Our weekly look at the Fantasy Premier League (FPL) game swings into action again this afternoon. As always, we assess the top five teams in the Scout League and cast an eye over the frenzied activity in the transfer market ahead of Saturday morning’s deadline:
Scout League Standings
Iyad Zahlan retains his spot at the top of the Scout League after a 69 point haul in Gameweek 16. He loaded up on three Sunderland players for the double Gameweek, with Carlos Cuellar, Steven Fletcher and captain Stephane Sessegnon producing 38 points between them. Michu, Asmir Begovic, Santi Cazorla and Robin Van Persie were also amongst the points as Iyad moved to 1,022 points – third in the overall rankings.
In second place sits El Tri, another non-mover. He chose to overlook the double Gameweek and picked up 52 points, with captain Cazorla, Wayne Rooney, Carlos Tevez, Begovic and Ryan Shawcross all picking up points. With 993 points, he’s some way behind Iyad, though is 29th overall.
Next up is MP in third position after an 86 point return in Gameweek 16. He also captained Sessegnon and had Cuellar in his defensive ranks, while Jason Puncheon, Michu, Cazorla, Tevez, Van Persie and Begovic all boosted his tally. On 990 points overall, he sits in 37th spot and still has a wildcard in hand.
T.I. slipped down to fourth in the Scout League after a Gameweek 16 score of 59 points. While captain Sessegnon and Cuellar combined for 31 points, only two other players – Cazorla and Van Persie – managed to pick up the points. T.I remains inside the top 50 on 988 points and is another of our main protagonists to have kept their wildcard.
David Jones completes the top five. He produced 63 points despite captain Dimitar Berbatov’s failure to notch against Newcastle – Michu, Rooney, Raheem Sterling, Begovic, Nathaniel Clyne and Thomas Vermaelen all boosted his tally to 988 points overall.
Our top five performers have ensured Fantasy Football Scout remains top of the Best Leagues – an average of 996.2 points is 11.2 ahead of our nearest challenger. Finally, Facer remains top of the Contributors League; he picked up 61 points last time round thanks to the likes of Juan Mata, Michu, Cuellar, Begovic and Van Persie.
Market Trends
Three goals in his last four games have made Seb Bassong this week’s most wanted FPL player. Over 84,000 have transferred in the Norwich centre-half, with his price leaping from 4.7 to 5.0, though he faces a tough run of fixtures after this weekend’s home clash with Wigan.
Michu continues to pick up huge numbers of investors. Another double in last week’s defeat by Norwich has persuaded 67,000 to snap up the Swansea man – he is now up to 8.0 from his original price of 6.5 and is the most popular player in the game, with over 46% ownership. Stoke’s eight clean sheet of the campaign has earned Asmir Begovic and Ryan Shawcross a combined 76,000 new owners, while Geoff Cameron (12,000) and Robert Huth (8,000) have also been subject to plenty trades in.
Elsewhere at the back, Glen Johnson and Rafael have earned 15,000 new owners apiece after producing attacking returns last weekend – the right-backs also have favourable fixtures on the horizon to further their appeal.
Robert Snodgrass’ second double figure haul in the last three weeks has helped him accrue 42,000 new owners heading into a home showdown with Wigan, while Marouane Fellaini continues to climb in ownership. Over 36,000 have snapped up the Belgian this week – he is second most popular FPL pick and currently resides in over 43% of teams.
Santi Cazorla has also picked up in ownership, with over 25,000 Fantasy managers drafting in the Spaniard ahead of Arsenal’s trip to Reading next Monday. Despite both Chelsea and Southampton facing blanks this weekend, Jason Puncheon (15,000) and Juan Mata (12,000) have also proven popular after finding the net in Gameweek 16.
Up top, Luis Suarez has been drafted in by over 44,000 after serving his one-match suspension at West Ham. Back-to-back braces have persuaded 43,000 to invest in Wayne Rooney as Sunderland roll up to Old Trafford, while Jermain Defoe has received 39,000 transfers in as Spurs prepare to welcome Swansea to the Lane. Both Fernando Torres and Carlos Tevez have acquired 20,000 new owners – Torres will be parked on the bench until Gameweek 18, then, with no fixture this time round.
In terms of transfers out, Eden Hazard leads the way. Over 50,000 have sold on the Belgian – his weekend blank no doubt plays a part but one goal since Gameweek 7 is indicative of his fall from favour. The Chelsea exodus has already affected Branislav Ivanovic (34,000), Juan Mata (25,000) and Ashley Cole (20,000), while Southampton’s blank has seen significant sales of Rickie Lambert, with 19,000 moving on the 6.1 priced forward.
Sunderland pair Stephane Sessegnon and Steven Fletcher are quickly being dispensed with after the Black Cats’ double Gameweek – while 17,000 have shipped off Sessegnon, Fletcher has departed from 34,000 teams, substantially more than any other forward.
With doubts remaining over his availability this weekend, Gareth Bale continues to fall in ownership. So far, 39,000 have parted company with the Spurs man – he is down to 9.6, with just 14% ownership.
