We roll out our regular look at the goings-on in the Fantasy Premier League (FPL) this afternoon. As always, we cast an eye over the top five in the Scout League and also turn our attentions to the transfer market, as many Fantasy managers change tactics in order to cope with the headache that has become Gameweek 29.
Scout League Standings
Kelvin Travers remains at the Scout League summit, despite scoring just 51 points last time around. Jussi Jaaskelainen and Ben Davies produced 15 points between them at the back, while Gareth Bale, Theo Walcott and Robin Van Persie all produced the goods, somewhat atoning for Juan Mata’s six point armband return. Kelvin sits on 1852 points, third place overall and 27 points off the top.
Up to second place is Sanjeev Karki after a 71 point haul in Gameweek 28. Luis Suarez and Carlos Tevez combined for 25 points up top, with Walcott, Bale and captain Mata amongst a midfield five. At the back, Jaaskelainen was joined by Jose Enrique and Ian Harte in picking up the points – Sanjeev is now in seventh spot overall, with 1844 points to his name.
Paul O Gorman moved up to third, having racked up 74 points last time out. His decision to captain Marouane Fellaini paid off with 24 points, while Bale, Walcott, Suarez and Van Persie all producing attacking returns. Paul is now13th overall, with 1836 points accrued.
A familiar name sits in fourth spot. Site regular Evs continues to climb the rankings thanks to an 81 point haul in Gameweek 28. Captain Bale, Walcott, Fellaini, Suarez and Van Persie all picked up attacking points, while David De Gea and Ben Davies boosted his tally with a clean sheet apiece. Now up to 14th in the overall standings, Evs currently sits on 1835 points.
Inge Larsen completes the top five after a fantastic 89 point haul. The only one of our five to captain Suarez, he also benefitted from Bale, Walcott and Fellaini, while Davies was joined by Guy Demel and Pablo Zabaleta in producing the defensive points. Inge has leapt to 16th in the overall standings, with 1830 points.
Thanks to the performances of our top five, Fantasy Football Scout remains at the top of the best leagues – our lead has been whittled down to just 1.4 points by the FFS Members league, though. This is mainly down to the fact that world number one Julian Ziparro leads the way there – incredibly, he is 44 points ahead of Evs in second spot. Julian registered 74 points last weekend, with captain Bale, Fellaini, Suarez, Demel and Patrice Evra all boosting his tally to 1879 points – affording him a 21 point cushion over second spot heading into the weekend.
For contributors, Anorak has made his way to the summit courtesy of an 85 point Gameweek. His decision to captain Suarez away to Wigan paid off with 34 points, while Van Persie, Fellaini and Walcott were joined by Davies, Zabaleta and Jonny Evans’ clean sheets. Anorak has climbed to 1410th spot overall, with 1721 points.
Market Trends
Gareth Bale and Luis Suarez are the most popular players on Fantasy radars by some distance this week. The duo go head-to-head at Anfield and Bale’s seven goals in five matches have already persuaded 82,000 to snap him up, while Suarez’s hat-trick away at Wigan last Saturday has earned him 78,000 new owners.
Midfields are being shaped up considerably this week and, aside from Bale, Michu, Moussa Sissoko and Philippe Coutinho have also appealed. The latter pair have flourished since arriving on these shores in January and been acquired by 38,000 and 37,000 respectively, while the Swansea man has mirrored Coutninho’s popularity this week. Steven Gerrard and Stephane Sessegnon have also been acquired in significant numbers. Up top, a trio of in-form budget friendly options have picked up considerable interest. Romelu Lukaku (42,000), Christian Benteke (37,000) and Rickie Lambert (34,000) have all received plenty new owners, while QPR’s new boy Loic Remy has been picked up by almost 26,000 after returning to the starting line-up with a goal at Southampton last Saturday.
At the back, Seb Bassong has been the most in-demand defender. The Norwich centre-half has a strong set of fixtures from here on in and looks a canny long-term acquisition – almost 25,000 have picked him up, while Liverpool full-backs Jose Enrique and Glen Johnson have been almost neck and neck for trades in, with around 20,000 apiece. Swansea pair Ben Davies and Angel Rangel have also seen plenty investment – the full-backs have both acquired around 12,000+ new owners. In goal, Mark Bunn’s budget appeal for Norwich has helped him to almost 9,000 transfers in, mirroring the interest in Sunderland’s Simon Mignolet.
For trades out, the reduced schedule has obviously played a significant part. Juan Mata and Theo Walcott lead the way by some distance, with 70,000 owners jumping ship – both have decent fixtures to follow, though, and are likely to pick up plenty more interest after the blank is done. Robin Van Persie has also suffered this week, with 53,000 parting company with the Dutchman – more than double any other forward.
Marouane Fellaini has also been party to plenty transfers out, with 37,000 making their excuses due to the Belgian’s blank. His Everton team mate Leighton Baines has shed 15,000 owners – more than the suspended Robert Huth for defenders, while elsewhere, a lack of game time and form respectively have seen Arsenal forwards Lukas Podolski and Olivier Giroud moved on by over 22,000 owners to accommodate the likes of Lukaku and Benteke.
