Our Watchlist player rankings have once again been updated for the coming Gameweek, offering you a view on our current thinking when it comes to mid-term player selection.
It’s a steady week with the top positions all holding firm across the board, with contrasting fortunes for Man City’s assets as Aleksandar Kolarov, Yaya Toure and David Silva enjoy high placings, while Carlos Tevez drifts in limbo, out of our current thinking. Tim Cahill is another of our previously high ranking players suffering this week – he drops out with the Asian Cup in January depriving us of his talents beyond the next couple of Gameweeks…
The top three in the Goalkeeper’s rankings hold firm as fixtures continue to fall in favour of Joe Hart, Paul Robinson and Pepe Reina. A host of new entries threaten their position, with Wigan’s Ali Al Habsi the highest of the bunch off the back of his impressive shut-out at Goodison and good fixtures to come; his price point also gives him the edge over rivals Heurelho Gomes, Robert Green and Scott Carson. The big two – Edwin Van der Sar and Petr Cech suffer drops are sandwiched in that pack, along with long-term favourite Ben Foster who faces a stiff run of opposition in the coming weeks – although he does have three home encounters in the next four to provide some comfort for his owners.
The Defender rankings also remain stable at the top with Liverpool’s Sotirios Kyrgiakos holding his position with kind home opponents and a significant goal threat. City’s Aleksandar Kolarov comes straight back into our top five following his one-match suspension – he too benefits from obliging opponents in the forthcoming Gameweeks. Leighton Baines, Chris Samba and the value presented by United’s Rafael, complete our current top five.
A second Liverpool defender presents a big money gamble – Glen Johnson doesn’t carry the set-piece threat of team-mate Kyrgiakos, but will likely be key attacking threat down the right over Liverpool’s three Anfield clashes in the next four. Like Kyrgiakos, he could well have a goal or two in him, but with assists thrown in.
Wigan’s Antolin Alcaraz, Tottenham’s Alan Hutton and West Brom’s Gonzalo Jara offer value further down the rankings with climbs and new entries this week. All three have promising runs of opponents to come, with some attacking potential on offer.
The Midfield to five stays intact, with the exception of Everton’s Tim Cahill who drops out of mid-term reckoning with the Asian Cup tournament in January, giving him just two more matches to come in the forthcoming month or so.
Nani continues to lead the way with some level of consistency in his scoring these days. City’s pairing of Yaya Toure and David Silva both rank highly below him. Toure is a new entry off the back of his goal/assist/Bonus return in the win over West Ham, which, with an FPL price tag of just 5.2, gives him the edge of team-mate Silva. The Spaniard simmers below the top five following his assist at Upton Park; both enjoy a kind run of opponents over the next six. Charles N’Zogbia’s fixtures also appear to give him a platform for his usual stream of steady returns with Bonus Points thrown in – he is another climber this week.
A host of new entries follow, as the likes of Frank Lampard and Cesc Fabregas all come back into our thinking following injury. Expect climbs for them next week once we see them established back in first team action this weekend. Steven Gerrard and Rafael Van der Vaart are still very much injury doubts – they could make an appearance later this week when we have more news on their progress prior to the weekend.
Up front, Fernando Torres holds the top spot, despite failing to ignite at St James’ Park. The three Anfield matches in the next four should give him the potential to return and is enough to hold off a significant charge from Darren Bent, who also has a strong run of opponents to aid his points tally.
Jermain Defoe and Wayne Rooney occupy their highest positions of the season, kept in fourth and fifth by Andy Carroll’s consistency. Wigan’s Hugo Rodallega offers value, along with West Brom’s Peter Odemwingie – only an injury doubt prevents him from pushing on further up the rankings. The Bolton pairing of Johan Elmander and Kevin Davies suffer big drops – they will face Sunderland, Liverpool and Chelsea in the next four Gameweeks – that’s three of the current top five defences, all away from home.
Carlos Tevez remains out of our current rankings while we wait more news from Eastlands on his situation. Expect him to rank very highly if we get confirmation of his availability for the Everton clash on Monday. The Watchlist will be updated once we know more on him later this week.
