The Watchlist Updated – Gameweek 26

Our Watchlist rankings, which offer player recommendations over the next four to six Gameweeks, have been updated over the last 24 hours. Arsenal’s midfield play a major part in our thinking, whilst the suspension-free Diego Costa and Gylfi Sigurdsson are back in the mix after completing three-match bans.

The Defence

West Brom’s Ben Foster rises to the top of the keeper standings. The Baggies have collected three clean sheets in five under Tony Pulis and now face Sunderland, Villa, Stoke and QPR in the next six to maintain their recent resilience. With Andre Wisdom and Chris Baird dropping out of the starting XI in recent weeks, there are fewer clear-cut budget options in the back-four at the Hawthorns.

Sunderland’s Costel Pantilimon drops to second in the keepers bracket, with team-mate Patrick van Aanholt, at 4.3, offering a cheaper route into the Black Cats’ backline. Gus Poyet’s side have three kind home fixtures (WBA, AVL, NEW) and a trip to Hull in the upcoming six and remain in the frame, despite their poor last couple of displays.

Arsenal’s David Ospina settles in third. The South American now looks cemented as Arsene Wenger’s preferred stopper and, at 4.8, has upcoming clashes against Palace, Everton, QPR, West Ham and Newcastle to profit from. With Hector Bellerin’s goal threat and cheaper price (4.6) as an alternative, though, Ospina’s appeal is somewhat dented.

Both Hugo Lloris and Rob Green climb as a double Gameweek option. According to our fixture ticker, QPR are ranked third for clean sheet potential over the next six – in addition to their pair of home clashes with Arsenal and Spurs in Gameweek 28, the R’s are also up against Hull, Palace, Everton and West Brom. Even if he concedes, the 4.5-priced Green is sure to be kept busy – he’s made more saves than any other keeper so far.

In defence, there’s no real movement near the summit. Branislav Ivanovic keeps his top-three spot behind Bellerin and Van Aanholt, with Nathaniel Clyne sitting in fourth. Chelsea and Southampton have now earned 12 clean sheets apiece, whilst Ivanovic has now served up four sets of attacking returns in his last six appearances.

Joleon Lescott climbs into fifth with a lack of competition for secure starts in the Baggies backline. Over the last four Gameweeks, his goal threat is ranked second for defenders.

Villa’s Alan Hutton moves up slightly due to some kind fixtures. Tim Sherwood opens his tenure at the Midlands club with a promising run (STO, new, WBA, sun, SWA), and at 4.4, Hutton has been a secure pick so far. Given that Hutton is just two yellows short of a suspension, team-mate Ron Vlaar (4.3) could be a safer alternative, though much depends on Sherwood’s tactics as to how we asses the pair.

Liverpool’s Alberto Moreno crashes up the rankings in his wing-back role. Granted, the Reds don’t have the best of fixtures but as we pointed out in this week’s Big Numbers article, his attacking potential has been on the up in recent matches.

Leighton Baines is expected to recover from a slight injury in time for the weekend home clash against Leicester. The left-back produced points in four of his last five before picking up a knee problem, and with the Toffees conceding once in their previous four now, there’s reason for optimism bearing in mind that Baines is also set to face Stoke, Newcastle and QPR in the next five.

Further down, Danny Rose is a somewhat reluctant pick. With a double Gameweek to come, though, his 4.8 price tag, allied with a goal and three assists, makes him our favoured Tottenham backline option.

The Midfield

Alexis Sanchez climbs back to second, although he’s struggling to see off the claims from in-form Mesut Ozil, who ousts Santi Cazorla in our Watchlist as the second choice for those opting to double up on Arsenal assets. Theo Walcott may well be a factor in coming weeks as he progresses – for now, though, his lack of guaranteed starts goes against him.

Sadio Mane and David Silva both hold with strong fixtures. The former has netted in four of his last five starts and squares up to West Brom, Palace and Burnley in the next five – at 6.6, he’s our favoured mid-price option right now. With Yaya Toure back on board for City, it remains to be seen whether Silva will remain quite so high in our thinking – the Ivorian netted four times in his last five appearances before heading to the Africa Cup of Nations.

Raheem Sterling falters due to injury concerns, whilst Christian Eriksen’s stock takes a hit given his forthcoming blank – the Spurs man will climb dramatically for the double Gameweek, though.

Gylfi Sigurdsson returns to contention after serving out his three-match ban. Now down to 6.4, he looks vital to the Swans’ prospects ahead of some mixed fixtures (MUN, bur, tot, LIV, avl, HUL). Stoke’s Jon Walters and Villa’s Carles Gil are both slight injury concerns but offer budget options in the centre of the park with decent form and fixtures to follow.

The Forwards

The top three hold steady, though Olivier Giroud’s stock took a slight dent after he was rotated in the Gameweek 25 home win over Leicester. The Arsenal frontman may well suffer a drop in the coming weeks as Daniel Sturridge and Diego Costa threaten a reshuffle. The Gameweek 27 blank keeps Costa out of the top three, although it’s also worth bearing in mind that he is just two yellows from a two-match ban.

Saido Berahino and Christian Benteke are the big risers. Certainly, the latter is speculative off the back of an anticipated Villa recovery under Tim Sherwood, with those above-mentioned fixtures in mind. Berahino’s seven goals in eight appearances in all competitions under Tony Pulis underlines his flourishing recent displays – at just 5.5, he is on penalties and is cheaper than strike partner Brown Ideye.

Further down, Charlie Austin and Jermain Defoe simmer in the lower ranks as both head into the weekend with injury concerns hanging over them.