The Watchlist Updated – Gameweek 11 – The Defence

On the back of Gameweek 10, which saw Man United and West Brom collect further clean sheets, and Leicester and Sunderland pick up their first shut-outs of the campaign, we’re rolling out the first of our Watchlist articles, which offer player recommendations for the next four-to-six Gameweeks. With form and fixtures aligning perfectly, Arsenal’s defensive assets are on the rise, while the goal threat of Southampton’s Virgil van Dijk is certainly catching our eye.

GOALKEEPERS

With three clean sheets in his last four appearances, and with the upcoming fixture list (cpl, WBA, wat, lei, WHM, bou) very favourable, Man United’s David de Gea climbs all the way to the top of our ladder. The former Atletico Madrid keeper, available at 5.5 in Fantasy Premier League (FPL), is living up to his price tag at the moment, and looks an outstanding option for the coming period.

Another “heavy hitter” on the rise is Arsenal’s Petr Cech, who has registered five shut outs so far this season. The 5.6-priced stopper faces the most favourable upcoming schedule (swa, TOT, wba, nor, SUN, avl) for clean sheets over the next six Gameweeks, according to our Season Ticker, and, like de Gea, looks worthy of the extra outlay at this juncture of the season.

On the back of another lacklustre Chelsea display at West Ham, Asmir Begovic sees his stock fall slightly this week. The Bosnian’s 5.0 price tag in FPL is still likely to attract suitors, while the next six matches for the champions (LIV, sto, NOR, tot, BOU, lei) should offer up some strong opportunities for clean sheets. With Jose Mourinho’s side struggling so badly during the opening months of the season, though, it’s hard to fully trust any of their Fantasy assets.

Joe Hart keeps his place towards the top of our rankings after collecting another clean sheet in the Manchester derby. Whether the England keeper represents the best way to use one of our three Man City slots remains open for debate, but with the next six fixtures for Manuel Pellegrini’s men (NOR, avl, LIV, SOT, sto, SWA) pretty favourable, the 5.7-valued Hart should continue to rack up the points for his 21% ownership in FPL.

Having recovered from a back injury to face Liverpool, Southampton’s Maarten Stekelenburg is back in our thoughts in our latest update. The Dutch international should benefit from a very favourable run of fixtures for the Saints (BOU, sun, STO, mci, AVL, cpl) and, setting us back only 5.0 in FPL, should attract some investment over the next few weeks.

With Everton’s difficult start to the campaign now behind them, Tim Howard keeps climbing up our ladder. The fixture list over the next six Gameweeks (SUN, whm, AVL, bou, CPL, nor) is very favourable, so the 5.1-rated USA international, who has already managed shut-outs against Southampton, Tottenham and Swansea, looks a solid option in the mid-price bracket.

Although Tottenham’s fixtures (AVL, ars, WHM, CHE, wba, NEW) aren’t as kind as the likes of Everton’s and Southampton’s, Hugo Lloris is another mid-price option who appears worthy of consideration. The France international has seen his cost rise to 5.1 in FPL this week, and with Spurs looking a much improved defensive unit this term, the former Lyon keeper should be a reliable option between the sticks.

One budget keeper who continues to bring in the defensive returns is Watford’s Heurelho Gomes. The Brazilian international chalked up his fourth shut-out of the campaign at Stoke last weekend, and while the Hornets’ fixtures over the upcoming period (WHM, lei, MUN, avl, NOR, sun) are mixed, the 4.6-valued keeper certainly looks one of the most consistent options available to Fantasy managers in the budget price range.

Sunderland’s Costel Pantilimon (4.8) returns in our latest refresh, having picked up his first clean sheet of the season against Newcastle on Sunday. It may have been slightly fortuitous, with the Magpies the far superior side before Fabricio Coloccini’s sending off, but with signs that Sam Allardyce is already making the Black Cats harder to break down, the Romania international is starting to become a viable option in goal. Sunderland also face some favourable home fixtures in their next six (eve, SOT, cpl, STO, ars, WAT).

While he may be the highest scoring keeper so far this season in FPL with 57 points, West Brom’s Boaz Myhill falls all the way to the bottom of our rankings with the Baggies upcoming schedule over the next six Gameweeks (LEI, mun, ARS, whm, TOT, liv) particularly treacherous. The Wales international is actually the most transferred in goalkeeper this week in FPL with over 13,000 new owners, though the 4.8-rated stopper may have to mainly rely on save points over that testing period.

DEFENDERS

Keeping his position on top of our defenders ladder is Arsenal’s Hector Bellerin, despite only managing two points in the Gunners 2-1 win against Everton in Gameweek 10. Ahead of the aforementioned favourable run of fixtures over the next few weeks, the Spaniard has attracted over 41,000 new owners so far this week in FPL, seeing his price rise to 5.9. With his attacking raids down the right flank a key part of the Arsenal attack, Bellerin looks primed to register returns at both ends of the pitch.

Southampton’s Virgil van Dijk is our big climber this week, with the centre-back offering a significant threat from set-pieces. The Dutch international has registered five goal attempts over the last four Gameweeks, with four coming from inside the box, and combined with a reasonable chance of defensive returns, given the Saints’ favourable fixture list (BOU, sun, STO, mci, AVL, cpl), the 5.5-priced defender undoubtedly holds plenty of upside. His meagre 1% ownership in FPL also makes him a huge differential, only further enhancing his appeal.

Seamus Coleman keeps his place towards the top of our rankings, despite the Toffees having failed to keep a clean sheet in their last four matches. The Republic of Ireland international has only had two goal attempts and created one chance since returning from injury, but with his attacking threat expected to increase against lesser opposition, the 5.9-valued right-back should be able to provide attacking returns over the coming period.

Following his return to first-team action against Man United, Aleksandar Kolarov moves up a couple of spots this time around. With Bacary Sagna and Pablo Zabaleta both fit, and Gael Clichy close to returning from an ankle injury, the Serbian is a slight rotation risk, but with his attacking potential from left-back and likely defensive returns from the next six matches (NOR, avl, LIV, SOT, sto, SWA), the 6.1-rated defender looks worth holding on to by his sizeable 27% ownership in FPL.

A new face on the Watchlist this week is Leicester’s Jeffrey Schlupp, who comes onto our radars because of his out-of-position potential. The Ghana international has been pushed forward to an attacking role on the left for the Foxes in recent weeks, while he also ended Saturday’s match against Crystal Palace in the number ten role, and leads all defenders for goal attempts over the last four Gameweeks, with nine. While there are no guarantees Claudio Ranieri will keep playing the 5.0-priced defender in a more advanced position, the fixtures in the short-term (wba, WAT, new) in particular perhaps warrant a gamble being taken on Schlupp.

It may come as a slight surprise that Chris Smalling is the second highest scoring defender in FPL with 51 points, given he is still yet to open his account for the campaign. Nonetheless, with clean sheets being racked up at Old Trafford, the England international certainly looks worthy of some consideration for our five-man backlines, although his 6.4 price tag in FPL will perhaps be too high for some to stomach.

While Newcastle’s rearguard shows little sign of improvement, the attacking potential of Daryl Janmaat means he doesn’t fall too far down our ladder. The 4.9-valued right-back has created eight chances over the last four Gameweeks, second among defenders, and has a reasonable run of fixtures (STO, bou, LEI, cpl, LIV, tot), particularly in the short-term, to provide good value at the back.

The other leading chance creator over recent weeks has been Liverpool’s Alberto Moreno. The former Sevilla defender has provided 10 key passes in his last four outings, and while clean sheets could be hard to come by, given the difficulty of the Reds’ upcoming schedule (che, CPL, mci, SWA, new, WBA), a 4.7 price tag looks something of a bargain based on his attacking potential alone.

Similar to his Chelsea team-mate Begovic, Kurt Zouma is a faller this week with the general malaise at Stamford Bridge showing few signs of coming to an end. The 5.5-rated defender played at right-back at West Ham, and could benefit from the license to push forward should he continue in that position. Given their lack of form, though, investing in any member of the Chelsea backline at this point looks something of a gamble.

Tottenham’s Eric Dier is a slight riser in our latest refresh, with the England U21 international restored in the double-pivot at Bournemouth having served his one-match suspension. The 5.2-priced defender has found the back of the net twice this season, and with the afore-mentioned run of fixtures (AVL, ars, WHM, CHE, wba, NEW) ahead for Mauricio Pochettino’s side over the next month or so, Dier holds reasonable potential at either end of the pitch.

Having registered his third assist of the campaign in West Ham’s 2-1 victory against Chelsea, Aaron Cresswell is back in our thoughts. The Hammers haven’t kept a clean sheet since the 2-0 win against Newcastle in Gameweek 5, though, so while the former Ipswich man can deliver attacking points, he’ll need to start getting more shut-outs if he is to prove worthy of his 5.6 price tag in FPL. The fixture list over the next six Gameweeks (wat, EVE, tot, WBA, mun, STO) should enable Slaven Bilic’s men to get back on track at the back.

With Crystal Palace generally looking solid in defence barring the 3-1 defeat to West Ham when they were reduced to 10-men for much of the match, Scott Dann clings onto the final spot in our rankings. The forthcoming fixtures for the Eagles (MUN, liv, SUN, NEW, eve, SOT) only throw up two favourable match-ups, against Sunderland and Newcastle, but with his duel threat from set-plays and through bonus points, having accrued seven so far this season, the 5.1-valued centre-back remains a viable option for FPL bosses.