Once again, we roll out our midweek regular and give a heads-up to the top five contenders in the Scout League standings after the end of the weekend’s action. We also take a look at the transfer in and out thus far, with Juan Mata once again leading the way:

Scout League Standings

Iyad Zahlan moves into top spot after returning 74 points in Gameweek 9. A front three of captain Robin Van Persie, Dimitar Berbatov and Demba Ba brought home 38 points, while Gareth Bale and Eden Hazard produced the goods in midfield. At the back, Asmir Begovic, Leighton Baines and Kaspars Gorkss provided 15 points as Iyad moved to third in the overall rankings on 626 points; intriguingly, though, he has already made two transfers this week.

Last week’s leader, T.I, drops to second despite racking up a solid 66 points. Berbatov, Bale, Hazard and Yaya Toure joined captain Carlos Tevez in producing either attacking returns or bonus, while Carlos Cuellar chipped in along with Baines and Begovic in defence. T.I. has accrued 624 points and sits in fourth overall – unlike Iyad, he still has his wildcard available and has yet to make a transfer this week.

James Fitzgerald climbs into the top three after a 67 point haul last weekend. A front three of Berbatov, Tevez and captain Van Persie brought home 36 points, while Bale and Juan Mata both grabbed goals from midfield – somewhat atoning for an eight point return from his back-three and keeper. James is in eighth overall, with 617 points on the board, and still has a wildcard yet to play.

MP takes fourth spot, with 66 points picked up in Gameweek 9. Ba, Tevez and captain Van Persie did the damage up top, while Bale grabbed 10 points from midfield. Baines and Begovic were joined by the likes of Rafael at the back as MP climbed to 28th spot overall on 607 points.

Darren O’Connor completes the top five. He racked up 72 points after handing Bale the armband, while Van Persie and Berbatov also found the net. Darren picked up 26 points from defence, with Baines and Begovic joined by Ryan Shawcross and Thomas Vermaelen in producing the goods at the back.

Thanks to the efforts of our top five, the Fantasy Football Scout league continues to sit at the top of the league of leagues – an average of 615.2 points has us 12.4 points clear at the summit.

In the contributors league, Facer has climbed to top spot – Van Persie, Berbatov, Bale and Mata all found the net.

Market Trends

Once again, Juan Mata is the most popular player in the Gameweek. So far, the Spaniard has been drafted in by over 78,000 Fantasy managers after his free-kick against United on Sunday took his points haul to 54 in the past five Gameweeks – the Chelsea man has now moved up 0.5 since Gameweek 8.

Asmir Begovic is second in the overall transfers in after returning a third home clean sheet in four. With the fixtures continuing to smile kindly upon the Stoke stopper, over 48,000 have snapped up his services. Investment in the Stoke defence is clearly a tactic that is catching on – Ryan Shawcross and Geoff Cameron have been acquired by a combined 34,000+ new suitors. Chris Baird, with a goal in each of his last two, has made his way into over 42,000 new teams – at 4.5, his out of position prospects look decent, providing he recovers from the knock that forced him off against Reading.

With 48 points in his last five appearances, Gareth Bale has enticed over 26,000 to take the plunge; he looks a strong captaincy contender ahead of Wigan’s visit this weekend, while Raheem Sterling’s cut-price appeal has persuaded a similar amount to climb on board the bandwagon. A host of mid-price midfielders have attracted plenty of new investors. Marouane Fellaini, Kevin Nolan, Michu and James Morrison have all picked up 17,000+ transfers in, though Nolan’s fixtures could be a stumbling block over the foreseeable future.

Up top, Jermain Defoe and Carlos Tevez are the two most popular choices so far – both have received over 33,000 trades in due to their consistent displays over the opening nine Gameweeks, with game time continuing to look assured. Robin Van Persie and Luis Suarez are next in line, with 26,000 and 24,000 respectively, though Demba Ba’s 20,000 new owners will be a little apprehensive after Alan Pardew admitted the 8.4 priced forward was considered doubtful for this Sunday’s trip to Anfield.

In terms of transfers out, Fernando Torres is the main protagonist. Over 58, 000 have got rid of El Nino after he produced a blank for the second Gameweek in a row, while Michel Vorm has been sold on by over 44,000 managers after being ruled out for six to eight weeks with a groin injury sustained at the Etihad last Saturday evening.

Next up is Carl Jenkinson. Bacary Sagna’s return from injury has 42,000 bidding farewell to the former Charlton player, while fellow Gunner Kieran Gibbs has been ushered through the out door by 18,000+. Chelsea’s run of four matches without a clean sheet have persuaded 34,000 to part company with Branislav Ivanovic, while the injured Marc Wilson is joined by Guy Demel and Ashley Cole in receiving 10,000 transfers out at the back.

The Arsenal fire sale continues in midfield, with a combined 66,000 deciding to move on Santi Cazorla and Gervinho, while Manchester duo Yaya Toure and Shinji Kagawa have also seen significant sales, with 30,000 and 27,000 respectively. Eden Hazard has been sold on by over 13,000 – the sideways move to Juan Mata seems the obvious answer, while Hatem Ben Arfa has also proved unpopular; over 15,000 Fantasy managers have bid farewell to the Frenchman in spite of a strong upcoming schedule.

For forwards, Lukas Podolski is second only to Torres in unpopularity this week. With a single assist in the last five Gameweeks, the German has been sold by 38,000+ as we look to shake up our front three, while today’s news on Ba has seen him moved on by 19,000. Steven Fletcher (13,000) and Rickie Lambert (11,000) are the other two big movers, with no goals in the last three and four Gameweeks respectively.