Second Round Fixtures
Gameweek 30
New rankings as per the current Best-ish table
Beedle’s Boys#5 vs. Stafford Stallions#20 (Match B2)
Both promotion-chasers, first meeting.
Beedle’s Boys – League Two, 1st // Cup Best: First Cup
Stafford Stallions – League One, 3rd // Cup Best: First Cup
The League Two leaders enter their first BFFA Cup with a tie against fellow rookies Stafford Stallions. Both teams are looking good for promotion and both have won 5 of their last 6 league games. Despite them being fifteen places apart in the Best-ish rankings, they have been very similarly-scoring over the last 10 games (BB 570½ v 548½; ave. 2.2 FPts diff per GW) and have outscored each other five times over that period.
On paper, Beedle’s Boys look like a tough nut to crack with Gabriel (6.69 FP/Gm), Bruno Fernandes (7.62 FP/Gm) and Igor Thiago (18 goals), and new signings Mané, van Hecke and Ajer. Stallions are coming in strong with Kai Havertz in place of Beto in addition to four players averaging 6+ FP/Gm since New Years in Casemiro, Jimenez, Cunha and Florian Wirtz who returned to the field in the FA Cup last weekend.
Winners the face winners of D2 (below) in the Third Round
Barons FC#2 vs. Jaysokker#21 (D2)
First meeting.
Barons – Championship, 1st // Cup Best: QF (2018, 2021)
Jaysokker – League One, 9th // Cup Best: Runners-Up (2022)
Initially it looks a bit like a David-against-Goliath affair for Jaysokker, however, the former Cup Runners-Up outscored Barons in both of the last two matches and they have just beaten their league leaders, Whiskey De Bruyne, in a top-v-bottom showdown. Barons will still be favourites to win the Cup tie, they have recently returned to the top of the Championship (they’ve not been below Second place all season) and have won 7 of their last 8 games.
Aside for Rayan (owned by both), there are some standout differentials. Erling Haaland (Barons) has come under the spotlight for FPL managers in the last few weeks. Before Christmas he was averaging 10.91 FP/Gm, since then it is only 5.59 FP/Gm, which is still substantial but not nearly as terrifying as previously thought. Beside him, Cherki and Rodri will be prepped for the trip to The London Stadium. Interestingly, opposing that City trio in the BFFA Cup will be three of their teammates – Doku, Semenyo and Marmoush (all of whom played in City’s 3-1 FA Cup win last Saturday where Marmoush found the net twice) – who are preparing to score for Jaysokker.
Winners the face winners of B2 (above) in the Third Round
Gloopy Yarbles#10 vs. BattleVAR Galactico#24 (K2)
Both currently 5th; met in S7 Cup QF (Gloopy won 55-27)
Gloopy Yarbles – Premier League, 5th // Cup Best: Runner-Up (2021)
BattleVAR Galactico – League Two, 5th // Cup Best: Quarter-Finals (2020, 2021)
Over 100 matchpoints separate these two in the Best-ish rankings, yet they are both fifth in their respective league this evening, both on 16-0-13 records.
BattleVAR were a top three side for sixteen weeks of the first half of the season, but dropped to sixth because of a poor run of games post-Chrimbo. They have won their last three games though (including two matches against the current top three) and are very much back in contention for promotion. Similarly, Gloopy were also in the mix for 16 of the first 19 gameweeks before dropping off under new year blues. They too are coming back in the final third of the season, they’ve won four of the last six and are in good shape to finish the season strongly.
Looking at their weekly outputs, it’s been very either-or over the last seven weeks, each taking a turn to outscore the other, so there’s no telling who will come on top next week. Both teams have strength in defence – Petrovic has scored 31 in the last four gameweeks for Gloopy and Timber has scored 36½ in that time for BVAR. The Yarbles have added to their defensive wall with a pair of Brentford defenders – Sepp van den Berg and Nathan Collins – ahead of their home game against Wolves, and BattleVAR have doubled up in goal with Bart Verbruggen. Richarlison packed his bags to make way after a single week.
Offensively, Gloopy have netted more goals than their Cup opponents since New Years, 14 to 11, but most of those BVAR goals have come in the last three weeks (6, compared to Gloopy’s 3). Both sides have also signed goalscorers recently to strengthen their attack – Marmoush, Flemming and Havertz for Gloopy; O’Reilly & Dewsbury-Hall for BVAR.
Winners the face winners of C2 (below) in the Third Round
The Phenoms#12 vs. Mighty Fine#23 (C2)
Rematch of CL R1 (GW9); Phenoms 54-53 Mighty Fine
The Phenoms – Championship, 2nd // Cup Best: QF’s (2024)
Mighty Fine – Premier League, 4th // Cup Best: Winners (2023, 2025)
The score comparisons like the one above have highlighted that any team can beat any other, but none have been more changeable in the last set-o’nine than this pair. Phenoms and Mighty Fine have alternated better scores over the last nine gameweeks and it makes it very difficult to take a guess at either’s chances of reaching the Third Round. Certainly, Mighty Fine’s recent form (WLDWL) is a very good example of their unpredictability, but then they’ve had a smaller range of scores than their Championship opponents.
Both teams have been fielding Mbeumo throughout the season and will likely ready him for the game against Villa. Mighty Fine have doubled up on United powerhouses with Bruno Fernandes (7 goals, 14 Assists, 198 FPts this season), but Phenoms drafted Mbeumo’s high-scoring replacement in August – Igor Thiago (18 goals, 1 Assist, 191 FPts so far).
Last week The Phenoms signed Diego Gómez in the hunt for even more goals (Gómez scored two in his last three), and Mighty Fine picked up Marc Cucurella in an attempt to shore up their defensive line. In retrospect, Cucurella only scored 0.5 last time he played Newcastle (in a 2-2 draw away) and Gómez did not play against Sunderland that week, so any contributions they make may come as a pleasant surprise.
Winners the face winners of K2 (above) in the Third Round
De Bruyne Trousers#4 vs. Goleta Hotspur#19 (M2)
Six previous meetings, all won by DBT.
De Bruyne Trousers – Premier League, 2nd // Cup Best: QF (2024)
Goleta Hotspur – League Two, 8th // Cup Best: SF (2023)
There was only one point between their scores last week (what a game that would have been!) and three of their last five were separated by just two matchpoints or less. As mentioned above, when they’ve been playing each other, all six matches between the two have gone the way of the Premier League challengers – four league games and two Champions League matches. In those previous meetings, only one game has finished close (Lge 2, S9, GW35: DBT 41-40 Goleta).
Tipped as potential unstoppables by “The Other Sock” in GW1, DBT have been enjoying leading the challenge to Housewives Favourite‘s dominance of the elite tier. Eight points clear of the bubble, DBT are looking good for prize money and are very much in contention to return to the top again before the season is through. At the other end of the ladder, Goleta (who fingertipped the top spot in League Two early on) have been steadily losing traction in midtable and three losses on the trot have pulled them down to eighth.
Goleta, who have appeared in all twelve previous editions of the BFFA Cup, have gone further than DBT by reaching the Final Four in Season 10. This season they are pinning their hopes on Semenyo and Garner; Semenyo will be hoping to be selected for the late evening game away at West Ham, the second team to concede 50 goals in the PL this season, but Garner faces a much tougher defence at the Emirates. Luckily, he pulls in a lot of Tackles & Interceptions – the most of any outfield player. For the Trousers, a strong front line featuring Calvert-Lewin, Ekitiké and Watkins would be enough to intimidate most people, and with new defensive signings – Branthwaite and Lacroix – they’re going into the Cup with the aim of being unstoppable.
Winners the face winners of N2 (below) in the Third Round
Slots Fired#8 vs. Sporting Thrillhaus#32 (N2)
First meeting
Slots Fired – Championship, 4th // Cup Best: R3 (2023, 2025)
Sporting Thrillhaus – League One, 8th // Cup Best: R2 (2025)
Although the first half of the season saw Slots Fired outscoring their Second Round opponents 16-3, the last ten gameweeks have seen Sporting Thrillhaus demonstrate a much stronger output. There have been big scores from both sides, quite a few in the 60’s and 70’s this year (and an 85 & a 91 in the first month of Slots’ campaign), so there could be a real pointsfest to behold come Sunday afternoon.
Slots Fired have been playing with a Neto-Gakpo-Pedro front line for most of the season, or some variant of, and they’ve combined for 25 goals (an average of 8⅓ each). Sporting Thrillhaus changed to a 4-2-4 formation to push their attacking ability – DCL, Gyökeres, Schade & Sesko – who are averaging 8¾ each. Unfortunately that front four managed zero goals and zero assists last week; Thrillhaus lost by a single point. Their defences are quite similar (and have Timber in common) so the differential may be in the midfield. The two main playmakers in each team will be facing each other at The Emirates next Saturday – Saka (SF) will look to improve on the 5 FPts he scored against Everton in December, while Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall (Thrillhaus) will be facing Arsenal for the first time since his pre-Christmas hamstring injury.
Winners the face winners of M2 (above) in the Third Round
Sporting Wicker Park#16 vs. All Star Gunners#17 (P2)
GW30: League & Cup double-header, both former Cup runners-up;
Replay of Season 9 Cup R2: SWP 24 – 34 ASG
Sporting Wicker Park – Championship, 5th // Cup Best: Runner-Up (2016)
All Star Gunners – Championship, 6th // Cup Best: Runner-Up (2023)
A very exciting tie here; this may be the one to watch. Not only is it for a place in the Third Round, it’s also for fifth place in the Championship and an important three points in the hunt for promotion. And as league rivals, they have also played each other three times this season already –
GW3: ASG 57½ – 41½ SWP
GW12: ASG 46 – 60 SWP
GW21: ASG 66 – 58 SWP
But it may be more prudent to look at the scores for Gameweek 17, when the reverse fixtures took place. You may notice that both sides have players that scored in GW17 – Cunha (SWP) scored against Villa and Semenyo (ASG) fired home against West Ham. ASG outscored SWP 72½-59½, but that was with Alexander Isak’s last kick in the Premier League, scoring against Spurs, and hasn’t returned since. Isak was replaced by Paqueta in the ASG squad, but then he left for Brazil and was replaced by Mané, who was replaced by Brobbey, who then stepped out to let Iwobi in. Iwobi didn’t play in GW17, he was off helping Nigeria take 3rd Place in the Africa Cup of Nations. He did assist both goals in Nigeria’s 2-1 win over Tanzania that weekend though.
Sporting are just a shade above ASG in the league – taking a point off The Phenoms in GW15 from a 66-all draw, and a very slight edge in the matchpoint total (1482 v 1470, roughly only 0.4 FPts per game better). Indeed, as the only adjacent ranks playing in the Second Round, it doesn’t get any closer in the Cup Second Round preview. But you may notice that even though SWP have the higher total, it is ASG who have had more higher-scoring weeks (16-13), including the most recent two that were played before the FA Cup break.
Winners the face winners of J2 (below) in the Third Round
Hung Like a Bony#6 vs. Alleviate the Tedium#31 (J2)
Met CL R1, GW9, Hung 76½ – 25 ATT
Hung Like a Bony – Premier League, 3rd // Cup Best: Runner-Up (2024)
Alleviate the Tedium – Championship, 9th // Cup Best: QF (2025)
Over the last six weeks Hung Like a Bony have been suffering from an unfortunate case of vertigo. They have stepped down from the top rung and are once again playing catch-up. However, they do have a commanding matchpoint advantage over the teams below them and room to spare. Alleviate the Tedium are having a difficult season and may struggle to escape relegation. They have been laying in ninth place since GW8 and are desperate for wins. Thus, a good Cup run would keep their fans happy, or at least restore some faith in their manager.
Their form has improved a lot in recent weeks – they’ve won 2 of the last 3, and 3 of the last 6. That form is mirrored in their score comparison against Hung LAB, see above. Meanwhile, the former PL leaders have had a dire spell over the last couple of months – taking just four points from their last seven games (1W, 1D, 5L) while Wives Fave and DBT have both won six in that same timeframe. But it’s not just about what you score, it’s about who you’re up against.
Looking at the two sides, you may see they have Luke Shaw and Enzo Le Fée in common (at time of writing), so how they are utilised may have a big impact of the matchup. ATT will have to contend with Raya and Haaland, both #1 in their respective positions, and Hung will be facing the Liverpool duo Ekitiké and Wirtz (selection pending).
Winners the face winners of P2 (above) in the Third Round
Wrockwardine Wood Wolves#11 vs. Beyer Neverleusen#28 (I2)
Neverleusen won in a replay to face Wolves for the first time.
Wrockwardine Wood Wolves – League Two, 3rd // Cup Best: First Cup
Beyer Neverleusen – Premier League, 7th // First Cup
The last time Wolfsburg beat Leverkusen was October 2021, Lukas Nmecha (now at Leeds) scored the opener and had a part in the second. Maxence Lacroix (now Palace) was given a straight red for pulling back Lucas Alario and giving away a penalty (which was saved). This weekend, as Wolves face Neverleusen, Leeds travel to Selhurst Park hoping for a repeat of their 4-1 home win in December. While neither team have Nmecha nor Lacroix (at time of writing anyway), they do have teammates that will play that same game, a pair of opposing players in the first elevens – Wolves have Aaronson & Stach to face Palace, and Neverleusen could field Riad & Sarr on Sunday.
Beyer Neverleusen escaped First Round elimination by a late points recalculation, a half-point addition, and were given a second shot at Toastenham Hankdog. They took that chance and set up a fixture against rookies WWW. The new recruits, who are the favourites to win this Second Round tie, took their squad to the top of League Two with a 10-game win streak between gameweeks 15-24, but have only won once since then. Neverleusen haven’t had much luck in the league either, but have outscored the Wolves three times in the last four weeks. BN also have Jarrod Bowen, who scored twice on Monday against Brentford in the FA Cup; WWW have João Pedro, who scored in the 125th minute against Wrexham. Hopefully this fixture won’t need extra time to be decided too.
Winners the face winners of F2 (below) in the Third Round
Bigger than Brolin#9 vs. Borussia Teeth#35 (F2)
S9 Cup R2: 45-45 & BtB 54-21 Teeth (replay)
Bigger than Brolin – League One, 2nd // Cup Best: Winners (2017, 2021)
Borussia Teeth – League Two, 9th // Cup Best: R2 (4x)
Borussia Teeth are the lowest-ranked side going into the Second Round; Bigger than Brolin are a volunteer team filling in for the absent Webuiltthis City. Sounds like a dead rubber? Think again. BtB, two-time Cup Champions, have passed 60 points four times in the last six. In fact, the magic number seems to be 54 – (almost) every time BtB fail to reach 54, they have been outdone by an above-average Borussia side.
Bigger than Brolin, in a bid to get back to the second tier, drafted Saka and Sarr to lead the midfield and added Cherki to the line-up in October. All three have reached triple figures this season and continue to dominate. They are playing alongside two high-scoring attacking draftees – Ekitiké and Evanilson. In the last gameweek BtB scored 5 goals in their 81-37 thrashing of ELU. However, BtB’s Saka will probably be cancelled out by Teeth’s own incarnation of the prolific Arsenal midfielder. Borussia’s difference maker will likely be Mbuemo or Schade who are both approaching their tenth goals of the season. And expect to see the return of Pedro Neto who had one week on the Borussia bench ahead of Chelsea’s FA Cup match last weekend.
Winnersthe face winners of I2 (above) in the Third Round
Housewives Favourite#1 vs. Bigo1#30 (L2)
Two previous runners-up; first meeting
Housewives Favourite – Premier League, 1st // Cup Best: Runner-Up (2021)
Bigo1 – League Two, 2nd // Cup Best: Runners-Up (2018)
It probably isn’t surprising to anyone that the BFFA’s highest scoring team have only been beaten by #30 seven times this season, the fewest of any challenger in these sixteen matchups. But has Wives Fave recent run of sub-60 scores opened a door to a Cupset? Well, if anyone’s going to do it, a resurgent Bigo1 might be the team to do it. They’ve won 9 of their last 10, falling in recent weeks only to the experts in causing upsets – BattleVAR Galactico.
So how have Wives Fave got themselves to #1 this season? Most goalkeeper points (180), second-most outfielder points (1,489), most minutes played (26,652), second-most Goals Scored (66), most outfielder clean sheets (102). Nice. But where are they struggling, where could Bigo1 capitalise? Key Passes: HF ranked 30th, Interceptions: HF ranked 35th, Assists: HF ranked 37th. So a challenge to the Best-ish leaders could come from Elliott Anderson (42 KP, 3 Assists) against Fulham, Marcos Senesi (44 Ints, 4 Assists) away at Turf Moor or possibly Willian (5 Assists), subject to a game-time decision against Newcastle. Viktor Gyökeres may also have a bit of a contribution at the Emirates.
Winners the face winners of A2 (below) in the Third Round
Whiskey De Bruyne#3 vs. Team Zizou #25 (A2)
First meeting
Whiskey De Bruyne – League One, 1st // Cup Best: R3 (2023, 2024)
Team Zizou – League Two, 6th // Cup Best: First Cup
The winners of this game will play either Wives Fave or Bigo1. It’s impossible to say whether the neutral fan would want to see the two league leaders face-off in the Third Round, or have an All-L2 repeat of last week’s match (Bigo1 beat Team Z, 65-55), or a different combination entirely. Recent form would suggest that Team Zizou are stronger team here – there’s a lot of blue in the GW20’s above, and some pretty consistent scoring from the rookie side.
That said, it’s so hard to ignore the potential devastation that Haaland and Joao Pedro can wreak on any given Saturday. Both players scored in the reverse fixtures; Haaland got two versus West Ham and Pedro has also scored eight in his last eight league games (plus many more in the Cup). Zizou’s ability to repeatedly register high-50’s scores has been largely due to the high averages this year from Sarr, Rice, VvD and Jimenez, all averaging 6.00+ across the outfield. Consistency is key, some say.
Winners the face winners of L2 (above) in the Third Round
Smash & Grab#13 vs. Vanishing Spray FC#18 (E2)
An all-PL tie, 34th meeting (33rd: PL last week, S&G 47½– 24½ VSFC)
Smash & Grab – Premier League, 9th // Cup Best: Winners (2019)
Vanishing Spray – Premier League, 8th // Cup Best: Semi-Finals (2021)
Old friends, arch-rivals, frequent flyers. Call them what you will, but nothing exemplifies a Cup spectacle quite like two teams that keep being forced to face each other, season in, season out. This will be the 34th time the pair have met and they were level-pegging until last week. Currently S&G have had slightly more success in their all-time encounters (almost entirely in the PL) at W16 D2 L15. Unfortunately they are both looking at continuing this story in the second tier… but that’s a topic for another channel.
Both teams skipped the First Round sift and were thrown together here to play their first Cup game against each other. Both teams were knocked out in the Second Round last season, and being here together of course means that one will suffer the same fate, while the other goes on to meet FPL Daddy or El Dude Bros in the Last Sixteen. Semenyo (Smash) and Pedro (Spray) will do their best to force a win for their sides, Harry Wilson (Spray) will try and remove the clean sheets of Smash’s new signings Aina & Sels, while Thiaw (Smash) may be able to do the same to Sanchez (Spray). Mateta and van Hecke join the ranks for Spray this week; Martinelli and Maguire now feature on the S&G teamsheet.
Winners the face winners of G2 (below) in the Third Round
FPL Daddy#15 vs. El Dude Bros#26 (G2)
First meeting.
FPL Daddy – League Two, 4th // Cup Best: First Cup
El Dude Bros – Premier League, 6th // Cup Best: Winners (2022)
Another tie that looks like it has a clear favourite already – the League Two side that are pushing for promotion have outscored El Dude Bros in each of the last three gameweeks, and almost all of the other gameweeks since Christmas too. The Daddies were assigned a “home” fixture by sitting sixteenth in the Best-ish rankings at the deadline and got a Premier League side for their efforts, and not just any top-flight team, but Cup Champions. However, compared to previous campaigns, the El Dude Bros step into this tournament a little bit under-par.
Now ranked 26th, down from 22nd, EDB have been languishing in the bottom half of the Premier League table for the entire season and would like some faith restored by excelling in the BFFA Cup. Only five wins are needed from this point in. They could grab that win from players like Declan Rice and Enzo Fernandez, both already north of 150 FPts this season, or possibly Virgil van Dijk or Dominic Solanke – who have both scored three in 2026 and will face each other on the Anfield pitch on Sunday.
FPL Daddy also have two star players sharing the same pitch on Sunday – midfielders Harry Wilson (158½ FPts) and Morgan Gibbs-White (151). Danny Ballard makes a welcome return to the side after being dropped for Lewis Hall a couple of weeks ago, and Igor Jesus joins the squad to add more firepower, replacing Jarrad Branthwaite (D-EVE) ahead of a very difficult game against the Arsenal. The Daddies will get another Premier League stalwart in the next round if they can outscore El Dude Bros for a fourth week in a row.
Winners the face winners of E2 (above) in the Third Round
Preliminary Version#7 vs. Peltier#27 (H2)
GW27 in the Championship – Prelim 65 – 64½ Peltier
Preliminary Version – Championship, 3rd // Cup Best: QF (2024)
Peltier – Championship, 7th // Cup Best: R2 (4x)
League rivalries are always tasty fixtures in inter-league play, if for no other reason than for the fact that there are no “cup-tied” players, which can lead to an arms race on the waiver wire. This week, Beto was sacrificed to make room for Strand Larsen in his new colours, plus Everton’s Dwight McNeil and Jake O’Brien have also come into the Preliminary Version squad since they last met Peltier three weeks ago.
Mateus Fernandes joined Peltier in GW27 and instantly scored 7½ against Prelim, but was released following two poor subsequent results; he is replaced this week by Wolves back Hugo Bueno. Peltier also took a chance on Joelinton, now back in the Newcastle starting XI, and cut Amad Diallo who is getting less minutes under the new gaffer. Also added to the “away” side last week were Neco Williams and Mikkel Damsgaard who play Fulham and Wolves respectively this weekend.
League results are going the way of Prelim, they’re scoring much higher than their opposite-end-of-midtable opponents, and that has led to a run of six straight wins (which would be seven now if Slots Fired hadn’t topped Prelim’s 74½ last week!) Peltier have won both games since losing to Prelim by half-a-point in GW27, but did so by scoring less. Hugo Bueno, Diallo, Neco & co. will need to up Peltier’s game if they are improve on four straight Second Round exits.
Winners the face winners of O2 (below) in the Third Round
GoFYS FC#14 vs. AFC Chester#22 (O2)
An all-League One tie. 15th matchup; 7-7 in first 14.
GW25 in League One – GoFYS 43 – 87½ Chester
GoFYS FC – League One, 4th – Cup Best: R3 (2018, 2020WC)
AFC Chester – League One, 5th – Cup Best: SF (2023)
GoFYS are one of six teams who are suiting up for their 13th BFFA Cup but, like Borussia Teeth, they have never reached the Quarter-Finals. That objective can be realised with just two good scores in Cup gameweeks. Unfortunately, the last two times that they’ve met AFC Chester, they’ve lost quite heavily. What’s more, they’ve not done as well as Chester over the last couple of months; even discounting the invalid team week, they have been under-performing of late. Somehow though, they are still on the bubble for a promotion and there is plenty of time left in the season. The arrival of Petrovic between the sticks heralds improvements after the Bournemouth ‘keeper’s run of good form. Three clean sheets in six and a nice fixture against lowly Burnley looks great on paper, as did the signatures of Richarlison and James Hill in GWs 28 & 27.
Since their GW25 encounter, AFC Chester signed John McGinn who had scored a brace against Forest, but he was quickly let go in favour of Diego Gómez who has two goals in his last three. He helped Chester return to winning ways with a one-point win over Sporting Thrillhaus. Cole Palmer has also had a big hand in Chester’s fortunes this year – 6 goals and 69 matchpoints since the calendar change. We hope, of course, that Palmer isn’t a jinx; both of the teams he played for in the First Round of the Cup were eliminated. He is also in the squad for Goleta’s difficult tie against #4 DBT. We believe this match is Palmer’s best chance of making it into Round Three.
Winners face the winners of H2 (above) in the Third Round
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