The top scoring player in Fantasy Premier League back in 2015/16 continued his ascent up the rankings as Leicester City won a fourth successive match under Claude Puel.

Riyad Mahrez maintained his renaissance as a Fantasy force on Wednesday evening as Leicester blew Southampton away at St Mary’s.

The Algerian’s opener in the 4-1 win took his tally to three goals and an assist in the last four Gameweeks and saw him climb to fifth in the FPL midfield standings.

Since the appointment of Claude Puel, Mahrez has emerged as the go-to Foxes option at a point where Jamie Vardy is struggling for consistency.

The Foxes winger has averaged 6.1 points per match (ppm) under his new manager, firing 11 shots on target – only four players have managed more from Gameweek 10 onwards.

The second top target for transfers in among midfielders, Mahrez has been acquired by over 45,000 ahead of a mixed upcoming schedule.

This weekend’s home match with Crystal Palace is allied with clashes against Watford and Huddersfield between now and Gameweek 22, though on the downside, Puel’s men entertain Man United and travel to Liverpool and Chelsea over the same spell.

Okazaki wins battle of budget forwards

When it came to cut-price forwards, all eyes were on Charlie Austin heading into Wednesday’s clash.

At home to a defence with one away clean sheet all season, the Saints’ in-form frontman earned over 156,000 new owners after netting four times in as many Gameweeks.

But Austin failed with his three attempts on goal and is now faced with a brutal trio of road trips (che tot mun) in the next four rounds of fixtures.

Having been benched for the recent trip to Man City, the 6.2-priced striker may find his upcoming minutes managed, with Mauricio Pellegrino perhaps more inclined to start him at home to Huddersfield and Palace between now and Gameweek 22.

Austin was instead overshadowed by the Foxes’ Shinji Okazaki, who emerged as the top scoring player in FPL for Gameweek 17, claiming 16 points thanks to a brace, assist and maximum bonus.

The Japan international has struggled for a starting berth under Puel – last night’s start was only his third in eight Gameweeks since the new manager was installed.

But that hasn’t stopped over 40,000 new owners snapping him up for the weekend visit of Palace – indeed, Okazaki is the second most bought forward for Gameweek 18.

Looking at Puel’s recent teamsheets, Okazaki – now the joint-top forward for FPL points per million value – will be optimistic of retaining his spot against the Eagles.

Ben Chilwell – who was stationed on the left flank – has now started each of the last four Gameweeks, whereas Okazaki and Demarai Gray have been named on the teamsheet on two of those occasions.

It may well be that it’s Chilwell’s turn for bench-warming duties on Saturday, then, with Mahrez and Gray on either side of last night’s two-goal hero.

Elsewhere for the Foxes, Harry Maguire’s assist – his fourth of the season – took him into joint-seventh spot for FPL defenders.

Rooney on the ascent as Toffees hold firm again

Wayne Rooney’s recent transformation as a source of Fantasy points shows no sign of abating after he fired Everton’s winner at Newcastle on Wednesday.

There was strong interest in the Toffees’ forwards ahead of this one – Rooney was acquired by over 128,000, while Dominic Calvert-Lewin earned over 172,000 new owners.

Yet while the latter failed to fire a single attempt on goal and returned just one FPL point, Rooney delivered once again. Handed a central support role behind Calvert-Lewin, he netted a ninth goal of the season to climb into fifth spot among forwards.

In the last four Gameweeks alone, he’s netted five times, chipping in with an assist and seven bonus points.

Up against Swansea, West Brom and Bournemouth in the next four, Rooney’s bandwagon is picking up pace – he’s second only to David Silva for transfers in ahead of Monday night’s visit from Paul Clement’s strugglers.

At the back, the 1-0 win means that the Merseysiders have now conceded just a single goal in the last four league matches as the “Sam Allardyce effect” brings their defence into our transfers plans.

While this obviously promotes Jonjoe Kenny’s budget appeal at a cost of just 4.4, Jordan Pickford has been the main beneficiary of this recent upturn in resilience.

Coming in at 4.8, the stopper has now earned 34 points in the last four, with last night’s 10-point tally his second double-digit haul over that period. Put into perspective, he’s managed 29 points in the opening 13 Gameweeks.