There’s plenty for us to ponder as we cast an eye over the upcoming round of fixtures. Chelsea’s options in defence and out wide, Sergio Aguero’s captaincy potential, the form of Arsenal’s wide men, Palace’s midfield conundrum and the impact of ‘Arry’s departure on Charlie Austin are all on the lunchtime menu.

Cuadrado’s pitch time away to Villa…
Chelsea’s capture of the Colombian lit up an otherwise anti-climactic transfer deadline day. As mentioned in our Scout Report, Cuadrado’s stats in attack and defence are superior to Willian’s and suggest the Brazilian is the man most likely to make way as Jose Mourinho looks for an extra edge in the final third. Eden Hazard, Cesc Fabregas and Oscar all sit amongst the top five regular midfielders for points per appearance this season – underlining the potential of Chelsea’s regulars under the Special One. With Willian struggling after being forced off against City last Saturday, Mourinho may even choose to unleash his new boy from the start and hand us an immediate premium-priced target for our 15-man squads.

and Zouma’s…
Since the shock New Year’s Day thrashing at Spurs, the young centre-half has started five of the last seven matches in all competitions for Chelsea. Mourinho seems to have made Gary Cahill the fall guy for that demoralising 5-3 defeat and Zouma’s pace and strength has been preferred to the former Bolton man against Liverpool and City in the last two, suggesting he may well have climbed above him in the pecking order. At just 4.6 in FPL, Zouma is certainly being monitored as a cut-price route into a defence that’s already served up 11 clean sheets this season.

Arsenal’s midfield form without Sanchez…
The Chilean is set to miss a second successive Gameweek after being ruled out of the north London derby trip to Tottenham by Arsene Wenger earlier today. Although the Arsenal manager has conceded Sanchez could “maybe” be back for Tuesday’s home encounter with Leicester, his weekend absence allows Mesut Ozil and Theo Walcott another chance to shine and potentially persuade Wenger not to risk his star player against the Foxes. With Danny Welbeck also in contention and Santi Cazorla in red-hot form, Wenger has plenty of options at his disposal, though a slip-up at Spurs may well convince him to fast-track Sanchez back into the XI, if he proves his fitness in time.

Palace’s midfield before Bolasie is back…
Alan Pardew’s decision to bring in Jordon Mutch and Lee Chung-Young over the last week, in addition to making Wilfried Zaha’s deal a permanent one, heightens the competition for places in the Palace midfield. Jason Puncheon and Dwight Gayle have thrived in the absence of Yannick Bolasie but with the DR Congo man set to fly back from the African Cup of Nations at the start of the week, the battle for a place in Pardew’s XI is set to intensify. Can Puncheon – snapped up by over 84,000 FPL managers last week – and Gayle continue to convince or is Pardew setting his squad up for a horse for courses approach?

Aguero’s armband appeal…
It’s four appearances without a goal for the City striker after he failed to find the net at Stamford Bridge last Saturday. Looking at the transfers in, the weight of expectancy hangs heavy on Aguero’s shoulders as a result of Diego Costa’s suspension – over 180,000 snapped him up in each of the last two Gameweeks, whilst 115,000+ have already brought him on board this time out ahead of the visit of Hull. With Newcastle and Leicester also rolling up to the Etihad in the next five, City have the chance to rack up the goals – can Aguero return to the heady height of Gameweek 8, where he racked up four goals and 19 points against Spurs, or will he continue to struggle for form and match sharpness?

Austin’s form now ‘Arry has legged it…
The Loftus Road outfit are in free-fall after picking up just two points in the last six matches before their former manager bailed out in midweek. Redknapp’s side had scored just four times over that period, with Charlie Austin notching two of those goals courtesy of his spot-kick duties, but penalties aside, their top scorer has struggled in recent weeks and has failed to score from open play since Gameweek 17. Austin remains the third most popular forward in the FPL game ahead of Southampton’s visit but with a trip to stubborn Sunderland and a blank Gameweek 27 in the next four, he’ll need to turn on the style on Saturday to prevent an exodus.

Sterling and Coutinho against the Toffees improving defence…
The in-form duo were key to last weekend’s win over West Ham and bagged a goal apiece as Liverpool came from behind to see off Bolton in the cup last night. With Brendan Rodgers uncertain over starting Daniel Sturridge, Sterling and Coutinho’s displays look key to helping the Reds overcome some testing fixtures. A trip to Goodison precedes match-ups against Spurs, Southampton and City and with Roberto Martinez’ side earning successive clean sheets for the first time this term last time out, the 31%-owned Sterling, in particular, will need to prove he has the form to trump the fixtures as midfields are re-assembled.

Pulis’ answer to the Spurs humbling…
After picking up four points and two clean sheets in Tony Pulis’ first two league matches in charge, a 3-0 home loss to Tottenham brought the Baggies back down to earth. The new man in charge drafted in Darren Fletcher but failed with last-minute bids for Martin Olsson and Carlton Cole on transfer deadline day and is clearly unconvinced with the squad inherited from Alan Irvine. Fortunately for Pulis, the fixtures are very much in his favour – Burnley, Swansea, Sunderland, Villa and Stoke in the next six aids his chances of climbing clear of the drop zone. After dropping Chris Baird and subbing off Andre Wisdom on the hour-mark against Spurs, though, we’re looking for a little more consistency at the back to renew our faith in the Pulis effect.

Walters’ position with Diouf now fully fit…
With the Senegal striker off on international duties, Walters has started each of the last two up top for the Potters and leapt onto radars with a hat-trick against QPR. Mark Hughes was cautious with Diouf’s fitness last weekend and despite having the summer signing available, he chose to leave him on the bench after a long-haul flight back from the African Cup of Nations. It was perhaps telling, though, that Walters was shifted to the right in order to accommodate Peter Crouch up front just after the hour mark and with Diouf back in contention to start, will Hughes allow the Republic of Ireland man to lead the line again? The fixtures are very much in Stoke’s favour and offer the 5.2-priced Walters the chance to be an unlikely Fantasy hero if he can nail down that central spot from here on in.

The Hammers’ form as the fixtures stiffen…
One win in six – against whipping boys Hull – has seen the Hammers tumble down the table in recent weeks. The schedule is hardly conducive to optimism, either – defeated at Liverpool last time out, Big Sam’s side face United, Southampton, Spurs, Chelsea and Arsenal in the next six rounds of fixtures in an unrelenting schedule which only eases up around Gameweek 30. With a handful of doubts at the back and Andy Carroll limping up at Anfield, Allardyce faces a tough task to arrest his side’s decline and Stewart Downing’s owners may well be poised to part company if the Hammers show little sign of improvement against the Red Devils this weekend.