The Stock Check – Gameweek 22 – Sunday

Diego Costa returns to the Chelsea starting line-up with a goal as Eden Hazard’s toils continue. Alexis Sanchez leaves it late against Burnley, and Southampton’s differential midfielders are in the goals against a lacklustre Leicester City.

On The Rise

Diego Costa
Returning to the starting line-up after recovering from a back problem, the Spain international was quick to resume his outstanding season by grabbing the opener at home to Hull City.

Among the top ten Fantasy Premier League captains for Gameweek 22, only Costa and Alexis Sanchez managed to find the net, as the former maintained the remarkable levels of consistency that have now served up points in 16 of 20 league appearances under Antonio Conte.

Sold by more than 298,000 FPL managers ahead of the weekend, Costa has dropped from 11.0 in Gameweek 17 to 10.3 as a result of those injury doubts but today’s heroics, allied with another poor showing from Eden Hazard, is likely to spark significant interest ahead of Gameweek 23.

Gary Cahill
A third goal of the season, supplemented by Chelsea’s twelfth clean sheet in 16 Gameweeks since moving to a 3-4-3 formation, saw the centre-half climb above team-mate Marcos Alonso to the top of the FPL defender standings.

Granted, Alonso’s failure to start a match until Gameweek 7 is a major factor here – with a goal, assist or clean sheet in 14 of his 16 starts, the summer signing remains top for points per match (6.5) for defenders.

However, Cahill’s eye for goal suggests that he may be a better option than Cesar Azpilicueta for those looking to double up on Conte’s resilient rearguard. The Spaniard has yet to find the net this season and has received just one bonus point in the last three matches that have featured a Blues shut-out.

Mesut Ozil
The playmaker’s improved creative output continued earlier today as he teed up Shkodran Mustafi for Arsenal’s opener against Burnley.

Having accumulated a massive 19 assists in the previous campaign, Ozil had struggled for form over the opening few months and mustered just three assists in the opening 17 Gameweeks.

Today’s output means that the German international now supplied an assist in each of his last three Premier League appearances and with Watford, Hull City and Leicester City paying visit in the next six, Ozil remains a Gunners differential with just 7.2% ownership.

Alexis Sanchez
Having fired 17 attempts on goal in his previous two home outings with Olivier Giroud leading the line, there was no real surprise to see Sanchez lead this week’s Captain Poll.

With both Giroud and Ozil subbed off towards the end, the Chilean was somewhat fortunate to benefit from penalty duties, stepping up to slot home a last-gasp winner.

Again, Sanchez offered a significant threat throughout, firing eight efforts on goal against the Clarets. He has now scored or assisted in nine of the previous ten rounds of fixtures.

Nonetheless, today’s converted spot-kick was the first time in his last four home appearances that he has found the net – food for thought, perhaps, for his 37% FPL owners ahead of visits from Watford and Hull in the next three.

Dusan Tadic
We handed the Serbian a spot in this week’s Differentials after he fired more attempts on goal than any player in the previous round of fixtures.

Tadic’s converted spot-kick – a first goal since Gameweek 6 and only his second of the season – added to an assist against West Brom over the last four rounds of fixtures.

Having started each of the last four, Tadic looks to have strengthened his spot in Claude Puel’s first XI at a time where Charlie Austin and Sofiane Boufal remain on the sidelines through injury.

With clashes against Swansea City, West Ham, Sunderland and Watford over the next five Gameweeks, the playmaker has the fixtures to at last offer some consistency.

Jay Rodriguez, James Ward-Prowse
It’s three goals in six Gameweeks now for Rodriguez after today’s first-half effort at home to Leicester.

Back in the central striker role, the FPL midfielder served a reminder of his out of position potential in the absence of Charlie Austin as Shane Long dropped back to the bench.

Yet Puel’s penchant for rotating his first XI is likely to ensure we steer clear of Rodriguez for now. With the Saints still alive in both domestic cup competitions, the former Burnley man has started back-to-back league matches (Gameweek 17-18) just once all season.

Fellow scorer Ward-Prowse, on the other hand, has now been named in the Saints’ line-up in eight of the last ten Gameweeks.

Priced at 5.0 to Rodriguez’ 6.3, Ward-Prowse has also chipped in with two assists over that period and created more scoring chances for team-mates than any Saints player, thanks to his lion’s share of dead-ball duties.

Maya Yoshida
The Japan international has now started seven straight matches in all competitions and was even handed the armband by Puel for the midweek cup win over Norwich City.

With Jose Fonte off to West Ham and Virgil van Dijk limping off early in the second period, Yoshida’s importance to the Saints’ cause seems to be growing with every Gameweek.

This afternoon’s result was the first time in seven league matches that Southampton have kept a clean sheet with Yoshida in the first XI, yet, at a price of just 4.2, he could prove value for money if the St Mary’s side can take advantage of their schedule.

Andre Gray, Ashley Barnes
In spite of a dire away record that had harvested three goals in their first nine away matches, Sean Dyche kept faith with a front two once again for the Emirates encounter.

Coming in a 6.2 in FPL, Gray’s converted penalty took his tally to five goals in as many matches for the Clarets, highlighting his value for money in a weekend where the similarly-priced Andy Carroll and Fernando Llorente bagged a brace apiece.

Barnes, meanwhile, has now started six successive league matches and has produced two goals and as many assists over that period.

At a price of 4.5, he’s now challenging the likes of Peter Crouch as the budget forward of choice as the Lancashire side prepare to face Leicester, Watford, Hull and Swansea in the next five Gameweeks.

In Decline

Eden Hazard
The Chelsea winger went into this afternoon’s match as the fifth most-captained player in the Gameweek, with 7.6% of managers handing him the armband.

Once again, he disappointed. A blank at home to Hull means that Hazard has scored just two goals and as many assists in the last 11 Gameweeks, with only one of those strikes arriving from open play.

Compare that to the form that served up seven goals and three assists in the opening 11 rounds of fixtures and it’s easy to see why he’s the second most transferred out midfielder in the Gameweek.

Hector Bellerin
Having returned from training earlier in the week, Arsene Wenger suggested that the right-back “should” be available for the visit of Burnley.

While Mustafi and Laurent Koscielny atoned for a lack of defensive returns with a goal and assist respectively, Bellerin was surprisingly consigned to bench-warming duties as Gabriel retained the right-back berth.

It’s likely that Wenger was simply showing caution with the Spaniard’s fitness after a recurrence of his ankle injury, yet at a price of 6.5, his 15.9% owners will be in two minds whether to hold, given the output of premium alternatives available at Chelsea, Spurs and now Everton.