Granted the luxury of an international break, we begin our four-part analysis of our current Watchlist standings by focusing first on goalkeeper acquisition.
The Watchlist is designed to offer a view on our current mid-term player recommendations, based on the prospects spanning the next 4-6 Gameweeks.
You will find our current Watchlist standings in your right-hand menu on the homepage on desktop, or via the fourth button on the homepage on mobile and tablet.
Normally a position renowned for little transfer activity, the emergence of Burnley’s Tom Heaton as a clear top contender in Fantasy Premier League terms has prompted a re-assessment of our priorities.
The value currently being offered by the Clarets’ skipper is hard to ignore. With two double-figure returns and seven bonus points, he is forcing us to re-consider the potential output offered by the position.
While Heaton failed to produce a clean sheet against Crystal Palace last time out, he still succeeds in holding off the challenge of West Bromwich Albion’s Ben Foster at the summit of our Watchlist rankings, primarily thanks to his proven save point prospects.
Heaton has registered 61 stops compared to Foster’s 37, so despite the Baggies keeper being treated to four strong fixtures (BUR, hul, WAT, SWA) in the next five, Heaton remains the number one target in our opinion.
Gareth McAuley also dents Foster’s appeal. The centre-back can be acquired for 4.7 – an identical price to his keeper – but can offer substantial goal threat in addition to clean sheet potential.
Sunderland’s Jordan Pickford remains highly placed in our rankings, despite the return to fitness of Vito Mannone.
We believe that Pickford will retain his starting role and keep the Italian out of the starting XI, providing us with the only “nailed-on” option in goal for less than 4.5.
Although the Black Cats are still seeking their first clean sheet of the season, the new England call-up, who is ranked second for FPL saves with 42, should continue to provide value. A suitable one-stop keeper option, Pickford excels as an active back-up to Heaton or Foster over the long-haul.
Pickford’s continued appeal underlines the fact that spending big in goal is still very much an unfashionable strategy.
Despite this, there are some clear standout options available for those willing to spare funds – Chelsea’s Thibaut Courtois and Tottenham Hotspur stopper Hugo Lloris – are our current top choices.
Both offer the cheapest route into their respective defences, although in both cases, the attacking potential offered by defensive team-mates arguably reduces their appeal.
Marcos Alonso and Danny Rose are currently our preferred cover of the Chelsea and Spurs rearguards: they should be the priority for those seeking to profit from potential clean sheets.
The same can be said for Liverpool’s Loris Karius, who initially appears to be a tempting option priced at 4.9.
But the lack of clean sheets for Jurgen Klopp’s side provide major doubts, while the German has also failed to register a save point in four of his six starts.
With Dejan Lovren offering proven goal threat for 5.0, there is a clear alternative for those willing to gamble on Liverpool’s resilience.
Petr Cech is the other big ticket option. Priced at 5.5, under normal circumstances he would offer a cheaper route into the Arsenal defence by some 0.5.
However, with Hector Bellerin possibly sidelined for up to a month, it could be that Carl Jenkinson emerges as a short-term 5.0 investment. That’s enough to temper enthusiasm in Cech as a keeper option, despite some attractive Emirates meetings to come.
The same principle applies to David de Gea, who offers limited scope at 5.5 given that Matteo Darmian (5.0) and perhaps even Phil Jones (4.7), offer cheaper alternatives in Jose Mourinho’s defence.
Having ousted popular budget option Eldin Jakupovic, Hull City’s David Marshall now offers us a contender in his own right.
The Tiger’s defence has offered little encouragement over the campaign but has shown signs of improvement in recent outings.
Marshall has shipped just two goals in his last two Gameweeks and has returned two save points in three of his six starts.
Mike Phelan’s men have kind short-term fixtures, giving Marshall the edge over Bournemouth’s Artur Boruc and Middlesbrough’s Victor Valdes around the 4.5 price bracket.
In the first two cases, we can acquire cheaper defensive options with attacking potential in Michael Dawson (4.4) and Simon Francis (4.5), whilst George Friend (4.5) is the same price as Valdes.
Below this, our options are severely limited by both injury and uncertainty on starting roles.
Watford’s Heurelho Gomes is treated to some excellent short-term fixtures but, having been forced off in the 6-1 mauling at Anfield in Gameweek 11, he remains an injury concern at this point.
Similarly, Southampton’s Fraser Forster currently finds himself towards the foot of our ladder, limited by a Gameweek 12 injury doubt having withdrawn from the England squad.
The demise of Stoke City’s Lee Grant as an option has delivered the biggest recent blow in this position.
Grant, who’s currently on loan from Derby County, has performed admirably in the absence of Jack Butland and has offered us an excellent budget option having been priced at 4.0 initially.
While it’s difficult to pinpoint when Butland will return to action following several setbacks in his recuperation from an ankle injury, the Potters number one has returned to training and will surely push for a recall imminently.
Certainly, investment in Grant at this point appears risky, which is a big loss given Stoke’s obliging fixtures.
