We roll out our regular look at the Fantasy Premier League (FPL) game, analysing the top five contenders in the Scout League, tipping our hat to our FFS Members league and checking out the hectic transfer activity as bandwagons accelerate ahead of the double Gameweek.
Kelvin Travers keeps his spot at the top of the Scout League after a 70 point performance in Gameweek 25. Despite handing Robin Van Persie the armband, he still kept ahead of the chasing pack thanks to contributions from Sergio Aguero and Rickie Lambert up top, while Gareth Bale, Theo Walcott and Juan Mata done the business in midfield. At the back, Michael Dawson and Jussi Jaaskelainen chipped in with a clean sheet apiece to help Kelvin onto 1654 points – second in the overall standings.
Site regular T.I. is a non-mover in second after registering 61 points at the weekend. He also captained Van Persie and despite the frustration of Demba Ba’s broken nose withdrawal at former club Newcastle, was helped by Walcott, Bale and Marouane Fellaini. At the back, Ian Harte and Leighton Baines both provided an assist apiece as TI moved to fourth overall, on 1636 points.
Bigo1 is a new entry at number three. He chose to hand Bale the armband and was rewarded with 22 points from the Welshman, while Fellaini, Walcott, Lambert and Wojciech Szczesny all produced as he finished the Gameweek with 72 points; seventh overall, on 1626 points.
Climbing to number four is Paul O’Gorman, after a 78 point haul. Fellaini landed him a 30 point armband haul alone, with Bale, Mata, Walcott and Lambert all producing attacking returns as Paul moved to 1614 points – fourteenth in the overall standings.
Finally, Dan Jones remains in fifth. He racked up 70 points last weekend, with Walcott, Fellaini, Lambert, Baines and Szczesny joined by the likes of Frank Lampard, Lukas Podolski and Jose Enrique in picking up the points. Dan sits on 1613 points, fifteenth overall.
Thanks to our top five, Fantasy Football Scout remains top of the best leagues. Our FFS Members league is in second spot, just 3.8 points behind, and has the world number one Julian Zipparo leading the way, with T.I. sitting in second. Julian returned to the top of the overall standings after an 85 point haul in Gameweek 25 – his decision to captain Fellaini proved pivotal, while Bale, Mata, Lambert, Szczesny and Patrice Evra were his other key performers.
For contributors, Mark remains on top after 71 points last weekend. Fellaini, Walcott and Mata chipped in from midfield, while Podolski and Edin Dzeko both notched up top. At the back, Szczesny, Baines and Harte helped Mark up to 625th in the overall standings.
Market Trends
Given their relatively lowly ownerships, it’s perhaps no surprise to see Steven Gerrard and Daniel Sturridge lead the way for transfers in ahead of Liverpool’s impending double. Both have been acquired by over 86,000 FPL managers, while Luis Suarez is around the 80,000 mark – by some distance, the trio are the most popular acquisitions for the double this week.
Ben Davies leads the way for defenders with 31,000+ new owners, while Glen Johnson is slightly ahead of Jose Enrique, by 24,000 to 22,000, in spite of the latter’s cheaper price tag. Jonathan de Guzman’s mid-price appeal has persuaded over 24,000 to jump aboard the bandwagon – with Michu fielded up top for the last two, the Dutchman could well retain his advanced midfield role for Swansea’s pair of fixtures. Michu has almost 20,000 new owners since last weekend as his ownership climbs beyond 49%, despite a single goal in his last eight appearances.
Aside from Liverpool and Swansea assets, then, Moussa Sissoko is by far the most popular transfer in. Over 74,000 have snapped up the Newcastle new boy in light of two goals and an assist in his first couple of appearances; a 6.0 price tag looks set to escalate soon. Christian Benteke is also generating plenty interest following his Goodison brace – the Villa forward has received almost 60,000 transfers in, while Rickie Lambert, Lukas Podolski and Adam Le Fondre have made their way into 20,000+ teams this week. In midfield, big hitters such as Juan Mata, Theo Walcott and Gareth Bale have all earned 12,000+ new owners, as has Marouane Fellaini after his double against Villa.
In terms of transfers out, Demba Ba is again suffering. While the broken nose sustained at former club Newcastle has undoubtedly contributed, the lack of consistent game time under Rafa Benitez has persuaded over 126,000 to pull the plug – Ba has dropped to 8.2 from 8.9 in Gameweek 23. Elsewhere, injured north London pair Jermain Defoe and Kieran Gibbs have been transferred out by 55,000 and 31,000 respectively, while Santi Cazorla has been given the elbow by over 40,000 as midfields are reshaped.
Carlos Tevez has been moved on by over 37,000 after he dropped to the bench last weekend, while Robin Van Persie’s back-to-back blanks have seen over 27,000 give up on the Dutchman. Strangely, both Fellaini and Walcott have been given the elbow by over 22,000 Fantasy managers despite their recent exploits, though the strangest trades out involve Michu – over 23,000 have parted company with the Spaniard ahead of Swansea’s double Gameweek.
