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. OBAMA
    • 9 Years
    3 years, 29 days ago

    Start Mitchell or Mee??

    1. Iwantmorepointsthanks
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 10 Years
      3 years, 29 days ago

      Mee

    2. CoracAld2831
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 3 Years
      3 years, 29 days ago

      Mee.

    3. HD7
      • 7 Years
      3 years, 29 days ago

      Same dilemma mate. Think I will go with Mitchell. Hope he plays Fulham

    4. chriscosta
      • 13 Years
      3 years, 29 days ago

      Mitchell

  2. Ajax Hamsterdam
    • 9 Years
    3 years, 29 days ago

    Kane probably just needs one goal in each game and 54 points guaranteed on TC. Made up my mind

    1. JONALDINHO
      • 6 Years
      3 years, 29 days ago

      Same goes for every other player...

      1. Ajax Hamsterdam
        • 9 Years
        3 years, 29 days ago

        Not false

    2. g40steve
      • 6 Years
      3 years, 29 days ago

      Watching black box 🙂

      1. Ajax Hamsterdam
        • 9 Years
        3 years, 29 days ago

        Not yet 🙂

    3. Ady87
      • 10 Years
      3 years, 29 days ago

      Bruno will do that against Palace.

      1. Ajax Hamsterdam
        • 9 Years
        3 years, 29 days ago

        Haha probably

    4. OBAMA
      • 9 Years
      3 years, 29 days ago

      That maths seems off

      1. Gandalf
        • Fantasy Football Scout Member
        • 13 Years
        3 years, 29 days ago

        Looks ok, 9x2x3 =54
        Whether it happens is another matter

      2. RedLightning
        • Fantasy Football Scout Member
        • Has Moderation Rights
        • 13 Years
        3 years, 29 days ago

        It could be correct if he gets 3 bonus points each time - which is quite possible, but not necessarily guaranteed.

      3. Hazz
        • Fantasy Football Scout Member
        • 6 Years
        3 years, 29 days ago

        1 goal (4 points)
        + 2 appearance points
        + max BAPs (3 points)
        = 9 points

        Multiplied by 2 games
        = 18 points

        Multiplied by 3 (Tripe Captain)
        = 54 points

      4. @persecuted_by_mods
          3 years, 29 days ago

          It assumes 3 Bonus each time

    5. Ady87
      • 10 Years
      3 years, 29 days ago

      TC BRUNO OR SALAH PLS HELP

      Also own Son and Gundo.

      1. alsybach
        • 14 Years
        3 years, 29 days ago

        Salaaaaaaaaah!!!!!!

      2. Zogzeg
        • 11 Years
        3 years, 29 days ago

        Both good options.
        Make your own decision and take responsibility for it.

        1. Tango74
          • 3 Years
          3 years, 29 days ago

          Totally agree, about of moaners on here.

          My policy again is SOME people are against u on here and give bad advice

      3. Kay317
        • Fantasy Football Scout Member
        • 4 Years
        3 years, 29 days ago

        I'm starting to waiver on kane and looking seriously at Salah. He's never let me down on TC before. But Liverpool form is poor. Decisions decisions

      4. aardvark22
        • Fantasy Football Scout Member
        • 11 Years
        3 years, 29 days ago

        Prefer Salah. I'm going DCL though

      5. Gudjohnsen
        • 7 Years
        3 years, 29 days ago

        Salah if chasing

    6. King Kohli
      • 11 Years
      3 years, 29 days ago

      WC team GTG?
      FH left. Giving myself the option not to be forced to use it in gw 29 with 6 players already

      Martinez
      Digne Dias Cancelo
      Salah Bruno Barnes Gundo
      Kane DCL Watkins
      3.9 Raphinha White Struijk

      1. RAFA THE GAFFA
        • 7 Years
        3 years, 29 days ago

        Looks great

      2. CONNERS
        • 5 Years
        3 years, 29 days ago

        Looks great.

    7. corderz
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 9 Years
      3 years, 29 days ago

      Captain?

      A) Sterling

      B) Kane

      1. Johnny 8
        • Fantasy Football Scout Member
        • 10 Years
        3 years, 29 days ago

        B

      2. dogtanion
        • 14 Years
        3 years, 29 days ago

        Kane surely. I'm a Sterling owner but think he'll be rested today. Hope I'm wrong

      3. RAFA THE GAFFA
        • 7 Years
        3 years, 29 days ago

        Harry

    8. Shark Team
      • 6 Years
      3 years, 29 days ago

      Get Konsa or Targett. Gonna play them in all of gws26-29

    9. lordkippe
      • 7 Years
      3 years, 29 days ago

      Dont have Kane or Salah. Crazy to TC Son?

      1. alsybach
        • 14 Years
        3 years, 29 days ago

        Do it!

      2. RAFA THE GAFFA
        • 7 Years
        3 years, 29 days ago

        Bruno in that case

      3. Balls of Steel
        • 8 Years
        3 years, 29 days ago

        Son is due a big performance!

    10. aardvark22
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 11 Years
      3 years, 29 days ago

      Lowton to

      A) Digne
      B) Reguilon
      C) Dier

      1. HonestBlatter
        • 13 Years
        3 years, 29 days ago

        A

      2. chriscosta
        • 13 Years
        3 years, 29 days ago

        A

    11. timawflowers
      • 6 Years
      3 years, 29 days ago

      last min panic, who to bring in watkins or kdb this gw?

      1. RAFA THE GAFFA
        • 7 Years
        3 years, 29 days ago

        Kevin

      2. alsybach
        • 14 Years
        3 years, 29 days ago

        Kdb

      3. Vev
        • 8 Years
        3 years, 29 days ago

        kdb

    12. JenkoJunko
      • 5 Years
      3 years, 29 days ago

      I'm not seeing much love for Foden?? I'm tempted to go Phil over Gundo... ??

    13. FallingDuck
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 3 Years
      3 years, 29 days ago

      Start Mee or Raphina?

      1. Johnny 8
        • Fantasy Football Scout Member
        • 10 Years
        3 years, 29 days ago

        Raphina

      2. PascalCygan
        • Fantasy Football Scout Member
        • 6 Years
        3 years, 29 days ago

        Raph

      3. chriscosta
        • 13 Years
        3 years, 29 days ago

        Rap

    14. GROBARI
      • 3 Years
      3 years, 29 days ago

      Last question
      Play Bam or Raph?

      1. Scotty Dog
        • 5 Years
        3 years, 29 days ago

        Bam

      2. OBAMA
        • 9 Years
        3 years, 29 days ago

        raph

      3. HonestBlatter
        • 13 Years
        3 years, 29 days ago

        Raph for of his life

    15. DT42
      • 12 Years
      3 years, 29 days ago

      Why no love for Hames? Great DGW fixtures, potential extra fixture in GW28
      Perfect Grealish or Maddison replacement
      What’s not to like, am I missing something?

      1. Hotdogs for Tea
        • 8 Years
        3 years, 29 days ago

        tends to be rested because he is a bit fragile ... probably won’t start 3 games in a week

      2. Superflymonk
        • 9 Years
        3 years, 29 days ago

        Not missing anything, not a bad option really.

      3. alsybach
        • 14 Years
        3 years, 29 days ago

        Pick who you think is best

        1. Malcolm Tucker for England …
          • Fantasy Football Scout Member
          • 12 Years
          3 years, 29 days ago

          Kieffer Moore?

    16. Scotty Dog
      • 5 Years
      3 years, 29 days ago

      Best TC this week...

      A)Kane
      B)DCL

      1. StellaMan
        • 10 Years
        3 years, 29 days ago

        DCL for me

      2. RAFA THE GAFFA
        • 7 Years
        3 years, 29 days ago

        Harry

      3. Ajax Hamsterdam
        • 9 Years
        3 years, 29 days ago

        A

      4. Balls of Steel
        • 8 Years
        3 years, 29 days ago

        DCL

      5. chriscosta
        • 13 Years
        3 years, 29 days ago

        A

    17. StellaMan
      • 10 Years
      3 years, 29 days ago

      Sterling to KDB to help jump up the league tables?!

    18. Wakanda
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 6 Years
      3 years, 29 days ago

      foden, gundogan or barnes ?

    19. OBAMA
      • 9 Years
      3 years, 29 days ago

      Start :

      A) Mitchell

      B) Mee

      first to 3 votes wins

      1. Ady87
        • 10 Years
        3 years, 29 days ago

        Mee

      2. RAFA THE GAFFA
        • 7 Years
        3 years, 29 days ago

        B

      3. HonestBlatter
        • 13 Years
        3 years, 29 days ago

        B

    20. Ady87
      • 10 Years
      3 years, 29 days ago

      Nobody is in better form in the league than Bruno change my mind.

      1. dogtanion
        • 14 Years
        3 years, 29 days ago

        Mitchell

        1. shady4revr
          • 9 Years
          3 years, 29 days ago

      2. shady4revr
        • 9 Years
        3 years, 29 days ago

        Kane hatty incoming

      3. RAFA THE GAFFA
        • 7 Years
        3 years, 29 days ago

        Raphina

      4. mezza
        • Fantasy Football Scout Member
        • 9 Years
        3 years, 29 days ago

        No one is disagreeing with that.

        Doesn’t automatically make him the best captain choice though.

      5. alsybach
        • 14 Years
        3 years, 29 days ago

        Crap fixtures

    21. DeadStarComing
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 13 Years
      3 years, 29 days ago

      Is it worth doing a -4 to do a Leeds player to a Villa player (no free hit for 29)? Thinking Leeds now have singles games where as Villa have a DGW now, a possible DGW in 28, plus they also play in 29! Leeds assets to any other team I feel is probably a no no.

      Anything like Dallas to Targett, Raphinha to Traore, Bamford to Watkins. Worth the points hit gamble?

      1. RAFA THE GAFFA
        • 7 Years
        3 years, 29 days ago

        Nope

    22. shady4revr
      • 9 Years
      3 years, 29 days ago

      Help me lads
      Martinez
      Shaw Dias Mee
      Bruno Salah Sterling Son Raphinha
      Bamford Barnes
      Walton Struijk Antonio Dunne

      1.2 in bank 1 free transfer

      Raph to gundo free?
      Sterling to Gundo and Barnes to Kane -4 hit and kane triple c?

      :/

    23. Vev
      • 8 Years
      3 years, 29 days ago

      Lascelles or Lewis most nailed for Newcastle?

      1. RAFA THE GAFFA
        • 7 Years
        3 years, 29 days ago

        Stay away!

    24. g40steve
      • 6 Years
      3 years, 29 days ago

      Narrowed it down either TC Kane or Bruno?

      First to 5, go! 🙂

      1. highsguy
        • Fantasy Football Scout Member
        • 3 Years
        3 years, 29 days ago

        B

      2. Ady87
        • 10 Years
        3 years, 29 days ago

        Bruno

      3. mezza
        • Fantasy Football Scout Member
        • 9 Years
        3 years, 29 days ago

        Bruno

      4. Vev
        • 8 Years
        3 years, 29 days ago

        Kane

      5. CONNERS
        • 5 Years
        3 years, 29 days ago

        Kane

      6. _Ninja_
        • Fantasy Football Scout Member
        • 13 Years
        3 years, 29 days ago

        Kane

        1. g40steve
          • 6 Years
          3 years, 29 days ago

          Cheers guys

      7. Dee Lixon
        • 7 Years
        3 years, 29 days ago

        Harry

      8. chriscosta
        • 13 Years
        3 years, 29 days ago

        kane

    25. Weeb Kakashi
      • 8 Years
      3 years, 29 days ago

      Pick 2 on FH

      A M.Pereira
      B Stones
      C B.Traore

      1. Sparky6670
        • 12 Years
        3 years, 29 days ago

        AB

    26. GCM0803
      • 3 Years
      3 years, 29 days ago

      Who to captain?
      Dcl
      Bruno
      Salah
      Son
      And do I TC??

      1. Ady87
        • 10 Years
        3 years, 29 days ago

        Bruno and yes

      2. Sparky6670
        • 12 Years
        3 years, 29 days ago

        I have all of them and on Salah currently mainly because SU are shy on CB's

    27. highsguy
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 3 Years
      3 years, 29 days ago

      A) Diagne -4
      B) Raphinha
      ??

      1. HonestBlatter
        • 13 Years
        3 years, 29 days ago

        B

    28. Coys96
      • 6 Years
      3 years, 29 days ago

      Sterling benched
      KdB starts
      Gundogan starts

      @thewhuera on twitter

      1. Coys96
        • 6 Years
        3 years, 29 days ago

        Stones starts too

      2. HonestBlatter
        • 13 Years
        3 years, 29 days ago

        How about Foden?

      3. dogtanion
        • 14 Years
        3 years, 29 days ago

        Would rather Sterling played Wolves anyway ..I think this game will be tight

    29. Sparky6670
      • 12 Years
      3 years, 29 days ago

      Worth Bench boosting?

      Mccarthy, Lowton, Dallas, Bamford

      1. Pukki Party
        • 6 Years
        3 years, 29 days ago

        Yes

        1. Sparky6670
          • 12 Years
          3 years, 29 days ago

          That or TC Salah?

    30. DycheDycheBaby
      • 8 Years
      3 years, 29 days ago

      Play one:
      a) Raphinha
      b) Bamford
      c) Targett

      1. Sparky6670
        • 12 Years
        3 years, 29 days ago

        Bench boost?

        1. DycheDycheBaby
          • 8 Years
          3 years, 29 days ago

          No I'm on WC

      2. Balls of Steel
        • 8 Years
        3 years, 29 days ago

        A

    31. jackhammer1
      • 7 Years
      3 years, 29 days ago

      Son to Barnes for free?

      1. Ady87
        • 10 Years
        3 years, 29 days ago

        No

      2. Sparky6670
        • 12 Years
        3 years, 29 days ago

        Not for me but I have both

    32. Pukki Party
      • 6 Years
      3 years, 29 days ago

      Pages flying, and this comment isn't helping.