The Watchlist Updated – Gameweek 8 – The Defence

After the curtain was brought down on Gameweek 7 with Everton’s thrilling comeback win at West Brom on Monday evening, this afternoon it’s time to roll out the first instalment of our Watchlist articles, which offer player recommendations for the next four-to-six Gameweeks. Tottenham’s Eric Dier appears in our rankings for the first time on the back of his second goal of the season in the 4-1 victory against Manchester City, but with Bournemouth facing four difficult fixtures over the coming period, Simon Francis slides all the way to the bottom of our ladder.

GOALKEEPERS

Having conceded three goals at home for the third time this term, Boaz Myhill’s owners will be hoping he retains his starting berth for the Baggies, with Anders Lindegaard waiting in the wings. The Welshman is expected to continue between the posts this weekend, though, and still offers great value priced at 4.7 in FPL. The Baggies have yet to concede on their travels, and have four good match-ups (cpl, SUN, nor, LEI) over the next four Gameweeks, before the schedule turns for the worse from Gameweek 12 onwards.

Stoke’s Jack Butland retains his place in the top two, with the England international offering solid value at 4.5 in Fantasy Premier League (FPL), despite having failed to register a clean sheet so far. The Potters schedule over the next six Gameweeks (avl, swa, WAT, new, CHE, sot) remains reasonably favourable, although Mark Hughes’ side do only face two matches at the Britannia.

While Chelsea’s rearguard again looked vulnerable against Newcastle, a very strong schedule over the next month or so (SOT, AVL, whm, LIV, sto, NOR), which features four matches at Stamford Bridge, suggests Asmir Begovic should attract some investment. The 5.0-priced Bosnian only has an ownership of 2% in FPL, but as the cheapest route into the Blues’ backline, should hold plenty of appeal.

With Man City still in the middle of a great stretch in their schedule (NEW, BOU, mun, NOR, avl, LIV), Joe Hart remains in our thoughts. The 5.7-valued stopper did miss the 4-1 defeat at Tottenham because of a back injury, but was fit enough for the bench and should return for the home encounter against Newcastle on Saturday. His prospects would be further boosted should skipper Vincent Kompany be fit to face the Magpies, with the Citizens conceding six goals in the two matches without the Belgian on board.

Despite keeping a clean sheet against Sunderland in Gameweek 7, David de Gea remains around halfway up our ladder, with Man United facing four tricky showdowns (ars, eve, MCI, cpl) over the next month. The 5.5-rated Spaniard then faces a kind run of fixtures, starting with clashes against West Brom and Watford, but further investment until then appears unlikely.

Swansea are another side that have four home fixtures over the next six Gameweeks (TOT, STO, avl, ARS, nor, BOU), so Lukasz Fabianski remains a solid option for Fantasy managers between the sticks. The Welsh outfit have only conceded one goal in their three matches at the Liberty Stadium, and, available at 5.0 in FPL, the Poland international should be able to garner a few more shut-outs over the coming period.

Petr Cech returns to the Watchlist this week, with the Gunners fixture list starting to ease over the next few weeks. Arsene Wenger’s side face a difficult match up against Man United on Sunday, but after that, the schedule (wat, EVE, swa, TOT, wba) then looks fairly favourable. Priced at 5.5 in FPL, the former Chelsea keeper should be able to add to the three shut-outs he’s managed so far.

The final place on our ladder this week is filled by Southampton’s Maarten Stekelenburg. The Dutch international will have frustrated his owners after conceding a late goal against Swansea last weekend, but with four good fixtures (LEI, BOU, sun, STO) over the next six Gameweeks, the 5.0-priced keeper should continue to offer a reliable source of Fantasy points.

DEFENDERS

While Aleksandar Kolarov has failed to deliver any Fantasy points over the last two weekends, the aforementioned favourable run of fixtures means the Serbian clings on to top spot on our ladder. The 6.1-valued left-back has still offered a decent attacking threat over the last two Gameweeks, creating four chances and managing three goal attempts, and should reward his 33% FPL ownership over the last two weeks in the coming period.

After grabbing his first goal of the season against Everton on Monday night, on the back of three consecutive shut-outs, West Brom’s Craig Dawson keeps his place on the Watchlist. The former Rochdale defender is favourably priced at 5.0 in FPL, and while his Baggies team-mate Jonny Evans (4.8) also offers excellent value, Dawson’s attacking threat from right-back, added to his ability from set-pieces, means he continues to gain favour for the time being.

It was certainly overdue, given he’s created eight chances this season, but Arsenal’s Hector Bellerin finally picked up his first assist of the campaign in the 5-2 win at Leicester. With Arsenal’s fixtures also more favourable over the next month or so, the Spaniard, who saw his price rise to 5.6 in FPL last week, should see his 10.0% ownership continue to increase.

Another premium option who looks worthy of some consideration is Chelsea’s Cesar Azpilicueta. The full-back looks nailed on at the back, and while Kurt Zouma (5.4) offers greater value, and a strong threat from set-pieces, the Spain international already has a goal and assist to his name this term, and is perhaps worth that extra outlay with Zouma still likely to miss the occasional match.

While Swansea have conceded in all of their four matches on the road, the fact they have four home clashes over the next six Gameweeks means we’re keeping our faith in Kyle Naughton. The right-back is joint-third among defenders for chances created (ten) and, available at 5.0 in FPL, offers solid value in the mid-price bracket.

Having played every match for Tottenham in the defensive midfield role and scored twice already, Eric Dier is probably well overdue some recognition in our rankings. The 5.1-rated defender, having been transferred in by 90,000+ FPL managers so far this week, has registered a reasonable six goal attempts this term, and while Spurs’ upcoming fixture list (swa, LIV, bou, AVL, ars, WHM) is fairly tricky, his goal threat makes that price tag look pretty appealing. It is worth noting, however, that the former Sporting Lisbon man has picked up four bookings, and is one away from serving a one-match ban.

Southampton’s Cedric Soares returns to the Watchlist in our latest update, having reclaimed his starting spot at right-back in the 3-1 win against Swansea. There’s no doubting his attacking threat, having created eight chances this season, and providing he can keep his place in the starting XI, he looks a great option priced at 5.0 in FPL, with four strong fixtures (LEI, BOU, sun, STO) over the next month or so.

There’s little doubt Newcastle’s Daryl Janmaat holds huge attacking potential. Over the last four Gameweeks, the Dutchman has racked up nine goal attempts, with five from inside the box, and created five chances. While Steve McClaren’s men have only kept one clean sheet so far, they do face a very favourable run of matches (NOR, sun, STO, bou, LEI) after this weekend’s trip to the Etihad, so the 4.9-valued right-back looks ripe for investment.

After registering a nine-point haul in the 1-0 victory at Watford thanks to a clean sheet and full bonus, Scott Dann is once again our favoured Crystal Palace option at the back. The Eagles have a mixed run of fixtures (WBA, WHM, lei, MUN, liv, SUN) coming up, but with his goal threat from set-pieces also boosting his prospects, the 5.0-rated centre-back offers plenty of upside.

With Norwich facing three reasonable fixtures (LEI, new, WBA) over the next few weeks, Russell Martin comfortably holds onto his place on our ladder. Any defender who has scored three goals and is priced at 4.6 in FPL has to hold plenty of appeal and many Fantasy bosses may well be prepared to roll the dice on the Scotland international in the hope he can continue delivering.

The two big fallers in our latest refresh are West Ham’s Aaron Cresswell and Bournemouth’s Simon Francis. The Hammers only face two home matches over the next six Gameweeks (sun, cpl, CHE, wat, EVE, tot), and while they have been impressive defensively on their travels, keeping clean sheets at Arsenal and Liverpool, the left-back may struggle to deliver value over the upcoming period, given his 5.6 price tag in FPL.

The circumstances are slightly different for Francis, with the Cherries right-back offering outstanding value at 4.5 in FPL, having provided two assists and bagged four bonus points already. Home match-ups against Watford and Newcastle offer hope of further returns at either end, but with four difficult fixtures (mci, TOT, sot, swa) also on the horizon, on top of the growing injury list at Bournemouth, the likelihood is that Francis will find it trickier to keep up his outstanding start to life in the top-flight.