It’s time to take a look at our Sky teams this evening ahead of Gameweek 8’s weekend fixtures. As always, we assess the recent run of Man of the Match (MoTM) awards, bonus point beneficiaries, the transfer trends, the watchlist and a look at the Scout team and our future plans.
Gameweek 7 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 |
| Chelsea vs Arsenal | Kurt Zouma |
| Aston Villa vs West Brom | Gareth McAuley |
| Bournemouth vs Sunderland | Callum Wilson |
| Newcastle vs Watford | Odion Ighalo |
| Stoke vs Leicester | Bojan Krkic |
| Swansea vs Everton | Ashley Williams |
| Man City vs West Ham | Winston Reid |
| Tottenham vs Crystal Palace | Heung-Min Son |
| Liverpool vs Norwich | John Ruddy |
| Southampton vs Man United | Anthony Martial |
In the first time in memory, not a single midfielder managed to grab a MoTM award. Lots of cheaper forward options did step up to the plate, though; Anthony Martial, Bojan, Odion Ighalo and Callum Wilson all represent great value at present and are out-performing their far more expensive counterparts.
Gameweek 7 Bonus Points
Six goalkeepers picked up bonus this week. Norwich’s John Ruddy was the main man after making six saves and earning the MoTM award to bring home eight points, despite conceding away to Liverpool. Palace’s Alex McCarthy is the current leader in the bonus stakes with eight additional points.
In defence, 20 players grabbed bonus, 17 for tackles and four for passes completed. Chelsea full-back Cesar Azpilicueta was the man to collect both and continues where he left off last season as a bonus magnet. Full-backs, in general, are dominating right now, with Allan Nyom, Jordan Amavi and Simon Francis all on eight bonus points.
In midfield, there were 17 beneficiaries in total: 11 for tackling and seven for passes. Nemanja Matic was the man to grab both – as he frequently did last season – helping himself to six points. Francis Coquelin is joined by Cesc Fabregas as the game’s highest bonus earner with 12 points overall so far.
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 |
| Kompany | Man City | 7.5 | 6.9% |
| Benteke | Liverpool | 9 | 4.6% |
| Shaw | Man United | 6.5 | 4.5% |
| Silva | Man City | 8.9 | 2.7% |
| Gomis | Swansea | 7.7 | 2.6% |
Vincent Kompany and David Silva are doubts going into the weekend but are expected to feature, whilst Christian Benteke is almost certain to join Luke Shaw on the sidelines. Bafetimbi Gomis hasn’t scored in a couple of matches and looks like falling foul of the below-mentioned Anthony Martial’s form and similar price.
Top Transfers In
| Name | Team | Value | % of Managers |
| Martial | Man United | 7.5 | 9.3% |
| Kolarov | Man City | 7.2 | 5.1% |
| Payet | West Ham | 6.2 | 4.7% |
| Mahrez | Leicester | 6 | 4.3% |
| Sagna | Man City | 6.5 | 3.2% |
United’s teenage sensation Martial tops the list ahead of a home encounter against Sunderland. In-form midfielders Dimitri Payet and Riyad Mahrez continue to attract suitors, whilst Man City full-backs Aleksandar Kolarov and Bacary Sagna are firm favorites ahead of a kind schedule.
Top Five Captains Picked
| Name | Team | Value | % of Managers |
| Aguero | Man City | 10 | 18.2% |
| Hazard | Chelsea | 9 | 7.9% |
| Rooney | Man United | 9.6 | 5.9% |
| Benteke | Liverpool | 9 | 5.6% |
| Sanchez | Arsenal | 9.7 | 5.2% |
Watchlist
Here I aim to highlight a few differential players with low ownership that I think could be good options for the next six fixtures. These will be looking at 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 | Simon Francis, 4.8m, 1.3% | Craig Dawson, 5.5m, 1.5% | Cesar Azpilicueta, 7.5m, 3.2% |
| Midfielder | Victor Moses, 5.4m, 0.5% | Kevin de Bruyne, 7.8m, 3.3% | Pedro, 8.3m, 4.5% |
| Forward | Salomon Rondon, 6.6m, 1.1% | Bojan Krkic, 7.4m, 0.6% | Graziano Pelle, 8.1m, 8.4% |
My Team
Gomes
Gomez Martin Cathcart
Hazard Silva Ayew Mahrez Mane©
Aguero Sanchez
ITB: 0.2m
Transfers remaining: 31/40
Last week’s points: 59
Overall points: 297
Rank: 14,951
Notes
Having earned 59 points, it feels good to be back in the swing of things after a string of mediocre Gameweeks. The main difference this week was that both my two captains returned points, with Riyad Mahrez (18) and Sadio Mane (16) earning the vast majority of the team’s overall score. The main problem in my team right now is Joe Gomez, who was dropped at the weekend and looks likely to remain on the bench for Liverpool. I have a few options, with Kyle Naughton and Craig Dawson my preferred choices – however, they are out of my budget without a further swap. Alexis Sanchez has flattered to deceive and has a string of tough fixtures after this weekend so he may have to go in order to afford the swap – particularly when the cheaper forwards are currently performing very well. If I decide to stick by the Chilean then I may even consider Allan Nyom in for Gomez and triple up on Watford defence – I can’t quiet work out if that’s madness or genius.
Captain Plan
Just the one captain for me this week, with a swap to Sergio Aguero on the cards for Man City’s trip to Tottenham. This allows me to set up for the following week, where the league leaders are at home to Newcastle, plus I have no players from this week’s Sunday and Monday fixtures.
If you have the transfers spare – unlike me – then a move to Odion Ighalo on Sunday looks decent as Watford play again on the following Saturday away to Bournemouth.
The Fantasy Football Scout League
Once again, we’re running our own Fantasy Football Scout League this season and we’re sitting second 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 you can catch The Fantasy Football Club show with new host Max Rushden and Paul Merson at 18:30 on SkySports 1 HD, where they will be discussing the upcoming week’s Fantasy Football as per usual.
