Once again it’s time for us to cast an eye over the Sky Sports game, assessing the recent run of Man of the Match (MoTM) awards, the bonus point magnets and the current market trends. As always, we also look ahead to the forthcoming Gameweek, offering our preferred captain setup, with one eye on Gameweek 13.
Gameweek 11 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 |
| Crystal Palace vs Arsenal | Olivier Giroud |
| Aston Villa vs Everton | Tim Howard |
| Liverpool vs West Brom | Luis Suarez |
| Man United vs Stoke | Wayne Rooney |
| Norwich vs Cardiff | David Marshall |
| Southampton vs Fulham | Jay Rodriguez |
| Sunderland vs Newcastle | Jozy Altidore |
| Chelsea vs Man City | Fernando Torres |
| Swansea vs West Ham | Chico |
| Tottenham vs Hull | Curtis Davies |
The weekend’s action was largely dominated by forwards, who managed to claim six awards out of the ten fixtures. The rest of the awards were shared between defenders and goalkeepers with two apiece and for the first time this season midfielders failed to claim a single MoTM.
Sky Sports favorite budget defender Curtis Davies (4.5m) again delivered a dominant MoTM display even though his side lost 1-0 away to Tottenham in a tight game – that’s now his fourth award in nine games. Manchester United front man Wayne Rooney also chipped in with his second award of the season and continues to be a favorite amongst the Sky reporters – true to form, last season he claimed the award 10 times in 22 starts.
Gameweek 11 Bonus Points
Three goalkeepers managed five saves or more – Chelsea’s Petr Cech, Hull’s Steve Harper and Cardiff’s David Marshall were the top performers. David Marshall racked up an impressive ten saves to earn himself bonus for the third time in eight starts- only once has that tally been beaten, by Marshall himself in the 1-0 defeat to Spurs back in Gameweek 4. Marshall now sits alongside Simon Mignolet, David Stockdale, Asmir Begovic and Tim Krul at the top of the bonus points table.
In defence, a total of 15 players fetched bonus, five for tackles and ten for passes completed – centre-backs Dejan Lovren and Per Mertesacker were the closet to achieving both as they were just one tackle shy of the required four, having both earned passing bonus. The two defenders currently topping the stats are full-backs Joel Ward and Pablo Zabaleta, both have a total of 10 additional points earned solely from tackling bonus.
In midfield, 15 players earned bonus points – seven for tackling and ten for passes. Defensive midfielders Lucas and Morgan Schneiderlin were the two players to gain bonus for both. Arsenal’s Aaron Ramsey still sits atop the overall rankings with a total of 18 bonus points.
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 |
| Rose | Tottenham | 4.7 | 3.63% |
| Van Persie | Man Utd | 10 | 3.16% |
| Mignolet | Liverpool | 4.9 | 2.64% |
| Sigurdsson | Tottenham | 5.5 | 2.41% |
| Barkley | Everton | 4.3 | 2.28% |
Danny Rose (3.63%) finds himself top of the transfer out list as he continues to remain on the sidelines for Tottenham. Rose picked up an injury in a Europa game over a month ago and still remains troubled, having previously returned such value for his Sky Sports owners.
Belgian shot stopper Simon Mignolet (2.64%) is the first goalkeeper to feature in our top transfers out this season – a blinding start to the campaign, with three clean sheets in a row, had made a mockery of his low price tag of 4.9m but, after a run of five games without a shut out, Fantasy managers are losing patience. Interestingly, the trend in this game mirrors that in the Fantasy Premier League (FPL), where only Olivier Giroud and Daniel Sturridge have been sold on more this week.
Somewhat surprisingly, Ross Barkley also finds himself shipped by 2.28% of Fantasy managers – in recent weeks the suggestion of burn out has reared its head and with other options in this price range delivering, it seems his owners are searching for a exit route.
Top Transfers In
| Name | Team | Value | % of Managers |
| Lovren | Southampton | 5.2 | 5.96% |
| Suarez | Liverpool | 9.9 | 4.95 % |
| Aguero | Man City | 9.8 | 4.86% |
| Davies | Hull | 4.5 | 4.55% |
| Townsend | Tottenham | 4.6 | 4.52% |
Big hitting forwards Luis Suarez (4.95%) and Sergio Aguero (4.86%) are unsurprisingly two of the top priorities for Fantasy managers this week – the pair are arguably the two most in-form players in the Premier League and look set to continue their run for the foreseeable future – a home game for Aguero against Norwich looks particularly enticing this week and, as we’ll see, he’s a prime candidate for the armband.
Gameweek 12 Proposed Captain Strategy
Looking ahead to the captaincy choices for Gameweek 12, it’s important to consider the following weekend’s fixtures, with a pair of strikers facing up to plum match-ups that promise healthy returns. We need to think carefully before making a change for Sunday’s two fixtures, then.
Our Strategy:
Sergio Aguero (NORWICH) → Romelu Lukaku (TOTTENHAM)
As mentioned, Aguero looks the skipper of choice for this weekend, given a run of form that has seen him challenge Sturridge at the very top of the forward rankings. If you don’t currently have Aguero assigned captain or are yet to recruit the Argentine, he’s clearly a valid transfer and target for your captain change. United’s Wayne Rooney is the other obvious route – another man in form, up against a Fulham defence that should give him the platform to deliver.
By then switching the captaincy to Lukaku for Sunday’s meeting with Spurs (via a transfer if necessary), you would go into Gameweek 11 with the armband on the Belgian, who looks a very good option ahead of Saturday November 9 visit to Crystal Palace. There are limited alternatives on Sunday – with Spurs and Swansea also having their matches shifted to Sunday in Gameweek 13, there is little merit in shifting the armband to them this weekend – this will just force your change for next Saturday’s matches.
We also have to consider Luis Suarez, however. He has a home fixture with Fulham in Gameweek 13 and is a clear standout for the armband next weekend as a result. It’s worth planning ahead here. You can, of course, go with Suarez this week and leave him in place for the Fulham clash. If you’re currently without Suarez, however, there is always the option of transferring him in for your captain this week – whether that be Aguero or Rooney. If you use a transfer ahead of next weekend, you’ll be able to bank your captain change and use this prior to the start of Gameweek 13 in order to again make use of two captains.
The Fantasy Football Scout League
Our own Fantasy Football Scout League is currently second in the Private League rankings. With a £1,000 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
Now on Friday’s The Fantasy Football Club show, where you can 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 Louis Saha and quizzing Arsenal midfielder Mikel Arteta for his #One2Eleven.
