Up next this Thursday, we take our usual pre-deadline look at the Sky Sports game. Once again, we assess the recent run of Man of the Match (MoTM) awards, bonus point beneficiaries and the transfer trends before casting an eye over the Scout team and our future plans.
Gameweek 39 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 |
| Everton vs Bournemouth | Ross Barkley |
| Newcastle vs Crystal Palace | Andros Townsend |
| Stoke vs Sunderland | Jermain Defoe |
| Watford vs Aston Villa | Troy Deeney |
| West Brom vs West Ham | Mark Noble |
| Arsenal vs Norwich | Danny Welbeck |
| Swansea vs Liverpool | Andre Ayew |
| Man United vs Leicester | Wes Morgan |
| Southampton vs Man City | Sadio Mane |
| Chelsea vs Tottenham | Eden Hazard |
Gameweek 39 Bonus Points
Two goalkeepers picked up bonus this week. Liverpool stand-in Danny Ward and Leicester’s Kasper Schmeichel were the men in question with five and six saves respectively. Petr Cech, Jack Butland and Heurelho Gomes still top the bill for overall bonus between the sticks, with 16 apiece.
In defence ten players grabbed bonus; six for tackles and four for completed passes. Arsenal full-back Nacho Monreal was the closest to earning both, missing out by just one completed challenge. Bournemouth’s Simon Francis is the top scoring defender in terms of bonus with 28 points – nearly the equivalent of six clean sheets.
In midfield there were 23 beneficiaries in total: 12 for tackling and 11 for passes. As usual Cesc Fabregas was one of those recipients and his total of 64 bonus is just one point short of the equivalent of 13 goals.
Wayne Rooney’s midfield role meant he completed 66 passes and earned passing bonus for the second time this season.
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 |
| Alli | Tottenham | 4.0 | 25.4% |
| Drinkwater | Leicester | 4.1 | 5.1% |
| Vardy | Leicester | 7.3 | 4.6% |
| Sanchez | Arsenal | 9.7 | 4.2% |
| Dier | Tottenham | 5.7 | 4% |
Top Transfers In
| Name | Team | Value | % of Managers |
| Drinkwater | Leicester | 4.1 | 7% |
| Kane | Tottenham | 9.3 | 3.3% |
| Dembele | Tottenham | 5 | 3.2% |
| Payet | West Ham | 6.2 | 3% |
| Daniels | Bournemouth | 3.7 | 2.8% |
Top Five Captains Picked
| Name | Team | Value | % of Managers |
| Aguero | Man City | 10 | 14.7% |
| Kane | Tottenham | 9.3 | 9.7% |
| Sanchez | Arsenal | 9.7 | 5.8% |
| Hazard | Chelsea | 9 | 5.1% |
| Vardy | Leicester | 7.3 | 4.9% |
The average amount of transfers remaining amongst the top 10 Sky managers currently is 0.4, whilst the top 100 is 0.58, the top 1,000 is 0.993 and the top 5,000 is 1.2956.
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 | Jan Kirchhoff, 4.5m, 0.1% | Aaron Cresswell, 6.2m, 6.5% | Branislav Ivanovic, 8m, 4.3% |
| Midfielder | Nathan Redmond, 5.5m, 3.9% | Mark Noble, 5.8m, 1.4% | Cesc Fabregas, 8.7m, 5.9% |
| Forward | Jermain Defoe, 7.5m, 3.2% | Andy Carroll, 7.9m, 0.9% | Daniel Sturridge, 9.4m, 2.6% |
My Team
Hart
Cathcart Walker Dier
Alli Coutinho Mahrez Payet
Costa(c) Kane Sanchez
ITB: 0.4m
Transfers remaining: 0/40
Last week’s points: 32
Overall points: 2,140
Rank: 741
Notes
It’s been a highly frustrating season for me so far with the general theme being captain fails. Skipper Alexis Sanchez blanked, Sergio Aguero provided a no-show and Diego Costa picked up just a solitary assist. I would have much preferred to go with Eden Hazard but given he didn’t start at home to Spurs, I couldn’t justify bringing him in. Low and behold he comes on, scores and wrapped up the MoTM award to add insult to injury.
With no transfers remaining, I’m relying on a bit of luck from here on in and will just have to hope rotation is kind to me. My only saving grace here is that hopefully many others are in the same position and my rank isn’t effected too much. All in all if I finish with a top 1k rank I won’t be too disappointed, given the unpredictability of this season.
Captain Plan
I’m locked into Diego Costa as captain for Chelsea’s trip to Sunderland and will be hoping the Blues put as much effort into that match as they did in the second-half of Monday’s draw with Spurs. Jamie Vardy and Dimitri Payet also look good options on this match day.
For Sunday, I’ll likely switch to Philippe Coutinho if he looks like starting at home to Watford – this will be tricky to judge, though, as the later kick-off means I’m unable to see the Liverpool team sheet prior to the deadline. The reason Coutinho is the preferred option for my team is that Liverpool also play on Wednesday night and I could potentially have three captains, depending on Jurgen Klopp’s line-ups.
Sandwiched in between these matches is West Ham vs Manchester United on Tuesday night – this may also be an option for those with transfers and multiple captain aspirations.
Troy Deeney is also another name to consider given Watford play Sunday and Wednesday and therefore offers a three-captain route with no transfers used, providing he’s already in your side.
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 and asking former Liverpool keeper Jerzy Dudek for his #One2Eleven.
