A pair of assists at home to City isn’t enough for Mesut Ozil to stop Riyad Mahrez returning to the summit of our midfield refresh. Aaron Ramsey is also on the rise, though Kevin de Bruyne and Philippe Coutinho are amongst our Gameweek 18 fallers.
Having averaged an unbelievable 16.3 points per game over his last three appearances, Riyad Mahrez takes over at the summit this week. The Leicester winger has scored from six of his nine goal attempts from inside the box over the past four Gameweeks, and is showing few signs of slowing down when it comes to providing significant attacking returns. His latest 15-point haul has seen his price rise to 7.1 Fantasy Premier League (FPL), and while the Foxes only look to have two favourable fixtures in the next six (liv, MCI, BOU, tot, avl, STO), Mahrez has proven time after time he is capable of producing against any opposition. He currently sits just behind Sergio Aguero and Harry Kane in this week’s Captain Poll with 18% of the vote ahead of the trip to Anfield on Boxing Day.
Mesut Ozil slides down to second position on our ladder, then, though the former Real Madrid schemer remains as reliable as ever, having delivered points in 11 successive matches. Arsene Wenger’s side also face three favourable match-ups (sot, BOU, NEW) over the festive period, so the now 9.9-priced midfielder looks a solid bet to add to his five double-figure hauls already accrued.
Ozil’s Arsenal team-mate Aaron Ramsey moves all the way up to third spot. Despite failing to get on the scoresheet against City, the Wales international managed an impressive three shots from inside the box, with his late runs from a central midfield position sure to lead to further chances in the box over the next three matches. With rotation looking unlikely, given the injuries to many of Arsene Wenger’s other options in the middle of the park, Ramsey, available at 8.1 in FPL, deserves serious consideration for our five-man midfields.
While few Fantasy managers will ditch Man City’s Kevin de Bruyne ahead of the plum home fixture against Sunderland on Boxing Day, question marks are starting to be raised over the Belgian. Setting us back a hefty 10.8 in FPL, the former Wolfsburg midfielder has blanked in five of his last six appearances, and has only registered four shots from inside the box over the previous four Gameweeks. On the other hand, De Bruyne does lead all midfielders for chances created over the same period, with 14, so while City’s schedule over the next month (SUN, lei, wat, EVE, CPL, whm) is mixed, perseverance could be rewarded.
After bagging two assists in Everton’s 3-2 home defeat to Leicester, Ross Barkley climbs a couple of places in our latest update. The England international, priced at 7.5 in FPL, has the ability to frustrate and delight in equal measure, with blanks often followed by double-digit scores, but with few other midfielders in the mid-price bracket holding the same sort of upside, he remains in contention despite a run of tough fixtures (STO, TOT, mci, che) after Saturday’s trip to St James’ Park.
Crystal Palace’s Yannick Bolasie (6.2) is another riser this week, with the Eagles facing a nice run of fixtures (bou, SWA, CHE, avl) over the next four Gameweeks. The DR Congo international leads all midfielders for goal attempts (15) over the last four Gameweeks, and is joint-top with Southampton’s Sadio Mane and Chelsea’s Pedro for touches in the penalty area (26) over the same period. With his ownership standing at just 6%, Bolasie could be worth a roll of the dice as a differential for those looking to move away from the template midfield.
One of the many surprise packages of the season thus far has been Tottenham’s Dele Alli. The 19-year-old picked up 11 points in the 2-0 win at Southampton thanks to a goal and assist, and consequently leaps up our rankings ahead of the plum home fixture against Norwich this weekend. Available at just 5.2 in FPL, and now regularly playing in the number ten role for Mauricio Pochettino’s side, the England international seems the obvious place to start when looking for a cheap fifth midfielder, although he will be hard to bench in many Gameweeks.
Alli has overtaken his Spurs team-mate Christian Eriksen in our thoughts, with the latter’s lack of goal threat undermining his 8.5 price tag in FPL. The Denmark international has managed just one shot from inside the box over the last four Gameweeks, compared to five for Erik Lamela and three for Alli, both of whom are considerably cheaper. Spurs’ fixture list (NOR, wat, eve, LEI, SUN, cpl) is strong over the next month, but there’s little doubt Alli looks the far more attractive pick right now, in terms of both production and price tag.
Newcastle’s Georginio Wijnaldum splits the Tottenham pair, although the Dutch international does drop down our rankings, having blanked in the plum home fixture against Aston Villa. The Magpies do now face a tough run of fixtures (EVE, wba, ars, MUN, WHM, wat) over the upcoming period, though, and, having blanked in six of his last eight appearances, the 7.1-valued midfielder could frustrate the 185,000+ FPL bosses who transferred him in last week.
Although Bournemouth’s fixture eases after their next two matches (CPL, ars), Junior Stanislas drops a little as doubts remain over his fitness. The Cherries face home matches against West Ham and Norwich in the New Year, along with a trip to Sunderland, but it’s still uncertain whether the 4.2-rated midfielder will recover from the hamstring problem that forced him off against West Brom last weekend..
Following the news Alexis Sanchez will sit out the rest of the festive period after suffering a hamstring injury setback, we’ve moved Theo Walcott (8.3) up several positions on our ladder. The England international has a goal and assist to his name since returning to the starting XI over the last two Gameweeks and, like his team-mate Ramsey, offers a real differential option in midfield with his current ownership standing at just 1% in FPL ahead of favourable matches at Southampton and at home to Bournemouth and Newcastle.
Heading in the opposite direction in our rankings is Liverpool’s Philippe Coutinho. The 8.5-priced midfielder has registered just six penalty area touches over the last two Gameweeks, while only managing one shot from inside the box and creating a mere three chances over the same period. With the Reds upcoming schedule (LEI, sun, whm, ARS, MUN, nor) not particularly favourable, many of the Brazilian’s 22% ownership in FPL may be contemplating making a move to the likes of Ramsey or Walcott.
Another faller this week is Swansea’s Andre Ayew, despite the Ghana international being used alongside Bafetimbi Gomis up front in the goalless draw against West Ham. The former Marseille attacker has now failed to produce attacking returns in six of his last seven outings, and while the now 7.0-valued midfielder has three favourable home matches (WBA, SUN, WAT) in the next six, faith in the Swans’ top goalscorer is in short supply.
It is a similar story with Southampton’s Sadio Mane, although the Senegal international is still posting some very impressive underlying statistics – his 12 shots from inside the box over the last four Gameweeks is at least three more than any other midfielder. With Saints failing to win in their last five, and having only scored twice during that sequence, the 7.7-rated attacker continues to drop down our ladder, with Ronald Koeman’s men also facing a tough run of fixtures (ARS, whm, nor, WAT, WBA, mun).
With Barkley now looking a stronger option than Gerard Deulofeu, the Spaniard slips all the way down to the final spot in our rankings. The Toffees wide man has failed to attempt a shot on goal over the last four Gameweeks, and with rotation also possible over the festive period with the likes of Kevin Mirallas and Aaron Lennon waiting in the wings, the Barcelona product, priced at 6.4 in FPL, looks expendable, particularly after the trip to Newcastle on Boxing Day.
