The Watchlist Updated – Gameweek 27 – The Midfield

After rolling out our recommended Defensive options over the next four Gameweeks, we now turn our attentions to the centre of the park. Leicester’s Riyad Mahrez and Tottenham’s Dele Alli remain our stand-out options, and with a number of sides facing blanks over the short-term, our faith in Swansea’s Gylfi Sigurdsson and Stoke’s Marko Arnautovic is on the rise.

With Leicester facing three favourable home fixtures over the next four Gameweeks (NOR, WBA, wat, NEW), it will come as little surprise to see Riyad Mahrez at the summit once again. The Algerian, currently valued at 7.2 in Fantasy Premier League (FPL), has one goal and three assists in his last four outings, and has to be backed to pick up further attacking returns given the level of upcoming opposition. The former Le Havre midfielder is currently third in this week’s Captain Poll with 14% of the vote ahead of Saturday’s home encounter with Norwich, who have conceded 18 goals in their last six matches.

Although Tottenham’s fixture list (SWA, whm, ARS, avl, BOU, liv) isn’t quite as favourable over the coming period, Dele Alli still looks primed to continue the great form that has seen him rack up two goals and three assists over the last four Gameweeks. The matches against Swansea, Aston Villa and Bournemouth should certainly provide the England midfielder with plenty of opportunities to garner further attacking points, and with the likes of Everton’s Ross Barkley and Liverpool’s Roberto Firmino both facing two blanks over the next four Gameweeks, the 6.1-priced midfielder’s ownership (31%) can be expected to grow. Today’s news that Mousa Dembele is ruled out for 10-14 days is a concern for Alli’s owners, though, with the possibility that he could drop into the double-pivot to cover the Belgian’s absence.

Swansea’s Gylfi Sigurdsson is another who could attract some investment for those looking for a new midfielder over the next few weeks, and the Iceland international is a big mover up our ladder ahead of three favourable matches in March (NOR, bou, AVL). Difficult fixtures away to Tottenham and Arsenal do precede that run, though, so Fantasy managers may look to wait until then before they look to bring in the 7.1-valued playmaker. The former Spurs man lies second among midfielders for total goal attempts (14) over the last four Gameweeks, and has also created a reasonable nine chances over the same period. With a current ownership of just 4% in FPL, he could prove to be a worthy differential candidate over the next month.

While West Ham’s Dimitri Payet did return to form last time out in the 2-2 draw at Norwich, bagging a goal and an assist in a 13-point haul, the Frenchman does fall slightly down the Watchlist due to the Hammers fixture list (SUN, TOT, eve, blank, che, CPL) over the next six Gameweeks. Those difficult fixtures against Tottenham and Chelsea, along with the Gameweek 30 blank means many FPL bosses may consider transferring out the former Marseille playmaker following Saturday’s plum home match-up against Sunderland. Given his mightily impressive performance against Blackburn in the FA Cup on Sunday, though, where he scored twice and provided an assist, getting rid of the 8.3-rated midfielder could be a hard move to pull the trigger on should he continue his outstanding form against the Black Cats. Payet is currently second in this week’s Captain Poll with 21% of the votes, although it is worth noting three of his four double-digit hauls this season have come away from Upton Park.

It’s Stoke’s next two fixtures (AVL, NEW) that has led us to promote Marko Arnautovic up the Watchlist in our latest update. The Austrian is expected to recover from the illness that forced him to miss the Potters’ 3-1 win at Bournemouth last time out in time to host Villa on Saturday. Now priced at just 6.3 in FPL, and with seven goals and four assists to his name so far this season, there’s little doubt that Arnautovic – who has averaged 4.7 points per appearance this season – could be hugely influential over the next two Gameweeks.

Christian Eriksen has quietly racked up 123 points in FPL so far this term, ranking him the fourth highest scoring midfielder in the game. With three goals and five assists over his last five appearances, the Dane continues his ascent up our rankings ahead of those afore-mentioned matches against Swansea, Aston Villa and Bournemouth. The former Ajax playmaker leads all midfielders for chances created (21) over the last four Gameweeks, while he’s also registered 13 goal attempts (three from inside the box). Available at 8.6 in FPL, he’s really emerged as a viable alternative to Alli or Harry Kane for Spurs attacking coverage – all the more so after today’s news on Dembele, with Eriksen favourite to be shifted into the central support berth if Alli drops deep to cover.

Although Arsenal’s Mesut Ozil has returned to form over the last two Gameweeks with a goal, assist and five bonus points, the German international is a non-mover this time around with the Gunners facing two difficult matches (mun, tot) over the next three Gameweeks. Home clashes against Swansea, West Brom and Watford over the coming period are pretty favourable, though, so the majority of the 9.9-priced midfielder’s 49% ownership in FPL will likely keep faith as the best way to cover the Arsenal attack. That Baggies clash could yet be postponed, though, if the Gunners triumph in their FA Cup replay with Hull.

Chelsea’s Willian also holds station in our rankings this week, with his form shown in the 5-1 win against Newcastle, picking up a goal and an assist, somewhat offset by the fact he faces a blank in Gameweek 30. The rest of the champions’ schedule over the next six (sot, nor, STO, blank, WHM, avl) is fairly kind though, so the 7.1-valued Brazilian remains a solid option for our five-man midfields.