After one long, drawn-out Gameweek we’re finally edging towards the weekend’s deadline. Before we get there, we take our regular look at the Scout League standings and analyse the transfer trends, with a certain Tottenham wide man proving the most popular acquisition so far:

Scout League Standings

Kelvin Travers remains at the Scout League summit after racking up 99 points in Gameweek 26. He opted for just three players from Liverpool and Swansea, with captain Luis Suarez, Michu and Ben Davies picking up 49 points between them, while Robin Van Persie, Rickie Lambert, Theo Walcott and Gareth Bale all produced the goods. Kelvin now has 1753 points and has moved to first in the overall standings.

In joint-second spot sits Dan Jones, thanks to a 113 point haul last time out. He went with four players for the double, with captain Daniel Sturridge, Steven Gerrard, Michu and Jose Enrique picking up 65 points between them. Van Persie, Lambert and Walcott all boosted his tally, as did Cesar Azpilicueta and Wojciech Szczesny, as Dan moved up to sixth overall on 1726 points. Intriguingly, he still has a wildcard in hand, too.

Nicolas Boutar moves up the rankings after producing 100 points in the previous Gameweek. He chose a trio of players for the double, with captain Suarez, Sturridge and Michu providing 58 points, while Lambert, Bale, Walcott and Szczesny are chipped in as Nicolas ended the Gameweek on 1726 points, joint-sixth overall – similar to Dan, he also has a wildcard left to wield.

Sitting in fourth spot in the Scout League is Paul van de Kerkhof after he picked up 120 points in Gameweek 26. His decision to pick four players for the double paid off, with captain Suarez, Sturridge, Michu and Enrique registering 77 points between them. Bale, Walcott, Van Persie and Rafael all helped Paul climb to eighth overall, on 1722 points – Paul also has a wildcard left.

Finally, T.I. completes the top five after an 84 point Gameweek. He went with three Liverpool players for the double, with captain Suarez helped by Sturridge and Steve Gerrard in picking up 48 points, while Bale, Walcott, Jason Puncheon and Joe Cole all produced attacking returns from midfield. T.I. sits in eleventh position overall, on 1720 points.

Thanks to the endeavours of our top five, the Fantasy Football Scout league remains top of the Best Leagues. We now have a lead of 10.6 points over our nearest rival, which remains the FFS Members league – Julian Zipparo leads the way there on 1751 points, which is second in the overall standings. Julian chose just two players with a double – captain Sturridge and Michu – while Van Persie, Lambert, Bale and Szczesny, in addition to Russell Martin and Patrice Evra helped him rack up 96 points last week.

For contributors, Mark remains on top after an 84 point return last time round. Captain Sturridge, Michu and Ben Davies were his three double Gameweek players, while Van Persie, Robert Huth, Edin Dzeko and Mark Bunn all produced to keep Mark inside the top 1,000 on 1618 points.

Market Trends

Gareth Bale’s recent scoring exploits have made the Tottenham midfielder the number one target for Fantasy managers heading into this weekend’s deadline. The Welshman has earned over 121,000 new owners after notching back-to-back double figure returns and has risen from 9.8 to 10.1 ahead of a trip to West Ham. Moussa Sissoko has been welcomed into over 53,000 new teams, having scored or assisted in each of his three appearances for Newcastle, while Jason Puncheon, Theo Walcott and Marouane Fellaini have all been drafted in by over 29,000 managers.

Up top, Rickie Lambert’s rise to third in the forward standings has had a significant effect. The Southampton striker has been acquired by 77,000+, more than double the next most popular forward, Christian Benteke, with 35,000 transfers in. Edin Dzeko’s mid-price appeal has persuaded 23,000 to take the plunge, while Robin Van Persie and Wayne Rooney have been snapped up by a combined 34,000 ahead of United’s trip to QPR; Rooney’s 15,000 new owners will be kicking themselves after reports suggest he is unlikely to feature in that one. Indeed, a similar amount have invested in Arsenal duo Lukas Podolski (19,000) and Olivier Giroud (17,000) as Arsenal prepare to welcome strugglers Villa to the Emirates.

At the back, investment has been less frantic overall. Seb Bassong, with 18,000 transfers in, leads the way over United full-backs Rafael and Patrice Evra, with 17,000 and 14,000 respectively, while cut-price options such as Ian Harte, Nathaniel Clyne and Michael Turner have all earned around 12,000 new owners. Between the sticks, Simon Mignolet has been far and away the most popular keeper – the Sunderland keeper has earned 11,000 transfers in.

For transfers out, the double Gameweek 26 protagonists lead the way in light of their upcoming blank. Liverpool players, in particular, have seen significant sales – Steven Gerrard has shed more than 85,000 owners, Luis Suarez has been sold by more than 79,000, while Raheem Sterling and Daniel Sturridge have both been shown the door by over 41,000 managers. Swansea trio Michu (38,000), Jonathan de Guzman (27,000) and Ben Davies (23,000) have also been sold on by plenty.

Elsewhere, the rotation issues up front up Chelsea and City continue to frustrate. Demba Ba has been shifted by over 44,000, while 38,000 have had enough of Carlos Tevez. Somewhat surprisingly, top scoring midfielder Juan Mata has earned over 24,000 sales – the result of Rafa Benitez’s decision to bench his compatriot for the 4-1 home win over Wigan.