All refreshed and ready to go again after the international break, we return with our usual look at the Sky Sports Fantasy game. As always, we delve into the recent run of Man of the Match (MoTM) awards, bonus point beneficiaries, the transfer trends, the watchlist and also cast an eye over the Scout team and our future plans.
Gameweek 4 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 |
| Newcastle vs Arsenal | Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain |
| Aston Villa vs Sunderland | Scott Sinclair |
| Bournemouth vs Leicester | N’Golo Kante |
| Chelsea vs Crystal Palace | Bakary Sako |
| Liverpool vs West Ham | Manuel Lanzini |
| Man City vs Watford | Raheem Sterling |
| Stoke vs West Brom | Rickie Lambert |
| Tottenham vs Everton | Tim Howard |
| Southampton vs Norwich | Sadio Mane |
| Swansea vs Man United | Andre Ayew |
Back to normality last week, with eight midfielders claiming the awards, with Everton goalkeeper Tim Howard and West Brom frontman Rickie Lambert earning the other two. Lots of these midfielders look good value options moving forward – Scott Sinclair (5.8), Bakary Sako (5.6), Manuel Lanzini (5.0) and Andre Ayew (6.5) have all been kindly priced and look like being involved in their respective teams’ goal scoring exploits.
Gameweek 4 Bonus Points
Four goalkeepers picked up bonus this week – Tim Howard was the top scorer with a clean sheet, MoTM and saves bonus to earn an impressive 14 points.
In defence, 16 players grabbed bonus, eight for tackles and eight for passes completed. Eric Dier has been playing in a defensive midfield role for Spurs and was the closet to earning both bonus awards, just missing out on distribution by four completed passes. Watford full-back Alan Nyom leads the way for defenders with six points so far.
In midfield, there were 20 beneficiaries in total: eight for tackling and 15 for passes. Three players picked up both, with defensive midfielders Francis Coquelin, Fernandinho and Carlos Sanchez the men in question. Coquelin now joins Aaron Ramsey as the game’s leading bonus earners with ten each so far.
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 |
| Coutinho | Liverpool | 8.4 | 4.9% |
| Benteke | Liverpool | 9.0 | 3.4% |
| Mahrez | Leicester | 6.0 | 2.8% |
| Hazard | Chelsea | 9.0 | 2.2% |
| Sanchez | Arsenal | 9.7 | 1.9% |
Philippe Coutinho’s one-match suspension has triggered a raft of sales, whilst Christian Benteke’s one goal in four is enough to persuade plenty to look elsewhere. Eden Hazard and Alexis Sanchez’ poor form has already led to an exodus, though those who sold Riyad Mahrez after be was subbed off with a back injury in Leicester’s last match will be ruing their decision after the Algerian returned to action during the international break.
Top Transfers In
| Name | Team | Value | % of Managers |
| Gomis | Swansea | 7.7 | 5.1% |
| Wilson | Bournemouth | 6.8 | 4.3% |
| Ayew | Swansea | 6.5 | 4.2% |
| Gomez | Liverpool | 4.7 | 3.5% |
| Rooney | Man United | 9.6 | 3.2% |
Swansea pair Bafetimbi Gomis and Andre Ayew, along with Bournemouth’s Callum Wilson, offer us excellent, in-form options in the mid-price bracket. Liverpool left-back Joe Gomez continue to earn plenty of interest as a budget enabler, whilst Wayne Rooney’s inclusion here is a real surprise, given his complete lack of domestic form.
Top Five Captains Picked
| Name | Team | Value | % of Managers |
| Aguero | Man City | 10 | 20.3% |
| Hazard | Chelsea | 9 | 8.7% |
| Rooney | Man United | 9.6 | 7.9% |
| Sanchez | Arsenal | 9.7 | 5.7% |
| Benteke | Liverpool | 9 | 4.2% |
Watchlist
Here I aim to highlight a few differential players with low ownership that I think could be good options for the next six fixtures. These will be looking at 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% | Craig Dawson, 5.5m, 1.3% | Aleksandar Kolarov, 7.2m, 4.7% |
| Midfielder | Wes Hoolahan, 5.5m, 0.9% | Kevin de Bruyne, 7.8m, 1.3% | Raheem Sterling, 8.5m, 7.6% |
| Forward | Salomon Rondon, 6.6m, 1.1% | Diafra Sakho, 7.7m, 1.7% | Diego Costa, 9.8m, 9% |
My Team
Adrian
Gomez Martin Cathcart
Hazard Silva Mahrez Mane Gradel
Aguero Sanchez
ITB: 0.9m
Transfers remaining: 33/40
Last week’s points: 46
Overall points: 187
Rank: 40,287
Notes
Another washout for my team overall, with only assists from David Silva and Max Gradel to show before captain Sadio Mane somewhat saved my Gameweek with two assists and the MoTM award in Southampton’s win over Norwich.
Gradel is now out injured long term, though, which is a shame as he was really starting to look the part as the budget enabler. Another transfer will have to be used to ship him out and I’m currently weighing up a straight swap to Bakary Sako at 5.6 or a double transfer, with a downgrade in goal from Adrian to Heurelho Gomes giving me the money to acquire Andre Ayew in Gradel’s place.
I’m still not sure which route to take, as doubling up on Watford’s defence could prove to be a risk even though they have looked solid so far. Kevin de Bruyne has also been added into the game at just 7.8m, which seems astonishing value given the Belgian’s potential, and I may draft him in for Sadio Mane in the future, should he live up to expectations. I’ll certainly be keeping a keen eye on him this week.
Captain Plan
Saturday is a toss-up between Alexis Sanchez at home to Stoke or Sergio Aguero / David Silva away to Crystal Palace. I have until midnight tonight to use my free captain trade and decide which option to take.
For Sunday, I’ll likely swap to Riyad Mahrez for his home clash against Aston Villa as he plays on Saturday in Gameweek 7 away to Stoke. This is a risk, however, as Man City are home to West Ham that day, so I may just go with the one skipper this week or next.
The Fantasy Football Scout League
Once again, we’re running our own Fantasy Football Scout League this season and are at the top of the 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 17:30 SkySports 3 where they will be discussing the upcoming week’s Fantasy Football and interviewing England legend Paul Gascoigne.
