With the explosive double Gameweek behind us it’s time to assess the usual info, including the Man of the Match (MoTM) awards, bonus point beneficiaries and current market trends. As always, we also look ahead to the forthcoming fixtures, offering our preferred captain setup, with one eye on Gameweek 18.

Gameweek 16 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.

The double Gameweek serves as a reminder of the power of midfielders in the Sky game as they claimed 13 awards out of a possible 20. Forwards were awarded four, defenders picked up a couple and goalkeepers received just one award.

Curtis Davies is the runaway leader in MoTM awards, with six to his name, whilst Aaron Ramsey, Wayne Rooney, and Eden Hazard have now joined Daniel Sturridge on four.

Gameweek 16 Bonus Points

Only seven goalkeepers managed five saves or more – Asmir Begovic and Maarten Stekelenburg were the top shot-stoppers with a total of 11 saves each. Simon Mignolet is still top of the bonus points stats overall, having picked up an extra 10 points so far.

In defence, a total of 22 players gathered bonus, 17 for tackles and eight for passes completed – over the two games, centre-back pairing Ashley Williams and Chico picked up passing and tackling bonus, as did full-back Luke Shaw, to earn four extra points. Crystal Palace full-back Joel Ward now sits alone at the top of the bonus table with an additional 14 points.

In midfield, 31 players earned bonus points – 16 for tackling and 26 for passes. Central midfielders Steven Gerrard and Jonjo Shelvey both managed to register passing twice and tackling bonus once over the two games, adding six points to their total scores. Aaron Ramsey still sits head and shoulders above the competition with 28 additional bonus points earned.

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

The table for top five transfers out this week is dominated by injuries. Daniel Sturridge and Artur Boruc are expected to remain sidelined for a number of weeks, though Roberto Martinez is hopeful Leighton Baines will return in time for Christmas. Robin Van Persie has now missed the last three league games – frustratingly for his owners, David Moyes continues to remain vague on the Dutchman’s likely return date, without ever quite ruling him out of contention.

Top Transfers In

Five of the most in-form players in the league right now have clearly won over many a Fantasy manager, all of which look set to continue their form in the weeks to come. While four of the five most sought-after players are frontmen, Samir Nasri is an interesting acquisition right now – the Frenchman is in fantastic form and at just 6.3m he looks a shrewd purchase.

Gameweek 17 Proposed Captain Strategy

Looking ahead to the armband choices for Gameweek 16, there is an opportunity to select three captains if you choose to use a transfer. However, our preferred set-up only relies on two captains, saving our transfers for the busy fixture list ahead.

Our Strategy:
Luis Suarez (West Ham Home) → Romelu Lukaku (Arsenal Away)

For Saturday December 7, there are couple of options that stand out, namely Luis Suarez and Eden Hazard – both are in excellent form and have strong fixtures to boost their chances of producing.

For the fixtures on Sunday December 8, we opt for Romelu Lukaku. Although he has a tough fixture away to Arsenal, we have one eye on Gameweek 18, where you would be set up perfectly as Everton host a faltering Fulham at Goodison Park. Of course you could go with an Arsenal player such as Mesut Ozil against Everton for a better chance to collect short-term gains, but bear in mind it would leave you going into Gameweek 18 with your captain facing the daunting challenge of Manchester City at the Etihad.

Finally, if you’re fairly flush on transfers, you could opt to go with three captains this week. The Monday night game on the 9th sees Swansea play Hull and a quick switch to a Swans player such as Jonathan de Guzman could net you some additional points – the Swans play on Sunday in Gameweek 18 away to Norwich, though, meaning you would have to use a captain change to take advantage of Saturday’s fixtures.

The Fantasy Football Scout League

Our own Fantasy Football Scout League is on 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

This Friday The Fantasy Football Club show, where you can catch Fenners and Merse at 18:30 Skysports One HD where they will be discussing the previous week’s Fantasy Football events, chatting to MoTM machine Curtis Davies and asking him for his #One2Eleven.