With two sets of fixtures over the next few days, Sky Sports Fantasy Football managers brace themselves for a double Gameweek this time around. As always, we check on the latest data, including Man of the Match (MoTM) awards, bonus point beneficiaries, the transfer trends and a look at the Scout team and our future plans. Also this week, we introduce a new Watchlist feature to keep an eye on the players primed for big returns.
Gameweek 25 Man of the Match Awards
These were the players that caught the eye of the Sky Sports reporters from last weekend’s fixtures achieving the Man of the Match award (worth an additional five points).
| Fixture | MoTM |
| Hull vs Newcastle | Remy Cabella |
| Crystal Palace vs Everton | Phil Jagielka |
| Liverpool vs West Ham | Raheem Sterling |
| Man United vs Leicester | Daley Blind |
| Stoke vs QPR | Jon Walters |
| Sunderland vs Burnley | Jermain Defoe |
| Chelsea vs Man City | James Milner |
| West Brom vs Tottenham | Harry Kane |
| Arsenal vs Aston Villa | Mesut Ozil |
| Southampton vs Swansea | Ashley Williams |
Ashley Williams (9.8%) Harry Kane (11.6%) and Raheem Sterling (35.8%) were the only players with significant ownership to have an impact by earning the MoTM award. Sterling and Kane continue to look great options moving forward even with tricky fixtures to come; both have been underpriced this season, particularly in Kane’s case (6.7m) when you consider he’s cheaper than midfielders James McCarthy and Ricky Alvarez amongst others, it really brings it home. Luckily, this season’s new 3-4-3 formation available means that Kane can be accomodated alongside a few heavy hitters up front and in midfield without breaking the bank.
Gameweek 25 Bonus Points
Two goalkeepers achieved bonus points from collecting five or more saves. Adrian and Tim Krul were the men in question – Krul also earned a clean sheet and took home a tidy nine points. Robert Green is still the top of the bonus point rankings on 20 overall.
In defence, 11 players grabbed bonus, five for tackles and six for passes completed. Man City full-back Gael Clichy was the nearly-man here, missing out on bonus altogether – falling shy by two completed passes and one tackle. Six players are joint top for defenders, all with14 additional points. Of these six defenders, only Cesar Azpilicueta is a recognised full-back.
In midfield there were 21 beneficiaries in total: 12 for tackling and 11 for passes. Brazilian battlers Lucas and Paulinho were the players to earn both to grab themselves an extra four points. Nemanja Matic is now the game’s overall highest bonus point earner, with 36 points credited.
Wayne Rooney chipped in with passing bonus once again this week – a nice plus but his owners will be getting jittery, considering his lack of attacking returns.
Fantasy Football Scout members can access all information regarding bonus points using player stats and clicking the Sky Sports tab.
The Transfer Trends
Top Transfers Out
| Name | Team | Value | % of Managers |
| Costa | Chelsea | 9.5 | 21.5% |
| Sigurdsson | Swansea | 6.4 | 8.7% |
| Sanchez | Arsenal | 9.5 | 8% |
| Fabregas | Chelsea | 8.6 | 6.4% |
| Bertrand | Southampton | 5.1 | 5.8% |
Some of the most highly owned players in the game have suffered big sales as the template starts to shift. Suspensions to Diego Costa, Gylfi Sigurdsson and Ryan Bertrand have forced Fantasy managers’ hands, whilst Alexis Sanchez and Cesc Fabregas missed out last weekend due to injury.
Top Transfers In
| Name | Team | Value | % of Managers |
| Aguero | Man City | 9.8 | 8.8% |
| Giroud | Arsenal | 8.9 | 7% |
| Kane | Tottenham | 6.7 | 6.3% |
| Rooney | Man United | 9.4 | 4.4% |
| Cazorla | Arsenal | 8.3 | 4% |
Sergio Aguero’s assist at the weekend and his impending home tie against lacklustre Hull City makes him the top target this week. Olivier Giroud, Santi Cazorla and Harry Kane’s form and price make them great options as they clash in the North London derby, whilst Wayne Rooney somewhat surprisingly makes up the five most transferred in. The United skipper has a decent couple of fixtures away to West Ham and home to Burnley, so perhaps this is the main reason behind his recent acquisitions.
Watchlist
This week, we introduce a new feature where I aim to highlight a few players with sub-5% ownership that could be good options in the coming weeks. The players are split up into three separate price categories to cater for your available budge – these names evolve with fixtures and form and offer Fantasy managers a nudge in hopefully the right direction.
| Budget | Mid-Price | Premium | |
| Defender | Kurt Zouma, 4.8m, 0.5% | Daley Blind, 6.8m, 1.2% | Laurent Koscielny, 7.5m, 2.4% |
| Midfielder | Eljero Elia, 4.7m, 0.3% | Jason Puncheon, 6.9m, 1% | Santi Cazorla, 8.3m, 3.7% |
| Forward | Bafetimbi Gomis 7.0m, 0.6% | Jermain Defoe, 7.3m, 0.4% | Olivier Giroud, 8.9m, 4.6% |
My Team
Fabianski
Bertrand Hutton Van Aanholt
Hazard Downing Fabregas Di Maria
Aguero Giroud© Berahino
ITB: 0m
Transfers remaining: 15/40
Last week’s points: 51
Overall points: 1369
Rank: 332
Notes
Patrick van Aanholt’s ten-point return and Olivier Giroud’s tally of 20 – whilst holding my armband – were the highlights for my team last week in what was generally a poor showing. Raheem Sterling (11pts) and Harry Kane (17pts) were the two players with high ownership that dented my teams hopes of climbing the ladder – considering I owned Sterling until a couple of weeks ago and picked Saido Berahino over Kane, it makes it all the more frustrating.
With only 15 transfers left I don’t want to tinker if I can help it, although players like Kurt Zouma, Hector Bellerin, Saido Mane and Kane look extremely appealing at the moment. For now, though, I’ll ride out the storm and hope Cesc Fabregas returns from injury in the near future to aid my team’s quest for the top 100.
Captain plan
With the double Gameweek, there are so many potential routes to navigate including the four captain option if you want to use a transfer on each matchday.
However with my lack of transfers, I’ll stick with Olivier Giroud away to Spurs on Saturday, avoid a skipper on Sunday, keep Giroud as my captain for Tuesday – when Arsenal host Leicester – and then swap the armband to Sergio Aguero on Wednesday for City’s clash at the Britannia.
Remember it’s a blank Gameweek straight after the double, meaning you can opt for a more punty captain choice on the final matchday if you like, safe in the knowledge you can readjust in time for Gameweek 28.
The Fantasy Football Scout League
Once again, we’re running our own Fantasy Football Scout League this season and we’re currently topping 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: 8009000.
The Fantasy Football Club
This Friday The Fantasy Football Club show, where you can catch the rerun of Fenners and Merse at 18:30 SkySports One HD where they will be discussing the upcoming week’s Fantasy Football, quizzing former England man Ray Clemence and asking him for his #One2Eleven.
