We now turn to our weekly Sky Sports Focus article where we look back at the previous Gameweek’s events, before preparing managers for the incoming round of fixtures.
As always, we’ll examine the recent run of Man of the Match (MoTM) awards, the bonus point beneficiaries, transfer trends and scan our Watchlist, before moving on to the current Scout line-up and our future captaincy plans.
Gameweek 17 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 |
| Chelsea vs Newcastle | Eden Hazard |
| Watford vs Spurs | Abdoulaye Doucoure |
| West Brom vs Crystal Palace | Mamadou Sakho |
| Leicester vs Burnley | Riyad Mahrez |
| Everton vs Huddersfield | Dominic Calvert-Lewin |
| Brighton vs Liverpool | Philippe Coutinho |
| Stoke vs Swansea | Xherdan Shaqiri |
| Arsenal vs Man United | David de Gea |
| Bournemouth vs Southampton | Ryan Bertrand |
| Man City vs West Ham | David Silva |
Eden Hazard’s 22 points and third MoTM award put him joint fourth for these gongs, behind Harry Kane (four), Kevin De Bruyne (four) and Mohamed Salah (six).
This was the Belgian’s third double-figure haul in six weeks, with his form showing little sign of hitting the buffers, given the schedule of fixtures to come.
Philippe Coutinho also collected 22 points against Brighton before his midweek hat-trick in Europe.
Both players regularly flirt with bonus points, find favour with the Sky match reporters and have the fixtures to thrive. When you factor in that they only have a combined ownership of 10.3%, they appear to be essential acquisitions for managers bidding to make up ground.
Gameweek 17 Bonus Points
Let’s take a look at any player to earn 25 points or more in bonus for the 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 |
| Matic | Man United | 8.3 | 8% |
| Lukaku | Man United | 12.4 | 7.8% |
| Lacazette | Arsenal | 11.8 | 6.6% |
| Jesus | Man City | 12.1 | 3.2% |
| Pogba | Man United | 11.2 | 3.1% |
Top Transfers In
| Name | Team | Value | % of Managers |
| Sterling | Man City | 9.8 | 7.9% |
| Morata | Chelsea | 12.2 | 6.2% |
| Aguero | Man City | 12.8 | 4.9% |
| Hazard | Chelsea | 11.8 | 4.1% |
| De Bruyne | Man City | 11.5 | 3.6% |
Average Transfers Remaining
Top 10 – 14.90
Top 100 – 17.00
Top 1,000 – 17.32
Top 5,000 – 17.36
Top Five Captains Picked
| Name | Team | Value | % of Managers |
| Kane | Spurs | 12.9 | 27.1% |
| Lukaku | Man United | 12.4 | 16.8% |
| Aguero | Man City | 12.8 | 9% |
| De Bruyne | Man City | 11.5 | 7.2% |
| Jesus | Man City | 12.1 | 3.3% |
Watchlist
In this section I aim to highlight a few differential players with low ownership who I believe present strong options for the forthcoming six Gameweeks.
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 | Kiko Femenia 5.7 4.4% | Andreas Christensen 6.4 1.4% | Nacho Monreal 8.5 4.6% |
| Midfielder | Ruben Loftus-Cheek 7.3 1.3% | Wilfried Zaha 9.3 3.7% | Eden Hazard 11.8 5.9% |
| Forward | Dominic Calvert-Lewin 7.8 1.6% | Jamie Vardy 11.2 4.7% | Alexis Sanchez 12.7 3.1% |
My Team
Pope
Walker Otamendi Femenia Christensen
Hazard De Bruyne Sane Salah Richarlison
Kane
ITB: 0.8
Transfers remaining: 21/40
Last week’s points: 97
Overall points: 1215
Rank: 259th
Notes
Another solid week puts me in my highest position of the season so far – 259th.
The main reason for that was giving Eden Hazard the armband for a huge 44-point return.
The only real negative of my week was the dismissal of Davison Sanchez. Facing a three-match suspension, I moved him out for Kyle Walker on Sunday, who picked up seven points in the win over West Ham, despite conceding, thanks to his passing bonus.
Looking ahead, I want to get Philippe Coutinho back into my team. Selling the misfiring Leroy Sane is the obvious move, but unfortunately I’m 0.2 away from a straight swap.
I may ship Walker straight out for the fit-again Phil Jones to afford the move, although I’m hesitant considering the number of transfers I’m now getting through.
I’m still above the average and aware the overhaul is only a couple of months away, but with Christmas rotation, injuries and individual captain days to worry about, I feel like I should be squirrelling them away.
The fixtures arrive thick and fast, with another Double Gameweek coming in 18, so I’ll remain flexible for now and see what early surprises crop up.
Captain Plan
Sat 9th – Kane (STK)
Sun 10th – Salah (EVE)
Tues 12th – Hazard (hud)
Weds 13th – Salah (WBA)
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
After winning the League of Leagues in 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.
