Gylfi Sigurdsson steers Swansea onwards and upwards. Bonus magnet Tom Heaton rises to the FPL keeper’s summit, while Scott Dann finally benefits from Big Sam’s arrival at Palace.
Elsewhere, the pitch time of Olivier Giroud and Pedro now seems increasingly uncertain, while Danny Rose’s injury concerns rear their head again.
On the Rise
Gylfi Sigurdsson
On a night where many big-hitters failed us, the Swansea City playmaker served a reminder of his points potential by registering his joint-highest haul of the season.
Sigurdsson’s goal and assist in the 2-1 home win over Southampton means he has produced two goals and a pair of assists in four matches since the departure of Bob Bradley, with the Welsh side winning three of those fixtures.
Sitting joint-fifth in the FPL midfield standings, it is testament to the battle for our attentions in the centre of the park that the Icelander only sits in 5% of squads.
Over the season, he’s now played a part in almost 52% of his side’s goals when on the pitch.
With the schedule falling in his favour from Gameweek 25 – in addition to the fact that Sigurdsson has matches in both Gameweek 26 and 28 – that ownership level will surely climb.
Indeed, he’s the most transferred in midfielder since last night’s deadline passed.
Tom Heaton
A nine-point haul at home to Leicester City saw the Burnley number one overtake Thibaut Courtois as the top-scoring keeper in FPL.
Heaton’s propensity for picking up bonus is verging on the ridiculous now. His total of 18 is 11 more than any other stopper and has surpassed the previous record of 16, held by Vito Mannone in 2013/14.
Trips to Watford, Hull City and Swansea in the next four offer the chance of further returns as Heaton strengthens his spot as the top value player in the FPL.
Scott Dann
Sam Allardyce’s impact on Palace’s Fantasy potential seems to be finally taking effect after an impressive 2-0 win at Bournemouth.
It’s fair to say that the Eagles’ defence has done little to convince us of their merit thus far. They had mustered just a single clean sheet all season prior to last night and conceded in five successive matches since the new manager took the reins.
Yet a 15-point haul at the Vitality Stadium, thanks to his third goal of the season, places Dann back onto our radars ahead of clashes against Sunderland, Stoke, Middlesbrough and West Brom in the next four Gameweeks.
The spotlight may have been on new boy Patrick van Aanholt, yet Dann – who has registered more attempts inside the box than any defender this term – looks set to emerge as one of the main beneficiaries of Allardyce’s arrival.
Alex Iwobi
Despite the impressive FA Cup displays of Theo Walcott and Danny Welbeck, the Arsenal starlets continues to look integral to Arsene Wenger’s plans.
Named in the first XI for the seventh successive league fixture, Iwobi’s consolation in the shock home loss to Watford means he has bagged two goals, a pair of assists and 35 FPL points over the last five Gameweeks.
While a price tag of 5.9 could barely be kinder, the schedule is likely to deter investors.
Arsenal have trips to Chelsea and Liverpool, allied with a Gameweek 26 blank over the next four, and could also miss Gameweek 28 should they progress to the last eight of the FA Cup.
Once the blanks have been navigated and double Gameweeks come into play, though, the Nigerian international looks one to consider for our five-man midfields.
In Decline
Olivier Giroud
The Arsenal forward has been subject to more sales than any FPL asset after being hauled off at half-time in last night’s loss to Watford.
It’s perhaps no coincidence that Giroud’s run of six straight starts from Gameweek 18 onwards came at the same time that Theo Walcott was stuck on the sidelines with a calf complaint.
The latter’s return to form and fitness served up an FA Cup hat-trick against Southampton last weekend and, having replaced Giroud at the break, he’s clearly now pushing for a spot in Wenger’s XI for a vital trip to Chelsea this weekend.
This could see Alexis Sanchez shifted off the flank and back into the centre as the Frenchman resumes bench-warming duties once again.
Pedro
The Spaniard was dropped to the Chelsea bench for a vital trip to Liverpool, despite bagging a weekend goal and assist against Brentford in the FA Cup.
While Eden Hazard and Diego Costa look nailed-on when fit, it seems that Antonio Conte is keen to employ a “horse for courses” policy, flitting between Pedro and last night’s replacement Willian in accordance with the opponent.
With Hazard woefully out of form, the uncertainty on the opposite flank leaves only Costa as the one appealing route into the league leaders’ attack right now.
Eden Hazard
Despite the assist for Chelsea’s goal, the Belgian’s stock continues to slide having scored just a single goal in his last eight Gameweeks.
Ironically, Hazard could have benefited from a double-digit return had he remained on the pitch to step up for Chelsea’s late penalty.
However, Antonio Conte withdrew the playmaker on 71 minutes – the third successive match that Hazard has been hooked before the 80-minute mark.
With testing ties with Arsenal and Burnley – at Turf Moor – to come, Hazard sales continue in the light of a probable Gameweek 28 blank due to Chelsea’s FA Cup involvement.
Hector Bellerin
After playing from start to finish in the weekend cup win at St Mary’s, it was assumed that the Spaniard would retain his starting role for the visit of Watford, having stepped up his fitness following an ankle problem.
Instead, Bellerin was named amongst the subs for the second successive league outing as Wenger once again trusted Gabriel in the right-back berth.
That faith seems misplaced, though, with Arsenal conceding three times in two home matches against Burnley and the Hornets.
It’s surely only a matter of time before Bellerin returns to the Gunners’ starting XI but the uncertainty means that his 14.8% owners won’t be hanging about, given the aforementioned schedule.
Danny Rose
Passed fit from the knee problem that forced him to miss the weekend cup win over Wycombe, the Spurs left-back lasted just 36 minutes against Sunderland before limping off with a similar complaint.
There’s no doubting Rose’s FPL potential but a slight propensity for picking up niggles and knocks has already seen him miss four league matches through injury this term.
Give that fellow full-back Kyle Walker has missed just one league match (due to suspension), Rose’s appeal is on the wane as the former strengthens his claim as the safest route into the league’s most resilient rearguard.
Junior Stanislas
A home clash against a Palace side that had previously managed a single clean sheet all season looked a likely source of points for the Bournemouth winger.
Instead, Stanislas’ failure to deliver now has us assessing his budget appeal.
He’s scored just once in his last 10 league appearances – a converted penalty away to Hul in Gameweek 21 when first-choice taker Callum Wilson was on the bench. Over that period, he has chipped in with only three assists.
As one of just six teams currently scheduled to definitely play in both Gameweek 26 and 28, Bournemouth do, admittedly, have some appeal, yet clashes against Everton, Manchester City, West Brom and Man United in the next four Gameweeks indicate they may struggle to deliver at either end of the pitch.
Charlie Daniels
After missing out due to a knee injury at home to Palace, the Bournemouth left-back is the second most transferred out defender in FPL since last night’s deadline.
Eddie Howe’s side now have a single clean sheet in seven and have conceded at least twice in all three matches since Nathan Ake returned to Chelsea.
Considering those last three opponents were Hull, Watford and Palace, Daniels – who does have three goals and as many assists to his name – may have to rely on attacking returns to keep ticking over.
With his manager uncertain over the defender’s availability for the weekend clash against Everton, though, the exodus is set to pick up pace.
