The Ultimate Gaffr Scottish Fantasy Football Boost and Strategy Guide (GW13-24)
How to navigate doubles, blanks, fixtures and boosts through the most decisive stretch of the season.
Setting the scene (GW13-24)
The next 12 gameweeks are unlike any other period in the Gaffr season. We have:
Four double gameweeks: GW13, GW17, GW21, GW22
Three blank gameweeks: GW15, GW17, GW20
Several fixture swings that massively alter the value of Hibs, St Mirren, Motherwell and Rangers
Lineups for 8 teams in GW13 - a huge advantage before playing your boost
Some international break uncertainty around minutes, travel and injuries
On top of that, this boost window is unusually competitive because three of the boosts are extremely high-ceiling, and the doubles line up in such a way that choosing when to use them is more important than ever.
This article is designed to be evergreen for the whole window. Save it, revisit it, plan through it.
Before we dive into this you can access or download my fully updated fixture ticker for the upcoming period here
The fixture ticker is the backbone of everything in this article. Every decision, every boost, every transfer pathway comes back to fixtures, particularly in a window full of doubles and blanks - so get planning!
The teams that matter (and the ones that don’t)
Over the next 12 weeks, your squad should revolve around six core teams while avoiding most of the rest. The pillars are clear.
Celtic, Hearts and Rangers: the three pillars
These remain the most reliable sources of fantasy points over the short, medium and long run:
Celtic and Hearts are the two best teams in the league
Rangers have superb fixtures coming up and improvements in form
Minimal blanks - only Hearts blank in GW20, where you can bench their assets
They’re consistent, predictable, high-ceiling, and the foundation of almost every strong team.
Hibs: valuable in the short term
Hibs are a good hold through the GW13 double and for general attacking value.
But planning is required around a tough period for them:
GW13: Great double gameweek (Dundee H, Motherwell A)
GW14: Celtic at home
GW15: Blank
GW16: Falkirk (H) - very favourable
GW17: Rangers (A) - tricky
Hibs are excellent short-term buys (especially midfield), but managers must prepare to come off a triple-up after the upcoming double.
Motherwell: long hold until GW18/19
Motherwell players continue to return solid points, pass the eye test and have an excellent run:
GW13 double
GW14 difficult (Hearts H)
GW15-18: Very strong run (Falkirk A, Livingston H, Dundee Utd A, Dundee H)
Their fixture turn comes at:
GW19 and 20: Rangers (A), Celtic (H) - sell window
Motherwell remain one of the best “medium-term” teams to own.
St Mirren: the key to planning the entire boost window
St Mirren are absolutely essential to the strategy of this period.
Fixtures (from GW17):
GW17: Blank, due to Premier Sports Final
GW18-19: Brilliant run (Livingston H, Kilmarnock H)
GW21: Double
GW22: Another double
GW23-24: Decent fixtures
Because they double twice in a row, and because they play an extremely predictable XI, you will want to have a plan to bring in their players for this boost window.
The triple up on St Mirren is essential from GW21 onwards, and ideally a double up on St Mirren from GW18 in preparation.
Best St Mirren assets (currently):
Shamal George (GK)
Mandron, Nlundulu (FWDs)
Freckleton, Declan John (DEFs)
Their reliability and minutes security will be unmatched during the doubles. I don’t actually rate their midfield too highly but that could change between now and the ‘buy period’ from GW18 so monitor their assets and bring in the three most in form that complements your squad structure.
Teams to avoid: Aberdeen, Dundee Utd, Livingston
Although these teams double during the GW13-24 period, they aren’t worth investing or targeting for me.
Dundee United’s double in GW17 includes Celtic - not worth targeting for me.
Aberdeen remain inconsistent and are best avoided until form improves - their double include Rangers (A) as well. Livingston simply don’t have assets with meaningful upside.
Understanding the double gameweeks (and how they actually influence strategy)
With the foundations laid, the next part of planning the boost window is understanding how the double gameweeks interact with the teams we want to own - and equally importantly, the teams we want to avoid.
Rather than listing every fixture (your fixture ticker already does that better), the key to this period is understanding the shape of the doubles:
GW13 is an early-platform double with explosive midfield potential.
GW21 is a messy but profitable double with high individual upside.
GW22 is the elite double where lots of target teams align.
GW17 exists, but is strategically irrelevant.
The rest of the window is built around these three meaningful doubles.
GW13: the controlled chaos double
This week gives us the rare advantage of eight early lineups, allowing you to commit to the right boost only once you know which Hibs and Motherwell players start their first (in both cases more favourable) fixture.
The main problem is what happens after GW13:
Hibs have Celtic (H) then a blank.
Motherwell face Hearts (H) in GW14, though improve sharply afterwards.
This double is best used for one explosive boost, where you can maximise this week and worry about transfers after. You should focus around your Hibs and Motherwell triple ups and have at least 5 players from both teams.
This is a great time to play either midfield dynamos or triple triple, but I prefer midfield dynamos and saving triple triple for the later double in GW21 - more on that next…
Choosing the right boosts (and when to play them)
This boost window is unusually powerful because three of the chips - Home Advantage, Triple-Triple, and Midfield Dynamos - correspond almost perfectly to the three meaningful doubles.
A manager who times these three correctly will outscore the field by a significant margin. Let’s go through each one in turn.
Home Advantage: GW22 (locked and loaded)
Reminder: x1.5 multiplier applied to all players with a home fixture, no captain/vice captain multipliers apply.
GW22 is almost certainly the strongest boost week we will see all season.
Why?
Because three of the four doubling teams - Hearts, Celtic, St Mirren - all have a decent home fixture within the double, and the overwhelming majority of engaged managers will already be carrying their players. It’s likely you’ll be on the following combination leading up to GW22 without needing to take hits.
Triple Hearts, triple Celtic (assuming both still challenging up the top of the league)
Triple St Mirren (to attack their double double)
I’d also be going into this week with 1-2 Hibs players for their home fixture vs Motherwell.
This set up in GW22 gives you 11 home players without needing any extra transfers. It is very rare for a boost to be both optimal and convenient.
This is one of those times.
→ Conclusion: GW22 is the definitive Home Advantage week.
Triple-Triple: GW21 (the perfect fit)
By contrast, GW21 is the opposite kind of double, awkward squad shape, unattractive teams, and tricky fixtures.
But that’s exactly why Triple-Triple fits so well.
Triple-Triple doesn’t require lots of planning or building to 9-11 players to maximise it, you only needs three. Here are some good options that week, with the caveat we are still a long way away.
Tavernier (elite upside, penalties, bonus monster)
Rangers midfielders/attackers that emerge between now and then e.g. Raskin, Gassama
Mandron (excellent minutes, great double, likely to have him as part of your St Mirren triple up)
Karlsson (Aberdeen’s standout pick)
Why GW21 works:
You avoid committing transfers to bad teams.
You don’t disrupt your GW22 Home Advantage setup - it is very difficult to play this boost in GW22 and maximise GW21 with a boost that requires better planning
You target the 2-3 best individual assets instead of the whole team.
You keep squad structure intact.
→ Conclusion: GW21 is the ideal Triple-Triple week.
Midfield Dynamos: GW13 (explosive, practical, and lineup-safe)
Reminder: x2 multiplier applied to all midfielders, no captain/vice captain multipliers apply.
GW13 is unusual in that it gives us lineups for eight teams, including both key double teams.
Because Midfield Dynamos is a chip that relies on:
Minutes
Starts
High floors and high ceilings
…GW13 becomes the natural slot.
If all start, the strongest one-week midfield five is:
McGrath (Hibs)
Boyle (Hibs)
Mulligan (Hibs)
Maswanhise (Motherwell)
Just (Motherwell)
Three Hibs and two Motherwell - exactly the teams doubling.
This is the combination that offers genuine explosive upside but beware, it is suboptimal as you’ll likely need to remove Hearts and Celtic midfielders forcing managers into awkward long-term commitments. We won’t want triple Hibs from GW14 so having three of the above five plus a Celtic and/or a Rangers midfielder (who both have a decent fixture) is still worth playing it for me.
→ Conclusion: GW13 = Midfield Dynamos for the majority of teams.
There is an argument to flip this and play triple triple in GW13 and midfield dynamos in GW21. This does rely on Rangers midfielders emerging and being in your team by GW21 and you being confident in: their ability to deliver and your home advantage set up the week after.
Blank gameweeks and squad navigation
Blanks matter less during this window than the doubles and boosts, but they will influence transfer timing.
GW15: Hibs and Livingston blank
This is the one you must actively plan around. If you triple up on Hibs for GW13, you almost certainly need to roll back to a double-up or less straight afterwards.
GW17: St Mirren blank
This is convenient because it naturally delays the “buy-in” point for St Mirren to GW18, which perfectly aligns with their good fixture followed by back-to-back doubles.
GW20: Hearts and Falkirk blank
Simple to navigate: just bench your three Hearts players.
The fixture ticker does the heavy lifting here - but the key takeaway is that the blanks are all manageable with basic planning and bench depth.
Transfer planning across the boost window
Boosts optimise your scores, but transfers build the platform for those boosts to work.
Key principles
Gradually pivot Motherwell → St Mirren between GW18–21
Hold Celtic and Hearts throughout and make sure to have solid triple ups come GW22
Avoid investing in Aberdeen or Dundee United long-term
Treat Hibs as short-term rentals for GW13, have a plan to move off them
Rangers are a good investment from GW13
Ensure you have good cover when benching for blanks
Target transfers to maximise the boost you are playing and doubles, but don’t forget high-upside good single gameweeks too!
This is a period where forward planning beats short-term chasing.
Many managers will overload on the wrong doubles at the wrong time - particularly GW13 and GW21 - and be forced into multiple hits before GW22.
Your aim is to be smoothly prepared without panic transfers.
International break and GW13 lineup notes
The international break is a major factor because many key double gameweek players have:
Long-haul flights
Intense minutes
Minor injury risks
Quick turnarounds (Boyle, Maeda, etc.)
Managers should always:
Wait for pressers
Check travel/minute data
Delay transfers until GW13 lineups are revealed
Avoid activating boosts early
Because we get lineups for eight teams in GW13, there is absolutely no need to rush your decision.
Use the information.
Maximise certainty.
Then hit the boost button.
Conclusion: the blueprint for the entire window
If you follow only one thing from this article, let it be this:
GW13 Midfield Dynamos → GW21 Triple-Triple → GW22 Home Advantage
This sequence aligns the doubles, blanks, fixture swings and squad structure better than any other combo but it is still team dependent.
Layer in:
Celtic and Hearts as long-term holds
Motherwell until GW18
St Mirren from GW18–24
Short bursts of Rangers when fixtures peak
Minimal Aberdeen/Dundee United exposure
…and you have a blueprint capable of delivering hundreds of points over the next 12 weeks.
This is where the season is won. Use the fixture ticker. Stay flexible. And play the window better than everyone else.
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