Watchlist

The Watchlist Updated – Young Guns

Our Watchlist rankings have had their regular weekly refresh and can be found in their usual location – in the lower right sidebar. Once again, we’re seeing City’s assets slip with form, fixtures and injuries working against them. Budget defenders continue to offer exceptional value, and while there looks to be just a single slot up for grabs in our attacks, the midfields are seeing plenty of movement, with strong mid-price and budget options pushing for selection.

Goalkeepers

Adam Bogdan remains at the top of the goalkeeper rankings – partly due to the wealth of defensive alternatives available to cover returns from other teams. The likes of Steven Caulker, Stephen Kelly, Andy Wilkinson, Gareth McAuley and Benoit Assou-Ekotto all offer cheaper or more favourable routes to their respective defences.

Bogdan’s clean sheet potential may be limited but, at 4.0 in the FPL and with exceptionally strong fixtures, the Hungarian offers the cheapest option in Bolton’s defence, allowing us to cover other teams with the aforementioned defenders – all of whom look more favorable than their respective goalkeepers. It should also be noted that Bogdan has returned nine points from saves in his last nine games, including four points in the last three matches – for a miserly 4.0, that’s not a bad solution. He also works well in tandem with both of the top owned keepers – Michel Vorm and Tim Krul, over their run of tough fixtures in the next month.

David De Gea is your heavyweight option with exceptional form and fixtures in his favour. Anders Lindegaard’s imminent return to fitness is a mild concern but, right now, you can be confident in De Gea’s starts for another three to four Gameweeks, with strong clean sheet potential available.

In the mid-price bracket, Fulham’s Mark Schwarzer and Tottenham’s Brad Friedel both offer assured quality acquisitions with decent fixtures ahead. Again though, Kelly for Fulham and Assou-Ekotto for Spurs look stronger routes to the defensive returns on offer. Likewise, while West Brom’s Ben Foster looks to have potential, his appeal is reduced by the availability of Gareth McAuley as an outstanding budget prospect.

In terms of goalkeeping rotation, we like Bogdan with Schwarzer until Gameweek 34, with Sunderland’s Simon Mignolet then replacing Bogdan and rotating nicely with the Fulham stopper until the penultimate Gameweek. The final day lottery is the issue there, with Schwarzer facing Spurs away and Mignolet up against United. Friedel and Mignolet is another pairing worth investigating – they swap home and away up until Gameweek 35 but have favourable fixtures between them right until the season end.

Defenders

Jonny Evans continues to look an essential bargain purchase who just can’t be ignored for United’s run-in. He’s being chased by Liverpool’s Martin Skrtel, who for us just has the edge on Jose Enrique with greater goal threat. The Glen Johnson/Martin Kelly situation is worth monitoring here though – should Johnson’s injury see him sidelined for a number of weeks, Kelly’s potential, at 5.2 in the FPL, could rival Skrtel on our Watchlists.

Benoit Assou-Ekotto is back on the radar ahead of a run of favourable opponents which should see him supplement assist potential with a clean sheet or two. Steven Caulker, Stephen Kelly and Gareth McAuley then rank next – all offering outstanding value coverage for the Swansea, Fulham and West Brom defences.

City’s defence has seen a decline over the past week or so, hindered by injuries to both Vincent Kompany and Joleon Lescott. That leaves Micah Richards as the most likely name right now – even he could be under threat once again once Pablo Zabaleta returns to fitness. Suddenly, from being prime stock, the City defence is now in flux with a rough run of fixtures and insecurity playing their part. There looks to be better value elsewhere.

Midfielders

Gareth Bale holds the top spot – but only on the promise of delivering returns over a favourable run of opponents. He’s now under severe threat from both United’s Ashley Young and Arsenal’s Theo Walcott.

Both have very strong form going forward, with the fixtues to translate that into returns. The pair also play second fiddle to heavy-hitting strikers and are therefore “double-up” options respectively. Few Fantasy managers will be concerned by that – both Arsenal and United look good for goals and we could see many squads adopt the duo in the coming weeks. While Young has the edge with a better short-term fixture, Walcott offers greater security and is also cheaper at 8.9. Long-term, then, the Arsenal man could be set for a jump above Young, particularly once the tricky trip to Everton is out of the way.

Clint Dempsey is clinging to a top five ranking – based mainly on favourable home fixtures. He’ll likely need to deliver against Swansea to stave off FPL sales, although with Norwich and Bolton also in the frame in the next four Gameweeks, patience appears to be the best policy.

West Brom’s James Morrison and Bolton’s Ryo Miyaichi – both with fixtures and form in their favour, are your budget option differentials available to shake things up. Newcastle’s Hatem Ben Arfa is also an intriguing option. He could be set for a run of starts following his goal at the Emirates – particularly if Ryan Taylor’s calf injury keeps him out for a number of weeks.

Forwards

Both Robin Van Persie and Wayne Rooney look rock solid at the top of the rankings – positions that they could well hold from now until the end of the season. Their form and fixtures could potentially mean that most Fantasy managers are looking to fill just one slot in their forward line – with budget likely to be the deciding factor.

Tottenham’s Emmanuel Adebayor looks to have fixtures on his side and could be the on the cusp of another spurt of profit. West Brom’s Peter Odemwingie is our favoured option further down the price brackets, with City’s Mario Balotelli, stepping over team-mate Sergio Aguero to offer a cheaper route into City’s attacking potential.

Down in the budget market, Norwich City’s Grant Holt and the Blackburn pairing of Yakubu and Junior Hoilett remain decent options. Although with a tag of 6.4, Fulham’s Pavel Pogrebnyak looks to offer the stronger value and will likely be the option of choice, with tempting Craven Cottage fixtures ahead.

Mark Mark created the beast. He's now looking to tame it.

1,693 Comments Post a Comment
  1. BOOM XHAKALACA
    • Fantasy Football Scout Member
    • 12 Years
    12 years, 7 months ago

    Is dropping Silva for Morrison a silly move?

    Open Controls
    1. SPorting
      • 13 Years
      12 years, 7 months ago

      probably. do it anyway.

      Open Controls
      1. Scroobius Mac
        • 13 Years
        12 years, 7 months ago

        😀

        Open Controls
    2. Epic Fail
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 14 Years
      12 years, 7 months ago

      It'll be reet.

      Open Controls
  2. Nutella
    • 13 Years
    12 years, 7 months ago

    Who should i drop for Rooney, Suarez OR BA?(this will involve a 4 point hit)
    OR
    should i just do a straight swap of Silva -> Young?

    Open Controls
    1. JT's Dog
        12 years, 7 months ago

        Silva is the waitrose Ba

        Open Controls
        1. JT's Dog
            12 years, 7 months ago

            Even I don't know what this means, think auto spell went crazy

            Open Controls
            1. Nutella
              • 13 Years
              12 years, 7 months ago

              what did u mean then?

              Open Controls
              1. JT's Dog
                  12 years, 7 months ago

                  Don't know I started typing silva then stopped and went to answer ba question and that's what appeared. iPad buttons too close

                  Open Controls
          • Nutella
            • 13 Years
            12 years, 7 months ago

            ANYONE?

            Open Controls
        2. Abominable Snowy84
          • 12 Years
          12 years, 7 months ago

          close lavezzi

          Open Controls
        3. fatherted
          • 13 Years
          12 years, 7 months ago

          Torres winner 119th min...got a feeling .may be indigestion mind you

          Open Controls
            1. fatherted
              • 13 Years
              12 years, 7 months ago

              Quality ...anyway what's your rank these days. I remember chatting when you'd just broken 100k and your history and team were scary similar to me.you said 20k was target ....am up to 34k

              Open Controls
              1. Optimus.
                • 13 Years
                12 years, 7 months ago

                nice one..9 048 myself

                Open Controls
        4. Catastrophe
          • 13 Years
          12 years, 7 months ago

          Hi guys, any more news on Valencia? Is he likely to start on sunday?

          Would you make any transfers with the below team? 0.1m in the bank.

          Vorm
          Evans, Skrtel, Williamson
          Dempsey(vc), Bale, Silva, Valencia
          Rooney(c), RVP, Ba

          Mignolet, McClean, Caulker, Richards

          cheers!

          Open Controls
        5. Abominable Snowy84
          • 12 Years
          12 years, 7 months ago

          thats the 3/4 time ivanovic has broke well down his side. no result

          Open Controls
        6. afcblegend
          • 13 Years
          12 years, 7 months ago

          When Ivanovic whipped that cross in Torres was literally not even on the screen. Crazy.

          Open Controls
          1. JT's Dog
              12 years, 7 months ago

              Buy bigger tv

              Open Controls
          2. Brookins
            • 12 Years
            12 years, 7 months ago

            Ozil off for Diarra in the closing stages!

            Open Controls
            1. Brookins
              • 12 Years
              12 years, 7 months ago

              Also xabi alonso has 13 recovered balls today, tank!

              Open Controls
          3. Bad Pen
            • 12 Years
            12 years, 7 months ago

            Drogba is going to lose his temper any moment now.

            Open Controls
            1. Bad Pen
              • 12 Years
              12 years, 7 months ago

              Rightly so, I might add.

              Open Controls
          4. Abominable Snowy84
            • 12 Years
            12 years, 7 months ago

            a f*cking disgrace haha

            Open Controls
          5. afcblegend
            • 13 Years
            12 years, 7 months ago

            Most biased commentary I've ever heard!!!

            Open Controls
            1. JT's Dog
                12 years, 7 months ago

                That's the standard thing with English commentary

                Open Controls
                1. Paul Psychic Octopus
                  • Fantasy Football Scout Member
                  • 13 Years
                  12 years, 7 months ago

                  try listening to Italian commentary

                  Open Controls
                  1. SuperDunny - Used to be goo…
                    • 15 Years
                    12 years, 7 months ago

                    +1

                    F uck 'em. COME ON CHELSEA!!!!!!

                    Open Controls
                  2. JT's Dog
                      12 years, 7 months ago

                      But I wouldn't understand what they were saying so would sound ok to me. They all seem to be like that guy on bookmakers advert, game on!!!!

                      Open Controls
              • denial
                • Fantasy Football Scout Member
                • 15 Years
                12 years, 7 months ago

                Commentator Clive not biased at all.

                Open Controls
                1. Bad Pen
                  • 12 Years
                  12 years, 7 months ago

                  Always are with English teams, it's a joke.

                  Open Controls
              • HuttonDressedasLahm
                • 14 Years
                12 years, 7 months ago

                SHUT UP Townsend!!

                Open Controls
                1. HuttonDressedasLahm
                  • 14 Years
                  12 years, 7 months ago

                  "Italian teams"

                  ALL teams Andy!!

                  Open Controls
              • HuttonDressedasLahm
                • 14 Years
                12 years, 7 months ago

                Clive with the pun!

                Open Controls
              • Bad Pen
                • 12 Years
                12 years, 7 months ago

                Luiz is 'no sideshow'? He looks like Sideshow Bob.

                Open Controls
                1. HuttonDressedasLahm
                  • 14 Years
                  12 years, 7 months ago

                  Twas a pun, I believe?!

                  Open Controls
                  1. Bad Pen
                    • 12 Years
                    12 years, 7 months ago

                    I am uncertain, he's not that slick usually!

                    Open Controls
              • Brookins
                • 12 Years
                12 years, 7 months ago

                YES! Had a tenner on 3-1 chelsea!

                Open Controls
                1. Declan
                  • 14 Years
                  12 years, 7 months ago

                  nice one

                  Open Controls
                  1. Brookins
                    • 12 Years
                    12 years, 7 months ago

                    Also £1 on Napoli to qualify in extra time at 50/1

                    Open Controls
                2. HuttonDressedasLahm
                  • 14 Years
                  12 years, 7 months ago

                  I've got a quid on pens at 25-1

                  Open Controls
                3. JT's Dog
                    12 years, 7 months ago

                    Do you have to name 90 min or does it just count

                    Open Controls
                    1. Brookins
                      • 12 Years
                      12 years, 7 months ago

                      All scorecasts are 90 mins only

                      Open Controls
                4. ⭐ Bemba_Da ⭐
                  • 14 Years
                  12 years, 7 months ago

                  Wow what a game

                  Open Controls
                5. Parm
                  • 12 Years
                  12 years, 7 months ago

                  TORRESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS.

                  I've wanted to post this all season, I think i'll have to repost it come the end of Extra-Time.

                  Open Controls
                  1. og super star
                    • 12 Years
                    12 years, 7 months ago

                    TORRESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!!!

                    oh no no not yet.....

                    Open Controls
                6. Declan
                  • 14 Years
                  12 years, 7 months ago

                  Penalty shootout would be nice.

                  Open Controls
                7. Abominable Snowy84
                  • 12 Years
                  12 years, 7 months ago

                  if i ever hear a commentator say a minimum of 2 mins il go mad. there were 5 secs and napoli could of lumped it forward

                  Open Controls
                8. GlasgowFF
                  • 13 Years
                  12 years, 7 months ago

                  Away goals should not count in extra time, it favors the team playing the second leg away.

                  Open Controls
                  1. ssssshhh
                    • 13 Years
                    12 years, 7 months ago

                    Tis true but if it didn't, it would favour the other side, albeit less so.

                    Open Controls
                  2. 1966 was a great year for E…
                    • 14 Years
                    12 years, 7 months ago

                    Having penalties at home is an advantage, though.

                    Open Controls
                  3. Cruicky
                    • 13 Years
                    12 years, 7 months ago

                    Yep, gives them the extra 30mins to get an away goal.

                    The 'homefield advantage' cancels that out apparently...

                    Open Controls
                    1. 1966 was a great year for E…
                      • 14 Years
                      12 years, 7 months ago

                      Play one half home, one half away, only fair solution 🙂

                      Open Controls
                      1. svasei - Up (?) the Rovers
                        • 14 Years
                        12 years, 7 months ago

                        lol

                        Open Controls
                    2. ssssshhh
                      • 13 Years
                      12 years, 7 months ago

                      Cant make it fair either way unless you scrap it altogether, and the away goal rule is generally awesome.

                      Open Controls
                  4. HuttonDressedasLahm
                    • 14 Years
                    12 years, 7 months ago

                    It's supposed to!

                    Open Controls
                  5. Daniyal
                    • 12 Years
                    12 years, 7 months ago

                    away goals donot count in extra time 😉 so now home team chelsea has upper hand since they have made a gr8 comeback n now have high morale and good fighting spirit + at home while its all opposite for napoli so HOPE chelsea go through much deserved

                    Open Controls
                    1. ssssshhh
                      • 13 Years
                      12 years, 7 months ago

                      does so

                      Open Controls
                      1. Daniyal
                        • 12 Years
                        12 years, 7 months ago

                        yeah i think i was wrong though i did hear that some time ago

                        Open Controls
                  1. ssssshhh
                    • 13 Years
                    12 years, 7 months ago

                    Dont get the /England bit. Do you expect anyone from England who isn't a Chelsea fan to support them?

                    Open Controls
                  2. JT's Dog
                      12 years, 7 months ago

                      If Torres gets that I shall say well done to you

                      Open Controls
                  3. ⭐ Bemba_Da ⭐
                    • 14 Years
                    12 years, 7 months ago

                    4-1 ronaldo

                    Open Controls
                  4. Le Gooner
                    • 13 Years
                    12 years, 7 months ago

                    Ronaldo goal!

                    Open Controls
                    1. Le Gooner
                      • 13 Years
                      12 years, 7 months ago

                      Benzema assist

                      94th minute

                      Open Controls
                  5. Nopli
                    • 12 Years
                    12 years, 7 months ago

                    oh god !its nerve wrecking!! Cmon Chelsea

                    Open Controls
                  6. Crazy Joe
                    • 12 Years
                    12 years, 7 months ago

                    YASSS 4-1 Madrid, wins my bet of RM -2

                    Open Controls
                  7. PL Ball
                    • 13 Years
                    12 years, 7 months ago

                    Ronaldo brace

                    Open Controls
                  8. Brookins
                    • 12 Years
                    12 years, 7 months ago

                    4-1 Madrid Ronaldo 2nd goal with a Benzema assist!

                    Open Controls
                  9. Mull
                    • Fantasy Football Scout Member
                    • 13 Years
                    12 years, 7 months ago

                    My frontline in UCL has scored 72.

                    Open Controls
                    1. Bad Pen
                      • 12 Years
                      12 years, 7 months ago

                      Haha that's brilliant, congrats.

                      Open Controls
                  10. Spike ⚽️
                    • 13 Years
                    12 years, 7 months ago

                    Question is - can the 'old guard' last another 30 mins!!!

                    Open Controls