Everton’s exceptional form and fixtures find their assets soaring in our Watchlist reckoning this week. Mid-price defensive assets play partner to the attacking verve of Leighton Baines, while up front, our options are plentiful. Too plentiful.
Our Watchlist rankings have been updated and can be found in your sidebar. Read on for the blurb on the key movers this week…
Goalkeepers
Simon Mignolet surges clear in our goalkeeper rankings. There are several factors at play here. Firstly, there’s little doubt that Martin O’Neill has his side playing tight, controlled football – if somewhat unambitious in attacking terms. Sunderland’s fixtures are also fairly favourable, handing the back four home encounters with Wigan, Newcastle and Aston Villa in the next five. Thirdly, while the personnel in O’Neill’s back four is hard to pin down following the injury to Carlos Cuellar, Mignolet appears to offer a secure option at a decent price.
West Brom’s Ben Foster continues to offer value and is retained in second spot in our rankings. Like Sunderland, West Brom have emerged as miserly mid-price contenders and Foster should benefit from his forthcoming fixtures to offer further returns. Unlike Mignolet, however, Foster could lose out in some squads to attractive options in the back four – namely Gareth McAuley and Liam Ridgewell.
Both Merseyside clubs have fixtures that promise defensive returns, although the duo have factors that keep Tim Howard and Jose Reina out of the top places in our rankings. Howard will surely play second fiddle to Leighton Baines in our lineups, with further slots spared for the likes of Marouane Fellaini and Nikica Jelavic. As for Reina, his defence looks set to be ravaged by injury, although home encounters with Stoke and Reading in the next three could still offer short-term benefits.
West Ham’s Jussi Jaaskelainen takes a tumble then, with fixtures stiffening somewhat, while Stoke’s Asmir Begovic is hovering. He looks a very strong option, along with Newcastle’s Tim Krul (when fit), once Gameweek 8 has passed.
Defenders
Leighton Baines has been on top of our Watchlist rankings for three weeks and, in the past two Gameweeks, has shown just why. Early adopters have benefited from a goal and assist in consecutive games, in addition to Saturday’s clean sheet at the Liberty. With fixtures flourishing, Baines looks assured of further returns and is undisputed as the must-have defender right now.
The West Brom defence continues to offer exceptional value with a tit-for-tat battle rumbling between the options – Gareth McAuley, Liam Ridgewell and even Jonas Olsson. The superior of the three is hard to predict but it’s clear that having one of this trio for the coming weeks looks likely to be profitable.
We’re taking a punt on Liverpool’s Glen Johnson, despite injuries in Brendan Rodgers’ back four and a poor string of results. Liverpool could well turn the corner over the next three Gameweeks, however, and Johnson looks set to be in profit from clean sheets with the potential for attacking returns. He’s been a strong influence coming forward in recent weeks and could make a decent differential over the upcoming trio of fixtures.
John O’Shea is your assured option in the Sunderland back four should you neglect the Mignolet option, while Vincent Kompany continues to be a presence in the top echelons of our rankings, despite the continued struggle for clean sheets. City’s fixtures are by far the best amongst the top clubs and, with Roberto Mancini sounding determined to solve defensive lapses, we see fortunes turning for Kompany in the next month.
Stoke’s Robert Huth and Fulham’s John Arne Riise are your differentials further down the rankings. Both will rely on attacking returns in the short-term, although Huth’s fixtures will lighten considerably from Gameweek 8 onwards.
Midfielders
Having opted for Steven Pienaar ahead of Marouane Fellaini last week we are forced to backtrack and reinstate the Belgian this time around. Fellaini climbs to the pinnacle of our midfield rankings, toppling the big guns on the back of his attacking role and strong returns thus far. Fixtures remain favourable and, despite Jelavic’s return from injury, we see Fellaini remaining a factor up top as he continues to look unplayable.
We’ve taken the unprecedented step to also included Pienaar in the rankings, such is the form being shown by David Moyes’ side. The likes of Gareth Bale and Santi Cazorla rank above the South African, while Eden Hazard suffers a decline as form and fixtures factor against him.
Swansea’s Michu also drops with form but has the fixtures to maintain his rank in the short-term, holding off the charge from West Ham’s Kevin Nolan who has shown consistency, even with Andy Carroll sidelined.
Lower down the rankings, both Raheem Sterling and Alex Kacaniklic offer value differentials for the coming weeks. Sterling, in particular, looks a great route to Liverpool’s next three fixtures.
Forwards
Our established heavy-hitting top two come under real threat as a result of recent rotation, with Carlos Tevez suffering a drop, allowing both Dimitar Berbatov and Rickie Lambert to climb above him in our reckoning. To be fair, all three have very strong fixtures to come, although the rotation doubt hanging over Tevez is a concern. Berbatov and Lambert look assured of starts, will be on spot-kicks and have the fixture to flourish for many weeks.
Tevez is still the cover option of choice within the City ranks, although tonight’s start in the Capital One Cup gives further cause for concern. Sergio Aguero could well threaten to replace him in the Watchlist from next weekend, while Yaya Toure continues to offer the only viable option in midfield while David Silva recovers his sharpness and Samir Nasri remains sidelined. City are a potential problem for Fantasy managers right now – excellent fixtures but with instability and uncertainty throughout the lineup.
Back to the rankings and Robin Van Persie is struggling to hold his top spot, particularly with United facing stiff opposition in the coming weeks. We’re banking on the Dutchman to retain his starts and continue to deliver goals, having notched five already in United colours.
There are great options lower down, too. Nikica Jelavic is only kept from our top three by the fact that there are such strong midfield options offering good Everton cover. Jermain Defoe’s form has him hold strong, while Demba Ba has also demonstrated consistent returns to offer another mid-price option. With Steven Fletcher also chipping in with four strikes from as many shots on goal, it’s clear that we’re currently spoilt for choice in this area of our squads. Configuring the right trio looks both vital and decidedly tricky.
Finally, we’re backing Luis Suarez to finally break out and offer yet another alternative over the next month. He travels to Carrow Road this weekend, the scene of a hat-trick last term, which included a spectacular 50-yard effort. The omens are good for Suarez, then, before Stoke and Reading turn up at Anfield in Gameweeks 7 and 8.
