There is little change among the forwards on our Watchlist, which offers player recommendations for the next four-to-six Gameweeks, with Romelu Lukaku, Harry Kane and Jamie Vardy the leading candidates for our three-man frontlines. Arsenal’s Olivier Giroud has moved up a few spots on our ladder, though, with his place in the starting XI looking more assured with Theo Walcott set to be utilised out wide for the time being.
Having averaged 9.6 points per game over his last five appearances, and with Everton’s fixture list remaining friendly over the next four Gameweeks (nor, LEI, new, STO), Romelu Lukaku keeps his place at the summit. The Belgian, along with Watford’s Odion Ighalo, leads all forwards from shots inside the box over the last four Gameweeks with 14, while those two, along with Chelsea’s Diego Costa, have 31 penalty area touches over the same period, the most among forwards. Available at 9.1 in Fantasy Premier League (FPL), the former Chelsea striker looks a “must have” for Fantasy managers at the moment.
While Harry Kane has blanked in his last two outings, and only registered three penalty box touches and one goal attempt on target, the fact Newcastle and Norwich visit White Hart Lane over the next three Gameweeks means he keeps his spot in second position on our ladder. The 9.7-priced England international had scored seven goals in his four appearances prior to the last two Gameweeks, and currently leads this week’s Captain Poll with 27% of the vote ahead of the home clash against Newcastle, who conceded five goals on their last visit to London against Crystal Palace a fortnight ago.
His streak of scoring in 11 successive Premier League matches may have come to an end last weekend, but Leicester’s Jamie Vardy holds station behind Lukaku and Kane on our ladder. Claudio Ranieri’s men do now face five difficult fixtures (CHE, eve, liv, MCI, BOU, tot) in the next six, but with confidence still extremely high at the King Power Stadium following the 3-0 win at Swansea, the England striker, who now has a price tag of 7.6 in FPL, certainly can’t be written off.
Following his hat-trick against Olympiakos, and with Theo Walcott returning to the Arsenal starting XI out wide, we’ve moved Olivier Giroud up a couple of places in our latest update. The Frenchman is also in good form in the Premier League, with five goals in his last seven appearances, and while the 8.9-valued forward has yet to register a double-digit score in FPL this season, he should continue to provide a steady stream of attacking points. The Gunners also face three very favourable fixtures (avl, MCI, sot, BOU, NEW) over the next five Gameweeks.
Watford’s Odion Ighalo moves in the opposite direction this time around, with the Hornets upcoming schedule (sun, LIV, che, TOT, MCI, sot) stiffening up after this weekend’s trip to Sunderland. The Nigerian still offers fantastic value at 5.9 in FPL, though, having racked up 96 points so far this season, the third highest among forwards. As already touched upon, his underlying statistics are also very impressive, so his 26% ownership may be tempted to stick with him for the time being.
With Daniel Sturridge having been ruled out for the next few weeks with a hamstring strain, and with Liverpool’s fixtures over the next month or so (WBA, wat, LEI, sun, whm, ARS) very favourable, we’ve elevated Christian Benteke up our ladder. The 8.3-rated Belgian may have struggled against Newcastle, but with Philippe Coutinho in line to return for Sunday’s home encounter against West Brom, the Reds attack should be far more potent. With Roberto Firmino also an option for Jurgen Klopp in the central striker role, though, investment in the former Aston Villa striker does carry a slight risk.
By virtue of Man United’s schedule over the next six Gameweeks (bou, NOR, sto, CHE, SWA, new), which is ranked as the most favourable according to our Season Ticker, Anthony Martial stays in our thoughts. The France international once again demonstrated his coolness in front of goal against Wolfsburg in midweek, but with few chances being created by the United midfield, the 7.8-priced forward may struggle to persuade new investors.
Having blanked in three favourable fixtures against Sunderland, Stoke and Aston Villa over the last four Gameweeks, faith in Southampton’s Graziano Pelle is quickly diminishing. The Italian, who sets us back 8.2 in FPL, is part of a Saints side that has been struggling to score goals of late, managing just three in their last four matches. With their next three fixtures (cpl, TOT, ARS) pretty unfavourable, it’s difficult to see his recent barren spell coming to an end in the short-term at least, with the schedule thereafter (whm, nor, WAT) picking up.
Ruled out of tomorrow’s home clash against Swansea, Man City’s Sergio Aguero drops all the way down our latest rankings. With Manuel Pellegrini hopeful that the Argentine could be available for the Gameweek 17 trip to Arsenal, it seems his latest absence will only be a short-term one and many owners will be tempted to hold as the festive fixtures come thick and fast.
After being utilised in the lone striker role for Stoke in the 2-0 victory over Man City, Bojan sneaks into the final spot on our ladder. The former Barcelona attacker has a bargain price tag of 5.1 in FPL, while the Potters only have one difficult fixture over the next month or so (whm, CPL, MUN, eve, wba, NOR), at home to Man United in Gameweek 18. The Spaniard has only managed three shots from inside the box over the last four Gameweek, though, while with 13 goals in the Premier League so far, Stoke, along with Aston Villa, are the lowest scoring side in the top flight.
