With Gameweek 23 done and dusted 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 24 and keeping one eye on Gameweek 25.
Gameweek 23 Man of the Match Awards
Listed below is a match-by-match breakdown of the players twho won the plaudits from the Sky Sports reporters last time out, earning five additional points for the Man-of-the-Match award.
| Fixture | MoTM |
| Sunderland vs Southampton | Jack Cork |
| Arsenal vs Fulham | Santi Cazorla |
| Crystal Palace vs Stoke | Yannick Bolasie |
| Man City vs Cardiff | Yaya Toure |
| Norwich vs Hull | Robert Snodgrass |
| West Ham vs Newcastle | Yohan Cabaye |
| Liverpool vs Aston Villa | Ron Vlaar |
| Swansea vs Tottenham | Emmanuel Adebayor |
| Chelsea vs Man United | Samuel Eto’o |
| West Brom vs Everton | Kevin Mirallas |
The awards this week were unsurprisingly once again mostly attributed to midfielders, with seven in total claiming the MoTM award. The others were awarded to two forwards and one defender. Yaya Toure picked up his fourth of the season and now sits top of the midfield rankings overall with 156 points. Eden Hazard, who sits in second place overall with 149 points, has the most MoTM awards, with eight to his name.
Gameweek 23 Bonus Points
Five goalkeepers managed five saves or more – Tim Howard, Jack Butland, Adrian, David Marshall and Vito Mannone were the top shot-stoppers. Mannone produced seven saves which was the largest number for the week and has now joined four other goalkeepers at the top of the bonus point table, who are all sat on an additional ten points.
In defence, a total of 11 players gathered bonus, six for tackles and five for passes completed – Angel Rangel, Ashley Williams, Chico and Jordi Amat, all of Swansea, managed to gather bonus points for passing as their style of football continues to be favoured by the bonus system. Full-back Joel Ward has now been joined by centre-back Chico as the top defenders for bonus – both have 18 additional points.
In midfield, 17 players earned bonus points – five for tackling and 12 for passing. Fulham centre-midfielder Scott Parker was the closest to achieving both as he missed out by just one tackle. Newcastle midfield enforcer Cheick Tiote is the bonus point darling, with his 32 additional points putting him top of the overall 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 |
| Negredo | Man City | 8.6 | 5.56% |
| Ramsey | Arsenal | 5.8 | 5.44% |
| Lovren | Southampton | 5.2 | 5.41% |
| Barkley | Everton | 4.3 | 5.18% |
| Nasri | Man City | 6.3 | 4.17% |
Once again, injuries are the main reason for this week’s top five for transfers out. Lovren, Barkley and Nasri remain sidelined, though Ramsey is back for Arsenal’s trip to Southampton. Negredo is looking to recover from the shoulder injury sustained at West Ham last midweek, though his departure from Fantasy teams is no doubt also affected by Sergio Aguero’s return to action.
Top Transfers In
| Name | Team | Value | % of Managers |
| Aguero | Man City | 9.8 | 6.91% |
| Januzaj | Man United | 4.2 | 4.66% |
| Cabaye | Newcastle | 6.6 | 4.02% |
| Hazard | Chelsea | 8.8 | 3.77% |
| Lallana | Southampton | 5.9 | 3.70% |
As mentioned, Aguero’s immediate return to scoring form has Fantasy managers rushing to acquire his services – a scenario we’ve already seen in the FPL game. Cabaye and Lallana’s mid-price consistency is making a persuasive case for many, whilst Januzaj’s recent run of starts for United has heightened the youngster’s budget appeal.
Gameweek 24 Proposed Captain Strategy
Looking ahead to the captaincy choices for Gameweek 24 we will have to settle for just two captains as there is no Monday night game this week.
Our Strategy:
Luis Suarez (Everton at Home) → Emmanuel Adebayor (Man City at Home)
It looks like Luis Suarez will be the popular choice again on Tuesday 28 as his form at Anfield suggests he will return big once more – for those looking for a slight differential, Wayne Rooney looks a great alternative option at home to Cardiff if he gets the nod to start.
For the matches played on Wednesday 29, we opt for a captain change to Tottenham’s Emmanuel Adebayor – whilst most would argue Chelsea’s Eden Hazard is a better choice as he plays at home to West Ham a quick glance at Gameweek 25 shows that Adebayor plays on Saturday February 1 away to Hull whilst Hazard doesn’t feature until Monday 3 when the Blues make their way to Man City.
Of course if you have a surplus of transfers you could still go for Hazard vs West Ham and prepare for Gameweek 25 by using a transfer in order to maximize your captains.
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 and quizzing Peter Lovenkrands for his #One2Eleven.
