Riyad Mahrez returns to the top of our midfield Watchlist as Leicester prepare for some excellent upcoming fixtures. West Ham and Spurs supply us with a couple of players apiece, whilst Sunderland’s new playmaker makes his mark after grabbing two assists on his first start at Anfield.
Having followed five successive blanks with a goal and three assists in his last three appearances, Leicester’s Riyad Mahrez looks to be returning to his pre-Christmas form. The 7.1-priced midfielder hasn’t posted brilliant attacking statistics over the last four Gameweeks, registering just five shots from inside the box and creating three chances, but with the Foxes facing a very favourable run over the next month or so (ars, NOR, WBA, wat, NEW, cpl), it will be a brave Fantasy manager who chooses to go without Mahrez over the coming period.
Although West Ham’s Dimitri Payet has failed to produce any attacking returns over the last four Gameweeks, he still ranks second among midfielders for chances created (14) over the same period and earned an assist in the midweek FA Cup win over Liverpool. His lack of goal threat is a concern, managing just four goal attempts (one from inside the box) over the last four Gameweeks, though his Fantasy owners will be hoping he benefits from a move back into the role in “the hole” over the next few fixtures after Slaven Bilic opted for a 4-2-3-1 at Southampton last weekend. Priced at just 8.2 in Fantasy Premier League (FPL), and with a pretty kind looking run of fixtures (nor, SUN, TOT, eve, WAT, che) over the coming weeks, the France international appears likely to return to form sooner rather than later.
Tottenham’s Dele Alli is another non-mover towards the top of the Watchlist, with the England international continuing his good form with an assist in just 30 minutes of playing time in the 1-0 win against Watford. The 5.9-valued midfielder should return to the Spurs starting XI against Man City on Sunday having missed out against the Hornets as a precaution after suffering dizziness against Norwich, and with a reasonable run of matches over the coming weeks (mci, SWA, whm, ARS, avl, BOU), the former MK Dons midfielder should keep his spot in many of our 15-man squads.
While Stoke’s Marko Arnautovic has blanked in his last three appearances, the Potters very friendly fixture list over the next three Gameweeks (bou, AVL, NEW) sees the Austrian move up several places in our refresh. The 6.4-rated attacker has still created a respectable seven chances in his last three matches, although he did register just one shot from inside the box over the same period.
Despite bagging 10 points in Arsenal’s 2-0 win at Bournemouth thanks to a goal and two bonus points, Mesut Ozil doesn’t move up the ladder this week because of the Gunners difficult looking run of fixtures (LEI, mun, SWA, tot, WBA, eve), particularly in the short-term. The German international remains a good bet for assist points, having created 13 chances in his last three outings, and although he doesn’t offer a huge goal threat, he did hit the target with all three of his shots from inside the box over the last three Gameweeks. Setting us back 9.9 in FPL, Ozil continues to make a strong argument for inclusion ahead of his team-mate Alexis Sanchez based purely on value.
Tottenham’s Christian Eriksen (8.5) moves up a few positions in our latest refresh, with the Danish international managing to create 26 chances over the last four Gameweeks, 12 more than any other midfielder. That’s helped him pick up three assists in his last four appearances, along with a brace in the 4-1 win against Sunderland in Gameweek 22. While he remains the third choice at Tottenham behind Harry Kane and Alli, there’s no doubt Eriksen is a viable option for FPL bosses.
Another riser this time around is West Ham’s Michail Antonio (5.3), who has registered an impressive three goals and five assists over the last eight Gameweeks. While that level of production may be hard to maintain, given he’s only created three chances over the last four, the wide man has encouragingly registered a respectable six shots from inside the box over the same period and underlined his threat by netting against Liverpool in midweek. With those favourable match-ups against Norwich and Sunderland over the new few weeks, the former Nottingham Forest winger looks a strong differential option in the short-term with his ownership standing at 2% in FPL. Rotation concerns could soon be an issue, though, with Manuel Lanzini and Diafra Sakho closing in on first-team returns.
Gylfi Sigurdsson is undoubtedly one of the form midfielders in the Premier League right now, having scored five goals in his last six outings. The Iceland international zooms up our ladder this week, then, and is another who offers a differential option in midfield with his ownership standing at just 4.0% in FPL. Swansea’s short-term fixtures (SOT, tot, ars) are pretty tough, though, so it’s perhaps best to wait until Gameweek 29 onwards (NOR, bou, AVL) to seriously consider the 7.0-valued midfielder, who is flourishing playing at the tip of a midfield diamond.
While Everton’s Ross Barkley and Liverpool’s Roberto Firmino are in great form, having each registered double-figure hauls in recent weeks, the pair slide down our rankings this week due to the fact they both face blanks in Gameweek 27. Barkley, who sets us back 7.4 in FPL, leads all midfielders for total goal attempts (16) and shots from inside the box (nine) over the last four Gameweeks, while the 8.2-rated Firmino leads the way for penalty box touches with 36. Both have pretty favourable match-ups this weekend, though, with the Toffees entertaining West Brom at Goodison Park, while Liverpool travel to take on Aston Villa.
Having failed to produce any attacking points since his return to action in Gameweek 23, Arsenal’s Alexis Sanchez is another to suffer a drop on the Watchlist this week. As already mentioned, Arsene Wenger’s men do face a tricky run of fixtures over the coming weeks, and given the Chilean’s hefty 11.0 price tag, many Fantasy managers may wait until we see an explosion from the former Barcelona attacker before we start to hatch plans to get him back in our 15-man rosters.
Priced at an incredibly cheap 4.3 in FPL, and having scored three goals in his last five appearances, Man United’s Jesse Lingard is another of our significant climbers. The United winger looks to have nailed down a spot in the starting XI at Old Trafford, and with four favourable match-ups (sun, WAT, wba, CPL) over the next six Gameweeks, he should attract plenty of investment given his paltry 1.8% ownership in FPL.
Having provided two assists on his first start for Sunderland last Saturday, Wahbi Khazri is a new face on this week’s Watchlist. The Tunisia international created three chances in the 2-2 draw at Anfield, and given he racked up five goals and seven assists in just 20 outings for Bordeaux in the first half of this season, he could well provide decent value at just 6.0 in FPL. The Black Cats’ upcoming fixtures (MUN, whm, CPL, sot, EVE, new) are mixed, though.
Oscar’s superior goal threat earns the nod as our favoured Chelsea midfield option. He’s registered nine goal attempts (five from inside the box) over the last four Gameweeks, and has also created a reasonable five chances over the same period. A lack of minutes is a slight concern having been substituted after just 54 minutes in Sunday’s 1-1 draw against Man United, but with a pretty kind upcoming schedule (NEW, sot, nor, STO, liv, WHM), the 8.1-priced Brazilian could be worth a roll of the dice, particularly ahead of Saturday’s favourable home clash against Newcastle.
Newcastle’s Georginio Wijnaldum clings onto the final spot on our ladder, given his standing as the fourth highest scoring midfielder in FPL this season with 122 points. The Dutchman’s short-term prospects don’t look particularly bright though given he faces two away matches (che, sto), along with the blank in Gameweek 27. Favourable home fixtures against Bournemouth and Sunderland do follow for the 7.1-valued midfielder, though.
