One gameweek gone and already the pull of the Fantasy Premier League wildcard can be felt. While immediate returns from our investments would have course have been nice, it’s a good idea to take a step back and analyse the performances on show over the first weekend before the knee starts going all jerky.

Fantasy Football Scout Members do of course have a goldmine of statistical data at their disposal to help reassure themselves. We’ve delved into that data to take a closer look at those players charged with providing chances and earning assists – examining the dozen leading suppliers of a crossed ball over the gameweek’s matches in an attempt to identify the targets we may have missed and get a closer look at those we earmarked for success.

Gareth Bale
Deployed on the left-wing, Bale put in a staggering 19 crosses and corners in total, 2 of which found a target in a white shirt. That total was the highest from the weekend games and underlines Bale’s importance to Spurs and his value to Fantasy Managers. Bale made 4 key passes that led to goal attempts and had 2 efforts on goal himself, one of which struck the woodwork. It could have been a hugely profitable gameweek for Bale. As it was, the stats confirm the potential returns he offers again this term.

Stewart Downing
A Fantasy “Sleeper” – Downing has been snoozing for several seasons but demonstrated in Villa’s win over West Ham that he has the potential to provide a ready supply to Villa’s strikers. Indeed, Villa have three players in the top ten with both Ashley Young and Marc Albrighton contributing eight crosses each. Downing’s 15 crossed balls was second only to Gareth Bale. He also made 3 key passes that led to goal attempts. Top that with a goal and two other goal attempts that struck the woodwork and Downing put in an impressive shift that shouldn’t go unnoticed.