Our regular look at the Fantasy Premier League (FPL) game is rolled out this morning. As always, we cast an eye over the upper echelons in the Scout League and assesses the goings-on in the transfer market, with plenty Fantasy managers shopping around for new midfielders:

Scout League Standings

Kelvin Travers climbs back to the summit after an 86 point haul in Gameweek 31. His decision to captain Dimitar Berbatov paid off handsomely – the Bulgarian racked up a 26 point armband haul and was joined by Rickie Lambert, Robin Van Persie, Steven Gerrard, Gareth Bale, Michu, Leighton Baines and David De Gea in picking up the points. Kelvin now sits on 2,021 points, which is second in the overall rankings.

Sitting in second spot is Paul O Gorman, who registered 70 points last weekend. He also had Baines, Van Persie, Lambert, Bale and Michu but handed Santi Cazorla the captaincy and also has Luis Suarez to thank for boosting his tally. Paul is now fifth overall on 2,006 points.

Sanjeev Karki drops down to third position after a 62 point return in the Gameweek gone by. Michu, Bale and Cazorla chipped in from midfield, while Loic Remy and Olivier Giroud both netted up top – Luis Suarez was handed the vice captaincy after Juan Mata failed to play against Southampton.

Site regular Evs is a non-mover in fourth spot after an 81 point return last time out. At the back, De Gea and Baines both returned clean sheets, Michu, Bale and Cazorla racked up the midfield points, while captain Suarez, Berbatov and Van Persie all chipped in with points aplenty. Evs has now climbed to eighth in the overall standingson 2,004 points.

Finally, Nicolas Boutar completes our top five after picking up 69 points in the previous Gameweek. The points mainly came from midfield, with captain Cazorla, Bale and Michu doing the damage, while Giroud, Suarez, Christian Benteke and Joe Hart also helped Nicolas up to 2,000 points, tenth overall.

Thanks to the endeavours of our top five, Fantasy Football Scout remains top of the best leagues, with a 5.4 point lead over our nearest challenger. For contributors, Chris Atkinson holds steady at the top. He produced 81 points last weekend, with Suarez, Remy, Gerrard, Bale and captain Cazorla joined by Mark Schwarzer, Nemanja Vidic and Sylvain Distin at the back.

Market Trends

Santi Cazorla has proven the most popular target ahead of Saturday’s deadline. With Theo Walcott out and Gareth Bale almost certainly sidelined, the Spaniard has been snapped up by over 51,000 FPL managers – significantly more than any midfielder. Ironically, Bale was next most popular (14,000+) but it’s fair to assume those were prior to last night’s events at the Lane.

Elsewhere in midfield, there’s a battle for our Fantasy attentions. Liverpool duo Steven Gerrard and Philippe Coutinho, Chelsea pair Eden Hazard and Juan Mata and Arsenal’s Gervinho have all been acquired by 13-14,000 managers.

Up top, mid-price investment has been a priority. Rickie Lambert and Dimitar Berbatov lead the way by some distance, with around 28,000 transfers in apiece – Villa’s Christian Benteke is next in line with 13,000 new owners. Aside from Berbatov, though, Olivier Giroud is the only double Gameweek 33 forward to pick up an significant investment, with over 8,000 snapping up the Arsenal forward ahead of home games with Norwich and Everton. Arouna Kone and Jay Rodriguez have been acquired by similar amounts, while Demba Ba (10,000) and Luis Suarez (9,000) have also been popular targets.

At the back, Jan Vertonghen has earned over 39,000 new owners after registering his second double figure haul in three, though with the north London outfit without a fixture in Gameweek 33, many will be targeting alternatives, despite the Belgian’s fine form. Per Mertesacker (11,000) has also picked up plenty new owners and the likes of Leighton Baines and Joey O’Brien also been snapped up by around 6,000 managers apiece ahead of their respective doubles.

For transfers out, it’s all about Walcott and Bale. The Arsenal winger has been sold on by over 47,000 managers after being ruled out of tomorrow’s clash with West Brom, while Bale’s owners have acted rapidly after last night’s injury – 40,000 have already jumped ship. The suspended Marouane Fellaini is next up – nearly 30,000 have parted company with the Belgian but given that he’s back for next week’s double, this one seems a strange decision.

United have picked up plenty in spite of their impending double Gameweek. Although he’s now returned to training, Rafael’s groin problem has seen 26,000 get rid of the right-back, while Patrice Evra has been sold on by almost half that number after being rested for the last couple of league matches. Robin Van Persie and Wayne Rooney are both in the top four for least popular forwards – the duo have shed 12,000 owners apiece since last Saturday.

Ashley Cole’s hamstring injury has seen over 21,000 move on the Chelsea left-back, while a season-ending ankle injury has also seen Steven Fletcher lose a further 19,000 owners this week. Recent bench roles for Juan Mata and Daniel Sturridge have persuaded 13,000 and 16,000 to look elsewhere, while over 12,000 have transferred out Newcastle’s Moussa Sissoko ahead of three home games in four.