The Watchlist Updated – Gameweek 21 – The Midfield

The second instalment of this week’s Watchlist articles sees us focus on the risers and fallers among the midfielders. Tottenham’s Dele Alli is the major climber towards the top after impressing once again in the 1-1 draw against Everton, while Chelsea’s Oscar is also on the rise on the back of a 14-point showing against Palace.

There is no change at the top this week, with Arsenal’s Mesut Ozil (10.0) still leading the way. The Germany international will have disappointed the many Fantasy bosses that placed the captain’s armband on him last time out against Newcastle, but, along with Kevin de Bruyne, leads the way for chances created (18) over the last four Gameweeks. Meanwhile, the Gunners upcoming fixture list (liv, sto, CHE, SOT, bou, LEI) is still reasonable enough for Ozil to maintain his outstanding season.

The 10.9-priced Kevin de Bruyne still boasts impressive underlying statistics and remains in second spot. The City midfielder has also managed significantly more penalty box touches in his last four outings (20) than between Gameweeks 13 and 16 (seven), and given all four of his double-digit scores this season have come at the Etihad, he looks a great option with four home fixtures (EVE, CPL, whm, sun, LEI, TOT) in the next six.

Having blanked in his last three matches, Leicester’s Riyad Mahrez slips down to third place in our rankings. The Algeria international has also only managed four shots from inside the box over as many Gameweeks, three of which were penalties. Claudio Ranieri’s side also face a fairly tricky run of fixtures (tot, avl, STO, LIV, mci, ars) over the next month or so, but while we may well see less double-figure scores from the 7.2-valued midfielder, Mahrez still offers fantastic value given his production so far this season.

The big mover in our latest update is Tottenham’s Dele Alli, who has scored three goals and registered two assists in his last six appearances. The England international is the third most transferred in player so far this week with 74,000+ new owners, seeing his price rise to 5.4 in FPL. That still represents sensational value, though, particularly bearing in mind Spurs’ next five matches (LEI, SUN, cpl, nor, WAT). The former MK Dons man is also second among midfielder for total goal attempts (13) over the past four Gameweeks, while he’s also created a reasonable seven chances over the same period.

Another man who is threatening to break up the template midfield is Stoke’s Marko Arnautovic, who continues his ascent up our ladder. The Austrian’s ownership has shot up to 20% in FPL on the back of double-digit scores against Man City and Everton, with the former Inter Milan attacker now setting us back 6.7. He lies joint-second among midfielders for penalty box touches over the last four Gameweeks with 20, while he’s also managed 10 goal attempts (five from inside the box) over the same period. The Potters do face difficult matches against Arsenal, Leicester and Man United following the home clash against Norwich on Wednesday, though.

Everton’s Ross Barkley is a non-mover this week, with the England man always likely to be in the mix for attacking points given Roberto Martinez’ men have scored an impressive 23 goals in their last 10 matches. Tough away trips to Man City and Chelsea next week do dent the 7.5-valued midfielder’s short-term appeal, but a reasonable run of fixtures thereafter (SWA, NEW, sto, WBA) mean his 41% ownership in FPL will likely hold for the time being.

One of the big debating points over the last few days has been whether we are starting to see the “real” Chelsea again. The Blues were hugely impressive in their 3-0 win against Crystal Palace, with Oscar the star of the show, thanks to a goal, assist and maximum bonus. The Brazilian is a major riser on the Watchlist this week, then, and with favourable home match-ups against West Brom and Everton over the next two Gameweeks, the 8.2-rated midfielder looks primed for further attacking points – he earns the nod over team-mate Willian due to the fact that he was handed spot-kick duties in the 3-1 win over Sunderland, despite the fact that Eden Hazard was on the park.

Swansea’s upcoming schedule (SUN, WAT, eve, wba, CPL, SOT), deemed the most favourable according to our Season Ticker, means we’ve moved Gylfi Sigurdsson up a few positions on our ladder. The Icelandic international has been afforded a new lease of life since the departure of Garry Monk – over the last five Gameweeks, he sits third for goal attempts (16) amongst midfielders and top for efforts on target (eight), with a goal against United last week indicative of his improvement.

After getting 30 minutes under his belt in West Ham’s 2-0 win over Liverpool after recovering from an ankle injury, we’ve wasted no time in inserting Dimitri Payet back onto the Watchlist. The France international was one of the most consistent performers during the opening months of the season, picking up attacking returns in eight of the first 10 Gameweeks, and, providing the 7.7-valued midfielder comes through unscathed in the Hammers FA Cup tie against Wolves on Saturday, looks a real differential candidate with his current ownership in FPL standing at 8%. West Ham’s kind fixture list over the coming period (bou, new, MCI, AVL, sot, nor) further enhance his claims for a place in our five-man midfields.

With Bournemouth facing home encounters against West Ham and Norwich over the next two Gameweeks, Junior Stanislas creeps up a couple of places on our ladder. The wide man has blanked in his last four outings, but has managed a reasonable eight goals attempts over that period, with five from inside the box. Setting us back just 4.2 in FPL, the former West Ham player looks a solid budget option, with the rest of the Cherries fixtures over the next month or so (sun, cpl, ARS, STO) fairly decent. The likely arrival of Juan Iturbe on loan from Roma is worth keeping an eye on, though, with the Argentine versatile enough to offer Eddie Howe an option on both flanks, should his work permit come through.

Newcastle’s Georginio Wijnaldum is another who is out of form at the moment, having failed to register attacking returns in his last five appearances. The Dutchman holds station just below halfway up our rankings, with home fixtures against Man United and West Ham up next, with those matches holding some appeal given all of his seven goals this season have come at St James’ Park. The 6.9-rated midfielder was also stationed in the number ten role against Arsenal last time out, and, should Steve McClaren keep him in that position, the omens look good, given he registered four shots from inside the box against the Gunners.

The stock of Aaron Ramsey and Theo Walcott takes a hit this week, with Arsenal’s next three fixtures (liv, sto, CHE) pretty unfavourable. The pair also failed to deliver any attacking points in favourable match-ups against Southampton, Bournemouth and Newcastle, and while both players racked up a decent six shots from inside the box over the last four Gameweeks, the desire to double up on Arsenal attacking assets looks to be over for the time being, with the better fixtures against Southampton, Bournemouth and Leicester in February perhaps not kind enough to remain patient in the short-term.

Back after serving a one-match suspension, Yohan Cabaye returns towards the tail end of our refresh. The Palace spot-kick taker is now down to 6.5 in FPL but has already accrued five goals, an assist and 13 bonus points ahead of a schedule that pits him against Villa, Bournemouth, Swansea and Watford in the next six.

Christian Eriksen is another who has struggled to produce the goods over the last month or so, bagging just a single assist over the last seven Gameweeks. The Denmark international, now priced at 8.4 in FPL, just about keeps his spot in our rankings with Spurs facing those favourable home matches against Sunderland and, to a slightly lesser extent Leicester in the next two, but it would be understandable if Eriksen’s 5% ownership decide to ditch the former Ajax man either this week or in the near future.