We’re all refreshed and raring to go, with the third international break of the season now behind us. As always, our pre-Gameweek assessment of the Sky Sports game brings you 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 14 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 |
| Bournemouth vs Newcastle | Rob Elliot |
| Leicester vs Watford | Jamie Vardy |
| Man United vs West Brom | Jesse Lingard |
| Norwich vs Swansea | Robbie Brady |
| Sunderland vs Southampton | Dusan Tadic |
| West Ham vs Everton | Victor Moses |
| Stoke vs Chelsea | Xherdan Shaqiri |
| Aston Villa vs Man City | Micah Richards |
| Arsenal vs Tottenham | Dele Alli |
| Liverpool vs Crystal Palace | Jordan Ibe |
One goalkeeper, a single defender, seven midfielders and one forward picked up the awards this time around. The game’s leading point scorer, Jamie Vardy, received a fifth MoTM award, taking him to 106 points overall. The rest of the awards were largely dominated by budget midfielders with perhaps Jesse Lingard (5.3) and Dele Alli (4.0) looking the most intriguing. Lingard is probably the riskier option of the two, given the rotation threat, but if he can nail down a spot, is likely to offer great value. Alli may not be the most attacking option but at just 4.0m he is currently offering the second best value for a midfielder in the game (10.5ppm) behind Riyad Mahrez. Given his goal for England and the fact that he is almost certain to feature in Sunday’s only match, I would expect him to attract a lot of attention.
Gameweek 14 Bonus Points
Only one goalkeeper picked up bonus last time out – Newcastle’s stand-in Rob Elliot was the man in question as he just made the cut with five saves made. The in-form Jack Butland leads the way in the bonus stakes, with ten additional points.
In defence, 14 players grabbed bonus, eight for tackles and six for passes completed. Vincent Kompany came closest to achieving both after missing out on tackles by just one challenge. Bournemouth’s Simon Francis is top of the pile with 14 points split almost equally between passing and tackles.
In midfield, there were 14 beneficiaries in total: six for tackling and eight for passes. Lucas Leiva was closest to earning both and now joins Cesc Fabregas as the game’s highest bonus earners overall with 20 points 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 |
| Payet | West Ham | 6.2 | 21% |
| Martial | Man United | 7.5 | 5.9% |
| Amavi | Aston Villa | 4.9 | 4.5% |
| Smalling | Man United | 6.9 | 3.1% |
| Hazard | Chelsea | 9 | 3.1% |
Dimitri Payet looks set to miss a few months and is the target of a whopping 21% of transfers out. Anthony Martial is a doubt following a foot injury picked up against England, though Chris Smalling recovered from a knock to feature off the bench in the same match. Jordan Amavi’s season looks to be over after picking up a cruciate ligament injury and Eden Hazard’s lack of returns sees another 3.1% part ways.
Top Transfers In
| Name | Team | Value | % of Managers |
| Mahrez | Leicester | 6 | 8.6% |
| Alli | Tottenham | 4 | 5.1% |
| Lukaku | Everton | 8.8 | 3.8% |
| Ighalo | Watford | 6.5 | 3.4% |
| Nyom | Watford | 4 | 3.2% |
Riyad Mahrez’ relentless form makes the Leicester man the top target, whilst rising star Dele Alli has already been drafted in by 5.1% – expect that to rise on Sunday when spurs entertain West Ham at the Lane. Romelu Lukaku and Ighalo Odion are in the top five for points overall and have the fixtures to add to their respective totals. Allan Nyom is currently the best value defender in the game, at 11 ppm.
Top Five Captains Picked
| Name | Team | Value | % of Managers |
| Sanchez | Arsenal | 9.7 | 13% |
| Aguero | Man City | 10 | 9.8% |
| Hazard | Chelsea | 9 | 6.4% |
| Vardy | Leicester | 7.3 | 5.9% |
| Rooney | Man United | 9.6 | 5% |
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 | Pape Souare, 4.6m, 1.9% | Ramiro Funes Mori, 5.9m, 0.1% | Seamus Coleman, 7.2m, 3.1% |
| Midfielder | Dele Alli, 4m, 3.3% | Gerard Deulofeu, 6.6m, 1% | Mesut Ozil, 8.6m, 6.5% |
| Forward | Arouna Kone, 6.7m, 3.7% | Son Heung-Min, 7.5m, 0.2% | Olivier Giroud, 9.2m, 3.8% |
My Team
Gomes
Monreal Cathcart Nyom
Ayew Mahrez Mane De Bruyne
Lukaku Sanchez(c) Pelle
ITB: 1.7m
Transfers remaining: 25/40
Last week’s points: 20
Overall points: 684
Rank: 3,016
Notes
A shocker of a week with just 20 points earned, although I feel it may have been the same for many of us, particularly the non-Jamie Vardy owners like myself. Despite the poor week and abject captain options, I’m still fairly happy with my team and it’s in a good place in order to accomodate Sergio Aguero after this week. My original plan was to finally acquire Dimitri Payet for Andre Ayew on Sunday in order to afford a Graziano Pelle to Aguero move but with the Frenchman getting injured, I’ll have to look at someone 6.2m or cheaper. At the moment a move to Dele Alli is on the cards but I am tempted by a Crystal Palace midfielder for their kind run of fixtures – this would also afford me a captain on Monday evening and the following Saturday. The problem with that is I can only afford Wilfried Zaha or Bakary Sako and neither strike me with confidence, mainly down to their pitch time.
Captain Plan
It’s likely a solitary captain for me this week unless I decide to bring in the Palace midfielder as mentioned above. I have until midnight tonight to decide whether to hand the armband to Alexis Sanchez away to West Brom or Romelu Lukaku at home to Aston Villa. I would prefer to have Sanchez, given Arsenal’s away record and the fact that West Brom will sit deep and have shipped three goals in four of their six matches at home. My only nagging doubt is that the Chilean played 180 minutes over the break and is faced with a long-haul flight back home.
The Fantasy Football Scout League
Once again, we’re running our own Fantasy Football Scout League this season and are sitting fourth 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 18:00 SkySports 1 HD where they will be discussing the upcoming week’s Fantasy Football, chatting to former Arsenal midfielder Emmanuel Petit and asking him and boxing champ Anthony Crolla for their #One2Eleven.
8 years, 7 months agoBest cheap midfielder? Wanyama, Drinkwater, Abdi, Albrighton, Sinclair, someone else?