Having taken a detailed look at our recommended defenders for the next four-to-six Gameweeks, we turn our attention to the midfielders this morning. Arsenal’s favourable start to the new campaign sees three of their assets included, while Raheem Sterling’s form during pre-season allows the England international to join Manchester City team-mate David Silva on our ladder.
After finishing last term in sparkling form, and also shining during pre-season, Theo Walcott goes straight to the top of our first midfield rankings. The 26-year-old was again handed the central striking role in the 1-0 win against Chelsea in the Community Shield, although he was replaced by Olivier Giroud after 66 minutes. The threat of rotation is a slight concern for Walcott’s prospects, but we believe he will be named in the starting XI for the home clash against West Ham, be it either up front or out wide. For now, we’re backing the explosive potential of the 9.0-priced Walcott as the best way to cover the Arsenal attack, at least until Alexis Sanchez returns to the fold after his Copa America excursions.
Difficult fixtures at City and at home to Arsenal mean Eden Hazard is only second on our first ladder of the season. The Belgian international was the highest scoring player in Fantasy Premier League (FPL) last season with 233 points, and with Diego Costa’s hamstring playing up again, his contribution will be more crucial than ever for the champions. The 11.5-valued midfielder is currently the most popular player in FPL with an ownership of 57%, while he leads this week’s Captain Poll with 30% of the vote ahead of Chelsea’s home encounter with Swansea.
Southampton have been handed a kind start (new, EVE, wat, NOR, wba, MUN) to the new season, so we’re backing Sadio Mane (8.0) to fire for the Saints over the opening few Gameweeks. The Senegal international scored 11 goals and grabbed four assists in his first season in England, and looks an integral part of the Saints’ attack, although we will have to monitor the effect the Europa League has on both the form and possible rotation of Ronald Koeman’s attacking assets.
The second Arsenal midfielder to feature on our ladder is Mesut Ozil. Manager Arsene Wenger has stated he intends to field the Germany international in his favoured “number ten†role this season, and the former Real Madrid man looks at this point less prone to rotation than the likes of Walcott as the campaign unfolds. This has been the first full pre-season Ozil has had with the Gunners since joining in 2013, and with a friendly opening schedule (WHM, cpl, LIV, new, STO, che), the 8.5-rated midfielder should significantly improve on the four goals and six assists he registered last term.
The biggest signing of the summer transfer window so far was undoubtedly Raheem Sterling’s move from Liverpool to City. The winger has immediately looked at home playing alongside the likes of David Silva and Yaya Toure in pre-season and bagged three goals over the summer – more than any premium priced midfielder. Manuel Pellegrini has trialled a 4-3-3 system in recent outings and a role in the front three could boost Sterling’s points potential as he looks to challenge Silva as the strongest option from the City midfield this season, although the early schedule (wba, CHE, eve, WAT, cpl, WHM) is mixed.
Bournemouth’s Matt Ritchie is immediately installed onto our ladder by virtue of the Cherries’ enticing opening fixtures (AVL, liv, whm, LEI, nor, SUN). The Scotland international racked up a mightily impressive 15 goals and 17 assists in the Championship last year, benefitting from taking the majority of the south coast club’s set-pieces. While it will be impossible to repeat those numbers in the top flight, Ritchie, who will set us back 6.0 in FPL, has been handed the ideal opportunity to arrive on our radars.
After his most prolific FPL season last time around, scoring 12 goals and registering 191 points, it may come as something of a surprise to see David Silva so far down our rankings. The Spain international has been handed a price tag of 10.0 for the new season, though, placing some doubt as to whether he can out-perform the likes of Sterling to justify that extra 1.0 outlay. The former Valencia midfielder scored four, six, four and seven goals in his first four seasons with the Citizens, so it remains to be seen if last year’s output was a one-off, or a sign of more composure in front of goal.
Another close call in our initial rankings was the one between Man United midfielders Juan Mata and Memphis Depay, with both available at 8.5 in FPL. We’ve opted for the latter largely due to the Dutch international being handed the “number ten†role during much of United’s pre-season. While the former PSV attacker may be shifted to the left of the attacking three if Louis van Gaal favours a 4-3-3 system, Depay’s record of 22 league goals last season, including many spectacular strikes from free-kicks, gain him the slight advantage over Mata, who should still have penalty taking duties, but looks the most vulnerable if United sign wide man Pedro from Barcelona.
With Brazilian pair Philippe Coutinho and new signing Roberto Firmino missing much of Liverpool’s pre-season, we’ve opted for Jordan Henderson as our preferred option from the Reds midfield for the time being. Handed the captaincy by Brendan Rodgers, the England international takes many of the set-pieces, and is still the first choice penalty taker as far as we know, with Christian Benteke yet to be on the pitch when Liverpool have been handed a spot kick. After registering six goals and ten assists last term, Henderson looks kindly priced at 7.0 in FPL, although the Reds face some tough away fixtures at the start of the new season (sto, BOU, ars, WHM, mun, NOR).
While there is plenty of uncertainty about how Leicester will line up under new boss Claudio Ranieri, Riyad Mahrez’s pre-season form and price tag of 5.5 in FPL mean he finds a place on our ladder. The Algeria international grabbed two assists in the Foxes final run-out against Birmingham, playing “in the hole†in a 3-4-1-2 formation, and also found the back of the net in wins against Lincoln City and Rotherham United. While those fixtures aren’t a great indication of how Mahrez will fare when the proper action gets under way on Saturday, Leicester’s favourable fixtures (SUN, whm, TOT, bou, AVL, sto) have strengthened the claims of the attacking midfielder.
Nacer Chadli was undoubtedly one of the surprise packages in FPL last season, with the Belgian international scoring 11 goals, while also chipping in with six assists. He ended up just two points short of team-mate Christian Eriksen last term, and with Chadli coming in at 7.0 in FPL compared to the Dane’s 8.5, we’re happy to select the Belgian on our Watchlist, with Tottenham’s fixtures after the tough trip to Old Trafford in Gameweek 1 pretty favourable (STO, lei, EVE, sun, CPL).
Two new faces in the Premier League this season find their way onto our ladder, with West Ham’s Dimitri Payet and Sunderland’s Jeremain Lens looking potentially profitable mid-price options. Payet arrives from Marseille having topped the assist charts in Ligue 1 by some margin with 17, while he also executed more key passes than any player in the top five European leagues. Priced at 7.5 in FPL, Payet has three favourable home matches (LEI, BOU, NEW) over the opening five Gameweeks to properly announce himself to Fantasy managers.
Sunderland manager Dick Advocaat will hope Dutch international Lens can help the Black Cats improve on a dire goal scoring record which saw them find the back of the net just 31 times last season. Signed from Dynamo Kiev, Lens has provided at least ten assists in four of the last five seasons, and opened his account for Sunderland with the winning goal against Hannover in their final pre-season friendly. Expected to play on the left of the Black Cats front three in a 4-3-3 formation, the former PSV attacker, who has a current ownership of just 0.9%, could be a handy differential ahead of some appealing early fixtures (lei, NOR, SWA, avl, TOT, bou).
For our final selection, we’ve taken something of a gamble by selecting Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain. After scoring the decisive goal against Chelsea in the Community Shield on Sunday, the Arsenal midfielder may well have done enough to earn himself a start in the Gameweek 1 home encounter against West Ham. While his prospects as a starter look precarious in the medium term once Sanchez returns, his price tag of 6.0 in FPL has caught our attention, and the 21-year-old could provide Fantasy managers with a cheaper route into the Gunners attack.
