The Watchlist Updated – Gameweek 14 – The Defence

Liverpool pair Simon Mignolet and Alberto Moreno clamber up this week’s Watchlist ahead of some fine upcoming fixtures. Our faith in Eric Dier and Seamus Coleman is on the rise, whilst Kurt Zouma also appears on our radar as Chelsea belatedly find their form.

GOALKEEPERS

As the cheapest secure cover of Man United’s backline, David de Gea maintains his position at the summit. The Spain international only sets us back 5.6 in Fantasy Premier League (FPL), and has kept five clean sheets in his nine league appearances. With the fixture list (lei, WHM, bou, NOR, sto, CHE) reasonable over the next six Gameweeks, the former Atletico Madrid keeper should continue to bring in the points for his 12% ownership.

While the five goals conceded in the last four matches suggest Jurgen Klopp has yet to address Liverpool’s defensive frailties, their performances do indicate that the German has made the Reds harder to break down. His side have conceded the fourth lowest number of shots from inside the box over that period, so we’re happy to promote Simon Mignolet (5.0) all the way up to second spot in our rankings, with Liverpool’s upcoming schedule (SWA, new, WBA, wat, LEI, sun) rated the most favourable according to our Season Ticker over the next six Gameweeks.

With five clean sheets from his last six appearances, there is no keeper in better form than Stoke’s Jack Butland. That means the England international, available at just 4.7 in FPL, moves up a couple of places this week, although the Potters remain in the midst of a tricky stretch on their schedule (sun, MCI, whm, CPL, MUN, eve).

Given Crystal Palace’s schedule (NEW, eve, SOT, sto, bou, SWA) remains very kind, we’re keeping Wayne Hennessey (4.0) towards the top of our ladder. We expect the Wales international to retain his starting berth in spite of the blunder that led to Jermain Defoe’s winning goal on Monday night.

Watford’s Heurelho Gomes is another climber in our latest update, with the Hornets facing three favourable fixtures (avl, NOR, sun) over the next three Gameweeks. The former Tottenham stopper, priced at 4.7 in FPL, is the second highest scoring keeper so far this season and can bring in the points through both defensive returns and saves.

Another man on the rise is Tottenham’s Hugo Lloris, who faces four favourable fixtures (wba, NEW, NOR, wat) over the next six Gameweeks. The 5.1-valued France international will have disappointed his owners by failing to register shut-outs in strong match-ups against Bournemouth and Aston Villa in recent weeks, but they appear likely to be rewarded over the coming weeks.

Confidence in Sunderland’s backline is starting to be restored following the 1-0 victory at Crystal Palace, so Costel Pantilimon finds himself around halfway up our rankings in our latest refresh. The Black Cats also have two favourable home match-ups (STO, WAT) over the next three Gameweeks, so in the short-term, the 4.8-rated Romania international looks a great option between the sticks as Sam Allardyce focuses on keeping things tight at the back.

West Ham’s Adrian (5.0) looks to have decent potential over the coming period, with Slaven Bilic’s men facing four favourable fixtures (WBA, STO, swa, avl) in the next six. The form of the Hammers’ backline is discouraging, though, having failed to keep a clean sheet since the 2-0 victory over Newcastle in Gameweek 5.

Arsenal’s fixture list (nor, SUN, avl, MCI, sot, BOU) remains reasonable over the coming period, but the match-ups against Man City and Southampton do limit the prospects of the 5.6-priced Petr Cech. Francis Coquelin’s absence in front of the back four may also dent the Gunners’ clean sheet prospects.

One keeper who does drop down a few places this week is Chelsea’s Asmir Begovic, with Thibaut Courtois already back in training for the Blues. The fact that the champions face difficult trips to Tottenham and Leicester in the next three means the 5.0-valued Begovic appears unlikely to yield many more points before finding himself back on the bench.

Boaz Myhill stays in our thoughts with West Brom’s tough run of fixtures coming to an end from Gameweek 17 onwards (BOU, swa, NEW), while Southampton’s Maarten Stekelenburg has two reasonable match-ups (AVL, cpl) over the next three weeks.

Everton’s Tim Howard collected his first clean sheet in seven matches in the 4-0 success against Aston Villa, and should continue to be a solid option given the Toffees remain in the middle of a kind run of fixtures (bou, CPL, nor, LEI, new, STO), while the upside of two plum fixtures against Swansea and Sunderland for Man City’s Joe Hart is somewhat balanced out by the lacklustre defensive performance in the shock 4-1 home defeat to Liverpool.

DEFENDERS

With Klopp keen for his full-backs to raid forward at every opportunity, allied to the aforementioned favourable run of fixtures, Alberto Moreno jumps to the top of our defender rankings this week. The 4.9-rated left-back has put in 27 crosses over the last four Gameweeks, second among defenders, and has also registered four goal attempts. With the Reds scoring eight goals in their last three matches, the former Sevilla defender looks capable of providing returns at both ends of the pitch over the coming period.

It’s favourable fixtures that also lead us to promote Tottenham’s Eric Dier (5.2) up to second spot. Mauricio Pochettino’s men face plum home match-ups against Newcastle and Norwich over the coming weeks, and with the England international playing in midfield for the north London side, he should find himself in situations to add to the two goals he’s already scored this season.

Arsenal’s Hector Bellerin drops a couple of places mainly due to the concerns that the Gunners will be more vulnerable at the back due to Coquelin’s absence. The French midfielder offers invaluable protection to the back four, and while the 5.9-priced right-back still boasts strong attacking potential, defensive points over the coming period could be harder to come by.

Following his 10-point haul in the 4-0 victory against Aston Villa, Everton’s Seamus Coleman is a big climber this week. The Toffees also face five favourable fixtures in the next six, so the Republic of Ireland international looks worth some consideration as a premium defender. It is a slight concern, given his 5.9 price tag in FPL, that he’s only created two chances in his last four outings, though, with one of those leading to the assist against Villa.

While David de Gea offers the best value in the Man United backline, Chris Smalling still holds reasonable appeal as the only “nailed on” member in defence. The 6.7-valued centre-back also has a decent set-piece threat, with three efforts from inside the box over the last four Gameweeks, while he has picked up an impressive nine bonus points so far.

Man City’s Nicolas Otamendi (6.5) slips a few places this time around with the prospects for City’s backline not looking so bright with trips to Arsenal and Leicester in the next six. The former Valencia centre-back was dropped to the bench against Liverpool but with Vincent Kompany still injured, it’s debatable whether Manuel Pellegrini will make the same mistake again.

We’ve opted for Kurt Zouma as our Chelsea option at the back, with the France international looking fairly certain of his place, having started 10 of the last 11 Premier League matches. The young centre-back comes in at just 5.4 in FPL, and has a decent goal threat, as illustrated against Maccabi Tel-Aviv last night. The Blues have kept clean sheets in their last two matches in all competitions, and have plum home fixtures against Bournemouth, Sunderland and Watford on the horizon.

With Crystal Palace’s Scott Dann disappointingly delivering just a single point from a plum home fixture against Sunderland, his stock takes a slight hit this week. Palace’s upcoming schedule remains strong though, while the 5.2-rated centre-back is one of the best defenders in the league when it comes to attacking the ball in the opposition’s penalty area.

Another faller in our latest refresh is Southampton’s Virgil van Dijk, who drops by virtue of Saints’ tough fixtures (mci, AVL, cpl, TOT, ARS, whm) over the next six Gameweeks, deemed the least favourable according to our Season Ticker. The 5.6-priced Dutch international has also only registered nine penalty box touches and two goal attempts over the last four, compared to 16 penalty area touches and four goal attempts across Gameweeks 6-9.

Aaron Cresswell is a slight riser given the West Ham left-back leads all defenders for chances created (eight) over the last four Gameweeks, while he also faces favourable match-ups against West Brom, Stoke and Aston Villa in the next five.

Newcastle’s Daryl Janmaat remains in our thoughts given he holds a reasonable attacking threat and shouldn’t be prone to any rotation over the festive period, although the Magpies upcoming schedule (cpl, LIV, tot, AVL, EVE, wba) is mixed.

Two new faces on our ladder this week are Leicester’s Danny Simpson and Stoke’s Philipp Wollscheid. The Foxes right-back has started the last six league matches, and comes in at a bargain price of 4.0 in FPL. He also bagged an assist and bonus point in Leicester’s 3-0 win at Newcastle last time out. Likewise, Wollscheid has established himself as a regular starter for the Potters, and has racked up five bonus points during this impressive recent run of clean sheets for Mark Hughes’ side. The German only sets us back 4.4 in FPL.

As previously touched upon, West Brom’s difficult run of fixtures will shortly be coming to an end, so Craig Dawson remains in our thoughts, with Tony Pulis’ side always capable of managing a surprise clean sheet, even against difficult opponents such as West Ham, Tottenham and Liverpool over the next three Gameweeks.