’s back from injury I think and hope so

    • mwa1t
      • 3 Years
      3 years, 1 month ago

      DCL has only scored more than one goal in a game once this season. Is that really captain material?

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

        Kane hasn’t scored more than 1 goal since GW5

        1. bring_on _the_fantasy
          • 13 Years
          3 years, 1 month ago

          11 assits to DCL's 1 assits though. Not all about goals

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

        He’s done it twice.

    • Pep Roulette
      • 6 Years
      3 years, 1 month ago

      Hey fam! Bench boost. GTG?

      Martinez Areola
      Cancelo Maguire Stones Tarkowski Targett
      Salah Bruno Son Gundogan RAPHINHA
      DCL(C) Watkins BAMFORD

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

        Sweet. Same captain here. Hoping for a haul

    • Harmonica1967
      • 6 Years
      3 years, 1 month ago

      Have taken a -8, is it worth another hit to do Meslier to Areola?

      1. AW127
        • Fantasy Football Scout Member
        • 4 Years
        3 years, 1 month ago

        don't think so

    • AW127
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 4 Years
      3 years, 1 month ago

      Bench either:
      A) Pope
      B) Johnstone

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

        A

    • Muchentuchel
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 5 Years
      3 years, 1 month ago

      Ready 2 go?

      Pope (Meslier)
      Digne-Cancelo-Rüdiger (Creswell, Holding)
      Bruno-Salah-Son-Gündogan (Raphinha)
      Kane (C) - Diagne(Scout pick gamble for -4) -Bamford

      Play Bamford or Raphinha?

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

        Raphina

    • thetommy14
      • 3 Years
      3 years, 1 month ago

      Start Rudiger or Burn?

    • pjomara
      • 13 Years
      3 years, 1 month ago

      Play Dallas or Alonso?

      I presume both will only play one game anyway.

    • tilope
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 12 Years
      3 years, 1 month ago

      Who gets more points in 26, Vardy or Watkins?