In our final article looking at the player list in the Sky Sports game, we bring you our top targets in attack.
While forwards don’t always offer the best value due to their inflated prices compared to the other positions, they more than make up for that in points.
Or at least the right forwards do.
The three top-scoring players in the game last season were Alexis Sanchez (285), Harry Kane (282) and Romelu Lukaku (248) who, when paired with the armband, were obviously the stand-out options over the course of the season.
They commanded hefty fees back then and do so again now. But skimping at the back and targeting value in midfield should afford us the ability spend the bulk of our cash on an expensive front two or three.
Using our transfer swaps to move the forwards in and out as fixtures and form dictate is also useful, as having expensive place holders means that any single player is potentially just one transfer move away.
It’s been a tried and tested recipe for success in Sky Sports over the seasons and the new overhaul feature appears to only strengthen this strategy.
And if a less expensive forward does challenge the heavy-hitters then we can react, maybe with a direct swap from midfield, although pre-overhaul, it seems foolhardy to take the risk.
As a result, our favorite picks won’t come as much of surprise.
The Picks
Harry Kane – 12.9 – 45.9% – Fixtures: new CHE BUR
Kane is the most owned player in the game, after picking up the Golden Boot last season and doing so in emphatic style, netting seven times in the final two fixtures. In fact, Kane’s record has been stunning since he first graced the Premier League, having scored 78 goals in 113 appearances to date.
He is also one of the few forwards to earn bonus through the shots on target route, picking up 26 points due to his unerring accuracy – the equivalent of five extra goals. The Englishman will be heavily captained pre-overhaul due to all Spurs’ fixtures falling on a Sunday, which makes him all the more appealing. There really isn’t any reason we can see not to go for Spurs’ talisman – unless you buy into the theory that he starts the season slowly.
Romelu Lukaku – 12.4 – 41.8% – Fixtures: WHU swa LEI
Manchester United’s new marquee striker signing scored 25 goals for Everton last term and ended up as the Sky Sports game’s third highest scoring player overall. He also managed four MoTM awards and six assists to supplement this tally. The prospect of playing in a more dominant team this season means that most would expect him to improve further on this total, with over 40% seemingly backing this theory. With a favourable three matches to start the season – and two of those falling on different days to Harry Kane – he offers an ideal front two captain partner for the Spurs assset.
Gabriel Jesus – 12.1 – 9.7% – Fixtures: bha EVE bou
Such is the dominance of Kane and Lukaku in early squad selections that last season’s wonderkid has practically been forgotten, with just over 9% making the swoop so far.
The Brazilian started only eight games (two sub appearances) due to injury after his January arrival, but still managed seven goals, four assists and two MoTM awards. His impact was great enough to leave the mercurial Sergio Aguero (12.8m) with bench duty at times. The duo are expected to start the season together, however, and form a deadly strike partnership. City have also been on fire in pre-season and, should either of the South Americans continue that form in the first three games, we may be forced into picking an incredibly expensive front three.
Alexandre Lazazette – 11.8 – 17.8% – Fixtures: LEI stk liv
Arsenal kick us off on Friday night and perhaps that is a factor behind the Gunners new front man attracting over 17% ownership.
Captain coverage is obviously key in Sky, and the Frenchman looks the best option for that fixture as it stands. Twenty-eight goals in as many starts for Lyon last season is obviously impressive, as is his rate of shooting of roughly 2.8 shots on goal per match.
Alexis Sanchez (12.7m) was the game’s highest scoring player, and if he remains at Arsenal will surely warrant serious attention post-overhaul. But he has been ruled out of the opener and perhaps the two matches that follow, so he has been excluded from our thinking.
Manolo Gabbiadini– 10.3 – 2.7% – Fixtures: SWA WHU hud
The Saints’ fixtures are the main attraction here, with the Italian our stand-out pick on offer.
Opponents Swansea City and West Ham both only managed two clean sheets away from home last season, while the newly-promoted Huddersfield Town shipped 32 goals on their travels in the Championship.
The January signing made an instant impact before tailing off, but he still managed to earn 47 points in just ten starts and one substitute appearance. In reality, it’s hard to look past the pricier options above, but Gabbiadini could yet offer us a cheeky differential at just 2.5% ownership.
Weekly Articles and Podcast
We’ll analyse the Man of the Match awards next, before checking out the bonus point kings in the build-up to Gameweek 1 on Friday.
Also, I’ll be talking through the week’s action and upcoming plans with FFS posters Buffrey and Lewis on our regular podcast – the latest episode can be found here.
We also have the dedicated RMT community article to exclusively deal with Sky Sports Fantasy teams.
Those looking to get involved should click this link.
The Fantasy Football Scout League
We’ve already set up our Fantasy Football Scout League and, after winning the League of Leagues for each of the last four seasons, we’re looking to defend our crown in 2017/18.
Get your teams in – the name is FFScout and the pin number to join is 8300422.
Previous Sky Sports Articles
The Overhaul
Player List – Goalkeepers
Player List – Defenders
Player List – Midfielders
