Having analysed the Sky Sports Fantasy game player list across each position, our next article looks to assess the formation options, discussing the factors that play a part in our decision making when setting up our team and planning transfers.

The Sky Sports offers the opportunity to set your XI up in six different options: 4-4-2, 4-3-3, 5-3-2, 3-5-2, 4-5-1 and 3-4-3.

That clearly offers a myriad of choices which, at first glance, presents a problem.

To understand the merits of each of these options effectively, we need to assess the importance of each position to our overall points tally. This is best achieved by looking back on the performance of each position in the last campaign, analysing the top players and assessing how this translated to all available formations.

Firstly, we will look at the five highest scoring and best value (points per million) outfield players per position. Our objective here is to gain an idea of the spread of points available from defence, midfield and attack – the key factor when weighing up each formation.

Sky Sports Top Five Scoring Defenders 2014-15

Sky Sports Top Five Value Defenders 2014-15

Ryan Bertrand is the real stand-out asset here. He was the best value defender in the game and also came in the top five for overall points.

The left-back’s value was significantly boosted by the fact that he was originally priced as Chelsea bench fodder before transforming into a key figure of the robust Southampton rearguard.

Each season, it’s crucial to target and acquire this type of value defensive asset as early as possible as they are key to liberating funds for heavy investment elsewhere. In 2013/14, it was Curtis Davies who emerged as the value option at the back and I would expect at least one strong candidate to come to the fore in defence again this campaign.

Bertrand’s team-mate, Jose Fonte, also proved an excellent pick, whilst John Terry and Branislav Ivanovic turned out to be good value, even though they came with top bracket pricing.

A swap from Ryan Bertrand to Joleon Lescott when Southampton’s shut-outs dried up proved to be the key strategy for success – the Baggies emergence as a clean sheet machine under Tony Pulis coincided nicely with the Saints’ defensive demise.

Sky Sports Top Five Scoring Midfielders 2014-15

Sky Sports Top Five Value Midfielders 2014-15

Eden Hazard emerged as “essential” after earning the most points and representing the best value for midfielders at 27.98 points per million – he was also second overall for both these categories.

The Belgian has been a shoo-in for a couple of seasons now and I’m struggling to see that changing, with his penchant for Man of The Match (MoTM) awards making him an outstanding captain choice.

David Silva also managed to pop up in both tables after his stellar season; he similarly attracts a fair share of MoTM accolades, whilst frequently benefiting from passing bonus as part of City’s dominant midfield.

Santi Cazorla also deserves a mention. He’s an old favourite in the Sky Sports game, having been the top scoring player a couple of seasons ago with 262 points. The Gunners’ playmaker is a very deceptive scorer of points, relying on passing bonus and assists to keep his tally ticking around bursts of goals. He’s not the most explosive but he has proved to be a consistent and reliable points scorer.

Budget midfielders are also required early on in our XI’s while we wait for trends and form to emerge. Swansea’s Ki Sung-Yueng was one of our early picks: a player with an eye for goal and potential for passing bonus is always a good option and when that’s available for just 5.0 million, the value on offer is obvious.

Sadio Mane’s arrival was also key last season, as he soared up the scoring charts and ended the campaign ranked third for overall value across the positions. As we mentioned in our midfield analysis, he’s now enjoyed a significant price hike to 7.6 but remains a key target nonetheless.

Sky Sports Top Five Scoring Forwards 2014-15

Sky Sports Top Five Value Forwards 2014-15

Sergio Aguero, Harry Kane and Charlie Austin dominated matters after featuring in the top scoring players overall and the best value categories.

Aguero ended the season as the top ranked player, surpassing Hazard by just a single point, despite making nine fewer appearances.

Harry Kane’s price tag, in what turned out to be his breakthrough season, enabled him to reach the heights of 32.39 points per million. This was the best value return (for an outfield player) by some distance. Indeed, with Kane, Austin and, to some extent, Danny Ings and Saido Berahino presenting such value, it’s inevitable that many will be hunting for similar options this time around.

While we singled out some candidates in our recent analysis – namely Watford’s Troy Deeney and Bournemouth’s Callum Wilson – it’s clear that Kane and Austin will be tough acts to follow and we should in no way rely on the budget class of 2015/16 matching their achievements.

Having analysed each of the outfield positions, it’s clear that, as in previous seasons, the midfield stood out as being the pivotal area of our Sky Sports squads. They offer a higher points potential than forwards at a keener price. Midfielders made up five of the top ten scoring players overall and six of the top ten for value (ignoring goalkeepers).

Forwards are ranked next, whilst defenders lag behind by quite a distance, hindered by a scoring system that penalises every goal conceded. The top scoring defender, Branislav Ivanovic, earned 165 points after starting all 38 matches for a cost of 8.0 million. Compare this to the 5.8-priced Mane, who managed only 15 points less over 24 starts.

Points By Formation

Focusing back on the formation setups, I decided to take last season’s data and create the highest scoring team possible in each of them. These are listed below:

Optimum 3-4-3 Lineup

Optimum 4-5-1 Lineup

Optimum 3-5-2 Lineup

Optimum 5-3-2 Lineup

Optimum 4-4-2 Lineup

Optimum 4-3-3 Lineup

Final Formation Totals

• 343 – 1879
• 451 – 1860
• 352 – 1910
• 532 – 1869
• 442 – 1876
• 433 – 1851

The findings are pretty conclusive.

While the 3-4-3 is regarded as the most efficient formation in Fantasy Premier League, the results show that, even when you apply data from a season which saw the budget strikers deliver exceptional value, having a five-man midfield still proved optimal.

The 3-5-2 has long dominated as the formation of choice in the Sky Sports game and, even in a year where the likes of Kane and Austin excelled, this still emerged as the key setup, prevailing over the other formations by 29 points.

As mentioned, whether it’s possible for similar budget assets to emerge is open to question; it’s asking a lot for the likes of Deeney or Wilson to mirror Kane and Austin’s output. With that in mind, initially, the viability of a three-man strike force is in question.

We should stress that this can never be an exact science – the 3-5-2 will not be the most efficient formation at all times in the season. There will be periods where opting for three strikers could prove the optimal setup, particularly if strong budget midfield assets come to the fore.

Initially, though, with defenders being generally the weakest position and midfielders the strongest, it’s difficult to argue against setting up with the 3-5-2 come the August 8 kick-off.

SKY SPORTS FANTASY FOOTBALL SCOUT LEAGUES

We’ve already set up the official Scout League with a top prize of £1000 on offer to the winner once again. If you’ve tinkered with your Sky team and are looking to get involved, our league name is FFScout and the code is 8009000.

Finally, we’ve set up a community article to exclusively deal with Sky Sports Fantasy teams. Those looking to get involved with the discussion should click this link.