The Watchlist Updated – Gameweek 6 – The Midfielders

After taking a look at the changes among the goalkeepers and defenders on our Watchlist rankings, which offer player recommendations for the next four-to-six rounds of fixtures, our attention turns to the midfielders. Everton’s Ross Barkley is back on our radars as he continues to confound the Toffees’ difficult schedule, whilst Dimitri Payet is also on the rise after benefitting from a change in formation.

On the back of his 11-point haul against Aston Villa, Leicester’s Riyad Mahrez tops our ladder. The Leicester midfielder now has four goals and two assists to his name this season, seeing his price rise to 6.2 in Fantasy Premier League (FPL). With the Foxes upcoming schedule (sto, ARS, nor, sot, CPL, wba) fairly reasonable, there’s no reason that Mahrez can’t continue to rack up the points for his vast 43% ownership, given that he lies joint-third among midfielders for shots inside the box with 10, while also creating 12 chances.

David Silva moves back up to second in our rankings after returning against Juventus on Tuesday night. Manchester City face four plum home fixtures (WHM, tot, NEW, BOU, mun, NOR) over the next six Gameweeks in which the 10.2-priced schemer should add to his four assists racked up already this season. The threat of possible rotation is a slight concern, though, with Kevin de Bruyne, Raheem Sterling, Samir Nasri and Jesus Navas all competing for three spots in Manuel Pellegrini’s favoured 4-2-3-1 formation.

Although Andre Ayew failed to produce attacking returns against Watford, he remains at the forefront of our thoughts, given his impressive form since joining Swansea this summer. The Ghana international, who now sets us back 7.3 in FPL, has scored three goals and grabbed one assist, and has some decent fixtures (EVE, sot, TOT, STO, avl, ARS) over the coming period, with the Welsh outfit playing four of the next six in front of their own fans.

There’s no doubt Alexis Sanchez is testing the patience of his 13% ownership after blanking again in Arsenal’s 2-0 win against Stoke. The statistics still heavily weigh in favour of the Chilean, having registered 21 shots from inside the box this season, nine more than his nearest challenger among midfielders. With a fairly difficult run of fixtures (che, lei, MUN, wat, EVE, swa) on the horizon, it may be time to start thinking about alternatives to the 11.0-valued winger.

West Ham’s Dimitri Payet was the star of the show in Gameweek 5, producing a huge 16-point score in the Hammers 2-0 win against Newcastle thanks to his brace and full bonus. The France international relished being given the “number ten” role as Slaven Bilic opted for a 4-2-3-1 system, and while the former Marseille man may struggle to register attacking returns against City this weekend, the schedule thereafter (NOR, sun, cpl, CHE, wat) should see the 7.6-rated midfielder attract plenty of investment.

While Yaya Toure has blanked in his last two outings, the aforementioned strength of City’s upcoming schedule means the Ivorian has to be backed to provide attacking points. Now priced at 8.9 in FPL, the former Barcelona man still represents excellent value, having registered 17 goal attempts so far this term, joint-third among midfielders. With Fabian Delph currently injured, and Fernando short of match fitness, Toure looks slightly less prone to rotation than the likes of Silva and Sterling.

After being handed the central striker role against City, Crystal Palace’s Yannick Bolasie replaces Bakary Sako as our preferred Eagles midfield option for the time being. It remains to be seen whether the 6.3-priced Bolasie can retain an advanced role, but with Connor Wickham still a doubt for the weekend trip to Tottenham, the DR Congo international may well be trusted to lead the line once again. Palace’s fixtures (wat, WBA, WHM, lei, MUN) over the coming month or so are pretty favourable, encouraging investment in Pardew’s attack.

We’ve opted for Oscar as our Chelsea midfielder of choice after Pedro was ruled out of the weekend home clash against Arsenal. The Brazilian returned from injury to net a penalty against Maccabi Tel Aviv last night and has now scored in both appearances this term. At a price of 8.3, he has some enticing fixtures (new, SOT, AVL, whm, LIV) to follow after the Gunners pay visit.

With Stoke’s schedule (LEI, BOU, avl, swa, WAT, new) so favourable over the next six Gameweeks, Xherdan Shaqiri moves up a couple of places. The Swiss international has failed to add to the assist he managed on his Potters debut against Norwich but, given the opposition the 7.0-rated midfielder will be facing in the coming period, he has to be backed to rival the likes of Ayew and Payet as big success stories in the mid-price bracket.

One side who face a trickier run of fixtures (MUN, SWA, che, LEI, liv, BOU) is Southampton, although with four matches at St Mary’s, we’re keeping faith in Sadio Mane. The Senegal international was limited to 24 minutes against West Brom after arriving back late from international duty, but is expected to return to the starting XI for the home clash against Man United on Sunday. Now available at 7.8 in FPL, the Saints attacker could be worth a look as a differential, with a current ownership of 3.9%.

Having served his one-match ban, Philippe Coutinho faces two plum home fixtures against Norwich and Aston Villa to atone for his sending off against West Ham. The Brazilian still lies second among midfielders for goal attempts (18), and with the Reds schedule looking tough from Gameweek 8 onwards (eve, tot, SOT, che), the 8.1-priced midfielder really needs to deliver over the next two matches, or face losing many of his 14.1% ownership in FPL.

Despite having faced City and Chelsea over the first five Gameweeks, Ross Barkley is currently the third highest scoring midfielder in FPL with 34 points. In truth, Everton’s fixture list (swa, wba, LIV, MUN, ars, SUN) over the next six weeks isn’t much easier, but with 15 goal attempts and seven chances created, the 6.8-valued midfielder can’t be ignored as he continues to thrive playing in the “number ten” role. The England international is the third-most transferred in player this week, with over 110,000 new owners in FPL.

Another new face on our ladder this week is Aston Villa’s Scott Sinclair, who gains approval as our favoured budget option. Priced at just 4.9 in FPL, the former Swansea attacker scored twice against Sunderland in Gameweek 4, and looks to have nailed down a place in Tim Sherwood’s starting XI. The Villans’ upcoming schedule isn’t particularly kind, though, with reasonable home matches (WBA, STO, SWA) countered by difficult away trips (liv, che, tot).

Norwich’s Nathan Redmond drops a couple of places in our latest update, having failed to register attacking returns in the Canaries last two matches. His underlying statistics have also dipped, having managed just two goal attempts and created four chances in his last two outings, compared to eight goal attempts and eight chances created over the first three Gameweeks. With four reasonable fixtures (whm, LEI, new, WBA) over the next month or so, the 5.7-priced winger still looks worth sticking with for the time being.