The Watchlist Updated – Gameweek 13 – Midfield

After assessing the Defenders in our latest Watchlist refresh, it’s time to turn our attentions to the centre of the park. Mesut Ozil’s outstanding consistency, allied with Alexis Sanchez’ dip in form sees the Arsenal playmaker move to the top of our Watchlist rankings this week. Elsewhere, Everton’s Gerard Deulofeu replaces Ross Barkley as our favoured Everton midfield option on the back of the Spaniard’s consistent attacking returns, whilst Manuel Lanzini arrives lower down as a result of West Ham team-mate Dimitri Payet’s ankle injury.

Having averaged 9.6 points per appearance over the last five Gameweeks, Arsenal’s Mesut Ozil is undoubtedly the form midfielder in Fantasy Premier League (FPL) right now. The Germany international has created 23 chances in his last four outings, seven more than any other player in the centre of the park. His astounding 10 assists this season are certainly no fluke, then, although his goal threat is limited, with just one shot from inside the box over the same period. The former Real Madrid playmaker is the most sought-after player so far this week in FPL, with over 143,000 Fantasy managers drafting him in, seeing his price rise to 8.9. Many are clearly making the switch from the injured Dimitri Payet to Ozil, and with the Gunners’ fixtures (wba, nor, SUN, avl) very favourable over the next four Gameweeks, the Arsenal man looks a sound investment at this juncture.

With two blanks in his last three appearances, and no goal in his previous four, the stock of Man City’s Kevin De Bruyne has taken a slight hit this week. There’s also the impact of Sergio Aguero’s pending return to full fitness, so while City face four home clashes over the upcoming period (LIV, SOT, sto, SWA, ars, SUN), the Belgian’s 10.7 price tag in FPL means he may have to be sacrificed to help free up funds should the Argentine hit the ground running on his return.

As already touched upon, there are some concerns growing over the prospects of Arsenal’s Alexis Sanchez. The former Barcelona attacker has blanked in his last three matches, while his number of goal attempts has also dropped in recent weeks, totalling just eight during this lean run. He also faces matches for Chile against Colombia and Uruguay during the international break, with reports even suggesting Arsene Wenger is considering handing him a mid-season break for fear of burn-out. So given he sets us back 11.6 in FPL, those holding onto the wide man will be hoping he can display his unquestioned explosive point scoring ability sooner rather than later.

With the fixtures getting tougher for both Southampton and Leicester over the next month or so, both Sadio Mane and Riyad Mahrez drop slightly in our latest refresh. The Saints attacker has been unlucky not to produce attacking points over the last two matches, and is joint-second among midfielders for penalty box touches over the previous four Gameweeks with 25. After the favourable home clashes against Stoke and Aston Villa, though, the 8.0-priced Senegal international could be dispensable, with three tricky fixtures (cpl, TOT, ARS) to follow.

It’s arguably tougher for Mahrez. After the trip to Newcastle, the following six (MUN, swa, CHE, eve, liv, MCI) will test Leicester’s record of having scored in every league match so far. There is also the question of whether having two Leicester assets through such a mixed run of fixtures is likely to pay off, with Jamie Vardy certainly looking the better pick of the two. So while the Algerian has offered great value so far at just 6.7 in FPL, his whopping 58% ownership may be set to fall in the coming weeks.

Having gone slightly under the radar, Everton’s Gerard Deulofeu has emerged as a viable mid-price option ahead of some excellent fixtures (AVL, bou, CPL, nor, LEI, new). A big climber in this week’s shake-up, the winger comes in at 6.2 in FPL and has both form and fixtures in his favour, with a goal and six assists in his last six appearances. While Ozil looks the safe choice as a Payet replacement, the former Barcelona attacker, with an ownership of just 1.0% in FPL, could be one to roll the dice on if you’re looking for a mini-league differential.

Newcastle’s Georginio Wijnaldum is maintained around halfway on our ladder, with the Dutch international getting back on track by bagging an assist in the 1-0 victory against Bournemouth. The Magpies’ upcoming schedule (LEI, cpl, LIV, tot, AVL, EVE), despite facing four home match-ups, is mixed, though, so further investment in the 7.0-valued midfielder is perhaps unlikely for the time being.

Christian Eriksen moves up a couple of spots this time around, with the ever-improving Tottenham facing four home fixtures over the next six Gameweeks (WHM, CHE, wba, NEW sot, NOR). The Dane can be frustrating to own in a similar way to Philippe Coutinho, who is another climber a few places further down our ladder, with blanks often followed by significant double-digit scores.

The former Ajax man, available at 8.4 in FPL, has only had one such haul so far this season, against Swansea in Gameweek 8, but is creating a chance every 23.2 minutes, compared to every 51.4 minutes for Coutinho over the last four Gameweeks. The Liverpool schemer has found his shooting boots of late, though, scoring three times in his last two matches, and collecting maximum bonus on each occasion. With the Reds’ fixtures easing after the trip to the Etihad in Gameweek 13 (SWA, new, WBA, wat, LEI), the now 8.2-rated playmaker could well come into serious consideration for our five-man midfields.

While Swansea are another of the teams to face four home matches over the next month or so (BOU, liv, LEI, mci, WHM, WBA), the lack of confidence among Garry Monk’s charges means Andre Ayew continues his fall from grace. The 7.1-priced Ghana international is likely to be living on borrowed time for many of his 18% FPL ownership, with another blank in the plum home fixture against Bournemouth likely to spark a mass exodus. Ayew owners will also be monitoring his fitness, as he is currently a doubt for tomorrow’s internationals due to a slight knee injury.

One such player who looks a viable alternative to Ayew is Southampton’s Dusan Tadic. The Serbian’s underlying statistics aren’t very spectacular, creating eight chances in his last four appearances, while also managing just four shots from inside the box over the same period. Nonetheless, the Saints midfielder, who also sets us back 7.1 in FPL, has only blanked in two of his last six matches, having scored twice and grabbed a pair of assists. The juicy home fixtures against Stoke and Villa in the next three look great opportunities for Tadic to continue bringing in the attacking points.

West Ham’s Manuel Lanzini is a fresh face on the Watchlist this week, with the Argentine benefitting from Dimitri Payet’s ankle injury. The 5.3-valued midfielder has chipped in with three goals and two assists so far this season, and while his price tag is an obvious attraction, the Hammers’ upcoming fixtures (tot, WBA, mun, STO, swa, avl) do hinder his prospects. He has managed a more than reasonable 10 goal attempts in his last four matches, though only four of those came from inside the area.

With Yohan Cabaye teetering on the Suspension Tightrope and having to largely rely on penalties for his attacking potential, we’ve reinstated Yannick Bolasie to the Watchlist. The DR Congo international played as the lone striker in the Eagles’ 2-1 victory at Liverpool, where he scored his second goal in the last five Gameweeks. While the 6.1-rated attacker is not guaranteed to continue in that position, he’s assured of a starting spot in the front four, and could well be able to keep flourishing given the next six fixtures (SUN, NEW, eve, SOT, sto, bou) Alan Pardew’s men face. Bolasie has scored in both DR Congo’s internationals over the break.

Rounding off our latest midfield rankings are Chelsea’s Willian and Bournemouth’s Matt Ritchie. The Blues’ plum home fixtures (NOR, tot, BOU, lei, SUN, WAT) around the corner look too good to ignore, despite their hugely indifferent form, and available at 6.9 in FPL, the Brazilian, one of the few shining lights so far this season at Stamford Bridge, may be worth a look as a differential, with his current ownership standing at 3%.

Ritchie stays in our thoughts as the main attacking threat for the Cherries. Their upcoming schedule (swa, EVE, che, MUN, wba, CPL) is pretty mixed, though, so it’s unlikely the 5.6-priced Scotland international will attract too much attention until we see signs of improvement from the south coast club, who have failed to score in their last two matches.