Our regular Virtual FPL round-up looks back at the weekend action and summarises the injury news, forthcoming fixtures, highest scorers, top Fantasy managers and more.
READ MORE: How to sign up and play Virtual FPL
SCOUT NOTES
(The full results from Gameweeks 14 and 15 are available via the Virtual FPL fixtures page or the game’s Twitter account).
On yer ‘ead Son
The Virtual FPL community had to deal with a big blow in Gameweek 14 when Harry Kane picked up an injury.
The injury and bans table below confirms that the Spurs man will be out until Gameweek 25, after the Golden Boot front-runner scored 15 goals in the first 14 matches.
However, there remains an exciting option in virtual north London after Son Heung-min was the start of a 2-1 win over Southampton.
The South Korean stepped up to fill the Kane gap with a 13-point score, registering a goal and an assist.
It was bad news for Dele Alli owners, as he blanked against the Saints, although the decent fixtures continue for Spurs.
Between now and Gamwweek 20, they face Burnley, Aston Villa and Newcastle at home.
Seventh Heaven
Liverpool were dominant winners over Norwich in Gameweek 15 as they smashed them 7-0 in front of a virtual Anfield crowd.
Mohamed Salah was at the heart of the rout scoring twice for a 14-point haul.
That was excellent news for a large number of Virtual FPL managers, as the Egyptian was captained by 45.3%, each of them getting a nice 28-point score.
With no Double Gameweeks to consider in this version of the game, it was perhaps no surprise to see that 9.3% managers went as far as to hand him the Triple Captain armband as well. Those who did so earned themselves 42 points from the 7-0 win.
However, as is often the case with big wins in FPL, it was a defender who stole the show.
On this occasion, it was Andrew Robertson, whose goal, assist, clean sheet and maximum bonus led to an 18-point mega-score.
His latest assist continues to up the pressure on the top playmakers in Virtual FPL, his total of eight still two more than any other defender in the game.
Meanwhile, Sadio Mané played no part in Gameweek 15.
Where’s Kevin?
Those who were bold enough to look at captaincy options outside of Salah were largely punished.
There was not much consensus beyond the Egyptian, but Kevin De Bruyne was one of the alternatives, armbanded by 6.2%.
The Belgian produced a disappointing display, blanking as Manchester City beat Burnley 2-0.
However, De Bruyne may well be back in the captaincy conversation soon, as matches against Norwich (home) and Newcastle (away) await in Gamweeks 18 and 19 respectively.
Midfield maestro
Owned by 37.9%, Marcus Rashford remains the second-most popular forward in Virtual FPL and he ticked over nicely with a six-point score against Arsenal.
However, he was outshone by the less fashionable Manchester United alternative in midfield Bruno Fernandes.
In the 2-2 draw at a virtual Old Trafford, the midfielder registered two assists and claimed the man of the match award for an 11-point haul.
With Watford (away) and Aston Villa (away) on the horizon, interest in Rashford will continue to be high, but even more managers might be considering a double-up with Fernandes.
He has transformed Manchester United’s attacking potential since his return. In Gameweek 15, only Chelsea started more attacks than Manchester United’s 27.
Out of the Blue
No side started more attacks in Gameweek 15 than Frank Lampard’s side, with a massive total of 39.
However, that was recorded against Brighton who have conceded more attacks than any other team so far.
Up next for Chelsea is a meeting with Liverpool, perhaps tempering any interest in the likes of Christian Pulisic who registered 14 points in a 2-0 win over the Seagulls.
VIRTUAL FPL PREMIER LEAGUE TABLE
UPCOMING FIXTURES
TOP SCORERS/ASSIST-MAKERS
STATS TABLES
Our spreadsheet that details team attacks (both for and against) by Gameweek and overall might now look slightly different to you – that’s because Fantasy Football Scout contributor TopMarx has taken over proceedings and given the document a much-needed facelift.
As well as the basic numbers that were previously provided, users can now see averages for each grade of fixture difficulty and the figures for home and away games.
The fixture difficulty rating colour (according to Ragabolly’s ticker) is reflected in the relevant Gameweek.
The updated standings can be found via this link.
TopMarx has also updated his interactive player stats spreadsheet after the weekend’s matches, meanwhile.
The stand-alone spreadsheet can be accessed via this link, with Fantasy managers able to make their own copy by selecting “File>Make a copy”.
INJURIES AND BANS
RANKINGS
The previous leader Eddie Campbell lost top spot over the weekend, with Basil1977 surging up the rankings, both worldwide and in the Fantasy Football Scout mini-league.
He went into Gameweek 15 in third place but a 95-point score was enough to squeeze past Eddie and second-placed Fabio Borges.
The latter dropped to fourth after scoring just 76 points.
Chip deployment had a big impact on the top 10, with five of those now at this rank using the Triple Captaincy on Salah. Shawn Devonport especially used it to good effect, combining the Egyptian’s haul with big points elsewhere, scoring 106 for the Gameweek and rising to eighth from 22nd.
Interestingly, it was a different sort of chip that helped Basil1977 to the summit, as he used the Free Hit.
Legomané remains top of the FFS Mods and Cons league, although FPL Partridge has trimmed the gap at the top to 21 points.
You can join the Fantasy Football Scout mini-league by entering the code 9RV4A via the below link.
3 years, 11 months ago
Vfpl
Played two friendlies of wolves Jota started in one. Any press conference update regarding Jota ? Ragabolly ?