As the dust settles after last night’s pulsating draw at the Bridge, we take our regular look at the goings-on in the Scout League where, in the closest finish to a Fantasy Premier League (FPL) season in years, all our leading five protagonists are now situated in the overall top 10. We also cast an eye over the transfer trends this week, with Michu’s hamstring having a significant effect on the market moves:

Scout League Standings

There’s no move at the top as Kelvin Travers holds steady after a 78 point return. Kelvin’s back-four of Leighton Baines, Michael Dawson, Ben Davies and Vincent Kompany produced 28 points, while captain Gareth Bale racked up 24 points across his pair of fixtures. Shaun Maloney and Juan Mata both produced in midfield, with Kelvin’s decision to steer clear of City attackers proving a wise one – he’s up to 2,355 points and retains his spot as number one in the world with two Gameweeks remaining.

Matt Martyniak’s steady ascent continues as he moves to second in the Scout League courtesy of an 80 point return. Similar to Kelvin, he made just one trade last week and was rewarded with his cautious approach as single Gameweek options Baines, Bacary Sagna, Jose Enrique and Jussi Jaaskelainen all registered clean sheets, while captain Bale, Mata and Maloney all chipped in along with Carlos Tevez as Matt moved closer to the summit, just a couple of points behind Kelvin on 2,353 points.

Former world number one Julian Zipparo drops to third in the Scout League and third overall after a 75 point haul in Gameweek 36. Julian’s decision to take a four point hit proved decisive, though; Glen Johnson, Guy Demel and Jan Vertonghen all returned clean sheets, while captain Bale, Mata, Tevez and Arouna Kone were also key for his squad.

Our site regular Evs remains firmly in the running after a 77 point return last time out. Joe Hart’s 15 points boosted his chances, while Baines, Dawson and Davies all delivered at the back. Captain Bale and Tevez were his other main protagonists as Evs moved onto 2,339 points – enough for fourth in the overall standings, too.

Finally, T.I. makes a return to the top five after a fantastic 95 point Gameweek. Like Julian, T.I. (who posts as “The Game” on the site) is another former world number one and he benefitted from a couple of real differentials last week. Cesar Azpilicueta and Kyle Walker registered 21 points between them, while Newcastle keeper Rob Elliot, Theo Walcott, Mata, Maloney, captain Bale, Kone and Tevez all came up trumps as T.I moved to 10th overall on 2,324 points. Intriguingly, he is the only one of our top five without Robin Van Persie in his ranks ahead of United’s final home game under Sir Alex Ferguson – the other four also have Michu’s likely hamstring absence to ponder ahead of the weekend deadline.

Thanks to the efforts of our featured five, Fantasy Football Scout remains firmly in the driving seat to clinch top spot in the Best Leagues. We are currently 21.6 points ahead of our closest challenger which is, once again, the FFS Members league. Julian, Evs and T.I. lead the way in that one and are joined by Jimmy Smith and another site regular, Boris “Pepin” Michev in the top five.

For contributors, Andy’s recent run up the rankings shows no sign of slowing down. Mr Goddard is up to 546th overall after an 84 point haul in Gameweek 36 – Branislav Ivanovic, Baines, Jaaskelainen, Vertonghen, Maloney, Kone, Walcott and captain Bale are delivered last time out.

Finally, we doff our caps to Scout league member Tuomas Kahara, whose side Team Tomas are through to the last four in the FPL cup. Tuomas also gets a shout out in this evening’s podcast, I’m reliably informed – all the best to him for this weekend’s semi-final.

Market Trends

As mentioned, Michu’s likely absence has played a significant part in this week’s transfer action. Already, over 127,000 FPL managers have shed their sides of Swansea’s top scorer after Michael Laudrup admitted he is almost certainly out of the final two Gameweeks. Steve Gerrard’s shoulder injury has seen 32,000 sell the Liverpool skipper, while Stephane Sessegnon, Luis Suarez and Rafael all continue to be sold on in light of recent suspensions. The United defender has parted company with over 31,000 owners – more than nine times the sales of the next most unpopular defender, Seb Bassong.

Elsewhere, double Gameweek disappointment has ushered in a clear out. Yaya Toure (25,000), Carlos Tevez (12,000), Eden Hazard (10,000) and Jermain Defoe (8,000) have all made way for new acquisitions.

In terms of a Michu replacement, Theo Walcott is head and shoulders above any other midfielder. With a home game against Wigan and trip to Newcastle to see out the season, the Arsenal winger has been purchased by more than 72,000 managers after scoring in each of his last two Gameweeks. Marouane Fellaini (27,000) and Gareth Bale (22,000) have also proven popular this week, though as many as eight midfielders have acquired 10,000+ new owners, with Philippe Coutinho, Juan Mata and Santi Cazorla all next in line for transfers in. Frank Lampard has earned over 10,000 new owners, with Rafa Benitez confirming he is due to start against Villa in Saturday’s only fixture.

Up top, Daniel Sturridge has been the most wanted. With a trip to Fulham and home game against QPR still remaining, over 20,000 have picked up the Liverpool forward. Christian Benteke’s lethal form has earned the Villa forward a further 15,000 new owners as Paul Lambert look to the Belgian to fire his side to safety, while his compatriot Romelu Lukaku is also on Fantasy radars ahead of West Brom’s trip to struggling Norwich.