Having caught up with our community standings in the Fantasy Premier League game last week, it’s now time to scan the Sky Sports standings following the busy Christmas programme. A familiar name has climbed back to the top of the Scout League as we prepare for back-to-back double Gameweeks, with crucial armband decisions to be made. We examine the captaincy options available, scan the latest transfer trends and look ahead to tonight’s fixture with the Fantasy Football Club…
The Scout League
Jonathan Lenharth’s “Better Than Last Year” lineup has sailed to the summit of the Fantasy Football Scout League, ousting Charles Mouzon’s “Geordie Boys” who have slipped to fourth over the Christmas programme. It’s squeaky at the top, with just 14 points separating the top five and Lewis Nicklen and his “Dreamboat” lineup are level on points with our leader, with Simon Davies still clinging to a top three place, just four points off the top.
Our tied leaders sit in sixth spot in the overall rankings, some 72 points from top spot and the £25k prize. With no less than seven managers in the top twenty, however, we’ve strengthened out position on top of the Private League rankings: we’re now some 15 points ahead of our nearest rivals, having seen our lead cut just before the Christmas break.
A reminder that if you’re playing the Sky Sports game and have yet to join our league, you can sign up to the FFScout League with this Pin: 8004519. We have a home cinema system, worth £600, available to the winner.
Market Forces
With the double Gameweek allowing us to maximise our captain selection, there’s understandably a scramble for Chelsea players – mirroring the market in the Fantasy Premier League. Similar to the FPL game, it’s Demba Ba earning the most interest here. Following his move from Newcastle, he’s been party to the most transfers in leading up to this weekend, with over 7% of transfers seeing Ba drafted in. That puts him ahead of the likes of Luis Suarez (6.8%), Marouane Fellaini (5.1%) and Michu (4.4%) who have all enjoyed attention this week. While Ba has earned positive interest, Chelsea’s Petr Cech has suffered the most transfers out this week off the back of his injury, though he will travel with the squad to Stoke tomorrow and will be assessed prior to the game. Cech has been shifted as part of 6% transfers this week, with Yaya Toure’s African Cup of Nations shift seeing him ranked next.
With double points on offer, Ba would seem to be the favoured option for the Sky Sports armband, with Juan Mata the other obvious route on offer. With the Spaniard’s 90 minutes in midweek and with Ba restricted to just 10 minutes from the bench, it seems that Chelsea’s new striker is the better placed to sport the captaincy for the matches with Stoke and Southampton. While that looks a strong short-term option, for those running low on transfers, the Ba option requires greater consideration. Rotation with Fernando Torres seems inevitable: a factor that clearly dents his mid-term potential in a game where active players are essential. Arguably, Mata is also a gamble in this respect – with Sky Sports Fantasy managers perhaps better advised to invest their transfers in Arsenal’s double fixture to follow next time around. Both Theo Walcott and Santi Cazorla look strong options for their fixtures with Chelsea and West Ham, with neither player an obvious rotation risk for the foreseeable future.
The Fantasy Football Club – Tonight 10pm
The fearsome John Hartson lumbers into the Fantasy Football Club dressing room to lend his weight to the attack, joining Fenners and Merse from 10pm on Sky Sports One tonight.
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