Hub contributor Shaun Thorpe shares his brilliant Sky Fantasy Football Gameweek 17 tips and analysis.

He delves into the data from Gameweek 16 to see who performed, who hit those essential bonus tiers and the players who are creeping under the radar.

Don’t forget our essential Sky Fantasy Ultimate Guide, written by the very best Sky Fantasy players. This gives you the best Sky Fantasy 2021/22 tips and content to help you become a better Fantasy Football manager and dominate your mini-leagues.

Sky Fantasy Football Gameweek 16 Review

In this weekly article, I’ll be analysing all the key stats from the weekend’s fixtures. I’ll also identify trends both from fixture runs as well as the teams to target as the season progresses.

It’s all about identifying those Sky Fantasy players, and sides, who are going to perform on a consistent basis.

Bonus Points GW16

Bonus Points by Player GW16

The data above provides us a quick view of who hit the bonus tiers in the Gameweek.

Obviously worth bearing in mind that both Spurs and Burnley only played once due to the postponed game at Turf Moor.

From a team perspective obviously Manchester City top the charts for bonus points but interestingly it was Norwich who finished 2nd, however this will obviously be swayed by the early red card at St James’ Park.

More worthy of note is both Chelsea and Liverpool struggling for bonus points only finishing 11th and 15th respectively and given in one of the two fixtures each came up against a team who give us passing bonus regularly, perhaps one to keep an eye on going forward.

From an individuals view City assets Rodri and Joao Cancelo continue to boss it and the midfielder is one definitely on my radar.

One I would definitely be considering if I was short of money and wanted to go for the big three up top is the aptly Marvelous Nakamba (£5.6m), he has started the last five games for Aston Villa, the new manager Gerrard has raved about his performances and in those five starts he has hit tackle bonus three times and missing the tier by one tackle another time. In fact the one time he only made two he was subbed after 63 minutes!

At his price he is one of the cheapest assets in the game (incidentally Emmanuel Dennis £5.5m is one who is slightly cheaper) and I think you could do worse than have him as one of your three midfielders, go with a star filled back line and forward line.

We will also keep running totals so we can identify which players are those bonus magnets we want in our team.

Meanwhile, the table below will show us (specifically for passes and tackles) which players are just short of the level required.

Bonus Points by Player Last 6 GWs

This chart is beginning to show us who are the dependable picks throughout the season. The stats below are taken from the last six gameweeks.

As we can see, Joao Cancelo now tops the bonus points and is gaining a slight edge over his fellow competitors. His team mate Rodri is 2nd a few points behind.

At this stage of the season most of the names are familiar with regular readers, however two to pick out are Joao Moutinho who has scored 14 bonus points in the period and Christian Norgaard with 12 and as you can see with the Brentford asset he has hit bonus tiers in 3 different ways and at onlt £6.2m he could be a great enabler similar to Nakamba, he also has the single game day next week (although one yellow card away from a suspension).

Bonus Tiers vs Opponents

Tackling Bonus Points – Sky Fantasy Football Gameweek 17

The table above shows the top 20 players for the season in terms of tackles and passes. I have adapted it to show averages per game played to give us a more accurate view.

This is the Top 20 over the whole season but I have just shown the previous six game weeks of data.

In terms of tackles, we know this is the least reliable of the bonus tiers but a few players are relatively consistent.

If we look over the last six weeks, Wilfred Ndidi has only played the last four however has managed 3 tackle minimum in each with two of them hitting Tier 2 tackles. Declan Rice has hit a tackle bonus in four games.

Plenty of players have hit tackles tier three of the six games with the most notable being Rayan Ait Nouri who has also been one tackle short in two other games with the same being said of Stuart Dallas. Also for those looking for a captaincy on Monday night both Everton full backs have managed tackle bonus three times out of six.

Passing Bonus Points – Sky Fantasy Football Gameweek 17

From a passing bonus perspective, the consistent players from previous seasons are starting to come to the fore.

It comes as no surprise that 15 players in the top 20 are from Liverpool, Man City or Chelsea.

Of the other five, three represent the two other sides who do well for passing bonus in Crystal Palace and Brighton.

Liam Cooper has slipped into the Top 20 average after a couple of good performances and Pierre Emile Hojberg is a decent shout. This is especially the case if you are swerving Harry Kane given his lacklustre form.

Unlike tackle bonus, passing is a lot more consistent so there are less ‘surprises’ but Joao Moutinho has hit Tier 2 passing in each of the last 3 games, so maybe one for the future after a horrendous fixture run. Other than that worth noting a few Liverpool assets such as Andrew Robertson and Fabinho are close to the tiers most weeks.

Best Value Picks (points per game per million)

Best Value Players – Sky Fantasy Football Gameweek 17

The chart above will become more useful over the course of the season. Nevertheless, it provides us a method of comparing players at different price points.

It takes points scored divided by the games these assets have played. This calculates the value they offer in the game. I have discounted players who have only played one game.

Yet it is already starting to show the more consistent players we can perhaps target going forward. It also flags potential assets for any tricky single day games later in the season.

Personally, while I have been going back and forth around the big three up top or big at the back Emmanuel Dennis has gone about his business and is effectively the best value player in the game. Tie in his single game day next week and I can see him getting a boost in ownership although diminished somewhat by his likely departure for the AFCON.

Tier Bonus Allowed by Team

Best Value Teams so far – Sky Fantasy Football Gameweek 17

The two tables show how many players have hit at least Tier 1 against each opponent.

From a passing perspective, Newcastle have given up passing bonus in 10 of their 14 fixtures so far, with Watford and Norwich doing the same in eight games.

Although the passing table above does show us patterns, you have to dig a little deeper into the stats.

For example, both Arsenal and Chelsea have conceded passing bonus to 11 players in just two games. Yet both teams were down to ten men for half a game which skews the statistics. Also worth noting Aston Villa have conceded passing to 11 players in Gerrard’s three games but again they were playing Manchester City, Crystal Palace and Brighton teams who all like to play.

Also strange two of the teams we would target usually in Everton and Watford both came up against title contending defences who are renowned for their passing, yet they conceded none.

Also in Tottenham’s last two fixtures vs Brentford and Leeds they have allowed five players to hit passing tiers before that only one had all season, could be a change in style from Conte and something to potentially attack going forward.

Also Leeds finally allowed a 2nd player to hit passing tier against them in Lewis Dunk however they still remain the hardest team to hit passing against.

Interestingly, across the two different bonuses it is Liverpool who still give up the fewest (17) but then it is Burnley (20) next in line. Newcastle have allowed 56 players to hit a passing/tackle tier against them so far this season well ahead of Crystal Palace (44) in 2nd.

Team Updates – Sky Fantasy Football Gameweek 17

Team Review GW16

An above average week for me again with captaincy returns from all my picks except Harry Kane more on him later!

Mohamed Salah (46 points) the hero again, but plenty chipped in double clean sheet for Jose Sa who I was going to ship for Aaron Ramsdale on Thursday but decided to wait (after listening to the FFH pod) and be sure he starts on Monday night for the single game day.

Double Manchester City defence is ticking along nicely but what could have been without the 94th minute equaliser on Sunday still both have hit their bonus tiers with Ruben Dias even adding a goal and MOTM.

The midfield continues to tick over, very fortunate falling on the right side of the Tuesday captaincy between Raphinha and Connor Gallagher with the Leeds man chipping in with the last minute penalty.

Ivan Toney is doing what I wanted for the short term scored a goal hit a couple of tiers and he will be my captain in the single gameday next week before being shifted.

Harry Kane, what to do with Harold Kane! He has Norwich this weekend so is a definite hold however if he flatters to deceive I think he is looking like a sell. The only issue being there is no real hop off point for an extra fixture until Boxing Day. So I may bite the bullet and just move him to potentially Cristiano Ronaldo for when he plays Norwich the following weekend.

In total, 178 points for the Gameweek and a current rank of 1005 is a rise of 780 places from last week.

With a healthy transfer count, I’m relatively happy at this stage. The B team dropped from last week with 136 points, sitting in around 11k I will definitely look to go different over the Christmas period.

Transfer Plans – Sky Fantasy Football Gameweek 17

I’m planning to move Jose Sa on for Aaron Ramsdale before the Monday game.

After that it depends on Kane, I want Cristiano Ronaldo in for Toney once his single game day is completed. However it would require me dropping Ruben Dias down to a cheaper defender to then afford an upgrade. If Kane isn’t doing much I will look to move Kane to Ronaldo and tempted to move Toney to a defender and play 5-3-2.

At this point, if you don’t already use Ian Parrin’s spreadsheet, it is an essential tool which helps you plan out future moves and ensure you have the appropriate budget for them.

GW17 Fixtures

Sky Fantasy Football Gameweek 17 Fixture Analysis

Captaincy this week covers three days so don’t forget to set them early just in case.

Saturday is a no brainer and has to be Mohamed Salah.

Sunday is a bit more open. Harry Kane is likely to get one more go, but anyone with Cristiano Ronaldo could be rewarded.

Monday all being well will be Aaron Ramsdale who I will bring in and captain against an Everton team really missing Calvert Lewin.

Don’t forget to check out Dan Cox’s Sky Gameweek 16 Preview too.

Good Luck for Gameweek 17!

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Sky Fantasy Football Gameweek 17 Analysis

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