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. Amey
    • 5 Years
    3 years, 29 days ago

    Cancelo the DGW

    1. Twisted Saltergater
      • 14 Years
      3 years, 29 days ago

      😀

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

    oh noooo

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

    Cancelo why you do this to me

    1. Amey
      • 5 Years
      3 years, 29 days ago

      He's prime © option next GW 🙂

  4. FPL price manipulators are …
    • 10 Years
    3 years, 29 days ago

    Lol @ all of us

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

    canceloooo 🙁

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

    Um...have they frozen the site a bit early?

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

      1.5 hours all season

    2. FPL price manipulators are …
      • 10 Years
      3 years, 29 days ago

      Thank FPL Rockstar

    3. TRIPOS TOPPER
      • 6 Years
      3 years, 29 days ago

      what like 30 mins ago?

  7. Gobigorgohome
    • 12 Years
    3 years, 29 days ago

    cancelo sterling foden

    1. Forza Papac
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 8 Years
      3 years, 29 days ago

      Same

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

      Wow

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

      they all start next game

    4. Jafooli
      • 12 Years
      3 years, 29 days ago

      Yikes, if true....

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

      WTF

    6. AC/DC AFC
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 8 Years
      3 years, 29 days ago

      Were they captain and VC too?

      They'll play Tuesday.

  8. Big boy Bowen
    • 7 Years
    3 years, 29 days ago

    Cancelo plays a blinder midweek then benched weekend.

    Classic Pep trolling

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

      I think it was coming. Had started a lot of games recently.

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

      It was obvious he would be rested after all the games he’s played

      1. Big boy Bowen
        • 7 Years
        3 years, 29 days ago

        Could say the same about Gundogan

        1. Big boy Bowen
          • 7 Years
          3 years, 29 days ago

          Or Dias even

      2. Twisted Saltergater
        • 14 Years
        3 years, 29 days ago

        Agree. Thought about taking him out but he’s a season keeper.

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

    Cancelo could end up with just 2 points this DGW...

    1. Wild Rover
      • 13 Years
      3 years, 29 days ago

      Behave

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

      Should have played the Leeds boys 😛

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

      He could end up with any number of points - the week hasn’t started

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

    SGW > DGW

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

      😛

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

    Cancelo benching was so obvious then why so much disappointment, at least he will start against wolves hope so.

  12. Wild Rover
    • 13 Years
    3 years, 29 days ago

    Cancelo TC 🙁

    1. La Roja
      • 12 Years
      3 years, 29 days ago

      Unlucky

      1. Wild Rover
        • 13 Years
        3 years, 29 days ago

        Always a risk tbf. Should have stuck with Kane

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

      Stupid

      1. Wild Rover
        • 13 Years
        3 years, 29 days ago

        gfy

        1. Stupendous
          • 11 Years
          3 years, 29 days ago

          Thanks. After the match perhaps

    3. DAZZ
      • 9 Years
      3 years, 29 days ago

      Noooo seriously? So unlucky

      1. Wild Rover
        • 13 Years
        3 years, 29 days ago

        I knew the risk. Could still come on today and haul next week 🙂

    4. Rupert The Horse
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 11 Years
      3 years, 29 days ago

      Nooo.

    5. F_Ivanovic
      • 8 Years
      3 years, 29 days ago

      no chance.

    6. Twisted Saltergater
      • 14 Years
      3 years, 29 days ago

      Wouldn’t want to wish it on anyone but a Zinchenko knock before 30 mins and you’re all good.

    7. Big boy Bowen
      • 7 Years
      3 years, 29 days ago

      Unlucky WR, proper rollercoaster with Cancelo

    8. Maddamotha
      • 7 Years
      3 years, 29 days ago

      Why ppl say unlucky? Was expected that Cancelo would be benched.

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

    ⚽ Team News 📰
    MAN CITY : Ederson, Walker, Dias, Stones, Zinchenko, Gundogan, Fernandinho, Mahrez, De Bruyne, Torres, Aguero
    Subs: Steffen, Sterling, Jesus, Laporte, Rodri, Bernardo, Mendy, Cancelo, Foden

    WEST HAM : Randolph, Johnson, Coufal, Dawson, Diop, Cresswell, Soucek, Rice, Lingard, Fornals, Antonio
    Subs: Martin, Trott, Balbuena, Benrahma, Lanzini, Noble, Bowen, Odubeko

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

      Aguero and KDB hauls confirmed

    2. Buck The Trent
      • 12 Years
      3 years, 29 days ago

      2 starters

      Cancelo vs tired legs

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

      Oh Phil, why you do this to me....

    4. AIRMILES
      • 12 Years
      3 years, 29 days ago

      This is disappointing.

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

      Cheers

    6. Forza Papac
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 8 Years
      3 years, 29 days ago

      0/3 yay

  14. AIRMILES
    • 12 Years
    3 years, 29 days ago

    Manchester City
    @ManCity
    ·
    12s
    How we line-up today!

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

      Hulk this

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

      Strong lineup.

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

      I don't know

  15. Big boy Bowen
    • 7 Years
    3 years, 29 days ago

    MAN CITY TEAM NEWS - AGUERO STARTS

    Team to play West Ham: Ederson, Walker, Dias, Stones, Zinchenko, Gundogan, Fernandinho, Mahrez, De Bruyne, Torres, Aguero

    Subs: Steffen, Sterling, Jesus, Laporte, Rodri, Bernardo, Mendy, Cancelo, Foden

    WEST HAM TEAM NEWS

    Team to play Man City: Randolph, Johnson, Coufal, Dawson, Diop, Cresswell, Soucek, Rice, Lingard, Fornals, Antonio

    Subs: Martin, Trott, Balbuena, Benrahma, Lanzini, Noble, Bowen, Odubeko

    1. AC/DC AFC
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 8 Years
      3 years, 29 days ago

      No KDB is big news too.

      Along with Kun.

      1. Big boy Bowen
        • 7 Years
        3 years, 29 days ago

        KdB starts

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

        *fake news

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

      Cheers Kane

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

      So sad Kaptain 🙁

    4. Bounce
      • 3 Years
      3 years, 29 days ago

      You never beat SIMMA lol.

      1. Big boy Bowen
        • 7 Years
        3 years, 29 days ago

        That guy is lightening!

  16. Messiah Hazard
    • Fantasy Football Scout Member
    • 12 Years
    3 years, 29 days ago

    Ederson, Walker, Dias, Stones, Zinchenko, Fernandinho (C), Gundogan, De Bruyne, Mahrez, Torres, Aguero

  17. DAZZ
    • 9 Years
    3 years, 29 days ago

    Cancelo owners know the risks.

  18. Ruinenlust
    • 6 Years
    3 years, 29 days ago

    Cancelo benched knew it

  19. R.C
    • 6 Years
    3 years, 29 days ago

    Randolph starting lol

    Lets go Gundo (C)

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

      Oh god!

    2. Fulchester's New Centr…
      • 6 Years
      3 years, 29 days ago

      This is as big a factor as Kun possibly. Good spot.

  20. Hybrid.power
    • Fantasy Football Scout Member
    • 14 Years
    3 years, 29 days ago

    Aguero is the one we will all wish we brought in

    1. TheDragon
      • 5 Years
      3 years, 29 days ago

      Easy to say in hindsight but it shows how group think the community is that he hasn’t even be mentioned by anyone in the run up to this week

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

        There is a lot of group think, but here I see why he was not considered.

        I mean, some got rid of one of Salah, Bruno.
        Many doubt Kane etc.
        All of them have scored more Premier league goals in the last weeks or month(s) than Aguero in a whole year.

  21. FPL price manipulators are …
    • 10 Years
    3 years, 29 days ago

    How we line-up today!

  22. Kaneyonero
    • 7 Years
    3 years, 29 days ago

    Bb fail

  23. Forever In Our Shadow
    • Fantasy Football Scout Member
    • 10 Years
    3 years, 29 days ago

    Kun starting. Oh god. Come on KDB!!!

    1. AC/DC AFC
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 8 Years
      3 years, 29 days ago

      Do you have him?

  24. ⭐ Bemba_Da ⭐
    • 13 Years
    3 years, 29 days ago

    wow aguero

  25. ⭐ Bemba_Da ⭐
    • 13 Years
    3 years, 29 days ago

    imagine not owning aguero for a dgw

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

      Hasn’t done anything for a year now in FPL. If he does anything now then so be it, but I wouldn’t hold your breath.

  26. Big boy Bowen
    • 7 Years
    3 years, 29 days ago

    KdB time 😎

  27. Valar(Keith)
    • 14 Years
    3 years, 29 days ago

    Stones Gundogan Kdb check.. Dawson starts and is on my bench check. Things can only go downhill from here now 🙂

    1. AC/DC AFC
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 8 Years
      3 years, 29 days ago

      No KDB?

      1. AC/DC AFC
        • Fantasy Football Scout Member
        • 8 Years
        3 years, 29 days ago

        My apologies... Read it wrong above!

  28. nolard
    • 9 Years
    3 years, 29 days ago

    My City boys all start 8)

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

    Stones Dias Gundo all of them starts. Lets go!

  30. Nerdlinger
    • Fantasy Football Scout Member
    • 12 Years
    3 years, 29 days ago

    Bloody knew I should have got Kun in! lol

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

      Why?

      What’s he done in the last year to make you think he’s going to be the Aguero of old?

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

        It was mostly tongue in cheek...

        If you want a serious answer tho, you must know his abilities and he's slotting into a team that has won 19 games straight and score for fun.