Hot on the heels of our look at the risers and fallers in the defence yesterday, this afternoon our attention turns to the latest movements among the midfielders. Following his first goal of the season against Arsenal, and with Chelsea’s fixtures turning favourably over the coming weeks, Eden Hazard is back in our thoughts, while Juan Mata returns to the Watchlist after registering returns in his last three appearances.
Leicester’s Riyad Mahrez remains top of our ladder after incredibly picking up his fifth double-digit haul in last weekend’s 2-2 draw at Stoke. The Algerian has been subject of another price rise this week, now setting us back 6.4 in Fantasy Premier League (FPL), but is clearly still offering outstanding value. With the Foxes upcoming schedule (ARS, nor, sot, CPL, wba, WAT) still pretty favourable, his sensational start to the season could continue for some time yet.
After backing up his 16-point haul against Newcastle with an assist in West Ham’s 2-1 win at Manchester City, Dimitri Payet continues to move up our rankings. The France international is the second most transferred in player so far this week, and with the Hammers top of our Season Ticker for the next six Gameweeks (NOR, sun, cpl, CHE, wat, EVE), the now 7.8-priced midfielder looked primed to add to his three goals and two assists. He currently stands third in our Captain Poll ahead of the home encounter against Norwich, with 11% of the vote.
David Silva drops a place this week after missing Manchester City’s 2-1 defeat to West Ham with a calf injury sustained in the warm-up. The Spaniard has now missed the Citizens’ last two league matches, but is expected to be fit to play at Tottenham on Saturday. The fixture list (tot, NEW, BOU, mun, NOR, avl) is still very favourable for Manuel Pellegrini’s side, so the 10.2-valued midfielder still looks a great option over the coming period, providing he can shake off that calf problem.
With just a single assist so far this season, Alexis Sanchez continues to frustrate his 13% ownership in FPL. The former Barcelona attacker has been transferred out by 24,000+ FPL managers this week, with Arsenal’s upcoming fixtures (lei, MUN, wat, EVE, swa, TOT) also fairly mixed. Nonetheless, the 11.0-rated Chilean still leads all midfielders for shots in the box – his total of 22 is eight clear of Philippe Coutinho, and could come back to haunt those sellers, given Leicester have conceded nine goals so far this season. It’s perhaps also worth noting Sanchez scored at the King Power Stadium last term.
On the back of two consecutive blanks, Swansea’s Andre Ayew falls a couple of spots in our latest update. The Ghana attacker has only managed one attempt over the same period, with the Swans attack seemingly stuttering after failing to score in their last three matches in all competitions. The upcoming schedule (sot, TOT, STO, avl, ARS, nor) for Garry Monk’s side is pretty mixed, but available at 7.3 in FPL, the former Marseille man should still continue to offer great value for his 24.2% ownership.
Following a disappointing start to the season, providing just a single assist over the first five Gameweeks, Eden Hazard finally came good in Gameweek 6. A 10-point haul in Chelsea’s 2-0 win against Arsenal would have been hugely welcome to those that have kept faith in the Belgian, while the fact he has created nine chances and registered six goal attempts over the last two Gameweeks suggests he could gradually be returning to his stellar form of last season. The champions’ forthcoming fixtures (new, SOT, AVL, whm, LIV, sto) also look favourable for the 11.3-priced midfielder.
Although he has failed to register any attacking points over the last three Gameweeks, Yaya Toure remains in our thoughts, given the strength of City’s upcoming schedule. The 9.0-valued midfielder was also very unfortunate not to find the back of the net against West Ham, having managed seven goal attempts, with five from inside the box. The Ivory Coast international also created three chances, so while he will have disappointed his 34.6% ownership over the past few weeks, he certainly looks worth holding for the time being.
Southampton’s Sadio Mane moves up a couple of places in our latest refresh after grabbing two assists in the Saints 3-2 defeat to Man United. The Senegal international is still to open his account this season, but having managed a reasonable 12 goal attempts, it shouldn’t be too long before he gets off the mark. The 7.8-rated attacker, whose current ownership in FPL only stands at 3.9%, also faces three very favourable fixtures (LEI, BOU, sun) over the coming period, while the other three match-ups (SWA, che, liv) still hope some hope of attacking points.
There’s no doubt Juan Mata has been ticking along quite nicely so far this season, bagging two goals and a pair of assists. United’s fixture list over the coming weeks (SUN, ars, eve, MCI, cpl, WBA) looks fairly tricky, though, perhaps putting off any potential suitors, while the emergence of Anthony Martial is another possible deterrent to investment. Having registered 14 goal attempts and created 13 chances so far this season, the Spaniard, available at 8.6 in FPL, does appear to offer a fairly reliable source of attacking returns.
Stoke’s favourable run of fixtures over the next five Gameweeks (BOU, avl, swa, WAT, new) means Xherdan Shaqiri keeps his place on our ladder. The Swiss international has only registered a single assist for the Potters so far, but showed enough in the 2-2 draw against Leicester, managing two goal attempts and creating four chances, to suggest he can live up to his 7.0 price tag over the next few weeks.
Another faller this time around is Crystal Palace’s Yannick Bolasie, who is still looking for his first attacking points of the campaign. The DR Congo international has started the last two matches as a lone striker, although with the Eagles failing to score on both occasions, along with the fact the 6.3-priced midfielder played the second-half against Tottenham in his normal wide role following the introduction of Frazier Campbell, he may well start on the wing against Watford on Sunday. The south London outfit do face four good match-ups (wat, WBA, WHM, lei) over the coming weeks, though.
In a similar vein to Yaya Toure, there’s no doubt Philippe Coutinho was pretty unfortunate not to get on the scoresheet against Norwich after firing 10 goal attempts, with six inside the area. With difficult away trips to Everton and Tottenham following this weekend’s plum home fixture against Aston Villa, though, the 8.1-valued midfielder really needs to produce the goods on Saturday, or face seeing his 15.3% ownership fall drastically in the coming weeks.
One midfielder who has delivered outstanding value so far this season is Everton’s Ross Barkley. The England international, available at 6.9 in FPL, has two goals and three assists to his name in the league, while he also grabbed a goal in the 2-1 victory over Reading in the Capital One Cup last night. The Toffees fixture list (wba, LIV, MUN, ars, SUN, whm) remains fairly difficult, but having registered 17 goal attempts and created 12 chances so far this term, Barkley looks one of the strongest mid-price options available to Fantasy managers.
After scoring his first Premier League goal with a stunning volley against Sunderland, Bournemouth’s Matt Ritchie takes the final place in our latest rankings. The Scotland international had failed to live up to the pre-season hype until last weekend, but now priced at 5.7 in FPL, could be worthy of some consideration once again, although the Cherries only face two favourable fixtures (WAT, NEW) over the next six Gameweeks, with the other four matches (sto, mci, TOT, sot) unlikely to yield many attacking points.
