The Watchlist Updated – The Midfielders

Having looked to justify the current Watchlist rankings for Goalkeeper and Defenders in yesterday’s article, we turn our attentions to the men in midfield. Swansea’s talisman leads the way ahead of a very favourable schedule, though he’s chased all the way by a couple of in-form north London assets. We welcome a new member to the editorial team as Mathmo guides you through this week’s refresh:

Faced with an almost faultless run of fixtures until Boxing Day, last year’s bargain of the season Michu retains top spot. With two goals in his last three league matches, the Spaniard looks poised to add to his season tally as Swansea welcome Sunderland, West Ham and Stoke to the Liberty, along with trips to newly-promoted Cardiff and defensively-suspect Fulham in the next six. A trip to Southampton this weekend will test his credentials, however: the Saints have conceded just twice in the campaign so far. Even so, with Pablo Hernadnez’s fitness still an issue, Michu presents the only assured source of covering Swansea’s attacking potential for what is, without question, a hugely encouraging run of opponents.

Aaron Ramsey is perhaps unlucky to end up in a close second place. Arguably the midfielder of the season so far, his cyclic scoring shows no apparent sign of ending. Notching four goals in the last four Gameweeks, the Welshman was again instrumental in Arsenal’s midweek European victory and still remains available at a very reasonable 6.5, despite maximum back-to-back price rises.

While his budget-breaking colleague toils up front, Danish playmaker Christian Eriksen has wasted little time in making an impact. A solitary assist in his league debut and a goal in the Europa league belie the threat offered by the blossoming number 10, as he provides the creativity that Spurs have lacked since Luka Modric’s departure, allied with a far greater goalscoring ability than the diminutive Croatian. Indeed, the 8.2 priced midfielder may well be key to any success that Tottenham will have over a promising month where West Ham, Hull and Newcastle come calling to White Hart Lane.

Cult hero Victor Moses’ installation in the hole in Brendan Rodger’s 3-5-2 is enough to bring the former Wigan man into the top five, despite an underwhelming showing at the Stadium of Light. Tasked with supporting the newly-unselfish Daniel Sturridge and the ever-creative Luis Suarez, the winger-turned-trequarista may be set to reap the rewards of working with arguably the most potent strike force in the Premier League.

English diamond and Fantasy bargain Ross Barkley cements a place in the top five. With a goal in his last game and two assists in the one before, a role as the most advanced midfielder supporting in-form striker Romelu Lukaku looks to be more than fruitful. With Kevin Mirallas rated 50:50 for the trip to City, the Belgian could come under real threat from Gerard Deulofeu for the Gameweek 8 Goodison encounter with Hull City: another factor that boosts Barkley’s appeal.

Arsenal’s record signing Mesut Ozil is unlucky to miss out on the top five, with Ramsey’s far cheaper price tag proving decisive here. The German’s threat is hard to ignore; dead-ball deliveries that resulted in three goals against Stoke highlights his instant impact at the Emirates, while a midweek European goal underlined his often-ignored scoring ability.

While there appears to be few certainties in the Manchester City camp, Yaya Toure tends to be the exception. The team’s top scorer may lose some set pieces with the return of David Silva, but that does little to diminish the appeal of the dynamic Ivorian. City will no doubt look for Toure to drive the attacks forward in a mixed run of fixtures which include Chelsea away and Tottenham at home, along with potential banana skins West Ham and Sunderland away. With Silva working his way back to fitness and the City forward line in rotation, Toure stands out as the one option available to cover City’s potential.

Paulinho is another box-to-box midfielder showing promise, although, to this point, the Brazilian’s returns have yet to flourish on the same scale. Spurs’ first signing of the summer notched a crucial late goal at Cardiff two weeks ago and produced an assist in the preceding fixture against Norwich, before drawing a blank at last week’s showdown against Chelsea. Having played every minute of every game so far for his team, Paulinho’s midfield industry, combined with goal threat and passing accuracy, make him an excellent candidate for bonus points and could prove crucial if the Andre Villas-Boas’ side continue to scrape out narrow victories.

Robbie Brady’s hernia operation brings another set-piece specialist and Championship talisman in his place: Peter Whittingham sneaks into the top ten with a favourable run of fixtures which sees Cardiff square off the obliging defences of Newcastle, Norwich and Aston Villa in the next six. Priced at 5.1, with a goal and two assists so far, the former England U21 looks to be the perfect replacement for Hull’s top scoring Irishman for those shopping in this bracket.

Star of West Bromwich Albion’s unexpected old Trafford victory, Morgan Amalfitano rounds off the top ten. While Steve Clarke’s forwards have failed to provide any real enthusiasm or energy, the French international has injected a degree of vigour in an otherwise blunted attack with a goal and two assists over his first two full games. The midlands outfit will be keen to build upon their famous victory – but trips to Liverpool and Chelsea along with an upcoming home clash against Arsenal will provide a stern test of the Marseille loanee’s credentials.

Antonio Valencia is perhaps fortunate to get a sniff at present – a paucity of other options bring him to the fore as our United midfielder of choice with a kind run of fixtures ahead of them. Recent fitness concerns blunt the appeal of both Eden Hazard and Pablo Hernandez but they remain in our thinking. The Belgian has underperformed drastically in Fantasy terms so far this campaign, while Hernandez is perhaps often overlooked as the fulcrum of Swansea’s attacking play and could yet build on his early returns once re-installed in Michael Laudrup’s lineup. A rise in our rankings looks inevitable should he prove his fitness this weekend at Southampton.

Stoke’s Marko Arnautovic remains on the periphery of our rankings. The volatile Austrian may be a punt, but manager clearly has his manager’s blessing as the Potters embark on a potentially lucrative run of fixtures. They’ll need to improve on the showing against Norwich last weekend before many will be keen to look to Potteries for investment, however. Fulham at the Cottage this weekend may just provide a platform for Arnautovic to stake his claim.

West Ham’s Ravel Morrison at 4.4, remains the rock-bottom budget option of choice. He continues to retain a starting role for the Hammers but, with Stewart Downing and fit-again Joe Cole an option for Sam Allardyce, his start is hardly assured. Fulham’s Pajtim Kasami at 4.6 has started the last three but, like Morrison, is far from assured long-term starts.

Villa’s Leandro Bacuna, also at 4.6, is worth monitoring if he can cement a start in the middle of the park rather than a wing-back. Swansea’s Jose Canas could be another option to explore – at 4.5, he could be in line to start a number of Swansea’s favourable fixtures in the weeks to come but is yet to offer returns having featured in the first XI in five of six league outings so far.