The Watchlist Updated – Gameweek 8

With an enticing set of fixtures just around the corner, Arsenal, Newcastle and Stoke take a climb in our updated Watchlist rankings. Everton’s main assets hold firm, while the likes of Chelsea and Swansea start to slide a little. As always, the new rankings can be found in your sidebar – here’s a round-up of the main movers:

Goalkeepers

Asmir Begovic moves to the top of the rankings, in spite of a trip to Old Trafford on the cards. With clean sheets against Arsenal and Liverpool already this season, and just one goal conceded in showdowns with Chelsea and City, the Stoke stopper is proving a superb cut-price acquisition at the back. Sitting third in the Fantasy Premier League (FPL) rankings already, Begovic now braces himself for a superb run of fixtures from Gameweek 9 onwards which will surely see plenty new suitors snap up his services.

West Brom’s Ben Foster tucks in just behind Begovic. With three home games and a trip to Southampton in the next five, the Baggies keeper offers strong home/away rotation with the Potters keeper right now and also has the comfort of save points to fall back upon, if the likes of City or Chelsea find the net at the Hawthorns.

Simon Mignolet holds steady in third, with two home games and a trip to Stoke in the next three Gameweeks. Granted, Sunderland will welcome Newcastle to the Stadium of Light on the back of a 3-0 defeat at City but prior to that Etihad clash, they had conceded just four goals in their opening five fixtures – a clear sign of the resilience offered by Martin O’Neill’s troops.

An upcoming run of three home fixtures and a trip to Reading in the next five Gameweeks brings Mark Schwarzer into our thoughts. While the visit of Everton could pose problems for the Australian, Cottage showdowns against Villa and Sunderland should offer the chance of defensive returns.

Joe Hart remains in our top five. The City keeper has a kind run of fixtures up next and grabbed his first clean sheet of the season last time round – while rest and rotation continue to blight Roberto Mancini’s backline, Hart offers guaranteed game time, albeit at a hefty price.

Tim Howard’s schedule continues to appeal, though he’s always likely to be behind Leighton Baines in the pecking order when it comes to investing in Everton’s defensive options. Alex McCarthy also gets a nod. Priced at 4.0 in FPL, he has a decent run of fixtures, strong form and has now started the last four for Reading due to Adam Federici’s ongoing knee problem.

Defenders

Leighton Baines continues to top the defender rankings going into the international break. Everton perhaps haven’t been the most resilient so far (they have returned just one clean sheet in their last six) but the left-back’s attacking threat and spot-kick duties means he has produced six or more FPL points in five of his seven appearances. With strong fixtures to follow, it’s no surprise to see his price has risen 0.4 since Gameweek 5.

Thomas Vermaelen takes a leap in our estimations with Arsenal set to embark on a kind looking schedule. Somewhat surprisingly, the Belgian has yet to find the net this term but his threat from the back could finally come to the fore against the likes of Norwich, QPR and Fulham over the next four. Kieran Gibbs is your cut price alternative in the Gunners backline, but he’s carrying a knock while Carl Jenkinson’s future as a bargain Fantasy prospect has taken a hit from Bacary Sagna’s return to fitness. Jenkinson seems set to feature at Norwich in Gameweek 8 but then looks vulnerable.

The aerial threat of Robert Huth finds a place in the top three. With Charlie Adam now in charge of free-kicks and corners for Stoke, Huth’s presence in the box at set-pieces is always liable to panic opposition defences and with (SUN, nor, QPR, whm, FUL, NEW) following on from the Potters’ trip to United, the big German looks a definite alternative for our five-man defences from Gameweek 9 onwards. Marc Wilson is the alternative available for those on tighter budgets – at 4.5 in the FPL, Wilson offers value, although he can’t rival Huth for goal threat.

Vincent Kompany may have missed out in City’s 3-0 win over Sunderland due to a calf injury but with his absence expected to be no more than short-term, the Belgian makes his way up the rankings. The champions are finally beginning to show some solidity at the back but with Micah Richards’ return now casting doubts over Pablo Zabaleta’s game time, Kompany, once again, is the safest route into City’s defence.

Jan Vertonghen holds steady in fifth spot – no doubt boosted by a first clean sheet of the season last time round against Villa. The Belgian may have to up his goal threat if he’s to stay so high in our thinking going forward, though – with Chelsea, City and Arsenal in the next five, he could find defensive returns hard to come by. Games against Southampton and Wigan still look enticing enough to earn him a place in our thoughts.

John Arne Riise moves up after grabbing his third assist of the season last weekend. The Norwegian is the priciest option amongst Fulham’s defence but his attacking returns make a persuasive case for his consideration. Steven Taylor looks well-place to prosper from Gameweek 9 onwards if he can overcome his current calf problem, while Rafael continues to hover via his strong attacking intent, despite games against Chelsea and Arsenal in Gameweeks 9-10.

Midfielders

Santi Cazorla makes his way to top spot in the midfield rankings after another superb performance for Arsenal last weekend. As the Gameweeks pass, the Spaniard is becoming increasingly integral to the Gunners’ chances of success; he has now produced attacking returns in four of his last five matches and with (nor, QPR, FUL, TOT) amongst his next five, the Fantasy investment is set to step up.

He may have returned a blank last time out but our faith in Gareth Bale doesn’t waver. With the return of Emmanuel Adebayor casting doubts over Jermain Defoe’s starting role, the Welshman looks the main goal threat right now for Tottenham and as his 16 point FPL haul at United in Gameweek 6 showed, he has the form to more than compensate for his tricky fixtures.

David Silva takes a climb in light of City’s strong upcoming set of fixtures. While Roberto Mancini continues to tinker with his frontline options, the little Spaniard has now played 90 minutes in each of the last three Gameweeks, with his match fitness finally up to scratch. Down to just 9.6 in FPL and with less than 7% ownership, Silva has the potential to dazzle as a real differential over the next few matches.

Steven Pienaar makes a move up the leaderboard due to Marouane Fellaini’s possible knee problem. While Everton have confirmed the latter’s withdrawal from the Belgium squad, we’ve no indication as to whether Fellaini is at risk of missing out for the Gameweek 8 trip to QPR, though. Juan Mata and Eden Hazard both take a tumble down the pecking order due to Chelsea’s upcoming schedule, though the Blues duo clearly have the class to overcome their run of difficult fixtures.

Kevin Nolan maintains his high rank, boosted by the return of Andy Carroll, while Hatem Ben Arfa looks set for increased investment over the next few matches. The Frenchman has either scored or assisted in three of his four matches at St James’ Park and has (WBA, WHM, SWA) from Gameweek 9-12. Stoke’s Jon Walters’ has an “out of position” classification and spot-kick duties in his locker and could be set to prosper ahead of the Potter’s upcoming run of games.

Forwards

In spite of Wayne Rooney’s return, Robin Van Persie remains an immovable object in our rankings. The former’s more withdrawn role in United’s midfield diamond suggests the Dutchman is set to continue as Sir Alex Ferguson’s main man up top – enough to maintain our faith, despite one goal in the last four Gameweeks. In truth, the lack of secure attacking alternatives in the United lineup helps him out as a Fantasy option: it seems unthinkable to go forward without covering United’s attacking returns and while we wait for Rooney and Antonio Valencia to settle into their seasons, Van Persie remains the focal point of our attention.

Nikica Jelavic is another Everton asset who takes a leap after the Fellaini news. With three goals and an assist in his last two, it’s hardly a difficult decision to elevate the Croatian up to second in the forward rankings.

He may have missed the last couple of matches through injury but we fully expect Dimitar Berbatov to return to action for Fulham next time round. With three home games and a trip to Reading in the next five, the Bulgarian looks primed for points, with many likely to hand him the armband for the Gameweek 8 visit of Villa. Now down to less than 5% ownership in FPL, he could be a deadly differential.

Sergio Aguero sits still in fourth. Rested to the bench last time round, the City forward wasted little time in notching after he replace Mario Balotelli on 55 minutes against Sunderland. Aguero has now scored in back-to-back appearances and with Carlos Tevez now goalless since Gameweek 3, Roberto Mancini can surely ill-afford to leave out the former Atletico Madrid man if his side are to pick up the pace in pursuit of Chelsea.

Having scored six of Newcastle’s eight goals in the opening seven Gameweeks, Demba Ba could be set for further attacking returns. As mentioned above, Newcastle’s upcoming fixtures look hugely enticing – coming in at 8.2 in FPL, the Magpies man still looks a bargain. A goal and assist from Olivier Giroud vindicated Arsene Wenger’s decision to start the Frenchman at West Ham last Saturday – with confidence returning, the former Montpellier man’s upcoming schedule cannot be overlooked, as concerns perhaps ease over his starting role.

Rickie Lambert and Peter Crouch afford us medium-priced options up top. Both have decent fixtures to follow and while Lambert’s spot-kicks boost his appeal, Crouch’s contribution is near-essential to Stoke’s attacking potential – he has scored four and assisted one of his side’s six goals so far this season.