Having rinsed through the fixture list for the month to come, we follow on with a full update of our Watchlist rankings. This lists our recommended players for the month to come, based on current form and the schedule to follow.
Find them in your sidebar now and read on for a summary of the big shifts in this week’s refresh.
Selecting a goalkeeper for the month ahead remains tricky. Stoke’s Asmir Begovic remains on top of our rankings with a trip to Bolton this weekend and home encounters with QPR and Blackburn on the horizon.
Finding an effective and cheap combination with Begovic is no easy task. Away trips to Goodison in gameweek 14 and Wolves in gameweek 16 combine well with Blackburn’s Paul Robinson, who will face Swansea and West Brom in those respective gameweeks. Wolves’ Wayne Hennessey is another option here with Sunderland and Stoke at Molineux. Michel Vorm, clearly the most popular budget keeper in the Fantasy Premier League (FPL) game, fails to combine with the Stoke stopper, though – the Dutchman is also facing away trips in gameweeks 14 and 16.
Today’s news on Sunderland’s Simon Mignolet perhaps introduces a new option. With the Belgian possibly sidelined for weeks or months, Kieren Westwood comes into the frame as first choice at the Stadium of Light, just in time for Sunderland’s run of fixtures that has them face three attractive home fixtures in four from gameweek 12 onwards. At 4.4 in the FPL, Westwood is clearly a new budget consideration and earns a strong Watchlist ranking this week.
An expensive one-stop solution in goal is on offer. David De Gea has benefited from United’s propensity to concede efforts on goal to earn him a save point return normally reserved for keepers outside of the top four sides. The win at Everton suggested this may well continue, even when United keep a clean sheet. De Gea earned bonus points from that match and, with a string of favourable fixtures to come, he looks a strong option for those Fantasy managers looking for a secure option in Alex Ferguson’s rearguard. Patrice Evra and Nemanja Vidic are certainly more expensive alternatives.
Defining rankings for defenders was undoubtedly the most difficult task facing us this week. Having occupied our top two placings, Vincent Kompany’s suspension for the trip to QPR and Ryan Shawcross’ muscle injury in the 3-1 defeat to Newcastle, cast doubt over their selection for the month ahead.
Kompany slips down our rankings, despite a likely return for the home clash with Newcastle in gameweek 12. City, while being perhaps the strongest defence in the league, will come up against Liverpool, Chelsea and Arsenal in three of the four gameweeks that follow the meeting with Newcastle. Those fixtures will prove a huge test of their defensive resolve and “Kompany and company”, may not justify their price tags in our defence over that spell.
With Shawcross also dropping as a short-term injury doubt, bizarrely it leaves his team-mate Andy Wilkinson on top of our rankings. A budget option at just 4.0 in the FPL, Wilkinson will surely start at Bolton this weekend and should have opportunity to hold onto to the right-back berth for Stoke’s two home matches that follow. Danny Higginbotham is expected to return to the fold following injury in the Europa League tomorrow night but, with Marc Wilson also carrying an injury, Wilkinson still looks good for starts. At his price, we can perhaps afford to take that risk.
The same applies to United’s Jonny Evans. As we revealed in yesterday’s article regarding Sir Alex Ferguson’s statements on Rio Ferdinand, the Irishman looks set to start against Sunderland at Old Trafford this weekend and, having been recalled alongside Vidic at Goodison, appears to be Ferguson’s top choice to partner the Serb. At just 4.5 in the FPL, he’s surely another gamble that most can afford to take.
Phil Jones is the alternative in the United ranks. Considerably more expensive, he is perhaps more secure long-term with the right-back spot and even a holding midfield role possible spots he could claim in Ferguson’s side.
Lower down the rankings, it’s perhaps jarring to see a member of Arsene Wenger’s ailing defence in the pack. Carl Jenkinson looks set to continue at right-back for the Gunners in the absence of injury victim Bacary Sagna, having been restored to the lineup in last night’s European tie. At 5.5 in the FPL, Jenkinson is available in the mid-price bracket and with West Brom, Fulham and Everton at the Emirates in the next five gameweeks, we can hope for Arsenal’s possession game to return defensive points.
Johan Djourou, at 5.8, has been deputising in his absence but the return of Thomas Vermaelen clouds matters slightly in the central defensive area. The Belgian is surely a first-choice pick and, starting alongside Per Mertesacker in Tuesday’s game with Marseille, returned a clean sheet. Laurent Koscielny, priced at 5.7, could lose out upon Vermaelen’s return but is another viable option for the right-back slot, having occasionally played in the position during his time in France. Keeper Wojciech Szczesny is of course another option here, with save points thrown in to supplement possible clean sheets.
Leighton Baines sneaks into our top five – with good reason. While the Everton left-back is away at Newcastle this weekend, following that he has a run of games that could see him embark on his most profitable run of the season. With spot-kicks and set-pieces in his locker, Baines is set to be a big climber in our next update and should be firmly on our radars going into December, having so far failed to live up to his pre-season billing.
The midfield rankings have a reassuringly familiar look about them. Rafael Van der Vaart maintains top spot having scored his sixth goal in five gameweeks. Fixtures and form remain in his favour, keeping him above the consistency of City’s David Silva in our reckoning.
Arsenal’s Aaron Ramsey is the most significant climber, jumping above Nani who has struggled to deliver in United’s recent spell. While the United winger has the fixtures to recover, there will be doubt over his starting role with Antonio Valencia returning to fitness and favour. Ramsey meanwhile, is far cheaper and has fixtures that seem likely to give him the platform for continued returns. For 6.6, it’s hard to find a better prospect in that bracket over the coming month.
Further down, Everton’s Royston Drenthe is perhaps the most intriguing mid-price selection on offer. His goal and two assist performance at Craven Cottage in gameweek 9 is still in the memory and, having been suspended for the defeat to United, he now approaches a run of very obliging opponents. A midfield hothead, Drenthe is a risk but a potentially tasty differential, capable of explosive returns for a 6.0 price tag. He also has been sharing free-kicks with Baines, further boosting his Fantasy potential.
There’s little movement amongst our rankings up front. Having sat on top spot for three weeks, it’s going to be difficult to dislodge Robin Van Persie given his form and fixtures. City’s Sergio Aguero jumps to second, with Wayne Rooney’s role in Alex Ferguson in question following his stint in midfield at Goodison. We’ll bring you more on that in with the return of Technical Area later today.
Rooney’s team-mate, Javier Hernandez, is the big climber, entering the rankings above Chelsea’s Daniel Sturridge to offer a route into United’s potential attacking returns over a run of kind fixtures. While Rooney may continue to drop deep to dictate and cover, Hernandez would seem most likely to spearhead Ferguson’s attack – starting with the home clash with Sunderland this weekend. We don’t need to state just how prolific the Mexican can be once fit and given a run of starts.
Demba Ba, despite his hat-trick at the Britannia on Monday, remains ranked below some of the big guns – mainly because fixtures conspire against him in the month to come. The St James’ Park meeting with Everton could be profitable but, after that, Ba will come against the City, United and Chelsea defences in three consecutive gameweeks. That run could certainly temper his recent returns.
