The Bonus Points
Fraser Forster (£5.0m) was awarded the maximum Fantasy Premier League bonus points in Southampton’s goalless draw at Liverpool on Sunday afternoon.
Scoring 54 in the Bonus Points System (BPS), the Saints custodian made eight saves – including a second-half penalty stop – and 15 recoveries in the Anfield stalemate.
Liverpool centre-half Joel Matip (£5.3m) tallied 31 in the BPS to receive two bonus points.
He contributed 11 clearances, blocks and interceptions (CBI), made 10 recoveries and won two tackles, in addition to completing 78% of 57 attempted passes.
Dejan Lovren (£4.8m) and Southampton’s Jack Stephens (£4.2m) collected a single bonus point apiece thanks to BPS scores of 27.
The Liverpool defender registered 11 CBIs, made six recoveries and was successful with 91% of his 61 passes.
Stephens produced eight CBIs, recorded 10 recoveries and won two tackles.
The ICT Index
Despite missing a crucial spot-kick, Liverpool’s James Milner (£6.4m) topped the ICT Index with a tally of 11.1.
Utilised at left-back once again, the FPL midfielder top scored for both Threat (47) and Creativity (37).
Milner fired two of his three shots from inside the penalty area and completed three of nine attempted crosses, creating two scoring chances.
Forster’s heroics between the posts earned an ICT Influence tally of 66, second only to Manchester City’s Kevin De Bruyne (£10.4m, with 83) in the Gameweek.
The Scout Notes
Brought in by just 15,000+ ahead of Sunday's victory, Forster's 16-points ensures that he is already the latest goalkeeper to excel over a Double Gameweek.
It follows Lee Grant's (£4.3m) 13-point return for Stoke City over their two Gameweek 27 fixtures and David De Gea's (£5.5m) 17 points for Manchester United over two matches in Gameweek 34.
Quite a performance, @FraserForster! 👊 #saintsfc pic.twitter.com/kAUldaTkbY
— Southampton FC (@SouthamptonFC) May 7, 2017
Meanwhile, Stephens continues to offer outstanding value in defence, having been snapped up by 66,000+ FPL managers for Southampton's two Gameweek 36 fixtures.
The Saints have now chalked up four clean sheets in their last seven Gameweeks, with Stephens collecting bonus points each time.
With two home matches remaining, and a trip to Middlesbrough as part of Double Gameweek 37, he is the fourth most-bought defender since Friday’s deadline.
Faith in Saints attackers Manolo Gabbiadini (£6.6m) and Nathan Redmond (£5.9m) is on the decline, though.
The top two Southampton targets ahead of Gameweek 36, the pair were acquired by over 108,000 and 67,000 FPL managers respectively.
But Gabbiadini was replaced on 68 minutes after failing to find the net for the fifth successive outing, while Redmond was used from the bench for a second time in three matches.
Subject to more sales (162,000+) than any player in Gameweek 36, Liverpool's Philippe Coutinho (£8.5m) recovered from a dead leg in time to feature against the Saints.
But with just two fixtures remaining, and with 10 sides still to play three times, FPL managers have been moving Liverpool assets out of their squads.
A trip to West Ham United is up next, with Slaven Bilic's side having claimed four clean sheets over their last five fixtures.
As a result, Coutinho and team-mate Roberto Firmino (£8.7m) are ranked among the top three midfielders for sales ahead of Friday's 6.45pm Gameweek 37 deadline.
