Gameweek Guide

The Complete Guide to Scout’s tips and advice for Gameweek 38

The end of the most unusual season is upon us, and with it comes the final opportunity to climb the ranks or claim mini-league glory.

The usual mix of dead-rubbers and motivated teams is slightly diluted this season with the title and relegation places settled ahead of time, but the battle for the top four and the remaining European spots remains wide open.

And Gameweek 38 has a reputation for the unexpected. 

Take Theo Walcott’s 34-minute hat-trick against West Bromwich Albion at the end of the 2014/15 campaign, or the ten goals shared equally between the Baggies and Manchester United in Sir Alex Ferguson’s last game in charge.

This year, West Brom could be involved in another high-scoring affair when they visit a fan-filled Elland Road. The Leeds United faithful celebrating not only their first season back in the Premier League for 17 years but also their Championship victory from 10 months ago.

With the cricket season already underway, could we see a cricket score in the football?

The last round of matches all kick-off simultaneously, as is tradition on the final day of the season, handing us a Sunday deadline of 14:30 BST.

Celebration and Motivation

Just as they did in midweek, the home sides will benefit from playing in front of their supporters. Although, as Spurs discovered against Aston Villa, a poor performance can quickly change the mood. Boos ringing out at the Tottenham Hotspur stadium before half-time. 

But with Marcelo Bielsa’s side finishing the season strongly, Leeds United are not expected to suffer the same fate. 

Hotly tipped by Zophar, the Pro Pundit is backing Patrick Bamford (£6.6m) and co to push him towards his eighth top 10,000 finish. The combination of in-form striker against porous defence appeals:

Bamford tops the xG non-penalty numbers (1.73) for Leeds over the last four matches and has landed at least double the number of shots on target (six) compared to any other Leeds player. West Brom have conceded a massive 50 shots on target over the last six Gameweeks; that’s an average of over eight a game!

When selecting his shortlist of favoured armband candidates, Captain Sensible writer Jan put Bamford in third.

The Whites have only lost one of their last eight matches at Elland Road and put five goals past Sam Allardyce’s men the last time the two sides met. Since then, the Baggies’ fortunes have not changed, conceding at least two goals in six of their last eight league outings.

There was, however, a word of caution voiced for those considering Bamford.

Neale, the doyen of the team news, warned of reduced minutes for several of the Leeds contingent due to farewell appearances for long-serving players Gaetano Berardi (£4.0m) and Pablo Hernandez (£5.7m). 

I would not be shocked if [Bamford] got 60 or 70 minutes.

– Neale

Nonetheless three of Bielsa’s men are selected in the final Scout Picks of the season. 

The known absentees for the Whites are Illan Meslier (£4.8m) in goal, Mateusz Klich (£5.2m) and Diego Llorente (£4.4m). Meslier missing out has left many managers contemplating a hit for a goalkeeper, something Neale advised against, even if it meant going with ten men.

Across the Pennines, Manchester City’s line-up is, as ever, hard to predict. And this weekend they are joined in that respect by their local rivals Manchester United, who play in the Europa League final on Wednesday. 

Manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer promised to “make a few changes” with Bruno Fernandes (£11.3m) among those not guaranteed a starting spot.

Going for Gold

All this means that Liverpool offer the best captain options. 

Mohamed Salah (£12.9m) and Sadio Mané (£11.8m) are not only Jan’s top picks but also those of Tom and Andy among our four Scout Picks selectors. 

Ahead of facing a side he scored 16 points against earlier in the season, Mohamed Salah is top among all midfielders for expected goal involvement (xGI) over the last four matches. Just two players have more shots in the box than him over the last six, suggesting he will be giving his all to win the Golden Boot race on Sunday.

– Scout Picks

And our Big Numbers article pointed to an encouraging statistic for Mané owners.

Seven – the number of consecutive Premier League games that Sadio Mané has scored in against Crystal Palace. In the league’s history, only Robin van Persie (against Stoke City) has scored in eight consecutive matches against an opponent.

– Big Numbers

What’s more, Liverpool need to win to ensure Champions League football for next season.

The Reds are currently level on points with Leicester City but are above them in the table thanks to their superior goal difference. However, a big win for the Foxes by five goals or more would put real pressure on on Jurgen Klopp’s side.

An unlikely scenario, perhaps, but Liverpool may want to bag a few goals against Crystal Palace just to be on the safe side.

And the Eagles have an abysmal record against their hosts, having lost their last seven matches against them by an aggregate score of 22 goals to five.

The one spanner in the works could be that this is Roy Hodgson’s final game in charge. 

Part of me thinks they are going to be right up for this and I don’t think they are going to roll over.

– David, Captaincy Video

However improbable, a repeat of the scoreline on Sir Alex Ferguson’s last day in the Old Trafford hot seat would be welcomed by Fantasy managers, with the obvious exception of Liverpool fans.

Anfield was also set to be the petri dish for David’s new ‘equal opportunities’ captain experiment.

Speaking on the Captaincy Video with Joe, David suggested the radical idea of handing the armband to the best candidate based on their qualifications alone. He highlighted a player who has scored in each of the last four Gameweeks, has had the most shots over the last six matches, and is up against the team that has conceded more big chances than anyone else.

However, that player, Christian Benteke, is now an injury doubt and has been left out of Neale’s predicted line-up. The experiment will, unfortunately, have to wait until the new season.

Must Win

The best Neto replacements and whether FPL managers should stick with Fernandes

As mentioned, Leicester City’s need not only to win but ideally by a big margin, thrusts Kelechi Iheanacho (£6.2m) into the spotlight. 

The Foxes forward has 11 goals in 11 matches and faces a Spurs side who conceded 20 shots in their home encounter with Aston Villa.

But the fact that Brendan Rodgers could instruct his team to go for it at some stage, may benefit Harry Kane (£11.9m) if it means Leicester leave themselves open at the back. The want-away Spurs forward has an impressive record against the newly-crowned FA Cup winners, scoring 14 goals in 11 Premier League meetings.

Encouragingly for those backing Kane, influential centre-half Jonny Evans (£5.6m) is set to sit out the King Power clash with injury. His presence at the back was sorely missed in the 4-2 home defeat to Newcastle United in Gameweek 35:

[The injury to Jonny Evans was] very disruptive. He’s a great talker. With Caglar and Wesley, they are both fantastic talents but Jonny is the brain in there and he organises them so for him to come out was a big blow for us.

– Brendan Rodgers, after the Gameweek 35 defeat to Newcastle

Elsewhere, Michail Antonio (£6.7m) boasts impressive underlying stats for West Ham’s clash with Southampton.

Over the last four matches, no forward has registered a higher xG non-penalty (2.52) than the Hammers forward.

– Zophar

And Ralph Hasenhüttl’s side have not done well on the road: 

Nine defeats for Southampton in their 10 away league fixtures this calendar year. The Saints, who travel to West Ham United this weekend, have conceded 30 goals in these nine defeats, scoring just seven in return. Their sole win on the road in 2021 was at relegated Sheffield United.

– Big Numbers

Don’t Look Back in Anger

Pro Pundits Simon March and Lateriser were both in reflective mood ahead of the season finale.Simon counselled on the perils of hindsight bias, while Lateriser rued his early season overconfidence.

“We are more likely to apply hindsight to negative outcomes than positive ones … The key to overcoming hindsight bias is learning to evaluate decisions based on their logic rather than their outcome. Rationally-speaking, the outcome should be irrelevant if the logic used in the decision-making process was sound.” – Simon March

And this is where Lateriser feels he let himself down at times, believing he could create whatever narrative he wanted and going against logic. He cited the example of ignoring Mohamed Salah in Gameweek 1 when Liverpool took on newly-promoted Leeds United.

All the same, the three time top 200 manager is still in love with FPL.

“I was actually very surprised by how much I enjoyed a green arrow despite the poor rank. It gave me genuine delight and that little bit of a good run I had in the past few Gameweeks.” – Lateriser

Community Competitions and Head-to-Head Fixtures

UEFA Champions League Fantasy Football is back - what you need to know 3

Following the quick turnaround of recent weeks, Neale recapped on the winners of our two cup competitions. Congratulations to Genovoze and Mohd Rodzi on their respective triumphs in the FFS Open Cup and FFS Members Cup.

And well done to Jambo17 who added a third-place finish in the FFS Open Cup to his 2018/19 runners-up spot in the Members Cup. Likewise Rossaldinho, who overcame SUNFLOWER to take the bronze medal in this year’s Members Cup.

RedLightning brought us his regular update on the community competitions, which included a look at the Grand Final of Last Man Standing.

The competition, run every year by TorresMagic, eliminates the lowest-scoring managers each Gameweek until just four managers remain to battle it out in the final round. 

The Hsuper One adds his name to the list of winners after overcoming Robert Tuck (aka COVID-CASUAL), Steven Schelk (aka The Suspended One), and Amit Sharma in Gameweek 37. Many congratulations to him.

And despite his cup success Callum Croal (aka Jambo17) will be one of the ten managers relegated from the top division in our Head-to-Head Leagues.

Gameweek 38 sees David Arblaster, in eleventh, take on Richard Clarke, in tenth, to decide the final relegation spot. Meanwhile Aleksander Våge Nilsen (aka AleksanderVN) will be hoping for a win or a draw to ensure he claims the ultimate prize of Head-to-Head League Champion. Ville Tuominen (aka Santigold) lies in wait should he slip up.

The Head-to-Head fixtures for Gameweek 38 can be found below. 

The scores and tables update every night on the Head-to-Head Leagues main page so you can keep track of the action as the Gameweek unfolds. 

For the last time this season, 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

2,761 Comments Post a Comment
  1. Ange Ball
    • 9 Years
    2 years, 10 months ago

    Any team leaks? Thinking bringing in Sterling over Mane.

  2. Peskey
    • 3 Years
    2 years, 10 months ago

    Shaw to either Chilwell or Cresswell worth -4?
    Otherwise have to play Digne or Targett

    1. Fodderx4
      • 6 Years
      2 years, 10 months ago

      Play Digne

    2. D1B
      • 12 Years
      2 years, 10 months ago

      Nope. Happily play Digne over taking a hit

  3. Jerse
    • Fantasy Football Scout Member
    • 4 Years
    2 years, 10 months ago

    Would not touch the Chelsea attack with a barge pole. Tough fixture, Touchel is more negative than Mourinhio and they simply dont score enough.

  4. WhatWouldYourZlatanSay
    • 8 Years
    2 years, 10 months ago

    A) Holgate > James (rival has Rudi)
    B) Holgate > Mee
    C) Holgate > Tierney
    D) Kane > Kun (chasing, rival has/had Kane)
    E) A/B/C AND D (-4)

    or randomly

    F) Holgate/Son > Robertson/Pepe

    Cheers and one more time good luck!

  5. Duke Silver ☑
    • Fantasy Football Scout Member
    • 9 Years
    2 years, 10 months ago

    Why is everyone so sure Greenwood starts today?

    1. michaelington
      • 14 Years
      2 years, 10 months ago

      Because there’s a fake line up leak

    2. Pompel
      • 10 Years
      2 years, 10 months ago

      Common sense + rumoured leak

    3. Moore FPL
      • 9 Years
      2 years, 10 months ago

      Cavani defo won't start. Greenwood prob starts final on bench.

    4. Rog.
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 12 Years
      2 years, 10 months ago

      There’s a ‘leak’ on Twitter

    5. The Ejiptian King
      • 5 Years
      2 years, 10 months ago

      Unfortunately I think he's benched for the Europa final so the most likely to start.

    6. D1B
      • 12 Years
      2 years, 10 months ago

      No other striker in a fully rotated 11 (Unless Martial is suddenly fit), and Cavani is sure to not start. Rashford could start ahead of him but Greenwood is the most likely of the United assets to start imo.

      (United fan for context)

      1. FPL_Crisis
        • Fantasy Football Scout Member
        • 13 Years
        2 years, 10 months ago

        Would you still keep as he’d be playing with a weakened team with nothing to play for?

  6. Gentle_Turks
    • Fantasy Football Scout Member
    • 6 Years
    2 years, 10 months ago

    To hit or not to hit?

    I'm just 9 points ahead in ML. Will probably do Bruno to Mane, but worried about only having Raphina from Leeds. Worth a hit for Bamford? Or play safe? Or get Bamford & keep Bruno & hope he plays?

    Mendy
    TAA Shaw Holding
    Lingard Bruno Mo Raphina Greenwood
    Nacho Kane
    (Forster DCL Fofana Ward)

    Rival's team
    Meslier
    Philips Shaw Dallas
    Lingard Son Mo Raphina ASM
    Nacho Kane
    (Leno DCL Holding Coady)

    1. yanky
      • 14 Years
      2 years, 10 months ago

      id take the hit for bam and bench a utd mid

    2. Crunchie
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 5 Years
      2 years, 10 months ago

      My problem as well

      1. Crunchie
        • Fantasy Football Scout Member
        • 5 Years
        2 years, 10 months ago

        Take the hit

    3. D1B
      • 12 Years
      2 years, 10 months ago

      No hit if your rival doesn't have Bamford. Very risky

      1. Gentle_Turks
        • Fantasy Football Scout Member
        • 6 Years
        2 years, 10 months ago

        Yes, he can't get Bamford as he has 3 Leeds. So you reckon a hit is too risky?

    4. Gabhini Gupini
      • 10 Years
      2 years, 10 months ago

      Bamford very likely to play 60-70mins

      1. Gentle_Turks
        • Fantasy Football Scout Member
        • 6 Years
        2 years, 10 months ago

        So you wouldn't take the hit?

  7. yanky
    • 14 Years
    2 years, 10 months ago

    really really would love a robertson goal and cs !!!!

  8. J to the T
    • 7 Years
    2 years, 10 months ago

    Start Watkins or Zaha?

    1. brixtonBob
      • 10 Years
      2 years, 10 months ago

      Watkins

  9. Crunchie
    • Fantasy Football Scout Member
    • 5 Years
    2 years, 10 months ago

    6 points above 1k. Definitely shielding.

    A. DCL to Bamford
    B. Zaha to Raphinha
    C. Both
    D. Have Stones on the bench, play him instead of Zaha ??

    1. D1B
      • 12 Years
      2 years, 10 months ago

      As someone chasing 1k I think you should do both (for your sake, not mine)

    2. FPL_Crisis
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 13 Years
      2 years, 10 months ago

      A the most reliable and template

  10. Scots Gooner
    • Fantasy Football Scout Member
    • 7 Years
    2 years, 10 months ago

    I've a 8 point lead, do I sacrifice my 8 points to make some final blocks?

    Davis, Bruno, Castagne -> Bamford, Raphinha (block), Dallas (block)

    1. Gooner Kebab
      • 11 Years
      2 years, 10 months ago

      yes because of the players

  11. LewanGOALski
    • 12 Years
    2 years, 10 months ago

    which one:
    A) play Digne
    or
    B) get any defender that isn’t TAA/Robbo/Dallas for a hit
    ..?

    1. Botman and Robben
      • 7 Years
      2 years, 10 months ago

      A

    2. Free Hat
      • 5 Years
      2 years, 10 months ago

      Im going with Digne. Hoping for a Dallaesque performance at City

    3. Deeney-is-a-god
      • 7 Years
      2 years, 10 months ago

      Play digne

  12. Lord of Ings
    • 8 Years
    2 years, 10 months ago

    What would you do guys?

    Play digne/Zaha

    Or

    bring Torres/pepe (-4)

  13. Tauruspt
    • 6 Years
    2 years, 10 months ago

    KDB worth a punt for Bruno?

  14. BurnMyBread
    • 3 Years
    2 years, 10 months ago

    A) Tierney and Watkins
    B) Digne and Nacho

  15. Krafty Werks
    • 9 Years
    2 years, 10 months ago

    Bench which one? Ta.

    A - Lingard
    B - Greenwood
    C - Son

  16. Muchentuchel
    • Fantasy Football Scout Member
    • 5 Years
    2 years, 10 months ago

    should I bench AWB, SHAW and BRUNO?

    1. Bonus magnet
      • 7 Years
      2 years, 10 months ago

      sell probably

    2. Guru Mediation
      • 8 Years
      2 years, 10 months ago

      None of them playing so yes

      1. Guru Mediation
        • 8 Years
        2 years, 10 months ago

        According to leak/rumour

        1. Ruinenlust
          • 6 Years
          2 years, 10 months ago

          Link?

    3. DA Minnion (Former great)
      • 11 Years
      2 years, 10 months ago

      Yes

  17. FantasyHero
    • 7 Years
    2 years, 10 months ago

    Do we know if forster will play or not?

    1. gart888
      • 9 Years
      2 years, 10 months ago

      Subsribed

  18. Bury94
    • Fantasy Football Scout Member
    • 6 Years
    2 years, 10 months ago

    I know Mark wants to catch Andy up but to cut off Ireland's internet is a tad extreme

    1. @persecuted_by_mods
        2 years, 10 months ago

        Haha classic

      • Weeb Kakashi
        • 8 Years
        2 years, 10 months ago

        Sneaky Mark.

    2. endrent
      • 2 Years
      2 years, 10 months ago

      I´m 3p ahead in mini league. Do i go Maguire to Walker/Tierney (already have TAA so won´t bet on Robbo) or Maguire+Rashford to Holding+Mané for a - 4?

    3. Eleven Hag
      • 6 Years
      2 years, 10 months ago

      For one last time, stay calm Dallas

    4. Hitthewall
      • 3 Years
      2 years, 10 months ago

      Play Pickford or Forster?

      1. Lord of Ings
        • 8 Years
        2 years, 10 months ago

        I'm going Forster but I'm in the same dilemma as well.

    5. Whats the Mata?
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 9 Years
      2 years, 10 months ago

      Start DCL or Watkins?

      1. Pep's Money Laundry
        • 8 Years
        2 years, 10 months ago

        Watkins has been consistent

    6. ball c
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 3 Years
      2 years, 10 months ago

      What are Mahrez owners doing?
      If Transferring out, for who?

      1. Sun Jihai
        • Fantasy Football Scout Member
        • 12 Years
        2 years, 10 months ago

        Probably selling for a Chelsea mid or an Arsenal mid
        Really want Havertz but not sure on the injury

    7. asdf_1
      • 5 Years
      2 years, 10 months ago

      Is the utd lineup posted by mark goldbridge reliable?

    8. LǝgleSs e|even
      • 8 Years
      2 years, 10 months ago

      Need all 15 to play, chasing ML does this BB look ok?
      Alisson
      TAA Rudiger Holding Dallas
      Lingard Greenwood Salah(C) Harisson
      Bamford(VC) Wood
      Mendy Nacho Willock Godfrey

      Any changes to make? Thx

      1. WhatWouldYourZlatanSay
        • 8 Years
        2 years, 10 months ago

        G2G

    9. Weeb Kakashi
      • 8 Years
      2 years, 10 months ago

      Who to get out for Raphinha?

      Foden OR Mahrez

    10. FPL_Crisis
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 13 Years
      2 years, 10 months ago

      Start Greenwood or Willock
      Own the former and need to free up 0.8m to fund Bale to Mane

      So Greenwood to Wilock OR Shaw to 4.6m defender (starting Greenwood)
      Backline would be Trent Dallas Holding

      1. g40steve
        • 6 Years
        2 years, 10 months ago

        About two hours late

    11. DycheDycheBaby
      • 8 Years
      2 years, 10 months ago

      I'm so worried about Mane hauling and rival getting him in. But is Son --> Mane worth a hit?

    12. Duke Silver ☑
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 9 Years
      2 years, 10 months ago

      Wish we had that all out attack chip for this GW 😆