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Top Of The League
Stu Howarth's dominance continues as Mackem Boys stay top of the league for a third week running. Ten points clear of Atkinson's XI in second place, Stu does have Scott Atkinson breathing down his neck though. It was a fairly average week for the league leader, scoring just two more than the average score of 45 points, but the returning Sergio Aguero as his captain meant it was enough to keep him above everyone else.
With 91 points gained this week, Jack Green's Jacks Superstars are this weeks highest earner. Another to benefit from Aguero's brace, Jack also had Jermain Defoe up front with goal scorer and maker Alexis Sanchez as his captain. Adam Lallana performing similar tricks to Sanchez further boosted his total and Hector Bellerin's clean sheet and assist was the icing on the cake.
Down The Bottom
It's a new player at the bottom of the league this week - Moyes In The Hood. An appropriate name, given by Andy Scott, who fell foul to Wayne Rooney finally being dropped to the Manchester United bench. The captaincy was wasted on the ineffective Riyad Mahrez with Andy's only serious points being earned by Sadio Mane (7) and Nacho Monreal (6).
The Roker Report Team
After breaking into the top 25 last week, Jim Holmes is now in the top 20! Giroud - Sandstorm are now in 19th place, scoring an impressive 59 points this weekend. There was points brought from the lads with Jermain Defoe up front, as well as Sadio Mane, Kevin De Bruyne and Hector Bellerin, who also scored significantly. Jim is our only player in the top 100 as well, Carl Purvis being second best out of us in 113th with his Crystal Phallus side. Over half of Carl's points came from captain Sergio Aguero this week, his only real player of note on this occasion.
It was a high scoring week for James Henchard's Blackended Roar Mass who raked in 76 points this weekend, mainly via a front three that got five goals between them. Another Sunderland fan with Defoe as their captain, James also had the returning Aguero and Southampton's Charlie Austin and it moved him up to 135th place. It was the opposite for Micky Lough who moved down to 159th after only bringing in 24 points. Virgil van Dijk was FlyOnTheWingsOfLove's best/least worst scorer on 5 points but the majority of Micky's team only brought in 1's and 2's.
Just a point apart are my Champagne Papy Bodji squad and Dan Parker's 50 Shades Of O'Shea, who reside in 180th and 182nd. Both of us scored more than 50 points this week and both of us benefitted from Kevin De Bruyne's assists. I got further joy from Philippe Coutinho but was let down by my forward line, as Dan had scorers from both teams from our game against Crystal Palace - Defoe & Christian Benteke.
Underneath the top 200 we find stateside resident Tom Atkinson's Sunlun who had a low scoring week of 36 points and it meant they slipped down to 248th. Benteke brought 7 points home for Tom, with his last minute winner against the actual Sunlun, and Tom would have been better off making him his captain instead of Troy Deeney. Karl Maguire's Steel Panthers aren't too far behind Tom, in 262nd, climbing the ladder mainly due to the work of Aguero and Lallana.
Gav has finally managed to break into the top 300! Ice Cream Kone now find themselves in 285th, dizzy heights indeed for the team that joined a week late, as they were another to profit from Aguero. Solomon Rondon's goal and Mesut Ozil's fine afternoon also made a big contribution to Gav's weekly total of 62 points, let's see if he can keep making progress. Not a bad week for Simon Fenton's Team Simon either who are in touching distance of the top 300 in 301st place. Jermain Defoe as his captain earned almost half of Simon's 60 point haul but it was at the back where he earned his bread this week. Two Southampton defenders (Virgil van Dijk & Cedric Soares) and two Arsenal defenders (Nacho Monreal & Laurent Koscielny) meant it was almost perfect week for Simon's defence. If only Lamine Kone and Jordan Pickford didn't let him down.
Who To Pick This Week
Manchester United host Stoke City on Sunday afternoon and I would expect Marcus Rashford to continue his fine form against The Potters. Mark Hughes men have conceded 15 goals this season, the second highest in the league, so Manchester United attackers are worth bringing in this weekend. Rashford is cheap at £6.9 million and has also only been picked by 7.7% of players so if he continues to keep Wayne Rooney out of the time, he's an excellent investment.
Many of us, me included, will be looking to transfer out Kevin De Bruyne this week as the attacking midfielder is facing a prolonged period on the sidelines. The money you'll get for the Belgian will give you a lot to play with but consider your options wisely. Many will look to Tottenham's Son Heung-Min but this may not be the best weekend to pick Son, as Spurs host a Manchester City side looking to keep up their 100% record. If you're playing the long game, by all means go ahead as less than 3% of players have the South Korean in their squad. Etienne Capoue is still available very cheaply if you want to save some more money but there is more risk involved, given he isn't playing for a team right at the top.
I'm tempted to use my De Bruyne money on Liverpool's Sadio Mane, as it will give me some more in the bank should I decided to further improve my team in the coming weeks. Liverpool travel to struggling Swansea and I can see Mane having another fruitful afternoon, continuing his great start at his new club.
