The Watchlist Updated – Gameweek 1

Our Watchlist rankings, offering player recommendations over the next four-to-six Gameweeks, returns to the site again today. With the season only days away, a number of World Cup stars are still struggling for fitness and we subsequently steer clear of the doubts and place our faith in one or two of the form players over the close-season action:

Unsurprisingly, United and Chelsea dominate our early thoughts – both clubs have shown strong form over the pre-season and have the early fixtures to benefit. Louis Van Gaal’s men face just one of last term’s top eight in the first eight Gameweeks and approach the season with a 100% summer record – David de Gea’s security of starts earn him top spot for keepers, whilst Phil Jones gets the nod due to the fact that he’s the only centre-half who has yet to pick up an injury or knock over the recent action.

Juan Mata’s role behind the front two in a 3-4-1-2 brings him to the summit of the midfielders – with a full pre-season behind him, the Spaniard is looking to continue the form which harvested six goals, five assists and 15 bonus points in 15 appearances for the Old Trafford outfit. At 9.0, Mata looks a convincing double-up option with Wayne Rooney for those looking to load up on the Red Devils – Rooney’s ownership is now 44% and rising, making him the most popular pick by some distance in FPL right now, while Robin van Persie gets back to full fitness.

Ashley Young also comes into contention at 5.5 – fielded as a wing-back, he’s scored three times over the summer and is likely to benefit from injuries to the likes of Luke Shaw, Rafael and Antonio Valencia.

Over at the Bridge, Diego Costa’s four goals and three assists over the summer sum up his instant impact at Chelsea. Now sitting in 30% of teams, his arrival could be the final piece of the jigsaw for Jose Mourinho – the Blues fired more shots than any other side last season but a lack of clinical edge proved costly to their title tilt.

With games against Burnley, Leicester, Swansea and Villa in the first six, Eden Hazard and Branislav Ivanovic also feature prominently in their respective positions – we reckon the Belgian will start this weekend, despite a relative lack of pre-season. Cesc Fabregas is a cheaper alternative to Hazard at 9.0 to 10.0, though the concern is that, as we’ve seen in pre-season, Mourinho can utilise him in the double-pivot as well as in “the hole” behind Costa.

Aside from the usual suspects, there are some notable options in the upper echelons of our first Watchlist. Stoke’s Asmir Begovic sits second for stoppers – with so much uncertainty over Mark Hughes’ defence, the 5.0-priced Bosnian offers a nailed-on option between the posts and faces only three of last season’s top eight in the opening 12 Gameweeks.

For the time being, Joel Ward (5.0) is our Palace defender of choice ahead of home games against West Ham, Burnley and Leicester in the first six. There’s every chance that we could turn our attentions to Martin Kelly if his proposed move from Liverpool goes through – at 4.5, the latter would be the cheapest option amongst Tony Pulis’ defence, with Ward expected to shift left to accommodate the new boy.

Steven Caulker’s goal threat brings the new QPR man into consideration. The centre-half notched five times last season for Cardiff and had more attempts in the box than any defender – with home games against Hull, Sunderland and Stoke in the first five, we’re backing the big centre-half to quickly prosper.

In midfield, the usual suspects dominate the main positions. Delve deeper, though, and mid-price options such as Gylfi Sigurdsson, Jason Puncheon and Dusan Tadic are all bubbling under – opening trips to United, Arsenal and Liverpool temper their initial appeal but all three should rise in our estimations from next week onwards. Tadic has been fielded wide in a front three by Ronald Koeman and with dead-ball duties to further his appeal, faces only one of last season’s top eight from Gameweek 2-12 and, at 7.5, should be a key player for the new-look Saints.

Up top, Rooney, Costa and Daniel Sturridge – a front three that would certainly test our £100m budgets – lead the way. City’s Stevan Jovetic tucks in just behind the trio on the back of five goals over pre-season – with Alvaro Negredo and both Sergio Aguero and Edin Dzeko yet to retain their match fitness, Jovetic, at 8.0, certainly offer an in-form route into the champions attack for the time being, though it’s best to plan an exit route in preparation for Aguero’s return to the fold.

While the Montenegro star is more of a short-term option, Stoke’s Bojan Krkic seems nailed-on by comparison and has the potential to be a bargain buy. Three goals over pre-season, allied with a price tag of just 5.5 and the Potters’ above-mentioned schedule over the first 12 Gameweeks makes the former Barcelona man the standout option in the budget bracket right now.