Sky Sports Free Fantasy Football

Popularity contest

Our Sky Sports Fantasy Football guru looks at who is proving the most popular player.

Last Updated: Fri, 01 Mar 2013 16:56:00

Popularity contest

Our Sky Sports Fantasy Football guru looks at who will pick up points this weekend

The debate over who is the hottest property in the Premier League may be dividing opinions up and down the country, but Sky Sports Fantasy Football bosses are certainly swaying in the direction of Gareth Bale.

34 per cent of all transfers made since the last gameweek have been the acquisition of the Tottenham winger's services, while Robin van Persie is the most commonly transferred out player.

Bale's popularity comes as no surprise given his record of netting six times in his last four Premier League appearances, with 46 points racked up in the process.

If the number crunchers at Sky Bet are anything to go by, then trading Van Persie for Bale looks a bad move, with the former 1/2 to net anytime against Norwich this weekend, while the latter is evens to score in the North London derby.

However, the Dutchman has found the net just once in his last six games in all competitions, while there is a significant chance that he will be rested for the visit of the Canaries, with a crucial Champions League tie with Real Madrid to come on Tuesday.

Bale, in contrast, will be central to Spurs' hopes of coming out on top against Arsenal on Sunday, especially as the Gunners will be without their first-choice right-back Bacary Sagna.

It is actually one of the visiting players at White Hart Lane who tops the overall point-scoring charts heading into the weekend, with Santi Cazorla taking his tally to 200 with a brace against Aston Villa.

Not only does the Spaniard deliver goals aplenty, he is one of the league's top assist contributors with seven, while he has racked up eight Sky Sports man of the match awards and 36 bonus points for completed passes.

Luis Suarez sits just below Cazorla with 197 points and boasts an impressive goalscoring record against Liverpool's opponents on Saturday, Wigan, having netted three in their last two meetings.

Romelu Lukaku was the game's highest-scoring striker last weekend with 16 points, but is ineligible for West Brom's trip to visit his parent club Chelsea.

Frank Lampard looks the man to side with in this fixture, having scored in each of his last three appearances at Stamford Bridge.

Those needing defensive reinforcements should look no further than Rafael, who has picked up 29 points thanks to three successive clean sheets and a goal.

The Brazilian can be expected to continue to deliver against an all-too-often toothless Norwich attack, while he offers the best value of United's backline at £6.6m.

On the injury front, Newcastle are set to be without Tim Krul for at least a month but can welcome back Hatem Ben Arfa for the trip to Swansea, while West Ham's Kevin Nolan is also facing a lengthy spell on the sidelines.

Fantasy Football Club

Fixtures, scores and results

  • Fixtures

    Saturday 13th April 2013
    15:00 Arsenal vs Norwich City  
    15:00 Aston Villa vs Fulham  
    15:00 Everton vs QPR  
    15:00 Reading vs Liverpool  
    15:00 Southampton vs West Ham  
    Sunday 14th April 2013
    12:00 Newcastle vs Sunderland  
    14:05 Stoke City vs Man Utd  
  • Results

    Monday 8th April 2013
    20:00 Man Utd 1-2 Man City  
    Sunday 7th April 2013
    13:30 Liverpool 0-0 West Ham  
    14:05 Tottenham 2-2 Everton  
    15:00 Chelsea 2-1 Sunderland  
    15:00 Newcastle 1-0 Fulham  
    16:10 QPR 1-1 Wigan