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. Inferno
    • 13 Years
    2 years, 10 months ago

    Much needed break from fpl. This season was painful. Everyone, enjoy your summer.

    1. el polako
      • 6 Years
      2 years, 10 months ago

      What summer ? It's more like late autumn out there.

      1. the dom 1
        • Fantasy Football Scout Member
        • 9 Years
        2 years, 10 months ago

        Winter is almost here in perth lads.

        1. Perthite
          • 13 Years
          2 years, 10 months ago

          It is tonight.

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

      It's been torture.

      Honestly looking forward to the break

  2. The Polymath
    • Fantasy Football Scout Member
    • 8 Years
    2 years, 10 months ago

    PENS DOWN!

  3. The Ilfordian
    • Fantasy Football Scout Member
    • 6 Years
    2 years, 10 months ago

    Watkins to Antonio-4?

    When’s the deadline?

    1. el polako
      • 6 Years
      2 years, 10 months ago

      You got plenty of time my friend, 2 months ish.

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

        Lol! Tried to cut back on the hits but I know Tony’s going big now and Watkins goal scoring radars going to be on random mode. Oh well!

    2. TheSteel
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 11 Years
      2 years, 10 months ago

      5 minutes ago

  4. diesel001
    • 7 Years
    2 years, 10 months ago

    Looking forward to how dead this place is going to be tomorrow.

    1. @persecuted_by_mods
        2 years, 10 months ago

        What's so fun about a dead place

        1. diesel001
          • 7 Years
          2 years, 10 months ago

          Get much better discussion.

          1. @persecuted_by_mods
              2 years, 10 months ago

              Dead is just as bad as matchday imo, there's a sweet spot midweek

          2. Rotation's Alter Ego
            • Fantasy Football Scout Member
            • Has Moderation Rights
            • 12 Years
            2 years, 10 months ago

            Can usually have decent conversations. More long term posters, less RMTs

            1. @persecuted_by_mods
                2 years, 10 months ago

                Two extremes imo, lots of the chat is about the wire or breaking bad during dead times

                I'd prefer dead over matchday rmt spam but midweek on a normal week isn't too bad for discussion

          3. Party time
              2 years, 10 months ago

              Lol. Ghost town

          4. Rainer
            • 7 Years
            2 years, 10 months ago

            Not long till RMTs with potential prices...

            1. Debauchy
              • 11 Years
              2 years, 10 months ago

              Can't wait lol

          5. Party time
              2 years, 10 months ago

              “Bruno starts” will be funny here

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

                Move away from high windows at 3pm

            • b91jh
              • 6 Years
              2 years, 10 months ago

              Time to be ready for Pukki Party!

              ***already regreting bringing in Amad as an ultra punt.

              1. Pep bites Kun
                • 7 Years
                2 years, 10 months ago

                He'll probably be the first name on my teamsheet for the new season. What was his price last time?

                1. b91jh
                  • 6 Years
                  2 years, 10 months ago

                  It was 6.5 i think

                  1. Pep bites Kun
                    • 7 Years
                    2 years, 10 months ago

                    He's a runner then

            • Debauchy
              • 11 Years
              2 years, 10 months ago

              Meltdown in 25 and counting

            • Magic Zico
              • Fantasy Football Scout Member
              • 5 Years
              2 years, 10 months ago

              Give me 100 pts! 😆 GL all!

            • OverTinker
              • 5 Years
              2 years, 10 months ago

              Season
              1. Over
              2. Fudgied

            • Pep bites Kun
              • 7 Years
              2 years, 10 months ago

              Time to crack open the beers, get the crisps out and peruse the takeaway menu's. 7.35pm where I am 😉

            • Bad Kompany
              • 6 Years
              2 years, 10 months ago

              Scenes if Bruno starts and mane is benched

              1. dark91
                • 8 Years
                2 years, 10 months ago

                Mane still likely to score more off the bench

              2. diesel001
                • 7 Years
                2 years, 10 months ago

                Bruno starting is possible.

                But Mane benching is unlikely. Rushing back Jota to start when he has been injured would be foolish. Not like Liverpool need Jota to win.

            • Hulk Smash
              • 8 Years
              2 years, 10 months ago

              I benched Son so I could start Willock.

              What have I done?

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

                Right decision, not sure the outcome 😛

                1. Hulk Smash
                  • 8 Years
                  2 years, 10 months ago

                  One of my rivals has Son, the other doesn't. Neither have Willock unless they've brought him in this week and I'm only 8 points behind.

              2. Jam0sh
                • Fantasy Football Scout Member
                • 11 Years
                2 years, 10 months ago

                It seems that you benched Son and started Willock

                1. Hulk Smash
                  • 8 Years
                  2 years, 10 months ago

                  Ah right thanks. I couldn't quite figure it out.

            • TheSteel
              • Fantasy Football Scout Member
              • 11 Years
              2 years, 10 months ago

              Is Torres likely to rise tonight?

              1. Philosopher's Stones
                • 3 Years
                2 years, 10 months ago

                Depends on his bird

              2. Tiki-Taka
                • 13 Years
                2 years, 10 months ago

                captained him for the culture

            • Bubz
              • 10 Years
              2 years, 10 months ago

              Took a -12. Yes you read that correctly

              1. Fudgy
                • 4 Years
                2 years, 10 months ago

                I did a -4 and I am top of my ML by a point

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

                  I am using my bench boost though

                  1. Fudgy
                    • 4 Years
                    2 years, 10 months ago

                    Worth the.

                    1. Fudgy
                      • 4 Years
                      2 years, 10 months ago

                      Then*

                2. Big Hands Barry
                  • Fantasy Football Scout Member
                  • 5 Years
                  2 years, 10 months ago

                  Not any more you're not!

                  1. Fudgy
                    • 4 Years
                    2 years, 10 months ago

                    He might have done a hit too 😛

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

                YOLO

              3. Debauchy
                • 11 Years
                2 years, 10 months ago

                gl Bubz

              4. Jam0sh
                • Fantasy Football Scout Member
                • 11 Years
                2 years, 10 months ago

                Sounds like a bit too much

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

                Wow brave

              6. Babit1967
                • 7 Years
                2 years, 10 months ago

                -8 for BB, reckon it’ll pay off

            • Philosopher's Stones
              • 3 Years
              2 years, 10 months ago

              Had finished my transfers yesterday and been on the booze for the last few hours today. Nearly did Kane + Saka -> Wood + Auba for a -8, but thankfully I'd just started drinking then and I'm only on the beers. Goodluck for the final time on this strange season, lads. Looking forward to the next one already.

            • Ruinenlust
              • 6 Years
              2 years, 10 months ago

              What happened to the Pre-Match Preamble?

            • Jafooli
              • 12 Years
              2 years, 10 months ago

              Can’t wait for next season to be over.....

              1. Debauchy
                • 11 Years
                2 years, 10 months ago

                😆

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

                  😉

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

              3. Pukki Blinders
                • 4 Years
                2 years, 10 months ago

                Sound line fudgy

            • CoracAld2831
              • Fantasy Football Scout Member
              • 3 Years
              2 years, 10 months ago

              Team now:

              Areola
              TAA-Digne-Dallas
              Pereira-Lingard-Salah(c)-Greenwood
              Antonio-Bamford(v)-Kane

              Johnstone-Ward-Prowse-Dunk-Mings

              BB used.

              Was it GTG? Or not?

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

                No 😆 but what can you do?

                1. CoracAld2831
                  • Fantasy Football Scout Member
                  • 3 Years
                  2 years, 10 months ago

                  Explain yourself.

              2. TheSteel
                • Fantasy Football Scout Member
                • 11 Years
                2 years, 10 months ago

                G2g

            • Eastman
              • 6 Years
              2 years, 10 months ago

              Good luck everyone

            • Party time
                2 years, 10 months ago

                Where are the leaked line ups?

                I swear I regret selling Bruno. Time to get punished guys

              • DF
                • 10 Years
                2 years, 10 months ago

                Jolly good. Time to focus on my panini.

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

                What were some of the interesting or unique "themes" you noticed this season (excluding the obvious no crowds situation)? For me the higher penalty count at the start which had us picking teams of penalty takers was unlike previous seasons.

                1. djman102
                  • 14 Years
                  2 years, 10 months ago

                  Salah's cursed blank spell!

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

                    Yeah! That was a goody. Nigerian witch-doctor lost Pool the title. 🙂

                2. Nate01
                  • 13 Years
                  2 years, 10 months ago

                  Bench fodders a thing of the past now I reckon

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

                  If man united have a good season, overall rank becomes a greater challenge.

              • Babit1967
                • 7 Years
                2 years, 10 months ago

                Brentford go up then deffo Toney for 3rd striker

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

                https://twitter.com/OddsOnFPL/status/1396460487009783810?s=19

                Greenwood not starting.

                1. TheSteel
                  • Fantasy Football Scout Member
                  • 11 Years
                  2 years, 10 months ago

                  Season over

                2. Party time
                    2 years, 10 months ago

                    Hahahahahahahahaha

                    Bruno starts!

                  • Big boy Bowen
                    • 7 Years
                    2 years, 10 months ago

                    Bruno??

                  • Jam0sh
                    • Fantasy Football Scout Member
                    • 11 Years
                    2 years, 10 months ago

                    😀

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

                    Sh-t

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

                    You posted the same info last GW didn’t you? How accurate was that?

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

                  Not long untill we see one page a day.

                4. Pukki Blinders
                  • 4 Years
                  2 years, 10 months ago

                  Greenwood apparently not starting

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

                    Really. Was the rest of the leak made up too?

                    1. AC/DC AFC
                      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
                      • 8 Years
                      2 years, 10 months ago

                      Apparently...

                      Who'd have thought false rumours!!

                    2. Pukki Blinders
                      • 4 Years
                      2 years, 10 months ago

                      Yep was announced by Goldbridge as incorrect about 30 mins ago

                5. OptimusBlack
                  • 10 Years
                  2 years, 10 months ago

                  Who would score first goal today ?
                  I Feel Nachoo

                6. SteJ
                  • 4 Years
                  2 years, 10 months ago

                  Well, it's done.
                  Thanks to all the staff and contributors over a challenging year

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

                  Players most likely to punish sellers today? DCL?

                  1. Jam0sh
                    • Fantasy Football Scout Member
                    • 11 Years
                    2 years, 10 months ago

                    Could be

                  2. Big boy Bowen
                    • 7 Years
                    2 years, 10 months ago

                    Bruno lol

                  3. Big boy Bowen
                    • 7 Years
                    2 years, 10 months ago

                    Maybe even Kane

                  4. AC/DC AFC
                    • Fantasy Football Scout Member
                    • 8 Years
                    2 years, 10 months ago

                    Or bemchers.

                    Everton!!

                  5. djman102
                    • 14 Years
                    2 years, 10 months ago

                    Bruno if the lineup above is true.

                  6. TKC07
                    • 4 Years
                    2 years, 10 months ago

                    Shaw

                  7. The Ilfordian
                    • Fantasy Football Scout Member
                    • 6 Years
                    2 years, 10 months ago

                    JWP

                  8. OverTinker
                    • 5 Years
                    2 years, 10 months ago

                    I hope not, I benched him for ESR. (Chasing)

                  9. @persecuted_by_mods
                      2 years, 10 months ago

                      Haha donkey Calvert Lewin?