It’s time for our Sky Sports Focus article this Thursday evening, as we look back at the previous action before preparing you for the upcoming double Gameweek. As always, we bring you the recent run of Man of the Match (MoTM) awards, bonus point beneficiaries, the transfer trends and Watchlist before assessing the Scout team and our future plans.
Gameweek 28 Man of the Match Awards
Listed below are 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 |
| Sunderland vs Man United | Lamine Kone |
| Bournemouth vs Stoke | Giannelli Imbula |
| Crystal Palace vs Watford | Troy Deeney |
| Everton vs West Brom | Claudio Yacob |
| Norwich vs West Ham | Dimitri Payet |
| Swansea vs Southampton | Virgil van Dijk |
| Chelsea vs Newcastle | Pedro |
| Arsenal vs Leicester | N’Golo Kante |
| Aston Villa vs Liverpool | Philippe Coutinho |
| Man City vs Tottenham | Mousa Dembele |
Two defenders, seven midfielders and one forward grabbed the awards. It was a real week for differentials with only Dimitri Payet (13.5%) and Virgil van Dijk (7.1%) likely having a significant impact on rankings. Both those two made it four MoTM awards for the season, as did Troy Deeney and Philippe Coutinho.
Gameweek 28 Bonus Points
Only two goalkeepers picked up bonus last time out, with Ben Foster and Vito Mannone the men in question. Foster was the week’s highest scorer after a clean sheet, added to his bonus haul, meant he racked up a tidy eight points. Petr Cech is the game’s leading keeper with 16 bonus points.
In defence, 12 players grabbed bonus, five for tackles and seven for passes completed – Simon Francis was the closest to earning both, missing out on two extra bonus by just one completed challenge. The Bournemouth man also leads the way for defenders alongside Erik Pieters at the bonus summit with 20 points apiece.
In midfield, there were 17 beneficiaries in total: eight for tackling and 11 for passes. All-action duo Emre Can and Mousa Dembele were the two to pick up both. Cesc Fabregas is the bonus darling with 46 points overall – 12 more than the second placed Lucas Leiva.
Heung-Min Son was the only forward to pick up bonus after completing five challenges, which underlines Spurs’ high pressing game.
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 |
| Sagna | Man City | 6.5 | 10.3% |
| Lukaku | Everton | 8.8 | 5.6% |
| Arnautovic | Stoke | 5.5 | 4.4% |
| De Bruyne | Man City | 7.8 | 4.2% |
| Ighalo | Watford | 6.5 | 3.7% |
Bacary Sagna’s injury absence has sparked a major exodus at the back as Sky managers look to freshen up their defences. Kevin de Bruyne remains on the sidelines, though Marko Arnautovic is expected to return for Stoke ahead of back-to-back home clashes with Villa and Newcastle. Up top, the out-of-sorts Romelu Lukaku and Odion Ighalo were the main casualties for those looking for a forward for the Sunday matches.
Top Transfers In
| Name | Team | Value | % of Managers |
| Vardy | Leicester | 7.3 | 6.6% |
| Van Dijk | Southampton | 6.1 | 5.1% |
| Alli | Tottenham | 4 | 4.9% |
| Payet | West Ham | 6.2 | 4.3% |
| Alderweireld | Spurs | 6.5 | 4.1% |
Vardy, Alli and Alderweireld played on the Sunday last time out so were obvious candidates to draft in. Payet and Van Dijk’s form is hard to argue against, too, and with both so reasonably priced in the Sky game, have offered excellent value for money in recent outings.
Top Five Captains Picked
| Name | Team | Value | % of Managers |
| Aguero | Man City | 10 | 14% |
| Vardy | Leicester | 7.3 | 6.8% |
| Kane | Tottenham | 9.3 | 6.1% |
| Lukaku | Everton | 8.8 | 5.9% |
| Sanchez | Arsenal | 9.7 | 5.6% |
Watchlist
Here I aim to highlight a few differential players with low ownership that I think could be good options in the coming weeks to help you climb the rankings. These will be looked at in three specific price brackets to cater for our available budget. These names evolve with fixtures and form and offer Fantasy managers a nudge in hopefully the right direction.
| Budget | Mid-Price | Premium | |
| Defender | Robert Huth, 5.2m, 2.7% | Erik Pieters, 5.8m, 3.2% | Cesar Azpilicueta, 7.5m, 3.1% |
| Midfielder | Marko Arnautovic, 5.5m, 5.7% | Christian Eriksen, 7.7m, 6.5% | Cesc Fabregas, 8.7m, 4.6% |
| Forward | Charlie Austin, 7.1m, 0.4% | Emmanuel Emenike, 7.2m, 0% | Diego Costa, 9.8m, 6.7% |
My Team
Cech
Cathcart Dawson Dier
Alli Fabregas Mahrez© Payet
Aguero Kane Sanchez
ITB: 0.2m
Transfers remaining: 11/40
Last week’s points: 55
Overall points: 1521
Rank: 1,801
Notes
I climbed up to 1,801st despite a fairly mediocre week, as the teams struggling without transfers above me start to fall down the league. Cesc Fabregas (14 points) and Dimitri Payet (15) were the main performers last time out.
Alexis Sanchez is my biggest worry at the moment, as that gamble seems to have failed miserably. By opting for the Chilean I’m currently Jamie Vardy-less, which is a real concern ahead of a great run for Leicester, with Vardy the likely skipper for most active players this week. With 11 transfers left I could make the swap but being the stubborn so-and-so that I am, I’ll just hope the Fantasy gods have decided to smile kindly on me and Sanchez comes up trumps.
Captain Plan
With a double Gameweek on the agenda, there is, of course, a multitude of options available. I’m likely to go with the transfer-less approach and give the armband to Riyad Mahrez for his home clashes against Norwich and West Brom before switching skipper to Sergio Aguero for his trip to Liverpool on March 2. This works out pretty well as Man City are at home to lacklustre Aston Villa on Saturday in Gameweek 31.
The Fantasy Football Scout League
Once again, we’re running our own Fantasy Football Scout League this season and are sitting in first place in the rankings at present. With a £1000 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 new host Max Rushden and Paul Merson at 18:30 SkySports 1 HD where they will be discussing the upcoming week’s Fantasy Football, chatting to former Liverpool and Aston Villa star Ray Houghton and asking him for his #One2Eleven.
8 years, 2 months agoCaptain Payet or Mahrez?
Bench one from: Van Dijk, Huth, Ivanovic, Dann, Van Aanholt