Our weekly Watchlist refresh took place earlier today and the eagle-eyed amongst you may have spotted the latest ranking changes for our mid-term player recommendations. Those new to all this shebang can find the Watchlist rankings at the bottom of the sidebar on your frontpage.
Movement within the rankings is pretty tame in comparison to previous weeks with Chelsea’s fixtures kind enough to see their top rated players – Petr Cech, Ashley Cole and Didier Drogba hold firm in top spots. Improved runs for both United and Arsenal have seen their assets enjoy climbs however, with Cesc Fabregas coming close to toppling Nani at the top of our Midfield rankings.
In the Keepers table there are climbs for Tim Howard of Everton and Jussi Jaaskelainen of Bolton as both embark on kind opponent runs. Our earlier “Frisking of the Fixtures†revealed that both teams are set to embark on schedules that bring them four home fixtures in the next six Gameweeks.
Arsenal were also singled out in that article and subsequently we see Lucasz Fabianski holding firm in the Keeper rankings, despite the impending threat from Manuel Almunia. The Pole’s performance at Eastlands last weekend should be enough to see him maintain his start and, with a clean sheet in that game, the Gunners will go into their next three Gameweeks with renewed confidence at the back.
That’s also reflected in our Defenders rankings where Sébastien Squillaci enjoys a climb in the middle of the table. Above him we have the goal threat and improved clean sheet potential of Gary Cahill and the latest bargain acquisition in the form of Newcastle’s Danny Simpson. He returned to the starting lineup at Upton Park last time out and at 3.9 offers a superb “route to recruit†option for Fabregas hunters. Simpson’s rise has Jose Enrique dropping, despite his stronger assist potential. Newcastle’s clean sheet returns have been disappointing but three strong home fixtures in the next four certainly shows promise.
Out top five Defenders remain untouched with Chelsea’s Cole attracting Bonus Points in addition to clean sheets, the Everton pairing of Seamus Coleman and Leighton Baines offering strong attacking potential along with Sunderland’s “out of position†Egyptian Elmohamady. United’s Patrice Evra has also enjoyed a recent boost having claimed a left midfield starting role at Stoke last weekend. That could well continue to be the case against Spurs in Gameweek ten. John O’Shea enters high again as the cheaper option in a United defence which should pick up points in the next month with four Old Trafford encounters in the next six.
The top positions in the midfield area also survived. Fabregas pushed Nani for the top spot, while Rafael Van der Vaart held on to the fifth with his goal against Everton, despite facing trips to United and Bolton next. Climbs for West Brom’s Chris Brunt and Arsenal’s Samir Nasri weren’t quite enough to see them break the top five then. Below them Kevin Nolan’s goal and link-up with housemate Andy Carroll appears to bode well ahead of Newcastle’s run of home fixtures. Ashley Young also enjoys a climb as his fixtures improve slightly with four home games in six, even if the opponents include both United and Arsenal.
Injury concerns for Carlos Tevez and the new threat of rotation with Mario Balotelli has him drop from second in the Forward rankings. Below him he’s now threatened by the resurging Andy Carroll and the consistent form of Johan Elmander which, given his fixtures to come, could continue to bear fruit for those Fantasy Managers taking a punt on Bolton’s Swede. Fulham’s returning trickster Mousa Dembele is an interesting climb at the halfway point, while West Brom’s Peter Odemwingie needs to shake off his injury woes to re-establish himself in the top five. He drops today but could climb again if we can get solid news on his fitness. Finally, Mexican of the moment, Javier Hernandez has to settle for a surprisingly lowly footing. The threat of Rooney’s return in a fortnight surely dents his potential beyond Gameweek’s ten and eleven.
