The Premiership returns this gameweek after an early break for the League Cup round of 16 fixtures. There are great match-ups for both Old Firm sides to target, although you may want to use these to go for a big reward in standard competitions rather than to chase thresholds. These games come sandwiched between the final European play-off games for four of the Premiership sides. So there are some rotation risk for those sides which we’ll have to look out for as well.

In terms of scoring in the Capped Competitions, we are still in the original format with no scoring boosts applied. Sorare announced the new scoring format will be live in September, so it could be here for next weekend’s games although there hasn’t been a confirmation of which gameweek it will go live.

In the interest of openness, I do own cards some of the players I’m recommending (you can check out my gallery here) and I 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 I recommend you do your own research when picking up players.

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.

The Games

Ross County-Rangers Rangers return to the Premiership on the back of a 2-2 home draw with PSV Eindhoven on Tuesday. With a huge return leg to come next Wednesday, some rotation is likely against Ross County. Ross County have had a solid start to the season, they created chances against Celtic and beat St Johnstone in the league as well as making it to the League Cup quarter finals. Despite that, and the likely Rangers changes, it will still be hard going for Ross County to get a result here. I wouldn’t expect too much from them from a Sorare perspective either – if you can pick the starting Rangers players that will be the way to go in this one.

Celtic-St Johnstone Three games into the season and Celtic have yet to keep a clean sheet. To make matters worse, they were dumped out of the Viaplay Cup by Kilmarnock ending any hopes of another treble at the first hurdle. On paper, a home game against an injury-ravaged St Johnstone side is the perfect game to get their first clean sheet. However, injuries of their own have Celtic missing three of their top four centre backs for this one. Even if they were healthy, it would be hard to see St Johnstone getting anything from this one. They look to be in real trouble this season, and could see themselves cut adrift before their key players return. As it is, I think a Celtic win-to-nil is the most likely option despite their defensive issues.

Hibernian-Livingston Hibs have failed to keep a clean sheet so far this season, despite playing two games against Andorran opposition in the Europa Conference League qualifiers. At home to Livingston is as good a spot as any to get one. Livi have failed to score in both league games this season, and struggled on the road last season. Like St Johnstone, they look like a team that will be right around the bottom for the whole season. Going forwards, Hibs have plenty of threats between new boy Dylan Vente, Elie Youan and Martin Boyle. They shouldn’t have any issues scoring against Livingston, but it also wouldn’t be a massive surprise to see them concede.

Motherwell-Kilmarnock Three weeks into the season and Kilmarnock have shockingly beaten both Old Firm sides 1-0 at home. Between those results was a very respectable 0-0 away draw against Hearts. This weeks opposition Motherwell aren’t on the level of the past three, but it’s still a tough game. Motherwell have been excellent since Stuart Kettlewell took over, both defensively and going forward. However, the loss of Kevin van Veen and injuries to Jonathan Obika and Mika Bierith have them looking very light on attacking options at the moment. I think this could be a real defensive battle, and one with a decent chance of ending nil-nil.

Dundee-Hearts Newly promoted Dundee have looked very competitive so far this season but don’t have a win under their belts yet. They have scored in both games this season at least, which is a good sign and should get opportunities against Hearts this weekend. Despite finishing 4th last season, Hearts were a pretty poor team away from Tynecastle. With the additional distraction of a Europa Conference 2nd Leg next Thursday, I think they could be a little off the boil in this one. Having said that, I don’t see Dundee running rampant but a low scoring narrow win either way wouldn’t be a great surprise.

St Mirren-Aberdeen Finally, St Mirren face Aberdeen in the final game of the weekend. St Mirren have looked very impressive so far this season with wins over Hibs and Dundee in the league so far. It’s going well in the League Cup as well after they beat Motherwell to put them in the quarter finals. At home the Buddies are a really strong side and certainly won’t roll over to Aberdeen in this one. Aberdeen struggled to a 0-0 draw with Livingston in the first game of the season before losing to Celtic in round two. They also have a Europa League tie with BK Hacken to worry about with a spot in the group stages on the line. I think St Mirren will get something from this game, quite possibly all three points!

Goalkeepers

David Marshall, Hibs – Marshall remains the starter for Hibs despite some wobbles in the Europa Conference qualifiers this season. This week he gets a home date with Livingston, who were terrible on the road last season. They’ve also got off to a low scoring start in the Premiership, having failed to score in both games so far. David Marshall is very affordable at an L15 of 34, and has ne of his best chances at a clean sheet this weekend. Even without a clean sheet he can provide a small amount of value.

Liam Kelly*, Motherwell – Liam Kelly did great for Motherwell at the end of last season but has got off to a slow start so far. At home to Kilmarnock is a match-up we’d love to target based on Killie’s awful away form last season. Kilmarnock have been very impressive so far this season, but failed to score in their only away game this season. Kelly is still relatively pricey at 49, so will most likely need the clean sheet to provide value in Capped competitions.

Other Thoughts: It’s a great match-up on paper for Joe Hart*, but Celtic are struggling with injuries to their defenders. Either goalkeeper in the Dundee-Hearts game could provide value, I’d favour Zander Clark over Trevor Carson*. Kelle Roos remains too expensive to consider in capped mode. 

Defenders

Will Fish, Hibs – Will Fish plays in the centre of defence for Hibs and looks set for a successful weekend against Livingston. He costs 44 against the cap, and if Hibs can keep a clean sheet he should have no issues getting past that. He also adds some decisive potential from set-pieces as well having scored 3 league goal for Hibs last season. With a Hibs clean sheet I would expect 50+ points from Fish.

Joe Shaughnessy*, Dundee – Joe Shaughnessy moved from St Mirren to Dundee this summer and was immediately named captain. In his first two league games he’s added some attacking actions from his role in a back three. He’s had 5+ penalty area entries and created chances in both Premiership games so far. If he can maintain that level of attacking output, Shaughnessy will be a really solid value for the next few weeks. Hearts on the road weren’t the same team as at Tynecastle last season, so this could be a week for Shaughnessy, and Dundee as a whole, to have some success.

Other Thoughts: Liam Scales* looks set to start at centre back for Celtic, but isn’t great value at 58. If he play, Anthony Ralston* is the Celtic defender I’d want, but Alistair Johnson may retake his position in the line-up. I like all three of Motherwell’s centre backs this weekend, Dan Casey would be my pick of the bunch. John Souttar is the only Rangers defender with cards and is reasonable value, 60+ from AA alone is a definite possibility.

Midfielders

Joe Newell*, Hibs – Newell is one of my favourite midfielders for Capped Mode. When Hibs have a strong home match-up, Newell typically has a strong performance. He takes corners and free-kicks for Hibs to give him plenty of decisive potential. He is also a really great central midfielder for AA scoring both in possession and out. He is a slightly expensive option at 50, but he has the potential to smash that in one of the best league match-ups he’ll have all season.

Lennon Miller, Motherwell – 16 year-old Lennon Miller look to have established himself as a starter in the centre of midfield for Motherwell. It’s been a pretty solid start in terms of Sorare scoring as well, he’s managed 42 and 55 points in his two games this season. His L15 is currently at 34, so he should have a great chance at topping that in a nice match-up against Kilmarnock.

Other Thoughts: Callum Slattery should also provide good value in the Motherwell midfield. Jose Cifuentes* remains a solid value for Rangers, I’d keep an eye on the Rangers’ press conference in case he is rested after midweek. David Turnbull should be in line for another league start for Celtic after Reo Hatate’s* injury.

Forwards

Danilo, Rangers – Danilo was on the bench for Rangers’ midweek game against PSV Eindhoven, so I would expect him to start at the weekend. Rangers are playing on the road, but shouldn’t have any issues scoring against Ross County. Danilo’s L15 is down at 33 thanks to playing from the bench for Feyenoord last season, with his goalscoring potential he’s great value in this one!

Daizen Maeda*, Celtic – Maeda is going to be one of my favourite options here for a few more weeks at least. His L15 remains low at 43 and he now appears to have a key role in the Celtic attack under Brendan Rodgers. St Johnstone have conceded multiple goals in 4 of 6 games in all competitions and their injury list keeps growing. Celtic should have no issues scoring multiple goals in this one and Maeda has a great chance to be involved in at least one of them.

Other Thoughts: Elie Youan is pretty expensive at 55 points, but he has a great chance at a decisive against Livingston. Theo Bair looks set to start again for Motherwell, as Mika Bierith and Jonathan Obika are both out for 3 months. Mikael Mandron is an interesting option for St Mirren, he scored in his debut and could see chances at home to Aberdeen.

My Cap 240 Line-Up

Week three of the Premiership season and for the third time it’s Liam Kelly in goal – for the first time it’s a decision I’m pretty happy with! Whilst Kilmarnock have been very good to start the season, I still think Motherwell have a decent chance at a clean sheet in this one. With that in mind, I’ve paired him with a pretty expensive defender Paul McGinn who is a great AA scorer whether Motherwell concede or not. He might not score much above his 55 cost, but I think somewhere in the 55-65 range is a realistic possibility.

In midfield I have Hibs’ Joe Newell who was mentioned above. At home to Livingston is a great match-up and Newell should have a really strong AA floor. With set pieces, he also has some good decisive potential as well. At an L15 cost of 50 points, I don’t see many scenarios where he underperforms.

Upfront I’ve strayed away from Scotland and took Can Keles from Fatih Karagumruk in Turkey. He’s a new signing at the club and has started both games so far this season. Thanks to sub appearances at his last club in Austria, he comes in at a very affordable 34 points. In his two appearance, he met that score in one and score 50.9 points in the other. He gets a strong home match-up against Ankaragucu who have conceded 4 goals in their first two games of the season.

Finally, I’ve got Hibs’ Paul Hanlon in the extra spot. Playing against Livingston a clean sheet is a real possibility so he should be solid value this weekend at a cost of 47 points. However, I am 5 points under-budget at the moment. if I can find a player I like that doesn’t cost too many £’s I’ll be looking to swap out Hanlon.

GW #397 Recap

A gameweek decided by fine margins, that unfortunately didn’t go my way!

Motherwell conceded an injury time penalty to lose their clean sheet, taking points away from Liam Kelly and Paul McGinn. It was the only shot on target Hibs managed in the game.

Joelinton had a header from a corner cleared off the line, costing him a decisive and earning him a big chance missed.

Royal Antwerp destroyed Kotrijk 6-0, but Jurgen Ekkelenkamp couldn’t get in on the action. He also had a big chance missed.

Anthony Ralston created a big chance, although that being converted wouldn’t quite be enough to hit the 250 point mark.

Looking through the individual performances this line-up is definitely a case of Process>Results. If any one of three actions go the opposite way, I add 30+ points to the total and earn a threshold payment. If all 4 go my way, I’d be looking at a really nice card reward. If I can keep making line-ups like this, I’ll have no issues earning rewards throughout the season.

GW #399 Recap

Despite the Scottish Premiership not being in action last weekend I did manage to put together a Cap 240 team. It was a bit of a cobbled together team rather than one I had high hopes for, but it did manage to scrape my first threshold payment of the season!

Goalkeeper, Warleson, performed fantastically. He kept a clean sheet on the road for Cercle Brugge and also made 3 saves during the game. 

My defender duo had mixed results. Filip Stojkovic was pretty wasteful in possession and just about managed a positive AA score thanks to a double double. On the other hand Jonathan Clauss was excellent for Marseille going forward, creating two chances. Unfortunately Marseille conceded 2 goals to 10 man Metz to depress his score. 

In midfield Jurgen Ekkelenkamp had a really solid game in a 1-1 away draw and provided a great return on his 44 point cost. The same can’t be said for Alexander Isak, he struggled to get involved in the game as Man City dominated possession against Newcastle. He added a minor amount of AA, but fell well short of his 53 point cost. 

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.