Tips

The Complete Guide to Scout’s tips and advice for Blank Gameweek 29

Picture that GIF of a confused John Travolta standing in a room.

Where did all the fixtures go?

Then imagine Joe popping his head round the door and exclaiming, “We’re all going to captain Harry Kane, bye!” before exiting swiftly, getting on his chopper and riding off into the sunset. 

That’s Blank Gameweek 29 in a surreal nutshell.

Just four fixtures, eight teams to choose from and one player to captain.

You have until the 18:30 GMT deadline on Friday to make sure the armband is on Harry Kane (£11.5m), decide on any potential transfers and perhaps the odd ‘minus two’ hit.

Gameweek 28 Scout Picks built on Spurs, Everton and Villa assets

However, a few managers will be playing their Free Hit this Gameweek, and if you are one of them, you’re in luck – because there has been an array of ‘perfect Free Hit squad’ articles on the site this week.

But, as Seb pointed out, those articles can be a benefit to all of us:

Even if you have resolved to save the Free Hit, however, being aware of the players that those using the chip this week may pick in their ‘ideal team’ can be useful information in guiding your own selection decisions.

When discussing chip strategy, David revealed that under a quarter of managers will be deploying their one-week Wildcard. So the majority will want to take into account the fixtures beyond this weekend.

Thankfully, Neale prepared a piece on just that topic.

Frisking the fixtures for the teams playing in Blank Gameweek 29 highlights Arsenal’s appealing schedule, particularly from Gameweek 31.

Among that group of eight, the Gunners lead the way for expected goals over the last six matches. 

Jamie noted their steady improvement this season when breaking down the best midfielders and forwards to buy for Gameweek 29. Arsenal’s recent upturn included victory in last weekend’s north London derby.

In midfield, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (£11.5m) would be the first name on Lateriser’s teamsheet for his mock Free Hit draft. The three-time top 200 manager cited his 11 shots in the box and four big chances over the last six matches as evidence for his inclusion, with penalty duties adding another string to his bow.

At the back, Kieran Tierney (£5.2m) has impressed the upside-chasing maverick:

I like Tierney as a pick because he has a chance for returns at both ends of the pitch. Arsenal have a fairly resolute defence and Tierney is very well known for his attacking ability. In the last six matches, only Luke Shaw and Trent Alexander-Arnold have created more chances than Tierney among defenders and he showcased a very good understanding with Emile Smith Rowe on Arsenal’s left side in the north London derby. It is worth noting that in the same period, he has amassed eight shots as well.

Can Martin Ødegaard live up to his potential and become a top FPL asset? 2

Martin Ødegaard’s (£6.0m) recent displays have caught the eye of Tom Freeman, who made the Norwegian his headline differential pick. Tom highlighted his ability to find space on the edge of the box and a share of corner-taking duties among the reasons for his selection.

And Bukayo Saka (£5.3m) was talked up by Gianni and Andy on their stream last night. Despite limping off with hamstring tightness at the weekend, Mikel Arteta was positive about his chances of recovering, as Neale reported in yesterday’s team news update.

Meanwhile, it’s been a torrid week for their local rivals. Tottenham Hotspur are now out of the Europa League so rescheduling their game against Southampton becomes a tad easier for the Premier League.

As Andy and Gianni mentioned yesterday evening, Kane played 120 minutes in Croatia while Gareth Bale (£9.6m) came on for what was supposed to be the last half-hour but ended up being 60 minutes after the tie went into extra-time.

Enough to make them change their mind on captaincy or transfers? Probably not.

Gianni is planning to bring in Bale for the next two matches before switching to Mohamed Salah (£12.4m) in Gameweek 31, when Liverpool enjoy their own nice run of games. In fact, the soon-to-be-dethroned champions are top of the Season Ticker for that final sequence.

That upcoming run has persuaded Andy to keep faith with the Egyptian for now.

In fact, the high-flying Pro Pundit is contemplating adding Diogo Jota (£6.6m) alongside him.

But Spurs assets could be kept beyond the next two matches, despite their Gameweek 33 blank because of reaching the League Cup final. Neale explained:

Spurs assets are a god-send for those using their Free Hit chip in Gameweek 33 but even for the rest of us, fixtures against less-than-watertight defences in Newcastle, Sheffield United, Leeds United and potentially Saints stand out between now and Gameweek 35 and are worth navigating around that blank.

And while Brighton featured in the ‘Bad’ section for upcoming fixtures, they nonetheless offer some appealing budget options – especially for those who have already used, or won’t be playing, their Free Hit in Gameweek 33:

The likes of Joel Veltman and Robert Sanchez are at least benchable at their prices, and can be wheeled out for, at the very least, the Gameweek 33 clash with Championship-bound Sheffield United.

– Neale

Veltman has been lauded across the board ahead of the reduced-fixture Gameweek, his cheap price and attacking threat making him something of a no-brainer. But Seb cautioned that he could be handed more defensive responsibilities, with a half-time reshuffle against Southampton last time out seeing Veltman shifted into a back three:

Veltman may be moved to centre-back, in which case I will settle for a clean sheet, but if he retains the right-back/wing-back role his total of six shots in the box in the last four, of which two were big chances, looks appealing.

– Seb

Armband Alternative

David was his usual loquacious self on the Scoutcast and captaincy video this week, singing the praises of Jesse Lingard (£6.1m) to all and sundry:

I’m gonna start with Jesse Lingard because he has, just out of nowhere, become the kind of guy that is troubling enough of the stats tables … he was my favorite alternative captain when we did the Captaincy Video earlier on today.

I’ve always been a big fan of players who can get lots of shots on target – and that’s something that he’s clearly very good at because in the last four matches no Premier League player has even the same number of shots on target as Jesse Lingard … and the chances that he’s getting are are decent, too.

So if you sort all players in the Premier League by those who are actually playing this week, Jesse Lingard is joint second for big chances over the last four with a total of three; he’s had nine shots in the box, which is again joint best of all players who are playing in Gameweek 29. So the form that he’s carrying into this fixture is very strong.

– David

Lingard was David’s second pick behind Harry Kane in Captain Sensible, with a perceived weakness on Arsenal’s right flank bolstering his armband credentials.

The Manchester United loanee takes his place in the Scout Picks, which is really just the best Free Hit team every Gameweek, alongside Bale, Aubameyang and Raphinha (£5.6m) in midfield.

Leeds fan Seb reasoned that the Brazilian is due an attacking return:

Leeds’ attacking threat has deteriorated recently and whilst Raphinha has not escaped from this, he is still the main threat for United, perhaps becoming an even greater focus of the team’s ball progression and chance creation in this slight downturn. The Brazilian has an xGI of 2.01 over the last four, which he has underperformed by 1.01.

Not only was Harry Kane no. 1 in Captain Sensible but he was the unanimous choice for armband among the four Scout Squad pundits of David, Neale, Tom and Andy.

Will we all be dancing like John Travolta come Sunday night?

Community Competitions and Head-to-Head Fixtures

The draw for the first round of the 2019/20 FFS Cup

RedLightning has rounded up the Community mini-leagues and competitions.

And Neale published the latest cup results yesterday: 128 managers remain in the two tournaments, with the finals set to take place in Gameweek 35.

There’s a true ‘David and Goliath’ clash in round four as the lowest-ranked manager in the FFS Open Cup takes on the highest-ranked.

At 3,125,510th overall, Jonathan Ojao will have his work cut out when he faces 254th-placed The Fighting Cock for a spot in round five.

The Head-to-Head fixtures for Gameweek 29 can be found below. 

The scores and tables are now updating every 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

1,012 Comments Post a Comment
  1. The FPL Units
    • Fantasy Football Scout Member
    • 14 Years
    3 years, 9 days ago

    Play Martinez or Areola?

    1. Brehmeren
      • 13 Years
      3 years, 9 days ago

      Areola

  2. Catastrophe
    • 13 Years
    3 years, 9 days ago

    Daft to captain Dunk??

    1. OptimusBlack
      • 10 Years
      3 years, 9 days ago

      Yeeeeees

    2. WVA
      • 7 Years
      3 years, 9 days ago

      Still yes!!!!

    3. DycheDycheBaby
      • 8 Years
      3 years, 9 days ago

      Noooooooooo

    4. Indpush
      • 6 Years
      3 years, 9 days ago

      Too risky

    5. HonestBlatter
      • 13 Years
      3 years, 9 days ago

      Yes

    6. gooberman
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 12 Years
      3 years, 9 days ago

      Just came here to ask if anybody else is on Dunk (C). Lol. I'm rolling with it. It will probably fall but I feel that I need to take a bit of a risk..

    7. Catastrophe
      • 13 Years
      3 years, 9 days ago

      Booo. Going safe with Bale I think 😉

    8. Catastrophe
      • 13 Years
      3 years, 9 days ago

      Cheers all.

    9. Utopsis
      • 4 Years
      3 years, 9 days ago

      I did it! Going for broke trying to win MotM in my Ml

    10. gooberman
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 12 Years
      3 years, 9 days ago

      I think this is a good week to gamble as I dont see many stand out captain option. Spurs are off form, have no Son, play a good defence and Kane has just played 120 mins.

    11. Kane and Ablett
      • 3 Years
      3 years, 9 days ago

      Nope this is a game and Kane has been frustrating against decent teams for ages

  3. HD7
    • 7 Years
    3 years, 9 days ago

    Mates,

    Which one is worth a hit for this GW the most:
    A) Dallas
    B) Bale
    C) Auba
    D) None

    1. HonestBlatter
      • 13 Years
      3 years, 9 days ago

      A

    2. Luton_Fan
      • 14 Years
      3 years, 9 days ago

      Bale may be

  4. Magic Zico
    • Fantasy Football Scout Member
    • 5 Years
    3 years, 9 days ago

    Salah > Bale (-4) for GW29-30, I may regret this! Done all transfers, good luck to you all!

    1. Luton_Fan
      • 14 Years
      3 years, 9 days ago

      Son shud be fit in gw30

      1. Magic Zico
        • Fantasy Football Scout Member
        • 5 Years
        3 years, 9 days ago

        Have no Son

        1. Luton_Fan
          • 14 Years
          3 years, 9 days ago

          Oh sorry i read salah as son. Good move then, i did same

    2. Pat Bonner
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 12 Years
      3 years, 9 days ago

      Good luck

      1. Magic Zico
        • Fantasy Football Scout Member
        • 5 Years
        3 years, 9 days ago

        Cheers

    3. Crunchie
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 5 Years
      3 years, 9 days ago

      GL Magic Zico

      1. Magic Zico
        • Fantasy Football Scout Member
        • 5 Years
        3 years, 9 days ago

        GL mate!

  5. lewis1290
    • 3 Years
    3 years, 9 days ago

    who to C , lingard bale or raph !!! someone pls reply

    1. Luton_Fan
      • 14 Years
      3 years, 9 days ago

      Lingy

  6. LABILLETHEGOAT
    • 11 Years
    3 years, 9 days ago

    Mitchell > Veltman (-8)?

  7. Pat Bonner
    • Fantasy Football Scout Member
    • 12 Years
    3 years, 9 days ago

    Tempted to do salah to lookman for -4 then get Bruno or kdb for lookman next gw? Worth a hit? Got 10 playing at minute

    1. The FPL Units
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 14 Years
      3 years, 9 days ago

      Nope

      1. Pat Bonner
        • Fantasy Football Scout Member
        • 12 Years
        3 years, 9 days ago

        Thanks. Leaving it a bit late anyway

    2. EL TANO
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 14 Years
      3 years, 9 days ago

      Salah to anyone is a good move

      1. Pat Bonner
        • Fantasy Football Scout Member
        • 12 Years
        3 years, 9 days ago

        Cheers. Can look at it next week. Deadline gone

    3. Magic Zico
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 5 Years
      3 years, 9 days ago

      10 playinig here too ... not sure with Lookman but it's maybe too late! GL!

      1. Pat Bonner
        • Fantasy Football Scout Member
        • 12 Years
        3 years, 9 days ago

        Thanks. Will revisit salah next week!

  8. g40steve
    • 6 Years
    3 years, 9 days ago

    Who’s C Jesse?

  9. 1984 TC
    • 3 Years
    3 years, 9 days ago

    Dallas Captain locked in

    1. 1984 TC
      • 3 Years
      3 years, 9 days ago

      Just having fun with it.

  10. FPL Alaska
    • Fantasy Football Scout Member
    • 9 Years
    3 years, 9 days ago

    Play Areola or Martinez?

  11. The 12th Man
    • 10 Years
    3 years, 9 days ago

    All set, transfers done.
    Martinez
    Dunk,Coufal,Dallas
    Aubamayang,Lingard(vc),Bale,Raphinia
    Kane(c), Watkins, Bamford

    Johnstone,Digne,Gundogan,Dias

    GL everyone.

    1. Pat Bonner
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 12 Years
      3 years, 9 days ago

      Nice team. Good luck

  12. Reggie Nainggolan
    • 7 Years
    3 years, 9 days ago

    Pens down

  13. Jordan.
    • Fantasy Football Scout Member
    • 14 Years
    3 years, 9 days ago

    Panties Down

  14. Jebiga
    • 11 Years
    3 years, 9 days ago

    Good luck to all !

  15. potatoace
    • Fantasy Football Scout Member
    • 12 Years
    3 years, 9 days ago

    Fulham will be no pushover for Leeds this week.

  16. Champions League Varane
    • 5 Years
    3 years, 9 days ago

    GOOD LUCK ALL!

  17. Messiah Hazard
    • Fantasy Football Scout Member
    • 12 Years
    3 years, 9 days ago

    Pens down

  18. g40steve
    • 6 Years
    3 years, 9 days ago

    Think I have C Lingz 🙂

  19. Big boy Bowen
    • 7 Years
    3 years, 9 days ago

    PANTS DOWN and good luck all!

    Free Hit team feels useless

    1. Isco Disco
      • 6 Years
      3 years, 9 days ago

      I know that feeling mate
      Hope we picked the right ones. GL!

    2. Champions League Varane
      • 5 Years
      3 years, 9 days ago

      Did you go by your name 😉

      1. Big boy Bowen
        • 7 Years
        3 years, 9 days ago

        Yes but not convinced I must say

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

          I have my fingers crossed with your good record in that case.

  20. Luton_Fan
    • 14 Years
    3 years, 9 days ago

    Kane cappers say Oh Yeah

    1. Champions League Varane
      • 5 Years
      3 years, 9 days ago

      Oh hell yeah

  21. The Polymath
    • Fantasy Football Scout Member
    • 8 Years
    3 years, 9 days ago

    Take your hand off the mouse, right now.

    1. Luton_Fan
      • 14 Years
      3 years, 9 days ago

      Is that what you call yours? Interesting

  22. Botman and Robben
    • 7 Years
    3 years, 9 days ago

    Best of luck all. I managed to hold out on taking a hit.

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

      Likewise. Transfers made, but no hit. Hopefully it makes a difference.

      1. Botman and Robben
        • 7 Years
        3 years, 9 days ago

        Will have 8 if Bamford plays. 9 if a miracle happens for Son.

  23. sminkypinky
    • Fantasy Football Scout Member
    • 12 Years
    3 years, 9 days ago

    Probably 8 playing for me. Enough?

    (Unless Son and Johnson feature)

    1. sminkypinky
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 12 Years
      3 years, 9 days ago

      Doesn’t really matter anymore does it? 😀

    2. potatoace
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 12 Years
      3 years, 9 days ago

      If the previous two bgw's are anything to go by, quantity is irrelevant

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

    I haven't captained a Leeds player tonight as I'm having a Chinese at the same time.

    Would be too tempted to check my phone every few mins otherwise!

    😀

  25. The Polymath
    • Fantasy Football Scout Member
    • 8 Years
    3 years, 9 days ago

    Good luck to all the mangers with the same players as me, only.

  26. jbenny1107
    • 9 Years
    3 years, 9 days ago

    TOO LATE

    1. potatoace
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 12 Years
      3 years, 9 days ago

      to apologise

  27. Nightcrawler
    • 4 Years
    3 years, 9 days ago

    On Free Hit

    No kane

    No west ham

    No villa

    Going to be a great or horrendous FH

  28. Pep bites Kun
    • 7 Years
    3 years, 9 days ago

    Pens down ladies & gents - this could be the biggest decider for ML & OR rank

    1. Well you know, Triffic
      • 13 Years
      3 years, 9 days ago

      Everyone will have a similar team aside from Auba / Bale.

  29. DaisyDaisyDaisyDaisy
    • 10 Years
    3 years, 9 days ago

    Auba(c) now or never

    1. Qaiss
      • 8 Years
      3 years, 9 days ago

      GL man, hope he hauls.

  30. Magic Zico
    • Fantasy Football Scout Member
    • 5 Years
    3 years, 9 days ago

    10 players out (-4), no expectation for this GW hopefully not red, GL all!