Sky Sports Focus

We now switch focus to the Sky Sports game and our Focus article which looks back at the previous round of matches before preparing you for the incoming Gameweek.

As always, we’ll examine the recent run of Man of the Match (MoTM) awards, the bonus point beneficiaries and the transfer trends, before moving on to the Scout team and our plans.

Gameweek 27 Man of the Match Awards

These were the players who convinced the Sky Sports reporters with their performances, earning an extra five points in the process.

A high-scoring week for most, with many of the game’s most popular captain choices returning substantial points.

Harry Kane and Sergio Aguero both went big on Saturday, followed by Mohamed Salah on Sunday and then Eden Hazard on Monday night – the stuff of dreams.

It’s exactly this kind of scenario that strikes fear into Fantasy managers who dare to go without the big guns with their Overhaul.

Talking of which, in case you missed our earlier article, you can find my guide to the Sky Sports Overhaul period here.

Gameweek 27 Bonus Points

Let’s take a look at any player to earn 40 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

Due to the Overhaul being active, our approach is a little different this week.

But we are able to bring you the top five transfers-in and out as it stands.

Top Transfers Out

Top Transfers In

My Team

Karius
Robertson Ward Tarkowski van der Horn
Eriksen Ozil De Bruyne Salah
Kane Firmino

ITB: 0.1
Transfers remaining: 9/40
Last week’s points: 134
Overall points: 2,304
Rank: 213th

Notes

Let me stress that my team is by no means set in stone. Like many Sky Sports managers, I’m constantly tinkering, but right now I’m sat with the above XI.

My season-goal of finishing inside the top 100 is certainly within reach and I’m confident I could achieve that by playing safe.

However, I would like to push to the top 25 or so and win some of my mini-leagues, so I’m happy to go down a slightly riskier route.

Of the top five transfers-in (above), I only have Roberto Firmino, so I am already going against the grain somewhat.

On to my team, then.

I’m going to briefly talk you through the rationale behind my choices and then highlight some other options who might yet still make the cut.

Kane, Kevin De Bruyne and Salah are immovable as far as I’m concerned – they are simply too well-owned and too consistent and explosive to overlook.

Firmino is in due to fantastic form, fixtures and a match in Gameweek 32. After that I may reassess, but for now he’s close to nailed-on for me.

Likewise, Loris Karius looks to be extremely good value – if Liverpool can keep churning out clean sheets. I have strongly considered Alex McCarthy for the money saved, but clean sheets are the bread and butter for keepers and it’s difficult to see Southampton improving in that respect, given their run of away fixtures.

Mike Van der Horn is a player I think most of the top 100 will gravitate towards. Budget picks are required and he looks to be the best of the bunch right now. He is pretty much a necessary “essential” for me.

I have considered going for Jonjoe Kenny, for even more of a saving, and hoping he gets matches. But I could easily leave myself with 10 starters and no money in the bank to rectify if it goes wrong, so I’ll bid to avoid that headache.

A Stephen Ward and James Tarkowski double-up is a risk, I accept that. Both have been injured for a while and Burnley shut-outs have dried up. I’m simply hoping the return of these two, and a nice set of fixtures, coincides with more clean sheets.

If it works, it’s a very cheap price to pay for hopefully decent returns. And if it doesn’t, then I could look at the more template option of Joe Gomez or Andreas Christensen in the future.

Christen Eriksen and Mesut Ozil are in there as differentials. Both have good fixtures and play in teams who can score goals.

I have considered the likes of Riyad Mahrez and Theo Walcott, but feel I can’t quite trust them (or perhaps their teams) to perform as much as I can the other two. Raheem Sterling is another I perhaps should just stick with, but it feels too much of a template player. I have no doubt he will continue to be a good pick, however.

That just leaves Andrew Robertson, who I am least confident about. He’s in there to exploit Liverpool’s fixtures at present, but I have also looked at Ben Davies, Phil Jones and even downgrading Ozil to Aaron Ramsey and swapping that slot to a 10.3 midfielder or less. In truth, I’m still undecided at this stage.

My biggest worry about this XI is the lack of variety from different teams. No doubt there will be many single matchdays towards the latter part of the season, and I currently sit with no Chelsea or Man United coverage.

In fact, I only have seven of 20 teams represented.

However, I have been guilty in the past of planning too far ahead, so I want to pick a team more geared to the immediate future and go from there.

I’m confident that, with nine transfers remaining, I can address this issue as and when required, rather than miss out on points in the meantime.

Please feel free to comment below on my team and your plans – you can also find me on twitter @d1sable if you want to trade ideas.

Captain Plan

Sat 24th – Salah (WHU)
Sun 25th – Kane (cry)
Thurs 1st – De Bruyne (ars)

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

Our Fantasy Football Scout League is currently topping the League of Leagues as we look to defend our crown in 2017/18.