With the international break finally behind us, we check in with our Sky Sports Fantasy Football teams once again. As always, we bring you the usual info, including Man of the Match (MoTM) awards, bonus point beneficiaries and the current market trends before taking a look at the Scout team and our plans for Gameweek 15.
Gameweek 13 Man of the Match Awards
These were the players that caught the eye of the Sky Sports reporters from last weekend’s fixtures achieving the Man of the Match award (worth an additional five points).
| Fixture | MoTM |
| Liverpool vs Chelsea | Eden Hazard |
| Burnley vs Hull | Ashley Barnes |
| Man United vs Crystal Palace | Juan Mata |
| Southampton vs Leicester | Shane Long |
| West Ham vs Aston Villa | Brad Guzan |
| QPR vs Man City | Sergio Aguero |
| Sunderland vs Everton | James McCarthy |
| Tottenham vs Stoke | Jon Walters |
| West Brom vs Newcastle | Daryl Janmaat |
| Swansea vs Arsenal | Jefferson Montero |
Eden Hazard 14.3% and Sergio Aguero 23.2% were the only players with any influential ownership to win the award, whilst the others all had below 6%. Perhaps the most intriguing player to come to light here is Jefferson Montero – at 5.9m, he’s perhaps a tad pricey when compared to the safer option of Gylfi Sigurdsson at 6.4m but, as any onlookers of his performance against Arsenal will testify, he looked a real handful, skinning Calum Chambers multiple times and proving an assist. With just 0.3% ownership, he could be a great differential ahead of a kind fixture list from Gameweek 16.
Gameweek 13 Bonus Points
Only two goalkeepers achieved bonus points from collecting five or more saves. Costel Pantilimon and Brad Guzan were the men in question and the latter also added a clean sheet and a MoTM award to his tally, netting a tidy 14 points. Robert Green still leads the way for keepers with ten bonus points.
In defence, 11 players grabbed bonus, six for tackles and five for passes completed – Joleon Lescott came closest to earning both, missing out by just seven completed passes. Centre-back Dejan Lovren is somewhat surprisingly the top performing defender in terms of bonus with 12 additional points so far.
In midfield there were 15 beneficiaries in total: six for tackling and 11 for passes. Victor Wanyama and Antonio Valencia were the players to earn both, grabbing four extra points. Morgan Schneiderlin is still bossing the bonus points overall with 26 extra points.
Wayne Rooney flew the flag for forwards by netting himself passing bonus at the weekend – deployed in a withdrawn role, he often flirts on the cusp on bonus and may be a more regular earner of it in Lou Van Gaal’s system. Food for thought.
Fantasy Football Scout members can access all information regarding bonus points using player stats and clicking the Sky Sports tab.
The Transfer Trends
Top Transfers Out
| Name | Team | Value | % of Managers |
| Fabregas | Chelsea | 8.6 | 5.22% |
| Schneiderlin | Southampton | 6.6 | 4.11% |
| Hutton | Aston Villa | 3.8 | 3.85% |
| Baines | Everton | 7.5 | 3.15% |
| Dyer | Swansea | 5.9 | 2.92% |
Knocks and niggles are the headlines here, though both Alan Hutton and Nathan Dyer are available for Villa and Swansea respectively. Cesc Fabregas, Morgan Schneiderlin and Leighton Baines all have a chance of shrugging off injuries in time, though, and those who sold on the trio may yet live to regret that decision.
Top Transfers In
| Name | Team | Value | % of Managers |
| Clyne | Southampton | 6.1 | 4.92% |
| Bertrand | Southampton | 5.1 | 4.57% |
| Janmaat | Newcastle | 6 | 3.91% |
| Downing | West Ham | 6.2 | 3.81% |
| Aguero | Man City | 9.8 | 3.80% |
As per usual, Southampton players dominate the most desired list amongst Fantasy managers, with Nathaniel Clyne and Ryan Bertrand the top two targets. Hard to argue, considering their points return so far but with the Saints fixtures due to provide some sterner tests in the weeks to come I would expect a reduction in output. The in-form Daryl Janmaat, Stewart Downing and Sergio Aguero are also highly sought-after and all look good value for points in the coming weeks.
Top five captains picked
| Name | Team | Picked | % of Managers |
| Costa | Chelsea | 158,080 | 17.6% |
| Aguero | Man City | 77,329 | 8.61% |
| Rooney | Man United | 75,336 | 8.39% |
| Fabregas | Chelsea | 68,232 | 7.6% |
| Sanchez | Arsenal | 51,712 | 5.76% |
A new addition this week, as we bring you the top five most popular current captains. Of course, these are subject to change before the Gameweek kicks off but give a big indication of where the masses are hedging their bets – pretty useful info if you’re looking to play safe or indeed roll the dice with a differential.
My Team
Fabianski
Bertrand Hutton Robertson
Hazard Downing Sterling Tadic Di Maria
Aguero© Costa
ITB: 0.8m
Transfers remaining: 26/40
Last week’s points: 70
Overall points: 660
Rank: 2,357
Notes
A fairly average week (70 points) meant I went up in ranking by a few hundred, though nothing spectacular. This was mainly due to my skipper Sergio Aguero’s brace and MoTM against QPR. Eden Hazard also chipped in with MoTM and looks a better option than Cesc Fabregas at present, considering the Spaniard’s injury doubt and tightrope status.
A last-minute change of plan meant I opted for Stewart Downing over Rolando Aarons – a fortunate move, given the latter is now injured. I had intended to bring in Saido Berahino for Dusan Tadic but – hands up – I forgot to bring him in at home to Newcastle on the Sunday. Thankfully it only meant missing out on four points and allows me to bank a transfer. The plan ahead is to finally draft in Gylfi Sigurdsson (late to the party I know) for Tadic after this week due to the shift in fixtures.
Captain plan
For Saturday I’m opting for Sergio Aguero at home to Swansea. The little Argentinean is on fire and although Diego Costa presents another great option, I just think Aguero has the edge at the moment – being involved in over 70% of City’s strikes so far and averaging a goal every 69.4 minutes, it’s hard to argue against him. A new infographic, depicting the stats involved in this decision, can be found below.
For Sunday, I’ll swap over to the misfiring Raheem Sterling and hope he picks up some form. Playing against Crystal Palace is as good a fixture as any to get some joy and although he’s been much maligned recently, he’s still in the top three point scoring midfielders overall.
With limited transfers, I’m going to ignore the extra captain option for Monday night’s encounter. I don’t fancy any of Aston Villa or Southampton’s attacking options at the moment, and sticking with Sterling sets me up nicely for Gameweek 16, where Liverpool play on Saturday at home to Stoke City.
The Fantasy Football Scout League
Once again, we’re running our own Fantasy Football Scout League this season and were currently toping the Private League rankings as per usual. With a £1,000 prize to the winner, you’d be mad not to get involved. To join, visit Sky Sports Fantasy Football and key in League Name: FFScout, League Code: 8009000.
The Fantasy Football Club
This Friday The Fantasy Football Club show, where you can catch Fenners and Merse at 18:30 SkySports One HD where they will be discussing the upcoming week’s Fantasy Football, quizzing former Newcastle midfielder Rob Lee and asking Everton fan and pro boxer Tony Bellew for his #One2Eleven.
9 years, 5 months agoWith Liverpool's good looking fixtures coming up, it would be crazy to get rid of Sterling right now yeah?
Pelle seems the obvious choice for a downgrade to release some funds, thoughts?