Next up this Friday, we take a look at the Sky Sports game, assessing the recent run of Man of the Match (MoTM) awards and bonus point beneficiaries before casting an eye over the Scout team and our future plans.
Gameweek 23 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 |
| Aston Villa vs Crystal Palace | Joleon Lescott |
| Bournemouth vs Weat Ham | Dimitri Payet |
| Newcastle vs Man United | Wayne Rooney |
| Chelsea vs West Brom | Darren Fletcher |
| Man City vs Everton | Tim Howard |
| Southampton vs Watford | Shane Long |
| Stoke vs Norwich | Joselu |
| Swansea vs Sunderland | Jermain Defoe |
| Liverpool vs Arsenal | Olivier Giroud |
| Tottenham vs Leicester | Robert Huth |
One goalkeeper, two defenders, two midfielders and five forwards earned the awards last week. Early-season favorite Dimitri Payet seems to have picked up where he left off and with a decent run of fixtures, I expect his 8.7% ownership to rise once again. Wayne Rooney, Jermain Defoe and Olivier Giroud haven’t been popular selections amongst active players but with 34, 44 and 43 points picked up respectively in their last six Gameweeks, they are certainly putting pressure on the template forwards.
Gameweek 23 Bonus Points
Just two goalkeepers collected bonus this week. Kasper Schmeichel and Tim Howard were the men in question and the Toffees shot stopper picked up a tasty 14-point haul for shutting out Man City and picking up the MoTM gong. Jack Butland and Petr Cech lead the way for keepers with 14 bonus apiece.
In defence, 11 players grabbed bonus, nine for tackles and four for passes completed. Centre-backs Fabricio Coloccini and Philipp Wollscheid were the two to pick up both for their all-action displays. Cesar Azpilicueta, Erik Pieters and Simon Francis are top bonus magnets with 16 each.
In midfield, there were 11 beneficiaries in total: four for tackling and nine for passes. Muhamed Besic and Yann M’Vila were the two to pick up both, thanks to deep-lying roles for their respective teams. Cesc Fabregas is the game’s highest bonus earner overall with 32 points so far.
Arsenal forward Joel Campbell was the only frontman to pick up bonus after putting in a hard-working shift and making five tackles in the 3-3 draw at Liverpool.
Fantasy Football Scout members can access all information regarding bonus points using player stats and clicking the Sky Sports tab.
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 | Miguel Britos, 4.2m, 0.2% | Aaron Cresswell, 6.2m, 6.2% | Phil Jagielka, 6.8m, 4% |
| Midfielder | Michail Antonio, 5.5m, 0.1% | Gylfi Sigurdsson, 7.1m, 3.2% | Roberto Firmino, 8m, 1.9% |
| Forward | Benik Afobe, 6.3m, 0% | Enner Valencia, 7.7m, 0.2% | Diego Costa, 9.8m, 6.4% |
My Team
Gomes
Cathcart Dawson Nyom
Ramsey Mahrez Payet De Bruyne
Aguero© Lukaku Kane
ITB: 1.1m
Transfers remaining: 16/40
Last week’s points: 39
Overall points: 1196
Rank: 3,570
Notes
Like most, it was fairly tragic week for my team, although thanks to the efforts of my new acquisition Dimitri Payet (14) and old favorite Aaron Ramsey (10), I jumped up the rankings by around 1,000 places. Points seem to be extremely hard to come by at present but with no stand-out options, I feel it’s best to sit tight and consolidate transfers rather than make rash decisions.
My triple Watford defence has been disappointing of late and Craig Cathcart was dropped in midweek, so I may be forced into a change eventually. With Swansea and Newcastle up next for the Hornets, though, I’ll make the call after those two fixtures.
Captain Plan
Sergio Aguero is my captain for Saturday’s round of matches – although he continues to toil, I feel the goals have to come eventually.
A swap to Aaron Ramsey on Sunday is my route as the Gunners travel to the Britannia. This isn’t the smartest maneuver as it means having only one captain the week after, so if you happen to have any Liverpool or United players, its probably best you pick that option. Roberto Firmino or Wayne Rooney could be the best alternatives in light of current form.
Possibly an even better option, however, is looking at Monday night’s clash at the Liberty Stadium, which sees Swansea take on Watford. The Hornets feature in Matchday one in Gameweek 25 at home to Newcastle, so if you’re lucky enough to own Odion Ighalo, he’s surely the best way to navigate this tricky week.
The Fantasy Football Scout League
Once again, we’re running our own Fantasy Football Scout League this season and are sitting in first place 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.
