Hub contributor Shaun Thorpe shares his brilliant Sky Fantasy Football Gameweek 18 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 17 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 GW17

Bonus Points by Player GW17

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

From a team perspective, Manchester City top the charts for bonus points. Interestingly, it was Norwich for the second week in a row who finished behind the champions.

Third and below were some way off the pace for one of the lowest scoring tiers of all Gameweeks so far this season.

Manchester Assets – Sky Fantasy Football Gameweek 18

Looking at individuals, City assets Rodri and Joao Cancelo continue to boss it and the midfielder is definitely on my radar.

Another who is worth considering is Fred (£7.6m). He has started 12 games and has hit either passing or tackle tiers nine times.

The recent attacking returns are probably an anomaly. However, I think the best thing about him is he could potentially cover Cristiano Ronaldo over the single game days in case he is rested for any reason.

Fred also offers decent value and is easy to get to given Manchester United often play last in most weeks.

I currently have double Manchester City defence in the shape of Cancelo and Dias. For anyone looking to get to the double up, I would advocate going for Aymeric Laporte (£9.1m).

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.

Two notable players who were very close to hitting both tackles and passing bonus were Brandon Williams and Bernardo Silva.

The latter could have rewarded owners even further on top of his 16 point haul.

Bonus Tiers GW17

Bonus Points by Player Last 6 GWs

Reliable Options – Sky Fantasy Football Gameweek 18

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.

At this stage of the season, most of the names are familiar with regular readers. However, for those short of a captain for Friday night, Christian Norgaard with 15 bonus points is a decent captaincy shout.

He is ridiculously cheap and he has hit bonus tiers in three different ways. At only £6.2m, he could be a great enabler.

Norgaard is only one yellow card away from suspension. Yet there will be plenty of players rotated over the festive period so it doesn’t worry me too much.

Other popular Sky Fantasy assets with four yellow cards so far, and who need to avoid another before the end of the year, include Connor Gallagher, Raphinha, Joao Cancelo, Fred, Callum Wilson and Declan Rice.

Incidentally, this happens to be my entire midfield!!

Tackles and Passes so Far

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.

Given the established players for each tier are known, I have adapted this to show the best performers over the previous six weeks. This also shows averages per game played.

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 five games. Nevertheless, has managed three tackles minimum in each with three of them hitting Tier 2 tackles. Rodri has hit tackles in each of the last three games.

Plenty of players have hit tackles tier three of the six games. The most notable of these is Rayan Ait Nouri who has also been one tackle short in two other games. Surprisingly, the same being said about Stuart Dallas.

Matty Cash has hit Tier 2 tackles in three of the last five games.

Interestingly his teammates John McGinn (two tiers and one tackle short three times) and Marvelous Nakamba (three tiers and one tackle short once) have also stepped up recently.

Perhaps this is an indication of a change of approach under Steven Gerrard?

Popular asset Connor Gallagher has hit Tier 1 once, Tier 2 twice and been one tackle short twice in the last six as well.

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 17 players in the top 20 are from Liverpool, Man City or Chelsea.

Of the other three, Lewis Dunk is currently injured. Pierre Emile Hojberg is going to miss fixtures while Spurs recover from COVID.

This leaves Ruben Neves who isn’t really an option given the poor form Wolves are showing. Perhaps he is one to consider if a single game day crops up.

Unlike tackle bonus, passing is a lot more consistent so there are fewer ‘surprises’.

However, two things I have noticed in recent weeks is how Gabriel has hit passing bonus in four of the last five games for those wanting to go there.

Also, in the last two games, plenty of Norwich assets have hit 22 passing bonus points in the last two games. This is unbelievable considering in the previous 13 games they scored just six!

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.

The biggest takeaway I have is that you should spend your budget on well known picks from the big three sides defensively.

They are by far the most consistent and it’s something which I am hoping to move to in the upcoming week.

Tier Bonus Allowed by Team

Best Value Teams – 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, Norwich and Watford have given up passing bonus in 10 of their 15 fixtures so far.

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.

It’s also worth noting that Aston Villa have conceded passing to 12 players in Gerrard’s four games. Meanwhile, Tottenham have conceded passing tiers to nine players in their three games.

Four Norwich players hit it against them which leads you to believe Conte is setting them up to hit teams on the break. This is something to keep an eye on once they start up again.

Leeds, Liverpool and Manchester City have still only allowed passing tiers in two individual games. Surprisingly Southampton have only allowed it in four games.

When we narrow in on the last six weeks in terms of passing/tackle bonus given up, the best three performing teams are Southampton, Leicester and Chelsea.

All of them have allowed six players to hit them followed by Brentford with eight.

The worst teams in the same period are Newcastle who have allowed 25 players. They are followed by West Ham, Aston Villa and Man Utd with 21.

Team Updates – Sky Fantasy Football Gameweek 17

Team Review GW17

A slightly below average week for me with missing players through rotation, injury and COVID. Despite this, I only experienced a slight drop in rank.

Even though I captained Mohamed Salah (10 points), it was so close to a farewell clean sheet from Jose Sa.

A 94th winner for the Reds meant he only gave me four points. The planned switch to Aaron Ramsdale looked like it may reap immediate dividends on Monday night but it wasn’t to be.

Defensively, a surprise no show from Lewis Dunk and zero points from Antonio Rudiger left all hopes with my two Manchester City assets.

They conceded the solitary goal once again but both got their usual passing bonus, so at least ticked over.

I feel very unlucky over the last few weeks with no clean sheets from the pair, but hopefully that will turn soon.

For my attackers, my only real return other than Salah was captain Harry Kane on Sunday who managed to hit shots tier.

However, the outbreak of COVID at Spurs has made his sale extremely easy. Disappointingly, Ivan Toney has picked up COVID and scuppered my single game day plans this Friday.

In total, 45 points for the Gameweek and a current rank of 1223 is a drop of 218 places from last week.

With a healthy transfer count, I’m relatively happy at this stage.

Transfer Plans – Sky Fantasy Football Gameweek 18

I’m planning on making three transfers this weekend to freshen up the squad for the Christmas period.

I will look to pivot to double Liverpool defence with Trent Alexander Arnold and Virgil Van Dijk coming in.

Joshua King will to cover the Friday night captaincy as well as the single game day for Watford in January.

Although planning so far in advance hasn’t been worth it, I definitely want a captain on Friday.

It is between King and Emmanuel Dennis and I just feel the Norwegian edges it with his definite availability (no African Cup of Nations potential). He also has penalties and better underlying stats.

The only transfers (currently) I have pencilled in would be the Salah to Ronaldo switch on Boxing Day. I’d also maybe bring in Rodri at some point soon – likely to be for a midfielder (all three of mine are one yellow card away from suspension).

I have plenty of cover on all days if COVID continues to cause disruption except for the Man United singles but I will cross that issue if Ronaldo isn’t in the team.

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.

GW18 Fixtures

Sky Fantasy Football Gameweek 18 Fixture Analysis

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

On Friday, Josh King will come in and take the armband.

Saturday is wide open. Plenty will go with Mohamed Salah purely down to ownership. For those with Cristiano Ronaldo, he arguably has the best fixture.

You then have the lunchtime kick off where you will see which Manchester City assets start against a Wolves team who, although on the whole don’t create much, have done well at the Etihad recently.

As a result, I am currently leaning towards Joao Cancelo.

For Sunday, I will only have two options consisting of Declan Rice and Connor Gallagher.

It really is a 50/50 as Gallagher has more potential but I like to see my players starting, so will be a decision taken on the day.

Rest of the Week – Sky Fantasy Football Gameweek 18

For the second part of the week, it will be a Man City defender again on Tuesday.

Although I don’t expect passing bonus (Leeds have only allowed two people to hit it all year), I can see a clean sheet. Therefore, I will go for Joao Cancelo once again purely because of his attacking potential.

On the Wednesday, with none of the so called big teams in action, we could see a real difference in captaincy.

I am currently on Declan Rice as I just feel he could get something. A yellow card at the weekend, or a King hat-trick on Friday, will possibly change that!

For Thursday, you could make a strong case for either Liverpool defender, Rudiger at home to Everton or Mohamed Salah.

Line ups could trim the options down and the weekend’s performances is another contributing factor behind my final decision.

Right now, I will go for Virgil van Dijk.

Don’t forget to check out Dan Cox’s Sky Gameweek 18 Preview too.

Good Luck for Gameweek 18!

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Sky Fantasy Football Gameweek 18 Analysis

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