The Watchlist Updated – Midfielders

After assessing the updated Watchlist rankings for Goalkeepers and Defenders, we now focus our attentions on the candidates in midfield – arguably the most crucial area of our squads at this present time.

Our current reckoning can be found in your sidebar on desktop, or via your slide-in menu on mobile or tablet.

They give an idea of our thoughts behind player selection for each position, listing the factors that are contributing to the given rank.

Raheem Sterling climbs to the top of our midfield ladder as a result of the groin injury that forced Mohamed Salah to miss his first match of the season last time out.

If it wasn’t for the Liverpool attacker’s relentless form, Sterling (8.9) has a case for being there on merit – last Tuesday’s opener at home to Watford means he now has five goals and three assists from his previous four starts.

With Gabriel Jesus sidelined for at least a month, Sterling’s eye for goal will surely prove vital as Man City prepare for three plum home matches (NEW WBA LEI) in the next five.

While that could persuade some to double up on their midfield with Kevin De Bruyne, the schedule isn’t all plain sailing for Pep Guardiola’s side. Indeed, over the upcoming seven rounds of matches, they face trips to Liverpool, Burnley and Arsenal in addition to a home clash against Chelsea in Gameweek 29.

Priced at 10.2, De Bruyne remains our second favoured City midfield asset, with Leroy Sane proving erratic and David Silva’s pitch-time still in question.

Having recovered from Jason Puncheon’s challenge, De Bruyne’s pair of assists in the Hornets’ win took him to 11 for the season – more than any other player.

Yet his close-range threat fares poorly against Sterling – he’s managed just nine efforts in the box compared with his team-mate’s 41.

Salah, meanwhile, is expected to recover in time to face Sterling and co at Anfield in Gameweek 23.

That’s one of two tough home clashes for Jurgen Klopp’s side, with Spurs also paying visit in Gameweek 26.

Unlike Man City, though, the rest of the Reds’ schedule looks far more promising – trips to Swansea, Huddersfield and Southampton are supplemented by home encounters with West Ham and Newcastle between now and Gameweek 29.

With a goal or assist in 12 of his last 13 league outings, Salah – at a cost of 10.1 – will likely return to the top of our rankings if passed fit for Gameweek 23, though we will also have to assess the impact of Philippe Coutinho’s recent departure.

Jesse Lingard is our preferred mid-price option, climbing as high as third in our latest refresh.

A strike in the midweek win over Everton and Friday’s FA Cup effort against Derby maintained an outstanding run of winter form.

Indeed, over the last nine Gameweeks, he’s matched Salah for both goals (seven) and efforts on target (13) – on both counts, only Harry Kane (nine and 19) has bettered the Man United midfielder.

Having started all but one of those fixtures, Lingard, at a cost of just 6.3, has earned more transfers in than any FPL midfield option ahead of a Gameweek 23 home match with struggling Stoke.

United’s schedule over the next six is somewhat mixed, though – while they also host Huddersfield and travel to Newcastle, Jose Mourinho’s men face visits to Burnley and Spurs and a home encounter with Chelsea. The latter two matches, in particular, could prompt a more cautious approach from Mourinho, which may shackle Lingard’s output.

Back in a central support role against Arsenal, Eden Hazard (10.7) fired more shots in the box (six) than any single Gameweek player last time out.

Having returned to the scoresheet for the first time since Gameweek 15 thanks to his Emirates spot-kick, the Belgian appears to be a stronger option than the out-of-sorts Alvaro Morata ahead Chelsea’s favourable short-term schedule (LEI bha BOU wat WBA). However, given the competition and mid-price options currently available in midfield compared with the scarcity of alternatives in attack, Hazard may struggle to boost his modest 8.2% ownership just yet.

The Belgian has been brought in by just over 20,000 managers ahead of Gameweek 23 so far, while Morata has been acquired by 45,000. However, Hazard’s injury doubt is surely a factor in those figures and uncertainty on that should be cleared up ahead of Wednesday’s EFL Cup tie.

The top scoring FPL player of 2015/16, Riyad Mahrez (8.6) is second only to Lingard for transfers in for Gameweek 23.

The Algerian has produced attacking returns in eight of his last nine league outings to climb into fourth spot among FPL midfielders.

Although he faces trips to Chelsea and Man City in the next five, the Leicester winger has four enticing home matches (WAT SWA STK BOU) in the next seven to maintain his current trajectory.

Having started each of Spurs’ last eight league matches, Son Heung-min (8.1) now seems to be established as a regular under Mauricio Pochettino.

During that period, the South Korean has racked up five goals, four assists and 62 points, with last week’s equaliser vindicating the decision of 498,000 FPL managers to draft him in for double Gameweek 22.

Still markedly cheaper than midfield team-mates Christian Eriksen (9.3) and Deli Alli (9.0), Son now entertains Everton and visits Southampton before a trio testing fixtures (MUN liv ARS) may force a re-assessment, particularly for those also holding Harry Kane.

If he shrugs off a minor hamstring complaint, Marko Arnautovic can benefit from a run of six favourable matches (hud BOU CRY bha WAT swa) in the next seven that look vital to West Ham’s chances of achieving mid-table safety.

Snapped up by 368,000+ for Gameweek 22, the Austrian frustratingly missed the second match of the Hammers’ double. Yet, having served up five goals and an assist in his last six appearances thanks to a lone striker role, many of his 8% owners may well choose to hold if he’s passed fit to face Huddersfield this weekend.

Both Richarlison and Wilfried Zaha remain on the radar at this time, despite slipping behind mid-price rivals Lingard and Arnautovic in recent Gameweeks.

Zaha is undoubtedly Crystal Palace’s key weapon as they attempt to scramble free of the relegation spots, though a single goal in his last ten Gameweeks is a poor record for a player deployed mainly as a central striker, pushed up in support of Christian Benteke. Zaha has produced three assists over that run but fixtures with Burnley (h), Arsenal (a) and Everton (a) will test his influence, and that is followed by an evil treble against Spurs (h), Man United (h) and Chelsea (a) from Gameweek 28.

Richalison’s form for Watford is arguably more disappointing, having produced just four assists from his previous ten Gameweeks. That’s a considerable decline following five goals and four assists from his opening twelve. But, like Zaha, Richarlison is a vital component of his side’s attack and promises a return to form if the Hornets can recover from a recent slump. Southampton (h), Leicester (a) and Stoke (a) now follow for the Brazilian, with his remaining 15.6% ownership surely hopeful of a revival over that spell.

The upcoming fixtures afford Pascal Gross and Xherdan Shaqiri the chance to stake a claim in the mid-price bracket after both suffered alarming dips in form and points output.

Costing 5.9, Gross has just one goal in the last ten Gameweeks, yet is still ranked within the top 10 FPL midfielders on 101 points.

Having been involved in 53% of Brighton’s goals when on the pitch, he could return to prominence due to five kind fixtures (wba sot WHU stk SWA) in the next six. Indeed, Gross has recorded more key passes (14) than any player in the last four Gameweeks.

Meanwhile, Shaqiri (6.0) has mustered just a single goal in his last eight outings after a run of three goals and five assists in Stoke’s first 13 matches.

Like Gross, though, the playmaker’s contribution looks crucial to his side’s prospects. Shaqiri has been involved in 46% of the Potters’ strikes and faces a very kind (HUD WAT bou BHA lei sot) once a Gameweek 23 trip to Old Trafford has passed.

Alexis Sanchez also cannot be ruled out as a premium option in light of Arsenal’s next four (bou CRY swa EVE).

Sanchez has delivered a goal or assist in seven of his last 11 appearances but with a prohibitive price tag of 11.8, remains largely overlooked and sits in just 2% of squads.

It’s a sign of his improvement, though, that Sanchez’s tally of 16 shots on target from Gameweek 12 onwards is on a par with Hazard and bettered only by Kane (24) and Salah (17).

Nonetheless, for some, it may require a January switch to Man City to spark our interest.