Three games to go until the table splits in the Premiership and this week brings the third Old Firm derby of the season. With Celtic and Rangers players facing their toughest match-ups in the league, it’s going to be down to the other 10 sides to find value plays for Capped Mode. To go along with some players I think are solid values, I also recap my first threshold win in Cap 240 (finally!).

In the interest of openness, I do own cards some of the players I’m recommending (you can check out my gallery here) and will mark them with an asterisk (*). But, I’ll also try and include some players I don’t have. I’m certainly not Nostradamus, as evidenced by my Cap 240 results to date, so do your own research when picking up players.

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The Games

Celtic-Rangers The third Old Firm derby in the Premiership this season takes place at Celtic Park. Celtic won 4-0 at home back in September whilst the teams split the spoils in a 2-2 draw at Ibrox in January. From a Capped Mode perspective, this definitely a game to avoid defences from both sides. The forward players are a little safer, but I think all players are more likely to underperform their L15 in this one.

Aberdeen-Kilmarnock On the back of a huge away win against St Johnstone, Aberdeen get a great fixture at home to Kilmarnock. Despite an important home win against Hearts last weekend, Kilmarnock shouldn’t have much of a chance in this one. They have failed to win any of their away games this season, whilst Aberdeen have been very strong at home with 10 wins in 15 games.

Hearts-St Mirren Hearts in awful form of late, losing 4 of the last 5, and really need a win to keep Aberdeen at bay in the race for 3rd. A disappointing loss to Kilmarnock last weekend was compounded by an injury to goalkeeper, Zander Clark. Their opposition, St Mirren, have been pretty poor away from home all season scoring less than a goal a game whilst winning just 2 from 14. Hearts should have a chance to get back to winning ways, but with third choice goalkeeper, Ross Stewart, likely to start there could be goals for both side in this one.

Motherwell-Livingston The Motherwell revival under Stuart Kettlewell continued last weekend as they shocked Hibernian with a 3-1 win at Easter Road. They should continue their good form against Livingston who have really struggled of late. They’ve been poor on the rood all season and terrible defensively in recent weeks with no clean sheet since January. A Motherwell win to nil feels like a real possibility in this one.

St Johnstone-Ross County An early red-card for Andy Considine put St Johnstone in a tough spot against Aberdeen at the weekend, although they did keep it close. Ross County were unsuprisingly beaten by Celtic, but also keep it close with the game at 1-0 until Celtic scored an injury-time second. I’m expecting a close game in this one, but with Ross County having scored less than 10 on the road this season a narrow St Johnstone win is the most likely outcome.

Dundee United-Hibernian Dundee United surprised me last weekend by holding Rangers to just two goals at Ibrox. Their opposition, Hibernian, have lost their last three although 2 of those came against the Old Firm sides. This should be a get right spot for Hibs, although I wouldn’t be surprised if Dundee managed a goal in this one.

Goalkeepers

Kelle Roos, Aberdeen – Kelle Roos has kept back-to-back clean sheets since returning from injury just before the international break. Now facing Kilmarnock at home, he has a great opportunity to make it three from three. At an L15 cost of 48 he isn’t the cheapest option, but he’d got a great chance at providing value!

Liam Kelly*, Motherwell – Motherwell face a Livingston side that have been very disappointing recently and have been poor away all season. Kelly is another keeper with a strong chance at a clean sheet and can provide value even if he concedes. His L15 is just 38, so if he concedes one goal he shouldn’t put you too far behind.

Other Thoughts: Joe Hart* is one to avoid this week facing Rangers. I wouldn’t be surprised to see Dundee United score, but David Marshall is probably a decent play regardless at a cost of 38.

Defenders

Liam Gordon, St Johnstone – Saint Johnstone’s keeper, Remi Matthews, doesn’t have a card on Sorare but some of his defenders should provide good value this week. With Andrew Considine suspended, Liam Gordon is my choice for a strong performance this week. Ross County struggle to score on the road, and if he can get the clean sheet 10 points, Gordon should comfortably outscore his L15 of 46.

Liam Scales*, Aberdeen – Scales is a really strong performer when Aberdeen are at home and this week gets the perfect match-up to boot. Thanks to some rotten away scores over the last couple of months (including two 0 scores) his L15 is at 42. He should have a strong chance at 50+ points this week and is an absolute bargain on the market to boot.

Other Thoughts: Paul McGinn* would pair nicely with Liam Kelly in a Motherwell mini stack. If you have some faith in Ross Stewart, Kye Rowles or Alexander Cochrane are worth considering from Hearts. Liam Scales was mentioned above, but just about any starting Aberdeen defender is worth considering.

Midfielders

Sean Goss*, Motherwell – Goss isn’t the cheapest option at a cost of 51, but Stuart Kettlewell has really been getting the best out of him. Since the new boss took charge he’s scored 50+ in 5 of 6 games. Against Livingston he should have his chances again, and with a decisive he could smash past his cost.

Ylber Ramadani, Aberdeen – I’m appreciate I’m sounding like a broken record here, but like his teammates Ramadani has a great home performances for Aberdeen. To repeat myself some more, he also gets a great match-up. Ramadani has an L15 of 46 and consistently scores 50+ at home, through a mixture of AA performances and decisive actions.

Other Thoughts: Robert Snodgrass should be a decent value for Hearts, although he doesn’t have any limited cards available. Joe Newell* wasn’t great for Sorare in his return to action last week, but against Dundee United he should get some chances to score big.

Forwards

Lawrence Shankland, Hearts – Hearts haven’t been great of late and Shankland has been no exception with him scoring his first goal since early February last weekend. He should have his chances to score against St Mirren and with him taking penalties he’s the best bet of anyone to score for Hearts. He is still pretty expensive at an L15 of 51, so he will need a decisive to provide value in Capped Mode.

Kevin Nisbet, Hibernian – Nisbet celebrated his return to the starting line-up with a goal against Motherwell last weekend. I expect him to start again and he’ll have a great chance at making it 2 from 2 against Dundee United.

Other Thoughts: Kevin Van Veen* scored two last weekend and could be in line for more against Livingston. Both Duk Lopes and Bojan Miovski* are worth playing from Aberdeen. I can’t see Celtic not scoring against Rangers this weekend, but picking who does score might be tricky in a game where they should have less chances than usual.

My Cap 240 Line-Up

This week, I’ve got a Scottish Premiership only line-up. Starting with Liam Kelly in goal, who has a solid shot at a clean sheet and should be close to breaking even on his cost regardless. I opted not to pair him with a Motherwell defender, but did go for midfielder Sean Goss. As discussed above, Goss has been great since Motherwell changed managers I can’t see that changing against a ropey Livingston side.

I’ve taken a Hibernian duo as well, given they have a great match-up against Dundee United this weekend. Joe Newell in midfield and Kevin Nisbet up front should be involved in anything Hibs do going forward. With Dundee’s shocking defence there will definitely be opportunities for the duo to grab some decisives this weekend.

Finally, I’ve taken the Aberdeen defender, Liam Scales. As discussed above, he’s a fantastic option with Aberdeen are at home and is a great bet to outscore his cost. He’s my favourite play of the week in the Scottish Premiership with his chances of hitting 42+ points being really high!

Gameweek #359 Recap

It has taken over two months, but finally I’ve won a threshold in Cap 240!

Danny Armstrong was clearly the star of the show. He scored one and created another to record an excellent 84.5 points. Kilmarnock didn’t manage the clean sheet against Hearts, but his teammates Samuel Walker and Lewis Mayo both put up respectable scores.

Kevin Nisbet returned to the starting line-up and returned to the scoresheet against Motherwell. It was a bit of a shock to see Hibs lose 3-1, so it was definitely a bit fortunate the goal fell to Nisbet!

Finally, I swapped Jelle Bataille out in favour of Utrecht’s Jens Toornstra. He was a more secure starter and Utrecht hosted relegation threatened Volendam. He did a solid job at racking up some AA, but unfortunately couldn’t bag a decisive as the game ended nil-nil. If I’d stuck with Bataille, I’d actually have been about 15 points better off!

If you haven’t signed up to Sorare and fancy giving it a go, sign up via this referral link and earn a free limited card when you collect five cards via New Card Auctions.