It’s the calm before the storm in the Sky Sports game, with only seven fixtures this week compared to 12 matches over Gameweek 37. As always, we assess the recent run of Man of the Match (MoTM) awards, bonus point beneficiaries, the transfer trends, the watchlist and take a look at the Scout team and our future plans.
Gameweek 35 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 |
| Swansea vs Everton | James McCarthy |
| Southampton vs Hull | Morgan Schneiderlin |
| Sunderland vs Crystal Palace | Yannick Bolasie |
| Tottenham vs Aston Villa | Christian Benteke |
| West Brom vs Leicester | Jamie Vardy |
| West Ham vs Stoke | Marko Arnautovic |
| Burnley vs Arsenal | Aaron Ramsey |
| QPR vs Chelsea | Joey Barton |
| Man United vs Man City | Ashley Young |
| Liverpool vs Newcastle | Philippe Coutinho |
Midfielders dominate once again, with eight of the awards going to the men in the middle. Christian Benteke and Jamie Vardy were the only two to break the trend as they churned out impressive displays further up the pitch. A special mention to Yannick Bolasie, who now has seven MoTM awards – the joint second amount along with Harry Kane and David Silva.
Gameweek 35 Bonus Points
Only the game’s most popular goalkeeper, Lukasz Fabianski, managed to pick up saves bonus this week – a welcome addition for his 12.1% owners. Robert Green is the busiest stopper in the league, having racked up 28 bonus points over the season.
In defence, five players grabbed bonus, two for tackles and three for passes completed. Nacho Monreal was the closest to earning both, missing out by just seven completed passes – Pablo Zabaleta is still leading the way for defenders with 22 bonus points.
In midfield there were 14 beneficiaries in total: ten for tackling and five for passes. Brazilian enforcer Lucas was the man to grab both for the second week running. Chelsea duo Cesc Fabregas and Nemanja Matic are the game’s overall highest bonus point earners with 44 each.
In-form Leicester forward Jamie Vardy also picked up tackling bonus this week and was the only front man to earn bonus.
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 | 12.6% |
| Forster | Southampton | 4.9 | 4.8% |
| Taylor | Swansea | 4.9 | 3.6% |
| Eriksen | Tottenham | 7.6 | 3.4% |
| Hutton | Aston Villa | 3.8 | 2.9% |
Diego Costa and Fraser Forster are both injured, whilst Alan Hutton is without a match. Neil Taylor is suspended for two Gameweeks after picking up his tenth booking of the season and, despite having a fixture, Christian Eriksen’s poor form sees 3.4% ship the Dane.
Top Transfers In
| Name | Team | Value | % of Managers |
| Rooney | Man United | 9.4 | 6.3% |
| Giroud | Arsenal | 8.9 | 5.1% |
| Bertrand | Southampton | 5.1 | 3.7% |
| Sanchez | Arsenal | 9.5 | 3.6% |
| Aguero | Man City | 9.8 | 3.1% |
Four forwards make up the most transferred in, as Fantasy managers go on the attack for the run-in, with Wayne Rooney the top target. Ryan Bertrand is the only other non-attacking player to make up the five, as he is brought in by another 3.7%
Top Five Captains Picked
| Name | Team | Value | % of Managers |
| Costa | Chelsea | 9.5 | 14% |
| Rooney | Man United | 9.4 | 10% |
| Aguero | Man City | 9.8 | 6.8% |
| Hazard | Chelsea | 8.9 | 6.5% |
| Fabregas | Chelsea | 8.6 | 6.5% |
A massive 14% go into the Gameweek with the injured Diego Costa as their captain, whilst 6.8% have Sergio Aguero, who doesn’t play until Sunday. Plenty of opportunity to rise in ranking, then, if you’re low to mid overall.
It’s worth noting that the average amount of transfers remaining amongst the top 1,000 currently is now 3.738. For the top 100, this figure is almost identical 3.73 but there’s less trades on the table for the top ten, who have an average of just 3.4 transfers remaining. Encouraging news for the chasing pack, then.
Watchlist
Here I aim to highlight a few differential players that could help you climb the rankings. We look at three specific price brackets in order to cater for our available budgets, with the names evolving in accordance with fixtures and form.
| Budget | Mid-Price | Premium | |
| Defender | Jeffrey Schlupp, 5.0m, 0.6% | Toby Alderweireld, 5.m, 0.8% | Seamus Coleman, 7.1m, 4.3% |
| Midfielder | Ki Sung-Yeung 5.0m, 4.1% | Aaron Lennon, 6.6m, 0.7% | Juan Mata, 8.4m, 5.8% |
| Forward | Jamie Vardy, 6.6m, 0.5% | Loic Remy, 8.0m, 2.0% | Christian Benteke, 8.1m, 1.0% |
My Team
Fabianski
Lescott Bertrand Dawson
Hazard© Silva Sigurdsson Fabregas Mane
Aguero Kane
ITB: 1.0m
Transfers remaining: 7/40
Last week’s points: 49
Overall points: 1906
Rank: 167
Notes
It was a bit of a non-event for my team this week, as I stayed around the same rank – although Sergio Aguero was my top scorer with 12 points, both my captains failed to deliver big returns. I’ve no plans for transfers this week but next time out I’ll probably make two or three. For now, though, I’ll sit tight and hope my double West Brom defence can dig themselves out of a hole and grab an unlikely clean sheet against a rampant Palace side.
Captain Plan
On Saturday, I’m locked into Eden Hazard, who I hope can have an impact against an in-form Man United side. I’m not expecting fireworks due to Jose Mourinho’s cautious approach in the big matches but the Belgian is capable of getting points from so many angles in the Sky game.
For Sunday, I’ll be giving the armband to one of Sergio Aguero or David Silva. The latter all but guarantees points, as he picks up passing bonus so often, so is a great safety net. He also has seven MoTM awards, two more than his team-mate. Of course, the allure of penalties will always make Aguero the more explosive option but his chances may be somewhat determined by whether City retain a lone striker system or move to two up front again. Harry Kane is, of course, another option on Sunday but Spurs have been off-form, so I’ll avoid him this time. Both Spurs and City play matchday one in Gameweek 37, so set you up perfectly in terms of captain strategy.
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 Fenners and Merse at 18:30 SkySports One HD where they will be discussing the upcoming week’s Fantasy Football, quizzing Preston manager Simon Grayson and asking current Swans keeper Michel Vorm for his #One2Eleven.
