The Watchlist Updated – Gameweek 4 – The Midfielders

Following yesterday’s look at the latest movements among the goalkeepers and defenders on our Watchlist, which offers player recommendations for the next four-to-six rounds of fixtures, this afternoon we turn our attention to the midfield. Liverpool’s Philippe Coutinho sees his stock rise with the Reds fixtures very favourable in the coming weeks, while Xherdan Shaqiri makes his first appearance in our rankings after bagging an assist on his Stoke debut.

Although he disappointingly blanked against Everton on Sunday, David Silva keeps his place at the summit thanks to Manchester City’s particularly favourable upcoming schedule (WAT, cpl, WHM, tot, NEW, BOU), which includes four plum home fixtures. The Spaniard has created nine chances so far this season, joint-third among midfielders, although he has only managed four shots from inside the box, which is a slight concern given his hefty 10.1 price tag in Fantasy Premier League (FPL).

Hot on the heels of Silva is Leicester’s Riyad Mahrez, who has undoubtedly been the star of the season so far. The Foxes attacker has scored four goals in his three appearances, and has registered 21 touches in the penalty box, second only to Alexis Sanchez among midfielders. The Algerian is the most transferred in player this week with 307,000+ new owners in FPL, seeing his price rise to 6.0, and still has a reasonable slate of fixtures (bou, AVL, sto, ARS, nor, sot) over the next six Gameweeks in which to continue his sensational form.

Alexis Sanchez is another non-mover at the top of our rankings, although the Chilean is still waiting to open his account for the new season. Arsenal’s fixtures over the next month or so are fairly mixed (new, STO, che, lei, MUN, wat), but with the 11.0-priced midfielder topping the charts for shots in the box with 12, it’s surely only a matter of time before he returns to the form which saw him score 16 league goals in his first season in English football.

Despite failing to register any attacking returns so far this season, Bournemouth’s Matt Ritchie moves up a couple of places in our latest refresh by virtue of the Cherries favourable schedule (LEI, nor, SUN, sto, WAT). The Scotland international bagged 15 goals and 17 assists in the Championship last season, and while he hasn’t managed to translate that form in the Premier League so far, having totalled nine goal attempts in his first three outings, the 5.9-valued midfielder looks to have the ideal fixtures in which to translate those impressive numbers into Fantasy points over the coming weeks.

Liverpool’s Philippe Coutinho is another riser this week, with the Reds facing three kind home fixtures in the next four Gameweeks (WHM, mun, NOR, AVL). The 8.1-rated midfielder has attempted 15 shots so far this season, more than any other midfielder, although the Brazilian has somewhat surprisingly only created two chances for his team-mates.

After registering attacking returns for the third consecutive match, grabbing an assist in City’s 2-0 win at Everton, Yaya Toure remains a great option for Fantasy managers, coming in at 8.8 in FPL. The Ivorian has attempted nine shots this season, although only two have been from inside the area, while he has also created seven chances, just two less than the more expensive Silva, but significantly four more than the 8.9-rated Raheem Sterling. With the fixtures firmly in his favour, the former Barcelona man looks worthy of serious consideration for one of our three City slots.

While he may have failed to register attacking points for the first time this season in Swansea’s 1-1 draw at Sunderland, Andre Ayew still looks an attractive option priced at 7.1 in FPL. The Ghana international has attempted nine shots from inside the box, joint-second among midfielders, and still has some reasonable fixtures (MUN, wat, EVE, sot, TOT, STO) over the coming period, including four home encounters at the Liberty Stadium.

Stoke’s Xherdan Shaqiri has immediately moved onto our radars after providing an assist on his Potters debut, while the upcoming fixtures for Mark Hughes’ men (WBA, ars, LEI, BOU, avl, swa) only further enhance his Fantasy prospects. The 7.0-priced Swiss international currently has an ownership of just 2.8% in FPL, and could be worth considering for those who have endured a slow start to the new season as they look to make up lost ground.

One faller this week is West Ham’s Dimitri Payet, who failed to register any attacking points despite the Hammers scoring three times against Bournemouth on Saturday. Slaven Bilic’s side also face two difficult away trips in the next three Gameweeks against Liverpool and City, although they do also have four favourable matches (NEW, NOR, sun, cpl) over the coming period, which mean it’s probably worth the France international’s 8.7% ownership keeping faith for the time being.

Aside from the aforementioned Mahrez, there are few players offering better value in FPL than Norwich’s Nathan Redmond right now. The England U21 international has two goals and an assist to his name so far, and has picked up five bonus points over the last two Gameweeks. The fleet-footed winger has seen his price rise to 5.6 this week on the back of more than 68,000 transfers in, and while the Canaries fixtures aren’t as favourable over the next six matches (sot, BOU, liv, whm, LEI, new), his bargain price mean he should deliver decent value over the coming weeks.

Eden Hazard has undoubtedly been one of the big disappointments of the new season so far, only returning a single assist in the first three Gameweeks. On the back of a further 100,000+ sales this week, his price has dropped to 11.4 in FPL, and with the cheaper Pedro (9.5) making such a strong impression on his Chelsea debut, bagging a goal and an assist in his 13-point haul, the jury is out on whether the Belgian is worth that extra outlay. The upcoming schedule (CPL, eve, ARS, new, SOT, AVL) isn’t particularly straightforward for the champions, despite having four matches at Stamford Bridge.

After Christian Eriksen missed Tottenham’s 1-1 draw at Leicester with a knee injury, and with the Dane still a slight doubt for this Saturday’s home clash against Everton, we’ve opted for Nacer Chadli as our favoured Spurs midfield option for the time being. The 7.0-priced Belgian has racked up 14 points in the last two Gameweeks thanks to a goal and an assist, and has three favourable fixtures (EVE, sun, CPL) to take advantage of before the schedule (MCI, swa, LIV) gets slightly tougher for Mauricio Pochettino’s side.

Completing our ladder this week are the underperforming Memphis Depay and Sadio Mane. The Manchester United attacker was drafted in by over 20,000 FPL managers ahead of the plum home fixture against Newcastle, after wowing the Old Trafford crowd with two goals and an assist in United’s 3-1 win against Club Brugge in the Champions League qualifier first leg. The former PSV man flattered to deceive once again in domestic action, though, and now has some more difficult matches (swa, LIV, sot, SUN, ars, eve) in which to appease his 22.7% ownership.

Mane, ironically linked with a move to Old Trafford over the last seven days, was forced off after just 24 minutes against Watford on Sunday after suffering a hip injury. The Senegal international is expected to recover in time for Southampton’s favourable home clash against Norwich on Sunday, but with just five FPL points to his name so far this season, and with difficult match-ups against United and Chelsea to come in the next six Gameweeks, the 7.9-rated midfielder needs to get off the mark soon, otherwise many of his 4.4% ownership will be making alternative plans during the international break.