The Watchlist – Ibrahimovic Suffers From Rashford Rise

Zlatan Ibrahimovic drops out of our Watchlist top three for strikers for the first time this season, with Saturday’s blank providing just one factor behind the slip.

Although the Swede impressed in Manchester United’s 4-1 dismantling of champions Leicester City, Ibrahimovic emerged without returns and watched on while Marcus Rashford notched his third goal of the season in as many Premier League starts.

With Manchester City’s Sergio Aguero confirming his status as the top target for our forward lines with a brace at Swansea City, there were clear signs that Ibrahimovic’s burgeoning ownership was on the move.

At the time of writing, he’s suffered over 65,000 sales and endured yet another price drop to 11.6 having scaled the heights of 11.9 just a fortnight ago.

Inevitably, Aguero is receiving that traffic. The top transfer target overnight, the Argentine is now owned by 35% of FPL managers, with Ibrahimovic dropping to 56%. We will likely see that gap narrow by the week from this point on.

Rashford is also a factor. The 19-year-old enjoyed a price rise to 6.9 overnight having ranked second to Aguero for transfers in.

The potential value he offers can be a makeweight for the Aguero move, while also providing assurance of some cover of Manchester United’s attack ahead of their plum Gameweek 7 tie with Stoke City at Old Trafford.

Rashford climbs in our Watchlist rankings, though doubts remain about his minutes and his role.

Jose Mourinho deployed Rashford on the left flank against the Foxes, charging him with cutting inside and beyond Ibrahimovic when the Swede retreated deeper.

Wayne Rooney may have been ousted to the bench but he will doubtless remain a factor to offer rotation options, and that has us retain Ibrahimovic as the primary source of goals and points in United’s attack for now.

Another name has superseded the both Rashford and Ibrahimovic as Watford’s Troy Deeney climbs into our top three.

In action at Burnley on Monday night, we’re pre-empting another impressive display from Walter Mazzarri’s men, with Deeney a central figure.

He goes into the Turf Moor encounter off the back of two goals in consecutive matches and, crucially, has the fixtures over the next five Gameweeks to further his reputation as a valuable Fantasy asset in the third striker slot.

Jermain Defoe’s brace in Sunderland’s defeat to Crystal Palace also keeps him bubbling as an alternative.

Now level on points with Ibrahimovic, he has already delivered exceptional value and remains the focal point of the Black Cats’ attack with West Brom and Stoke City up next.

Chelsea’s Diego Costa suffers a significant drop in Watchlist rank following his blank and fourth booking of the season at Arsenal. The Spaniard is now just a single yellow card from a one-match ban and has a tough schedule of opponents looming.

Tottenham Hotspur’s Vincent Janssen makes a first appearance in our thinking having registered an assist in Saturday’s win at Middlesbrough, although with the fixtures stiffening for Mauricio Pochettino’s men, we’re showing early caution before boasting the Dutchman’s stock considerably.

The form of Son Heung-min is also a variable to consider.

The South Korean takes his place in our midfield Watchlist having relieved Erik Lamela as our choice candidate from the Spurs ranks.

But Son is amongst a competitive field, bolstered by no less than four Liverpool candidates who continue to jostle for position in our affections.

We go on struggling to pin down the key weapon in Jurgen Klopp’s midfield armoury and, right now, have chosen to show faith with Roberto Firmino, despite a bitterly disappointing blank in yesterday’s 5-1 rout of Hull City.

The suspicion is that the goals, assists and points will be continued to be shared out across the Reds’ midfield, with each taking turns to come to the fore or miss out.

However, Firmino has now blanked in three of five starts and is lagging behind his team-mates for FPL returns.

The Gameweek 7 trip to Swansea will give us yet more data to go on and perhaps see a clear candidate emerge.

For now, the Liverpool pack are firmly in our thoughts but left trailing the likes of Raheem Sterling, Michail Antonio and Arsenal’s Alexis Sanchez who all have form and/or fixtures in their favour.

Kevin De Bruyne is a notable omission – his hamstring injury sustained at Swansea was confirmed by Pep Guardiola post-match, forcing us to put his prospects on ice for the time being.

The Watchlist rankings for all positions have been revised this morning and are available in the sidebar or via the fourth button on the homepage on mobile.