We move into Gameweek 4 in the Sky Sports game this evening before the first international break of the season is thrust upon us. As always, we take a look at the recent run of Man of the Match (MoTM) awards, bonus point beneficiaries, the transfer trends and also cast an eye over the Scout team and our future plans.
Gameweek 3 Man of the Match Awards
Listed below are 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 |
| Man United vs Newcastle | Tim Krul |
| Crystal Palace vs Aston Villa | Scott Dann |
| Leicester vs Tottenham | Riyad Mahrez |
| Norwich vs Stoke | Jack Butland |
| Sunderland vs Swansea | Costel Pantilimon |
| West Ham vs Bournemouth | Callum Wilson |
| West Brom vs Chelsea | Pedro |
| Everton vs Man City | David Silva |
| Watford vs Southampton | Jose Fonte |
| Arsenal vs Liverpool | Petr Cech |
Considering goalkeepers only collected 8% of the overall MoTM awards last season, it’s fair to say this week was an anomaly, with four shot stoppers picking up the gong. Leicester’s Riyad Mahrez earned his third MoTM in as many matches and is the highest scoring player overall with 41 points – those who have gone without will be playing catch up already. David Silva picked up his second award and looks set to continue to rake them in as his sensational form continues.
Gameweek 3 Bonus Points
Eight goalkeepers picked up bonus this week – Petr Cech and Tim Krul were the top scorers with a clean sheet, MoTM and saves bonus to earn an impressive 14 points.
In defence, nine players grabbed bonus – eight for tackles and one for passes completed. Jan Vertonghen picked up tackling bonus but will count himself unlucky after missing out on passing bonus by just one completed pass.
In midfield there were 18 beneficiaries in total: seven for tackling and 12 for passes. Francis Coquelin was the only player to manage both and sits in the top five for bonus alongside Aaron Ramsey, Santi Cazorla, Cesc Fabregas and Idrissa Gueye.
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 |
| Rooney | Man United | 9.6 | 3.5% |
| Jenkinson | West Ham | 5 | 2.9% |
| Bolasie | Crystal Palace | 6.9 | 2.6% |
| Kane | Tottenham | 9.3 | 1.9% |
| Eriksen | Tottenham | 7.7 | 1.8% |
Fixtures and form are against Wayne Rooney although the 3.5% that have transferred him out will be getting twitchy following his midweek hat-trick. Carl Jenkinson’s red card at the weekend means he will miss the Hammers trip to Anfield and Palace’s Yannick Bolasie missed out for personal reasons. Harry Kane has failed to live up to last season’s hype so far, whilst team-mate Christian Eriksen is still sidelined with a knee injury.
Top Transfers In
| Name | Team | Value | % of Managers |
| Mahrez | Leicester | 6 | 5.8% |
| Gomez | Liverpool | 4.7 | 5.5% |
| Aguero | Man City | 10 | 3.5% |
| Kompany | Man City | 7.5 | 3.3% |
| Gomis | Swansea | 7.7 | 3% |
Five players in great form make up the five most transferred in, as you would expect. Riyad Mahrez and Joe Gomez are the top two priorities as they continue to out-perform their price tags. Man City due Sergio Aguero and Vincent Kompany look great choices with the fixtures ahead and Bafetimbi Gomis is the joint third highest scoring forward in the game currently.
Top Five Captains Picked
| Name | Team | Value | % of Managers |
| Aguero | Man City | 10 | 20.3% |
| Hazard | Chelsea | 9 | 9.7% |
| Sanchez | Arsenal | 9.7 | 7.1% |
| Rooney | Man United | 9.6 | 6.7% |
| Benteke | Liverpool | 9 | 5.4% |
Watchlist
Here I aim to highlight a few differential players with low ownership that I think could be good options in the coming weeks to help you climb the rankings. These will be looked at in three specific price brackets to cater for our available budget. These names evolve with fixtures and form and offer Fantasy managers a nudge in hopefully the right direction.
| Budget | Mid-Price | Premium | |
| Defender | Simon Francis, 4.8m, 1.1% | Glen Johnson, 5.8m, 2.8% | Aleksandar Kolarov, 7.2m, 3.2% |
| Midfielder | Max Gradel, 5.3m, 1.4% | Jonjo Shelvey, 6.3m, 4.3% | Yaya Toure, 8.6m, 8% |
| Forward | Callum Wilson, 6.8m, 5.3% | Mame Biram Diouf, 7.5m , 2.2% | Diego Costa, 9.8m, 9% |
My Team
Adrian
Martin Cathcart Morgan
Hazard Silva Mane Payet Gradel
Aguero© Sanchez
ITB: 0.5m
Transfers remaining: 35/40
Last week’s points: 47
Overall points: 141
Rank: 50,463
Notes
A goal for Russell Martin, clean sheet for Craig Cathcart, assist for Eden Hazard, MoTM for David Silva and two assists for Max Gradel made up my mediocre Gameweek. Captain fails have been the main reason for my lack of points so far, so hopefully I can start to catch some hauls in the coming weeks.
The lack of Riyad Mahrez has also been detrimental and it’s becoming apparent it needs to be addressed, probably starting with this coming week, although both Gradel and Mane have a decent fixture so begrudgingly Dimitri Payet may have to be the man to make way. Joe Gomez was one of my heavily-considered options pre-season and continues to rack up points in a solid Liverpool back-line. Seemingly confirmed as nailed-on, given his performances, he looks a no brainer at 4.7m and he also is a top priority to squeeze in.
Captain Plan
It’s fairly straight forward this week, with Sergio Aguero my skipper for his home clash against Watford, then a swap to Sadio Mane (providing he’s fit) for Southampton’s tie against Norwich.
With a blank week up next due to international fixtures, it’s important to remember you get a free captain swap in order to prepare for Gameweek 6.
The Fantasy Football Scout League
Once again, we’re running our own Fantasy Football Scout League this season and are currently second in 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 new host Max Rushden and Paul Merson at 18:00 SkySports One HD where they will be discussing the upcoming week’s Fantasy Football, quizzing former Chelsea player Andy Townsend and asking him for his #One2Eleven.
