With Gameweek 28 safely navigated, we turn our attentions to the stats that matter in the Sky game as the Man of the Match (MoTM) awards, bonus point beneficiaries and current market trends come under analysis. As always, we also look ahead to the forthcoming fixtures, offering our preferred captain setup for Gameweek 29.
Gameweek 28 Man of the Match Awards
Listed below is a match-by-match breakdown of the players who won the plaudits from the Sky Sports reporters last time out, earning five additional points for the Man-of-the-Match award.
| Fixture | MoTM |
| Chelsea vs Everton | Gareth Barry |
| Arsenal vs Sunderland | Olivier Giroud |
| Cardiff City vs Hull City | Nikica Jelavic |
| Man City vs Stoke City | Yaya Toure |
| West Brom vs Fulham | Johnny Heitinga |
| West Ham vs Southampton | Mark Noble |
| Crystal Palace vs Man United | Patrice Evra |
| Liverpool vs Swansea City | Jordan Henderson |
| Newcastle vs Aston Villa | Loic Remy |
| Norwich City vs Tottenham | Robert Snodgrass |
Midfielders claimed five out of a possible ten awards with forwards picking up three and defenders two. Yaya Toure collected his fourth award of the season and in combination with his goal, tackling and passing bonus earned an impressive haul of 16 points – justifying our tip for captain last week. A multitude of players earned their third MoTM award of the season – Jordan Henderson, Olivier Giroud, Gareth Barry and Robert Snodgrass were the players in question.
Gameweek 28 Bonus Points
Six goalkeepers managed five saves or more this week – David De Gea was the top keeper with a total of seven stops and a clean sheet. Vito Mannone again picked up bonus points and sits at the top of the bonus rankings with 18 additional points to his name.
In defence, a total of seven players gathered bonus, six for tackles and one for passes completed – City centre-back Martin Demichelis was the only defender to achieve passing bonus and has managed to achieve it in 50% of his games so far. Angel Rangel, Chico and Joel Ward are the top bonus point earners with 20 extra points so far.
In midfield, 24 players earned bonus points – 12 for tackling and 13 for passes. As previously mentioned, Yaya Toure was the main man, picking up passing and tackling bonus – he has now taken top spot in the bonus rankings with 36 additional points.
Two forwards managed to earn passing bonus – Wayne Rooney one of the more likely forwards to be in with a shout for bonus and somewhat surprisingly Lukas Podolski were the two playmaking from the front.
A reminder that Fantasy Football Scout members can access all the data regarding bonus points using player stats and clicking the Sky Sports tab.
The Transfer Trends
Top Transfers Out
| Name | Team | Value | % of Managers |
| Negredo | Man City | 8.6 | 8.83% |
| Oscar | Chelsea | 7.6 | 6.78% |
| Ozil | Arsenal | 8.8 | 5.83% |
| Ramsey | Arsenal | 5.8 | 2.72% |
| Van Persie | Man United | 10 | 2.34% |
Injuries and frustration sums up the top five out with most of the featured players suffering from either ‘knocks and niggles’ or a dip in form. Robin Van Persie’s blank Gameweek has persuaded many to part company with the United forward.
Top Transfers In
| Name | Team | Value | % of Managers |
| Sturridge | Liverpool | 9.2 | 9.53% |
| Adebayor | Tottenham | 7.6 | 6.09% |
| Gerrard | Liverpool | 8.1 | 4.58% |
| Sterling | Liverpool | 4.8 | 4.36% |
| Hazard | Chelsea | 8.8 | 3.62% |
Liverpool’s free scoring habit sees their assets most targeted this week with Daniel Sturridge, Steven Gerrard and Raheem Sterling all featuring in the top five. With quite a few teams suffering from ‘blank’ fixtures in the coming weeks, Fantasy managers are turning to the security of Eden Hazard and Emmanuel Adebayor, who, barring injury, look nailed on over this tricky period.
Gameweek 29 Proposed Captain Strategy
Looking ahead to the captaincy choices for Gameweek 29 we will have to settle for just two captains as there is no Monday night game this week.
Our Strategy:
Daniel Sturridge (Southampton Away) → Emmanuel Adebayor (Cardiff at Home)
For Saturday March 1, we have opted for the man in form – Daniel Sturridge, his somewhat selfish tendencies have resulted in him out scoring Luis Suarez in recent weeks and that trend looks set to continue at St Mary’s. If you’re after an alternative option Romelu Lukaku should return from injury this week and has a home fixture against West Ham.
For Sunday March 2, a switch to Emmanuel Adebayor looks the best option as they host a Cardiff City team in free fall. As an added bonus, he features on Saturday in Gameweek 30 away to Chelsea.
The Fantasy Football Scout League
Our own Fantasy Football Scout League is on top of the Private League rankings. With a £1,000 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: 8000112.
The Fantasy Football Club
This Friday The Fantasy Football Club show, where you can catch Fenners and Merse at 18:30 Skysports One HD where they will be discussing the previous week’s Fantasy Football events, quizzing former Sunderland forward Niall Quinn and asking him for his #One2Eleven.
