The Watchlist Updated – Gameweek 10

Our Watchlist rankings, which offer player recommendations over the next four to six Gameweeks, have been updated over the last 24 hours.

At the back, West Ham duo Adrian and Aaron Cresswell are on the rise ahead of a kind run of fixtures which sees them host Villa, Newcastle and Swansea in the next six, in addition to trips to Stoke and West Brom. Whilst the Hammers have found clean sheets hard to come by so far, Adrian has earned at least a single save point in seven of the opening nine Gameweeks and, at 5.0, is cheaper than Cresswell’s 5.4. To some extent, the left-back earns a place here due to James Tomkins’ ongoing thigh problem but with an assist in each of the last two, Cresswell is starting to rediscover the form that delivered 14 assists for Ipswich in last season’s Championship.

Thibaut Courtois and Branislav Ivanovic also climb this week’s rankings as Chelsea prepare for some very kind fixtures. The Blues have conceded just twice in the last four now and go head-to-head with QPR, West Brom, Sunderland, Spurs and Newcastle in the next six, with defensive returns looking more than likely for the league leaders.

Elsewhere, Antolin Alcaraz earns a spot lower down. The veteran has now started each of the least two league fixtures alongside Phil Jagielka in the heart of Everton’s defence and with John Stone sidelined for months, Alcaraz, at 4.3, could be a snip ahead of three strong home matches (SWA, WHM, HUL) and a trip to Sunderland in the next five. Team-mate Leighton Baines remains rooted in top spot – a goal or assist in six of the last seven is incredible form and has helped him to the top of the FPL defender standings. At 7.2, he still looks exceptional value in light of that schedule.

Further down the defender rankings, Burnley’s Kieran Trippier is bubbling under. Granted, a weekend trip to Arsenal will ensure would-be suitors will steer well clear but following their Emirates encounter, the subsequent five (HUL, sto, AVL, NEW, qpr) offers hope that the 4.9-priced right-back could still have a part to play over the next few Gameweeks.

In midfield, Alexis Sanchez climbs to the top of the pile after a brace against Sunderland last weekend continued his recent fine form. The Chilean has served up five goals and an assist in his last six appearances now and despite the 10.4 outlay, looks difficult to overlook ahead of the home clash against Burnley. With Swansea and West Brom also in the following four, the bandwagon is in full flow as Sanchez starts to bring his Barcelona form to the Premier League.

A single goal in his last six affords Raheem Sterling a slight drop but the Liverpool youngster still has the fixtures to flourish, with Newcastle, Palace, Stoke, Leicester and Sunderland in the next six. Eden Hazard climbs above Cesc Fabregas as our Chelsea midfielder of choice – the Belgian’s spot-kicks and recent European displays, in particular, suggest he’s ready to step up another level.

With a goal in each of the last two Gameweeks, Sadio Mane is quickly suggesting he could be an alternative to Dusan Tadic in the Southampton midfield. The Senegal star is expected to shake off an ankle knock in time for the weekend and, at 6.9, has three fine fixtures on his agenda (hul, LEI, avl) before the schedule takes a turn for the worse.

Stewart Downing also comes into contention ahead of West Ham’s above-mentioned fixtures. Sitting at just 5.7, he’s managed just a single assist in four now, though, though having opted for a 4-2-3-1 against City, Sam Allardyce is expected to return to a midfield diamond when going on the attack.

Victor Moses is also an option in the budget bracket – Stoke’s 5.5-priced wide man has delivered an assist in four of the last five Gameweeks and welcomes West Ham and Burnley to the Britannia before the fixtures turn nasty for the Potters.

Up front, West Brom’s Saido Berahino now sits just outside the top three after notching for the fifth time in four appearances last weekend. With spot-kicks also boosting his appeal, the 5.9-priced striker faces Leicester and Newcastle next but a tricky following three (che, ARS, WHM) somewhat dents his appeal.

Staying in the budget bracket, West Ham’s Diafra Sakho slips slightly as a result of his shoulder injury withdrawal at the weekend. With seven goals in as many appearances for Big Sam’s side and a mere 5% ownership, he looks an outstanding cut-price differential if he can recover for the weekend – earlier today, his manager admitted he’s “touch and go” to face Stoke at the Britannia.

Four goals in his last six elevate Romelu Lukaku in this week’s refresh as Everton start to take advantage of some fine fixtures and climb up the table, whilst Wilfried Bony remains in contention in spite of some tricky short-term matches. The Swansea striker has bagged four in three now but has the form to prevail against Everton, Arsenal and City before the schedule smiles kinder around the Gameweek 13 mark.