Scout’s Matchday 11 picks for the free-to-play SPITCH Fantasy game


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The Friday evening Fantasy Premier League (FPL) deadline has passed but there is still time to submit a SPITCH line-up, even once the Brentford and Brighton and Hove Albion teamsheets have been released.

But what is SPITCH?

Well, it’s a new, exciting Fantasy game with an interesting scoring system that also finds a way to reward passes, tackles and shots on target.

You effectively have a Free Hit chip to play every week, whilst only your five best matchdays will be used for end-of-season judgement.

So one week of accidentally forgetting to play isn’t a season-ender – even starting in April still gives you a chance of winning prizes.

There are two season-long options for the 2022/23 campaign, one of which is free and has a £2,500 prize pool.

HOW TO PLAY SPITCH

SPITCH is a platform where managers can use their football knowledge to defeat others and win money prizes.

As with FPL, managers commit to a formation and have a budget to buy players for their line-up, in the quest to score points and win prizes.

But unlike FPL, managers can actually go under or over their ₵1,200 budget – this will determine how many positive or negative points they begin the round with.

Each week of ‘Season’ mode requires a new line-up with no captains. Managers are allowed up to nine players from the same club and can alter teams mid-matchday. ‘Safety Net’ automatically replaces non-starters, whilst a sophisticated scoring system rewards defensive actions in a way that FPL does not.

MATCHDAY 10 REVIEW

These were the top-scoring players from the latest round of matches.

GK DEF MID ST
Lloris (279) Cancelo (539) Guimaraes (659) Saka (557)
Alisson (250) Faes (431) Christie (511) Haaland (448)
Bazunu (237) Young (425) Foden (457) Scamacca (439)
Leno (223) Evans (386) Eze (449) Bowen (426)
Guaita (220) Chalobah (359) Almiron (380) Martinelli (394)
Botman (353) Mount (378) Ronaldo (340)
Ruben Dias (328) Rodri (353) Antony (336)
Tarkowski (326) Paqueta (344) Iwobi (331)
Koulibaly (319) Mac Allister (336) Zaha (329)
Bella-Kotchap (314) Billing (317) Mahrez (328)

Meanwhile, 21 players finished with a negative score, including an unhappy return to Stamford Bridge for Wolves forward Diego Costa (-34).

SCOUT’S MATCHDAY 11 LINE-UP

The selection for Matchday 10 totalled 3,089 points, which gave us a season-high rank up in 346th place.

We owned the week’s best player Bruno Guimaraes (659) for his two goals, alongside other successes such as Phil Foden (457), Erling Haaland (448) and Jarrod Bowen (426).

Had Reece James (39) not been randomly benched for Chelsea, the rank would likely have been much better.

Being ₵68 under budget means starting with 68 points, so that’s a decent start to Matchday 11. Lined up in a 3-3-4 formation, Nick Pope (₵100) has been given the nod in goal due to his high number of saves. 32 have been made so far, with a trip to Manchester United likely to bring several more.

Whilst the back line is usually comprised of FPL mainstays like James (₵138), Trent Alexander-Arnold (₵120), Kieran Trippier (₵77) and Joao Cancelo (₵145), the first two are injured and the latter two have a tough away day.

Therefore, a trio of alternative attacking full-backs are being trialled. Matt Doherty (₵61) will fill in for the suspended Emerson Royal (₵90) and was rested during Wednesday’s Champions League win. Last season’s six-game spring streak of two goals and four assists was ended by injury but included a 14-point haul at home to Everton, their opponents this Saturday.

Diogo Dalot (₵70) ranks fifth amongst defenders for chances created and Pervis Estupinan (₵67) will be a flying wing-back for Brighton’s new attack-minded manager Roberto De Zerbi.

In midfield, Ruben Neves (₵123) and Martin Odegaard (₵112) are amongst the top eight points totals so far. Their playing styles are well-suited to the game, as Neves wins many tackles, blocks and interceptions, whilst Odegaard takes plenty of touches in the final third.

As for James Ward-Prowse (₵90), only Trippier has delivered more corners (36) and crosses (73). These score well in SPITCH, with 12 and 18 points respectively.

Aleksandar Mitrovic (₵128) is currently selected, based on a calculated guess that he’ll be passed fit to face Bournemouth. Alongside him is Harry Kane (₵180), who has delivered at least one attacking return in each of his last eight league games.

In fact, of the four leaders for attempts on target, Kane makes lots more crosses and is punished less often for wayward shots.

Penalty-taker Bukayo Saka (₵91) is also in great form and will be confident of more goals away to Leeds United. Not that Wilfried Zaha (₵110) was able to score past them last week, although a trip to leaky Leicester City is a great way to quickly make amends.


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