Continuing our weekly article on the the Sky Sports game, we bring you the analysis of Gameweek 2, including the usual data – Man of the Match (MoTM) awards, bonus point darlings and the current market trends, before examining the weekend fixtures and our preferred captain strategy for Gameweek 3.
Gameweek 2 Man of the Match Awards
These were the players that caught the eye of the Sky Sports reporters from last weekend’s fixtures achieving the Man of the Match award (worth an additional 5 points).
| Fixture | MoTM |
| Fulham vs Arsenal | Theo Walcott |
| Everton vs West Brom | Seamus Coleman |
| Hull vs Norwich | Curtis Davies |
| Newcastle vs West Ham | Matthew Jarvis |
| Southampton vs Sunderland | Rickie Lambert |
| Stoke vs Crystal Palace | Charlie Adam |
| Aston Villa vs Liverpool | Daniel Sturridge |
| Tottenham vs Swansea | Paulinho |
| Cardiff vs Man City | Fraizer Campbell |
| Man Utd vs Chelsea | Nemanja Vidic |
While Gameweek 1 passed without incident, eyebrows can perhaps be raised this time around. There are a number of contentious awards on show – Nemanja Vidic was perhaps fortunate to benefit given Wayne Rooney’s return and committed performance on Monday night. Rooney achieved MoTM in 45% of his games played last season so it’s perhaps surprising to see him missing out against Chelsea.
Once again goalkeepers were ignored despite a good number of clean sheets on show from last weekend’s results. Looking elsewhere, four midfielders achieved the award compared to three defenders and forwards – a pretty even spread.
It’s worth noting that Paulinho has now achieved the award in both his league starts so far and with Andre Villas-Boas fielding the Brazilian in a more advanced position on Sunday, he is already shaping up to be a worthy consideration at just 6.6 million.
Gameweek 2 Bonus Points
Six goalkeepers achieved bonus points from collecting five or more saves. Cut-price option Keiren Westwood of Sunderland (3.7m) was one of the beneficiaries and looks like a good option for those needing extra funds to upgrade their squad in other areas. Ben Foster, Hugo Lloris, David Stockdale, Wojciech Szczęsny and Michel Vorm were the others to register five or more saves last weekend.
In defence, nine players fetched bonus, six for tackles and four for passes completed – interestingly, Southampton’s centre-back Dejan Lovren was the only defender to pick up bonus for tackles and passes: he comes in at an affordable 5.2 million and continues to impress across the Fantasy games.
Again, the bulk of the bonus points arrived in midfield, with the forwards missing out. There were 16 midfield beneficiaries in total: seven for tackling and nine for passes completed. New signings, Etienne Capoue of Spurs and Scott Parker of Fulham were amongst them and were very close to achieving bonus in both areas. Capoue was just three passes short of 60 completed, while Parker was a single tackle away from doubling up in his debut against Arsenal. Liverpool’s Lucas and the Gunners’ Aaron Ramsey also continue to rake in bonus points; both gained passing points last weekend.
A reminder that Fantasy Football Scout members can access all information regarding bonus points using player stats and clicking the Sky Sports tab.
The Transfer Trends
Top Transfers Out
| Name | Team | Value | % of Managers |
| Mata | Chelsea | 9 | 2.63% |
| Luiz | Chelsea | 7.4 | 2.37% |
| Wilshere | Arsenal | 6.2 | 2.13% |
| Zaha | Man Utd | 4.9 | 2.11% |
| Williams | Swansea | 6.2 | 1.95% |
Juan Mata (2.63%) and David Luiz (2.37%) continue to be shifted out of Sky Sports squads in big numbers ahead of this week’s blank. Arsene Wenger ‘rested’ Jack Wilshere at the weekend and he has since picked up a slight knock against Fenerbahce, leading to him being ranked third in the “transferred out” column this week; Wilshere has since been passed fit for the north London derby, though. Swansea’s Ashley Williams, who last season claimed eight MotM awards, has suffered from two defeats so far this season and is also a slight injury doubt this weekend: almost 2% of Sky Sports managers lost patience with the defender in the last seven days. Finally, United’s Wilfried Zaha failed to make the bench on Monday night: his stock is in decline with over 2% of managers choosing to get rid as the pre-season promise dissolves.
Top Transfers In
| Name | Team | Value | % of Managers |
| Rose | Tottenham | 4.7 | 3.88% |
| Barkley | Everton | 4.3 | 3.78% |
| Shaw | Southapton | 5.3 | 3.27% |
| Soldado | Tottenham | 8.1 | 3.26% |
| Paulinho | Tottenham | 6.6 | 3.20% |
Cut-price options Danny Rose (4.7m), Ross Barkley (4.3m) and Luke Shaw (5.3) continue to be drafted in by over 3% of Sky Sports managers and all three are amongst the best options for points per million so far. Tottenham’s 100% start to the season has seen 3% of Fantasy managers take a fancy to Roberto Soldado and over 3% have also snapped up the aforementioned Paulinho ahead of the trip to the Emriates.
Gameweek 2 Proposed Captain Strategy
Last week our “locked in” theory was proved correct: you do indeed only get a single captain change within a Gameweek (without transfers) which highlights the importance of pre-planning so you can use your change effectively.
This week’s captain options are rather limited due to only having fixtures on Saturday and Sunday but here are a couple of scenarios that stand out. Significantly, we also have to look forward to Gameweek 4, with a certain Dutch striker lined up with an extremely favourable fixture.
Captain Option 1
You have a captain playing in Saturday’s fixtures and use a captain change to switch to one taking part in Sunday’s encounters. If you used Option 2 from last week’s article you will be coming into this Gameweek armed with a Man City player as skipper, allowing you to use your change on Sunday morning.
Our Strategy:
Sergio Aguero → Robin Van Persie
Using the above strategy you would not only have Aguero for the home clash with Hull, you would get Van Persie for United’s visit to Liverpool and also go into Gameweek 4 with the armband on the Dutchman for that Gameweek 4 Old Trafford clash with Palace.
Captain Option 2
You have a captain playing Saturday and use a transfer to a player taking part in Sunday’s matches. This saves your captain change, allowing you to use it later in the Gameweek to prepare for Gameweek 4.
Our Strategy:
Sergio Aguero → Daniel Sturridge
Using this method you could transfer out Aguero in order to select your preferred choice of captain for Sunday’s fixtures and then use your captain change after the games to prepare for Gameweek 4. Sturridge to Van Persie being the obvious move.
The Fantasy Football Scout League
Make sure your joined up to our own Fantasy Football Scout League this season which is currently top of the Private League rankings. With a £1000 prize to the winner, you’d be mad not to get involved. To join, visit Sky Sports Fantasy Football and key in League Name: FFScout, League Code: 8000112.
The Fantasy Football Club
If you missed Thursday’s show, you can still catch Fenners and Merse this evening at 18:30 Skysports One HD where they will be discussing the previous week’s Fantasy Football events, chatting to none other than Ian Wright and drilling him for his all time XI.
