Time for our weekly Sky Sports Focus article where we cast an eye back at the previous weekend’s action before preparing you for the incoming Gameweek.
We’ll examine the recent run of Man of the Match (MoTM) awards, the bonus point beneficiaries, transfer trends and Watchlist, before moving on to the Scout team and our future plans.
Gameweek 11 Man of the Match Awards
These were the players who caught the eye of the Sky Sports reporters and earned an extra five points as a result.
| Fixture | MoTM |
| West Ham vs Brighton | Glenn Murray |
| Chelsea vs Watford | Michy Batshuayi |
| Newcastle vs Crystal Palace | DeAndre Yedlin |
| Man City vs Burnley | Kevin De Bruyne |
| Huddersfield vs Man United | Aaron Mooy |
| Swansea vs Leicester | Riyad Mahrez |
| Stoke vs Bournemouth | Junior Stanislas |
| Southampton vs West Brom | Sofiane Boufal |
| Everton vs Arsenal | Mesut Ozil |
| Tottenham vs Liverpool | Harry Kane |
Kevin De Bruyne was once again the headline act for Manchester City. Similar to Phillipe Coutinho last season, he seems to be able to pick up the award despite numerous team-mates also excelling.
With the Belgian also avoiding rotation in the Premier League so far, he offers a cheaper and more consistent captain pick than either of City’s frontmen.
De Bruyne and Harry Kane now lead the MoTM standings, with four apiece.
Aaron Mooy continues to stand out as a budget pick. His monopoly on the awards (three so far) was signposted pre-season, and he has not let us down, sitting ninth overall for midfielders.
Gameweek 11 Bonus Points
Let’s take a look at any player to earn 11 points or more in bonus for the season.
Four of the top six spots are taken by Man City players as Pep Guardiola’s emphasis on passing continues to exploit the bonus system.
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 |
| Mkhitaryan | Man United | 10 | 5.4% |
| Lukaku | Man United | 12.4 | 4.7% |
| Jesus | Man City | 12.1 | 4.2% |
| Lacazette | Arsenal | 11.8 | 3.2% |
| Bailly | Man United | 9.7 | 3% |
Top Transfers In
| Name | Team | Value | % of Managers |
| Aguero | Man City | 12.8 | 6.2% |
| de Bruyne | Man City | 11.5 | 5.7% |
| Richarlison | Watford | 7.6 | 4.8% |
| Jesus | Man City | 12.1 | 4.0% |
| Kane | Tottenham | 12.9 | 3.8% |
Average Transfers Remaining
Top 10 – 11.8
Top 100 – 17.03
Top 1,000 – 20.92
Top 5,000 – 23.48
Top Five Captains Picked
| Name | Team | Value | % of Managers |
| Kane | Tottenham | 12.9 | 34.7% |
| Lukaku | Man United | 12.4 | 18.2% |
| Lacazette | Arsenal | 11.8 | 4.9% |
| Salah | Liverpool | 9.4 | 4.9% |
| Aguero | Man City | 12.8 | 4.7% |
Watchlist
Here I aim to highlight a few differential players with low ownership who I think could be good options for the coming six weeks.
Three specific price brackets will be used to cater for our available budgets.
The players will evolve with fixtures and form, and offer Fantasy managers a nudge in the right direction.
| Budget | Mid-Price | Premium | |
| Defender | Joel Ward 6.0m 3.3% |
Charlie Daniels 7.5m 4.7% |
John Stones 8.9m 4.2% |
| Midfielder | Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting 8.2m 1.5% |
Wilfried Zaha 9.3m 3.4% |
Raheem Sterling 9.8m 5.2% |
| Forward | Tammy Abraham 8.6m 4.2% |
Josh King 10.3m 1.7% |
Alvaro Morata 12.2m 6.3% |
My Team
Forster
Femenia Jorgensen Suttner
Hazard Coutinho Salah Carrillo
Lukaku Kane Vardy
ITB: 1.4
Transfers remaining: 31/40
Last week’s points: 79
Overall points: 683
Rank: 4,706
Notes
A rather severe drop in rank this week – my third dip in a row – signals alarm bells for my side.
It’s easy to pinpoint the error of my ways. A lack of Man City players has been devastating, while faith in the likes of Eden Hazard and Jamie Vardy has been misplaced so far.
I’m considering a mini-overhaul, but will try to stagger it somewhat to take advantage of extra players by changing them mid-Gameweek, starting with Fraser Forster to Nick Pope (5.5) on Monday night.
Forster has been a very good source of points for me, in fairness. He’s the second highest scoring keeper in the game, but something has to give in order to raise some much-needed funds.
With Pope churning out saves in a decent defence and Southampton’s fixture swing on the horizon, the move makes sense.
I have also strongly considered Julian Speroni (4.9) and might still go in that direction, but the lack of a Monday night captain is edging me towards Pope at present.
Richarlison, Kevin De Bruyne, Nicolas Otamendi, and possibly even Wilfried Zaha, may enter my side in the coming weeks as I go on the attack.
It’s all about how long I can hold off.
The only reason I had Vardy was to cover captains, and it feels too early to bail on him when Leicester City have some preferable matchdays coming up.
Likewise, with Hazard, I only recently brought him in and believe he will start to rack up points. But how long can you wait while players like De Bruyne (for 0.3 less) are out-performing him with ease?
I could yet just throw caution to the wind and bring in all five players mentioned above, foregoing several captains along the way.
I need scented candles and a lie down.
Captain Plan
Sat 28th – Coutinho (HUD)
Sun 29th – Vardy (EVE)
Mon 30th – Pope (NEW)
Weekly Articles and Podcast
As well as the weekly Focus article, 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.
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.
