Lukaku’s explosion, Hazard’s solo brilliance and the continued resilience shown by Hull City’s backline claim the headlines in Saturday’s stock check.
On the Rise
Romelu Lukaku
A four-goal blast delivered Lukaku’s 1.1 million owners a bumper 21 point return – the top individual score by any striker this season.
Seven goals in his last seven Gameweeks, or nine in his last ten – however you approach his current record, Lukaku is comparable to any other striker on show, including Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Diego Costa.
And yet, at just 9.7, he is far cheaper and has more favourable fixtures, including a guaranteed home encounter with West Brom in Gameweek 28.
Quite simply, to overlook Lukaku at this time would surely be folly, regardless of having missed Saturday’s blitz of the Bournemouth defence.
Ross Barkley
The midfielder’s goal and assist return in the Bournemouth rout took Barkley to two goals and five assists over his last eight Gameweek starts.
His underlying numbers during that spell place him in the top ten for both goal attempts and chances created, highlighting his emergence as a Fantasy consideration ahead of Everton’s continued run of favourable opponents, including that Gameweek 28 fixture.
With both Kevin Mirallas and Tom Davies benched against the Cherries, Barkley is now the clear stand-out asset for those considering Ronald Koeman’s midfield.
Ademola Lookman
While Barkley appears the more assured pick, Koeman’s decision to hand Lookman his first start dangles an intriguing alternative.
The 19-year-old impressed in his 71-minute appearance, fizzing in a pair of penalty area attempts and linking well with Lukaku throughout.
Priced at 5.4 and classified as a midfielder, it remains to be seen if Lookman can cement his starting role and offer us a midfield differential.
Josh King
A silver lining for Bournemouth among the wreckage of the Goodison Park thrashing, Josh King took his opportunity to claim the central striker role.
Preferred to Benik Afobe in the absence of the stricken Callum Wilson, King struck a second half brace to briefly edge the Cherries back into Saturday’s contest.
Classified as a 5.3 midfielder, King must now be a consideration if we can be convinced that he will maintain regular starts in Eddie Howe’s line-up.
Bournemouth are one of the six sides to offer an assured Gameweek 28 fixture, facing West Ham at the Vitality Stadium.
Eden Hazard
A spectacular solo goal dominated the Belgian’s performance in the 3-1 win over Arsenal, but Hazard’s all-round display offered even further indication of a revival.
His confidence seemed restored, his willingness to take on defenders re-invigorated. Significantly, he completed all ten of his attempted dribbles, while in his previous three Gameweek outings he’d tried just an average of 3.3 per match, succeeding with just 1.3.
The Belgian’s last shot on goal prior to Saturday’s display was back in the Gameweek 20 defeat to Spurs. But Hazard had two penalty area efforts against the Gunners and mustered seven touches in the box, doubling his average from the previous three matches.
While Chelsea and Hazard make a testing trip to Burnley next, the fixtures to follow are among the kindest of any Premier League side.
Swansea City, Watford and Crystal Palace are the next three scheduled opponents at Stamford Bridge, although Chelsea’s progress in the FA Cup would knock out that clash with the Hornets.
Even so, Hazard’s performance on Saturday offered food for thought. Despite his recent malaise, he is second only to Alexis Sanchez in terms of points per match offered (7.0 vs 6.3) and yet he has been sold by over 300,000 FPL managers since Gameweek 19.
Eldin Jakupovic, Harry Maguire
A recall to the Hull City starting line-up, coupled with a clear renaissance under Marco Silva, has suddenly elevated Jakupovic the top target in goal.
Back-to-back clean sheets against Manchester United and Liverpool provide ample evidence of a new level of resilience, which bodes well ahead of some hugely favourable fixtures to come. Burnley, Swansea City and West Ham are the next three opponents at the KCOM Stadium.
Still priced at 4.0, Jakupovic is surely the choice option to cover the Gameweek 28 blanks with that fixture with the Swans.
Ahead of Jakupovic in the Tigers’ defence, Harry Maguire presents another viable target.
With ten goal attempts in the last six Gameweeks, only Chelsea’s Marcos Alonso has threatened opponents more among FPL defenders.
Priced at 4.4, Maguire is the top ranked Hull player for efforts on goal in that period, while he has also recorded more clearances, blocks and interceptions (CBI) than any other Tigers player.
Left-back Andrew Robertson, at 4.3, is another alternative in Silva’s defence but Maguire appears to be the weapon of choice.
Jermain Defoe
A stunning brace in the 4-0 thrashing of Crystal Palace dismissed concerns following successive blanks against West Brom and Spurs.
Quite simply, when Sunderland score, Defoe will almost always be a factor: incredibly, he’s scored or assisted 66% of their goals when on the pitch.
The Black Cats’ prospects remain key to the striker’s appeal, then. His ability to deliver further returns will depend on Sunderland’s ability to provide him with service against the Southampton, Everton and Manchester City defences over the next three, before a potential blank in Gameweek 28.
Lamine Kone
A colossus in the Sunderland rearguard, the Ivorian collected a second successive clean sheet and two more bonus points, taking his tally to five in his last two outings.
Always a threat at set-pieces, no defender has gathered more CBI over the last two Gameweeks.
Should we begin to consider investment in David Moyes’ defence, the 4.3 priced Kone is clearly the optimum target.
James Morrison
An unlikely differential among the West Brom midfield, Morrison claimed his fifth goal of the season, his third in the last five Gameweeks, with his winner over Stoke City.
Despite that spike in output, Morrison’s underlying numbers still struggle to compete with Matt Phillips as our preferred Baggies asset.
Even so, at just 4.6, Morrison appears to offer a value alternative once we can be assured of his starting berth.
That could still remain under threat, with Jake Livermore pushing for a regular role: he earned a full debut against the Potters thanks to Claudio Yacob’s absence through illness.
Chris Brunt
Deployed at left-back, Brunt nonetheless underlined his case as the key target among West Brom defenders by returning the maximum bonus points in the 1-0 victory over Stoke.
Brunt’s four successful crosses, with three chances created, were key to him snatching those additional points, as he continued to show promise as a creative force – even when restricted to a full-back role.
Andy Carroll
A fourth goal in as many Gameweeks highlighted Carroll’s potential to cover our forward lines over the Gameweek 28 blank, with West Ham offering a guaranteed trip to Bournemouth.
However, having been subbed on 56 minutes, it appears that Hammers manager Slaven Bilic is taking no risks with Carroll’s fitness, as concerns about the target man’s fragility remain.
Troy Deeney, M’Baye Niang
Likely to be peripheral figures while we navigate the blanks, the form of both Deeney and Niang for Watford is nonetheless noteworthy.
Deeney claimed a third goal in as many Gameweeks in the win over Burnley, with seven bonus points accrued over those three matches.
Niang also impressed on his home debut, having proved a handful in his bow at the Emirates Stadium in midweek.
Deployed on the right, his goal and assist returns, with the maximum bonus points, demonstrated the potential. Niang also fired in four goal attempts to Deeney’s two.
In Decline
Olivier Giroud
The most sold asset ahead of Gameweek 24, Giroud was ousted to the Arsenal bench, only to emerge to head home a consolation at Stamford Bridge.
While that goal provided respite for his remaining owners and offered a reminder to Arsene Wenger, Giroud’s regular role remains in question.
A start in the Gameweek 25 home meeting with Hull City would perhaps seem likely, but Wenger’s teamsheet at Chelsea indicated that the Frenchman may continue to be benched for away trips, where the pace and mobility of Sanchez and Theo Walcott are seen as the preferred attacking solution.
Junior Stanislas
While news of Calum Wilson’s injury potentially promoted Stanislas as Bournemouth’s designated penalty taker, Eddie Howe’s decision to drop the winger at Everton provided a severe dent to his stock.
It remains to be seen if Stanislas can earn a recall for the Gameweek 25 visit of Manchester City but with Josh King flourishing in the central striker role, there is now a clear and arguably stronger alternative in the same bracket.
Adam Smith
Another disappointment in the Cherries’ ranks, the raiding full-back was elevated in our thinking as a result of Charlie Daniels’ absence through injury, only for Smith to also miss out at Goodison with a knock.
Like Stanislas, we wait on Howe’s teamsheet ahead of the City visit to reassess matters. However, given Bournemouth’s current defensive form, investment in Smith, even with a Gameweek 28 fixture assured, looks highly questionable.
Mason Holgate
Hooked at Stoke City in midweek and then dropped to the bench against Bournemouth, Holgate’s potential as budget cover of the Everton defence now looks severely limited.
Clearly, Koeman is not settled on deploying a 3-5-2 setup, resulting in Holgate suffering regular rotation and perhaps ultilised mainly in away matches.
Tom Davies
Another dropped to the Everton bench by Koeman. Despite his recent form and the fact that Idrissa Gueye failed to make a return to the teamsheet, Davies found himself benched with James McCarthy and Morgan Schneiderlin preferred in the middle of the park.
The prospect of Daives offering us assured cover of the Gameweek 28 fixture with West Brom now looks very slim.
Peter Crouch
Replaced before the hour-mark in the defeat to West Brom, Crouch made way for Saido Berahino to earn his debut against his former club.
Despite recent form, the fear is that Crouch may now struggle to maintain a starting role under the challenge from the new signing, with manager Mark Hughes perhaps unlikely to deploy a two-man attack.
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