The Watchlist Updated – Gameweek 9 – The Midfielders

After assessing the risers and fallers among the Defence on Saturday, our attention this afternoon turns to the midfield. There is no shortage of in-form options to choose from, with Arsenal’s Alexis Sanchez moving to the top of our ladder this week, though Kevin de Bruyne and Sadio Mane are hot on his heels following their double-digit scores in Gameweek 8.

Having cast aside his scoring drought, Alexis Sanchez highlighted his explosive potential over the last two Gameweeks, scoring five goals and bagging 36 goals in Fantasy Premier League (FPL). The former Barcelona attacker, available at 11.2 in FPL, lies second among midfielders for shots in the box over the last four Gameweeks with 16, but does face a fairly tricky run of fixtures (wat, EVE, swa, TOT, wba, nor) over the coming period.

One player who is close to matching Sanchez’ output is Manchester City’s Kevin de Bruyne. The 10.3-priced Belgian has scored three goals and provided two assists in his last three outings, and faces four home fixtures (BOU, NOR, LIV, SOT) over the next six Gameweeks, along with trips to Man United and Aston Villa. De Bruyne has only registered four shots from inside the box over the last four Gameweeks, however, although he has also created a more impressive 13 chances over the same period. With doubts surrounding Yaya Toure and David Silva in the City midfield, the Belgian looks vital to his side’s prospects of remaining at the summit.

While Southampton’s Sadio Mane comes in a lot cheaper than Sanchez and De Bruyne, at just 7.9 in FPL, the Senegal international is certainly capable of delivering double-figure scores, as he has done twice over the last five Gameweeks. The Saints attacker has found the back of the net in his last two appearances, and has four favourable match-ups (LEI, liv, BOU, sun, STO, mci) over the next month or so in which to continue his fantastic form.

West Ham’s Dimitri Payet remains towards the top of our ladder after registering attacking returns for the fourth match running, scoring in the Hammers 2-2 draw at Sunderland in Gameweek 8. The France international’s price has risen to 8.1 in FPL on the back of his outstanding form, but the former Marseille man does have a slightly more testing schedule (cpl, CHE, wat, EVE, tot, WBA) over the coming period.

After being surprisingly dropped to the bench against Norwich, Leicester’s Riyad Mahrez slips a few places in our rankings. Although the forthcoming fixtures (sot, CPL, wba, WAT, new, MUN) are fairly favourable for Claudio Ranieri’s side, the uncertainty over Mahrez’ pitch time hurts his prospects at this point.

Goals from the penalty spot in his last two matches mean Crystal Palace’s Yohan Cabaye finds a place on our ladder in our latest update. The 6.5-valued midfielder also bagged an assist in the 2-0 win against West Brom, and netted for France over the recent break, underlining his buoyant form ahead of a favourable upcoming schedule for the Eagles (WHM, lei, MUN, liv, SUN, NEW).

Although he has a goal and two assists from his last three appearances, Chelsea’s Eden Hazard is clearly struggling to live up to his 11.3 price tag in FPL. The Belgian is third among midfielders for chances created over the last four Gameweeks, with 15, and does have a good run of fixtures (AVL, whm, LIV, sto, NOR, tot) on the horizon. Hazard looks well behind the likes of Sanchez and De Bruyne in terms of the premium midfield options available to Fantasy managers, and may struggle to attract further investment until Jose Mourinho’s side shows signs of improvement.

With some difficult fixtures (eve, MCI, cpl) in the short-term, Man United’s Juan Mata stays around halfway up our ladder. The underlying statistics are also not hugely encouraging for the Spaniard, having only managed 10 penalty box touches in his last four appearances, and only registered two shots from inside the box, But the 8.9-rated midfielder does face some kinder match-ups from Gameweek 12 onwards (WBA, wat, lei).

While Swansea’s Andre Ayew returned to form with a goal in the 2-2 draw against Tottenham, and faces a favourable run of fixtures (STO, avl, ARS, nor, BOU) over the next few weeks, the drop off in some of his attacking statistics are a cause for concern. The Ghanaian attempted 10 shots from inside the box during the first four Gameweeks of the season, but only managed three in his last four outings. Priced at 7.2 in FPL, though, the former Marseille attacker still looks good value.

His assists against Palace and City may have gone under the radar, but Christian Eriksen definitely stated his claim for consideration in our five-man midfields with two magnificent free-kicks against Swansea. The Denmark international, available at 8.3 in FPL, only has an ownership of 3%, and with four home matches in the next six (LIV, bou, AVL, ars, WHM, CHE), could warrant some consideration as a differential for those looking to make up lost ground.

Having started Arsenal’s last five matches as the lone forward, the stock of Theo Walcott continues to rise. As already mentioned, the Gunners forthcoming fixtures aren’t the easiest, but given the England international leads all midfielders for shots in the box, with 17, and is so favourably priced at just 8.6 in FPL, there’s little doubt he holds more upside than virtually any other midfielder at this point. Investing in Walcott does carry a risk, though, given Olivier Giroud is also likely to earn starts in attack for the north London outfit.

Although Everton’s Ross Barkley has blanked in his last three matches, with the Toffees schedule turning favourably from Gameweek 11 onwards (SUN, whm, AVL, bou), we’re keeping faith in the England international. The 6.9-priced midfielder has created 13 chances over the last four Gameweeks, more than the likes of Mata (seven) and Walcott (five), and should be able to deliver on those numbers with those kind fixtures on the horizon. In the short-term, the match-ups against Man United and Arsenal could yield further blanks, however.

With a goal and an assist in tough fixtures against Chelsea and City, Newcastle’s Georginio Wijnaldum sneaks into our rankings this week. The Magpies face a very favourable run of fixtures (NOR, sun, STO, bou, LEI, cpl) over the next six Gameweeks, so the 6.8-valued Dutchman certainly looks one to monitor at the very least. He has only managed one shot from inside the box over the last four Gameweeks, however.

Although Jeremain Lens will miss Sam Allardyce’s first match in charge for Sunderland at West Brom, the rest of the Black Cats’ fixtures over the next six weeks (NEW, eve, SOT, cpl, STO) mean the Dutch international clings onto a place on our ladder. The 6.5-rated wide man has scored twice and provided three assists so far this season, and should Big Sam be able to turn things around at the Stadium of Light, it’s likely that Lens will be central to any improvement.

While there is currently a feel-good factor sweeping around Anfield following the appointment of Jurgen Klopp, the difficulty of his first six matches in charge (tot, SOT, che, CPL, mci, SWA) means Philippe Coutinho only fills the final spot in our rankings. The Brazilian has encouragingly managed 20 goal attempts in his last three appearances though, and should be central to the German’s plans, but with so many other in-form options for FPL bosses to ponder over in midfield, the 8.1-priced Coutinho may well struggle to attract investment until the schedule turns more favourably for the Reds.