With Gameweek 22 behind us, it’s time to reassess our Sky teams using the usual info, including the Man of the Match (MoTM) awards, the bonus point beneficiaries and the current market trends. As always, we also look ahead to the forthcoming fixtures, offering our preferred captain setup for Gameweek 23 and keeping one eye on Gameweek 24.
Gameweek 22 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 |
| Hull vs Chelsea | Eden Hazard |
| Cardiff vs West Ham | Mark Noble |
| Everton vs Norwich | Gareth Barry |
| Fulham vs Sunderland | Adam Johnson |
| Southampton vs West Brom | Luke Shaw |
| Tottenham vs Crystal Palace | Nabil Bentaleb |
| Man United vs Swansea | Adnan Januzaj |
| Newcastle vs Man City | Cheick Tiote |
| Stoke vs Liverpool | Luis Suarez |
| Aston Villa vs Arsenal | Jack Wilshere |
Midfielders dominate once again, with eight of the recipients plying their trade in the centre of the park – Southampton defender Luke Shaw and Liverpool’s Luis Suarez were the two exceptions. The impressive Adnan Jauzaj (4.2m) and Nabil Bentaleb (4.1m) offer us some intriguing budget midfield options if they can maintain their current first-team places. The player who has caught the eye most often for the reporters is Eden Hazard who has eight MoTM so far in just 20 starts – an impressive 40% of his games.
Gameweek 22 Bonus Points
Three goalkeepers managed five saves or more – Joe Hart, Jack Butland and Adrian were the top shot-stoppers. Adrian managed seven saves which was the highest amount for the week to add to his clean sheet – at just 3.9m, if he can claim the number one jersey and West Ham’s performances improve, the Spaniard could offer exceptional value.
In defence, a total of eight players gathered bonus, six for tackles and four for passes completed. The two players to gather bonus for both were Swansea duo Angel Rangel and Jordi Amat – the bonus system often favors the Swans’ backline and, with an upturn in fixtures just around the corner, they could be worthy of consideration. Crystal Palace full-back Joel Ward is still the top defender for bonus points overall with an additional 18 points.
In midfield, 22 players earned bonus points – 11 for tackling and 13 for passes. Tottenham’s central-midfield partnership of Moussa Dembele and Nabil Bentaleb were the two to gather bonus for both – Bentaleb managed to complete a stunning 100 passes on his first Premier League start. Cheik Tiote has now joined Lucas on 30 bonus points at the top of the standings.
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 |
| Nasri | Man CIty | 6.3 | 12.76% |
| Barkley | Everton | 4.3 | 9.71% |
| Rooney | Man United | 9.6 | 6.89% |
| Toure | Man City | 8.6 | 5.89% |
| Ramsey | Arsenal | 5.8 | 5.87% |
Injuries have a major influence here, with all five of the above affected in recent weeks – Yaya Toure has been passed fit to start for City tomorrow, though the other four remain on the sidelines.
Top Transfers In
| Name | Team | Value | % of Managers |
| Negredo | Man City | 8.6 | 5.64% |
| Lallana | Southampton | 5.9 | 5.11% |
| Januzaj | Man United | 4.2 | 4.82% |
| Wilshere | Arsenal | 6.2 | 4.43% |
| Giroud | Arsenal | 8.5 | 4.35% |
Alvaro Negredo’s good form sees him top the most transfers in but, with Sergio Aguero available this weekend, it remains to be seen if Fantasy managers continue to back the Spaniard. The other four players have all started to hit some consistent form in recent weeks and look set to offer good value considering their relatively low price-tags.
Gameweek 23 Proposed Captain Strategy
Looking ahead to the captaincy choices for Gameweek 23 there is an opportunity for three captains if you choose to use a transfer for Monday night’s game.
Our Strategy:
Luis Suarez (Aston Villa at Home) → Eden Hazard (Man United at Home) → Romelu Lukaku(West Brom Away)
For Saturday 18 January, you could be brave and opt for an Arsenal asset such as Olivier Giroud or even take a chance on Sergio Aguero’s starting role for Man City’s clash at the Etihad but with Luis Suarez’ relentless form perhaps you would be a tad naive to ignore him (and braver than us), so we opt for the safety of the Uruguayan.
For the following day, we opt for a captain change to Chelsea’s Eden Hazard who plays at home to Man United – as mentioned above, Hazard is currently leading the MoTM awards and sits second in the overall points standings just behind Suarez.
Monday evening sees Everton roll up to The Hawthorns and, if you have a surplus of transfers at your disposal, it might be worth bringing in the big Belgian front man Romelu Lukaku as he returns to play against his old club West Brom.
As an afterthought, bringing in a Man United player for Lukaku might be worth considering after the Gameweek finishes in order to catch the champions’ fixture at home to Cardiff in Gameweek 24.
The Fantasy Football Scout League
Our own Fantasy Football Scout League is on top of 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
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 and quizzing Kevin Phillips for his #One2Eleven.
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