The Watchlist Updated – Gameweek 13 – Forwards

Having analysed the latest movements on our Watchlist among the defence and midfield over the past few days, our focus now turns to the forwards. With both form and fixtures in his favour, Everton’s Romelu Lukaku moves to the top of our ladder, whilst Sergio Aguero sneaks in near the bottom as he steps up his recovery from a hamstring injury.

With two goals and as many assists from his previous pair of outings, and with further strong fixtures (AVL, bou, CPL, nor, LEI, new) coming up, Everton’s Romelu Lukaku has moved up to the top of our rankings. The Belgian is the second most transferred in player so far this week, with over 98,000 new owners in Fantasy Premier League (FPL), seeing his price rise to 8.6. Lukaku has only managed eight shots from inside the box over the last four Gameweeks, less than the majority of the leading forwards, but as the focal point of the Toffees attack, he should continue his high involvement in the final third.

Leicester’s Jamie Vardy stays towards the top of our ladder, although the hip injury that has ruled him out of both of England friendlies is an obvious concern. There’s no doubting his form, given he has scored in nine consecutive matches, while Vardy has registered 37 touches from inside the penalty area over the last four Gameweeks, seven more than any other forward. The Foxes’ next six (new, MUN, swa, CHE, eve, liv) are generally tougher fixtures though, but the 7.4-priced forward certainly looks set to remain in our three-man frontlines provided he can shrug off that hip problem.

Given that Tottenham have four home matches over the next six Gameweeks (WHM, CHE, wba, NEW sot, NOR), Harry Kane climbs a couple of places in our latest update. The England international has also returned to form in recent weeks, averaging 10.7 points per appearance over the previous three Gameweeks, and is now looking worthy of his 9.4 price tag in FPL after a slow start to the campaign. Kane leads the way for shots on target (11) amongst frontmen in recent outings, a clear sign of his improved accuracy.

Southampton’s Graziano Pelle is next in our rankings, with the Italian’s potential starting to wane given that the Saints schedule begins to stiffen up following the home clashes against Stoke and Aston Villa (STO, mci, AVL, cpl, TOT, ARS). The 8.5-valued striker may well be worth holding on to in the short-term, then, particularly with plenty of injury doubts for Fantasy bosses to deal with heading into Gameweek 13. With just one goal and a single attempt on target from his last four outings, the former Feyenoord front man could soon be dispensable for many of his current 33.3% ownership in FPL.

Anther slight faller this week is Watford’s Odion Ighalo, following his blank in a reasonable match-up against Leicester last time out. The Nigerian still offers superb value at just 5.5 in FPL, though, while the Hornets’ upcoming schedule (MUN, avl, NOR, sun, LIV, che) is fairly favourable. Ighalo’s underlying statistics remain impressive, given he has taken 12 shots from inside the box in his last four appearances, while he’s created seven chances over the same period, ranking him second among forwards.

Arsenal’s Olivier Giroud slides down our ladder, with the impending return of Theo Walcott denting his prospects. Once the England man is back to full fitness, the pair appear likely to share duties as the lone striker for the Gunners, so while the next four fixtures (wba, nor, SUN, avl) are very favourable, the uncertainty over the Frenchman’s playing time does limit his potential. The likes of Lukaku and Kane look far safer bets than the 8.8-rated Arsenal striker, then.

While he managed to bag an assist in Man United’s 2-0 win against West Brom by winning a late penalty, which Juan Mata duly converted, Anthony Martial continues his descent towards the foot of our ladder. The French forward – now back down to his original starting price of 8.0 in FPL having risen to 8.4 just a few weeks ago – has only registered four shots from inside the box in his last four matches, so although United’s schedule (wat, lei, WHM, bou, NOR, sto) is very favourable, there look to be far stronger options available for our three-man frontlines.

Chelsea’s favourable run of fixtures (NOR, tot, BOU, lei, SUN, WAT), with four plum matches at Stamford Bridge, means we’re keeping faith in Diego Costa. The former Atletico Madrid striker may have blanked in his last three outings, but he has encouragingly registered 30 touches inside the penalty area over the last four Gameweeks, and may be able to return to form against lesser opponents over the coming period. His 10.9 price tag in FPL does look high, though, given he’s only scored two goals this season.

With Man City’s Sergio Aguero hoping to be in contention for a return in their home clash against Liverpool on Saturday, we’ve reinstated the Argentine towards the bottom of our ladder. The question for Fantasy managers will be whether the diminutive striker can immediately hit the ground running following his hamstring injury, while City’s upcoming schedule (LIV, SOT, sto, SWA, ars, SUN) is pretty mixed. Given his proven track record, it may only take one moment of magic before many Fantasy managers are hatching plans to get the 13.0-priced hitman back in their 15-man squads.

With Liverpool’s fixtures (SWA, new, WBA, wat, LEI) picking up following this weekend’s trip to the Etihad, Christian Benteke stays in contention for our latest refresh. The 8.3-valued Belgian international has shown signs of flourishing under Jurgen Klopp, with two goals and an assist from his last three appearances, and does present us with a different option in attack. There is a question mark over how the new Reds boss will incorporate Benteke and Sturridge though, with the latter possibly returning from his knee injury in the coming weeks.