With the international break behind us, it’s time to reacquaint ourselves with the Sky Sports game, assessing the recent run of Man of the Match (MoTM) awards, bonus point magnets and current market trends. As always, we also look ahead to the forthcoming Gameweek, offering our preferred captain setup.
Gameweek 7 Man of the Match Awards
Listed below is a match-by-match breakdown of the players who won the plaudits from the Sky Sports reporters last time out, earning five additional points for the Man-of-the-Match award.
| Fixture | MoTM |
| Man City vs Everton | David Silva |
| Cardiff vs Newcastle | Loic Remy |
| Fulham vs Stoke | Patjim Kasami |
| Hull vs Aston Villa | Curtis Davies |
| Liverpool vs Crystal Palace | Jordan Henderson |
| Sunderland vs Man United | Adnan Januzaj |
| Norwich vs Chelsea | Oscar |
| Southampton vs Swansea | Artur Boruc |
| West Brom vs Arsenal | Youssouf Mulumbu |
| Tottenham vs West Ham | Ravel Morrison |
Looking at the spread of awards, midfielders continue to come out on top with a total of seven MoTMs out of the ten fixtures. The other three were shared equally with goalkeepers, defenders and forwards claiming one apiece. Quite a few budget friendly assets continue to stand out and look like good options in the coming weeks – Patjim Kasami (4.2m), Adnan Januzaj (4.2m) and Ravel Morrison (4.1m) look particularly strong if they can nail down consistent starting roles. Hull City’s Curtis Davies (4.5m) also deserves a mention as he has now achieved MoTM twice in seven starts along with three clean sheets and a goal earning him 34 points so far – a fantastic return for his price tag.
Gameweek 7 Bonus Points
Two Goalkeepers managed five saves or more – Cardiff’s David Marshall and Southampton’s Artur Boruc were the top shot stoppers with eight and seven saves respectively, both have now earned bonus twice so far this season.
In defence, a total of 11 players fetched bonus, eight for tackles and three for passes completed – Aston Villa centre-back Ciaran Clark was the closest to achieving both, just missing out with 53 completed passes, seven short of the required 60.
In midfield, 22 players picked up bonus – 13 for tackling and 11 for passes. England duo Tom Cleverly and Jordan Henderson were the two players to gain bonus for both. Aaron Ramsey (16bps) and Steven N’Zonzi (12bps) are the overall bonus point darlings.
A reminder that Fantasy Football Scout members can access all the data regarding bonus points using player stats and clicking the Sky Sports tab.
The Transfer Trends
Top Transfers Out
| Name | Team | Value | % of Managers |
| Shaw | Southampton | 5.3 | 4.01% |
| Soldado | Tottenham | 8.1 | 3.71% |
| Hangeland | Fulham | 5.4 | 3.47% |
| Rose | Tottenham | 4.7 | 3.33% |
| Van Persie | Man Utd | 10 | 2.79% |
The international break has given Fantasy managers time to reassess their teams and the five most popular transfers out are listed above. Roberto Soldado (3.71%) and Robin Van Persie (2.79%) are the two big hitters making way – both forwards have failed to live up to expectations so far this season claiming only 54 points between them. By comparison, the top scoring player overall Daniel Sturridge has 70 points alone.
Top Transfers In
| Name | Team | Value | % of Managers |
| Lovren | Southampton | 5.2 | 8.67% |
| Ramsey | Arsenal | 5.8 | 6.08 % |
| Lukaku | Everton | 8.6 | 4.67% |
| Sturridge | Liverpool | 9.2 | 3.90% |
| Baines | Everton | 7.7 | 3.40% |
Southampton’s centre-back Dejan Lovren has been the most sought-after player in the last two weeks with 8.67% of Fantasy managers fetching him in – with a total score of 52 points so far, he is the joint third highest scorer in the game and has represented outstanding value at just 5.2m. Everton’s form and fixtures sees Romelu Lukaku and Leighton Baines drafted in by just under 5% of managers, both look good for potential rewards in the coming weeks, starting with the Goodison clash against Hull this weekend.
Gameweek 8 Proposed Captain Strategy
Looking ahead to the armband options for Gameweek 8, we highlight three options and, with a Monday night kick-off, there’s the potential for a three captain Gameweek, should you look to use transfers to switch the skipper. However, as we’ll see, there’s a strong case to ignore the potential of the Sunday and Monday matches to ensure that our teams are setup for the following Gameweek.
There are a number of viable candidates up front for Saturday’s armband. Olivier Giroud entertains Norwich at the Emirates, Liverpool pair Daniel Sturridge and Luis Suarez roll up to injury-hit Newcastle, Romelu Lukaku welcomes Hull to Goodison, Michu (classified as a forward in the Sky game) plays host to basement-dwellers Sunderland, whilst United’s Wayne Rooney and Robin van Persie (if fit) offering alternatives for those who reckon they can breach Southampton’s resilient rearguard. Using Giroud as a starting point, here are three approaches to consider.
Captain Option 1
You have a captain playing in Saturday’s fixtures and use a transfer to switch to one taking part in Sunday’s encounter between Aston Villa and Tottenham; you then use your captain change to select a player from the Monday night clash between Crystal Palace and Fulham. For example:
Our Strategy:
Oliver Giroud →Christian Benteke (If fit)/Gabriel Agbonlahor → Dimitar Berbatov
Using the above strategy you would go into Gameweek 9 with the armband on Dimitat Berbatov who plays on Saturday October 26 away to Southampton.
Captain Option 2
You have a captain playing Saturday and use a captain change to a player playing in Sunday’s matches. Missing out on three captains but keeping hold of a valuable transfer. For example:
Our Strategy:
Olivier Giroud → Christian Benteke (If fit)/Gabriel Agbonlahor
Using this method you would come into Gameweek 9 with a Villa forward as your captain who plays on Saturday October 26 at home to Everton.
Captain Option 3
If Sunday’s clash between Aston Villa and Tottenham and Monday’s game of Crystal Palace and Fulham don’t strike you as potentially profitable you could elect to ‘bank’ you captain change and use it after the fixtures have finished in preparation for Gameweek 9. For Example:
Our Strategy:
Olivier Giroud → Luis Suarez
Using this method you would miss out on two/three captains this Gameweek but would go into the following with Luis Suarez as your captain who faces West Brom at Anfield on Saturday October 26. You’d also have a captain change in hand to allow you to captilise on the four fixtures taking place on the Sunday. Indeed, those who plan to captain Suarez for Liverpool’s trip to Newcastle tomorrow may not need to swap the armband if they don’t fancy Sunday and Monday’s matches, retaining the Uruguayan as captain for the forthcoming Baggies clash.
The Fantasy Football Scout League
Our own Fantasy Football Scout League is currently second in 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.
