We head into Gameweek 9 of the Sky Sports game this weekend before the second international break of the season is thrust upon us. As always, we analyse the recent run of Man of the Match (MoTM) awards, bonus point beneficiaries, the transfer trends, the watchlist and a look at the Scout team and our future plans.
Gameweek 8 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 |
| Tottenham vs Man City | Erik Lamela |
| Leicester vs Arsenal | Theo Walcott |
| Liverpool vs Aston Villa | Daniel Sturridge |
| Man United vs Sunderland | Anthony Martial |
| Southampton vs Swansea | Virgil van Dijk |
| Stoke vs Bournemouth | Marko Arnautovic |
| West Ham vs Norwich | Diafra Sakho |
| Newcastle vs Chelsea | Vernon Anita |
| Watford vs Crystal Palace | Brede Hangeland |
| West Brom vs Everton | Romelu Lukaku |
Anthony Martial and Romelu Lukaku were the only players significantly owned enough to impact overall rank with the MoTM awards this week, with both sitting around the 14% mark.
After that you have to go to 4% for Theo Walcott, who again is becoming an enticing option after starting each of the last four for Arsenal. The rest of the awards were shared amongst a number of differentials with perhaps Diafra Sakho (7.7m) and Marko Arnautovic (5.5m) the most tempting. Daniel Sturridge made his return from injury and with just 2.1% ownership, he offers the rare chance of a genuinely explosive player and differential wrapped into one, a big risk at this stage, given his fitness record. Certainly, the Liverpool striker is one to keep an eye on if Sergio Aguero continues to toil.
Gameweek 8 Bonus Points
Seven goalkeepers picked up bonus this week – Brad Guzan made the most saves in the Gameweek (nine) in an effort to aid his team’s cause. Alex McCarthy is joined by Jack Butland as the current leaders in the bonus stakes, with eight additional points apiece.
In defence, only four players grabbed bonus, two for tackles and two for passes completed. Newcastle full-back Kevin Mbabu (3.6m) made an astonishing eight challenges and may be one to keep an eye on if he can keep his place in the XI ahead of a kind fixture list. Full-backs in general are dominating right now, with Allan Nyom, Jordan Amavi and Simon Francis all on eight bonus points.
In midfield, there were 11 beneficiaries in total: six for tackling and six for passes – Lucas was the man to grab both. Cesc Fabregas is the game’s highest bonus earner overall, with 14 points so far.
Jamie Vardy may be leading the scoring charts in the Premier League but he also managed to chip in with tackling bonus this week to fly the flag for the forwards.
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 |
| Wilson | Bournemouth | 7.5 | 9.3% |
| Benteke | Liverpool | 9 | 8.5% |
| Silva | Man City | 8.9 | 4.8% |
| Gomez | Liverpool | 4.7 | 3.9% |
| Toure | Man City | 8.6 | 3.3% |
Callum Wilson is set to miss the majority of the season with an ACL injury, Christian Benteke should be sidelined for a couple of weeks with a hamstring complaint, whilst Yaya Toure is also a doubt due to a midweek hamstring injury. David Silva missed the last three Premier League matches but returned to Champions League action last night, whilst Liverpool’s Joe Gomez has lost his starting place following an impressive start to the campaign.
Top Transfers In
| Name | Team | Value | % of Managers |
| Martial | Man United | 7.5 | 9.0% |
| Vardy | Leicester | 7.3 | 4.2% |
| Ighalo | Watford | 6.5 | 3.9% |
| Lukaku | Everton | 8.8 | 3.7% |
| Payet | West Ham | 6.2 | 3.7% |
Anthony Martial is the top target for the second week running as the youngster continues to impress. Jamie Vardy is the league’s leading scorer and looks great value at 7.3m, whilst Odion Ighalo and Romelu Lukaku were likely targeted for their Sunday and Monday night matches. Dimitri Payet takes the fifth spot and, at 6.2m, it looks a wise decision.
Top Five Captains Picked
| Name | Team | Value | % of Managers |
| Aguero | Man City | 10 | 17.9% |
| Hazard | Chelsea | 9 | 8.2% |
| Rooney | Man United | 9.6 | 5.8% |
| Sanchez | Arsenal | 9.7 | 5.5% |
| Martial | Man United | 7.5 | 3.8% |
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, 1.5% | Craig Dawson, 5.5m, 1.8% | Cesar Azpilicueta, 7.5m, 3.2% |
| Midfielder | Cheikhou Kouyate, 5.5m, 5.4% | Kevin de Bruyne, 7.8m, 5.1% | Pedro, 8.3m, 4.5% |
| Forward | Ayoze Perez, 6.9m, 0.9% | Diafra Sakho, 7.7m, 2.7% | Daniel Sturridge, 9.4m, 2.1% |
My Team
Gomes
Martin Cathcart Nyom
Hazard Silva Ayew Mahrez Mane
Aguero© Sanchez
ITB: 0.9m
Transfers remaining: 30/40
Last week’s points: 39
Overall points: 336
Rank: 20,432
Notes
Yep, I’m nuts – triple Watford defence ahoy and on its first maiden outing i was foiled by a late penalty at home to Palace. To be fair, I wasn’t expecting a clean sheet with the Eagles’ away record and it’s more of a season-long decision in the hope the value offered gives me a lot of cash to bring in the heavy hitters in midfield.
Aside from that goal costing me 18 points, it was again another quite disappointing week. Sadio Mane’s goal, Eden Hazard’s assist and Alexis Sanchez’ hat-trick my only points of note – how the Chilean didn’t get MoTM is beyond me. In terms of my team plans, David Silva looks likely to feature this week after missing the last three and although Kevin de Bruyne offers exceptional value at 7.8m, I can’t see the need for a direct swap at this stage, given that cheap midfielders are dominating right now. Of course I could bring him in for Andre Ayew or Sadio Mane and triple up on Man City but they both feature in my captain plans in the near future, so that takes priority at this stage. Dimitri Payet continues to be the one that got away after I shipped him out a few weeks back but I will likely turn to him again once my transfer/Gameweek ratio is back on track.
Captain Plan
My captain this Saturday will be Sergio Aguero once again for City’s home clash with Newcastle. The only other candidates that stand out to me on that match day are one of the Leicester duo (Riyad Mahrez / Jamie Vardy) or Dimitri Payet but, of those options, Aguero still offers the highest ceiling in my opinion.
For Sunday’s matches, the armband will go to either Alexis Sanchez or Andre Ayew as my only two players that day. The following week is a blank due to International fixtures and so I’ll use that week to set myself up once again in the captain merry-go-round.
The Fantasy Football Scout League
Once again, we’re running our own Fantasy Football Scout League this season and are sitting third in the rankings at present. 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 18:30 SkySports 1 HD where they will be discussing the upcoming week’s Fantasy Football and chatting to Everton legend Graeme Sharp.
