Watchlist Update: Hazard shoots up the ranks, but de Gea’s appeal wanes

Our Watchlist player rankings have now been revised ahead of Gameweek 4.

The Watchlist can be found in your sidebar on desktop, or via your slide-in menu on mobile or tablet. It acts as a collection of our current thoughts on short-to-medium-term player selection for each position, also citing the factors that affect their ranking on the list.

As a general rule, we try to commit to just one player per position per club. However, in some cases we where we believe a double-up is warranted, two players will be listed. We’ve got further examples of that this week.

Goalkeepers

Alisson (£5.5m) is the only Premier League goalkeeper to register clean sheets in each of the first three Gameweeks of the season, but with four of Liverpool’s next six league matches away from home – and three of their next five top-flight fixtures against Tottenham Hotspur (a), Chelsea (a) and Manchester City (h) – we stop short of placing the Brazilian shot-stopper at the top of our goalkeepers’ shortlist.

With Jurgen Klopp hinting at changes to the starting XI in the near future, however, Alisson – along with perhaps Virgil van Dijk (£6.0m) – represents a rotation-risk free route into a Liverpool backline that has conceded fewer attempts on goal, big chances and shots in the box than any Premier League side this season.

Ederson (£5.6m), who along with Neil Etheridge (£4.6m) is the only goalkeeper to experience a price rise this season, remains top of the shot-stoppers in our Watchlist.

Like his compatriot at Liverpool, Ederson is a near-certain starter in goal for Manchester City – something that can’t be said for the defenders in front of him. Claudio Bravo‘s (£5.0m) recent Achilles injury would only reinforce that security of starts.

City were unfortunate not to record their second clean sheet of the season in the 1-1 draw at Wolves, with the hosts’ opening goal coming from the hand of defender Willy Boly (£4.5m).

Five of City’s next six fixtures (NEW, FUL, car, BHA, liv, BUR) offer excellent shut-out opportunities, not least their very next opponents, who adopted an uber-defensive approach when Chelsea visited Tyneside last Sunday.

City had the best defensive record in the division last season, conceding only 27 goals in 38 matches and recording 17 clean sheets along the way.

Wolves are yet to keep a clean sheet this season but Rui Patricio (£4.5m) makes an appearance in the top three ahead of his club’s next six matches (whu, BUR, mun, SOU, cry, WAT).

Despite facing sides who finished in the top ten last season in their opening three fixtures – including Manchester City – Wolves have conceded just 15 shots in the box so far in 2018/19: only Liverpool can better than tally.

David de Gea‘s (£6.0m) popularity fall continued after Monday night’s defeat to Spurs and the Manchester United goalkeeper has slid down our Watchlist as a result.

The Red Devils had conceded fewer goals after the first 13 Gameweeks of 2017/18 than they have in the first three matches of this campaign.

The Spanish international hasn’t kept a clean sheet this season and has made only five saves to compensate for his lack of shut-outs.

Defenders

There’s no escaping the current Fantasy demand for left-backs: the top five defenders in our Watchlist all play in this position.

Marcos Alonso (£6.7m) needs little justification for his inclusion. The Chelsea full-back has recorded three successive double-digit Fantasy Premier League hauls and has more points to his name (35) than any other FPL player.

No defender has had more shots than Alonso this season, but it’s his assist count – already twice as good as what he managed in the whole of 2017/18 – that has caught the eye.

Alonso’s returns could have been even greater had Chelsea been more watertight at the back, with the Gameweek 1 shut-out against Huddersfield Town their only clean sheet so far this season.

Back-to-back home fixtures against Bournemouth and Cardiff City in the next two Gameweeks are massively appealing, too.

Benjamin Mendy (£6.3m) and Andrew Robertson (£6.1m) are tied on 27 points in FPL and are next up on our Watchlist. We outlined the somewhat contrasting clean sheet prospects for City and Liverpool over the next half-dozen Gameweeks in the goalkeepers’ section above, but these two attack-minded defensive assets are sought-after more for their contributions going forward.

Mendy has four assists to his name already and, although he failed to record an attacking return or clean sheet in Gameweek 3, his all-round performance (from pass completion and chances created to recoveries and tackles) led to the Frenchman receiving two bonus points.

Only Alonso has had more attempts on goal than Mendy this season among players in their positional classification, while no defender has delivered more crosses than the City left-back.

Robertson, meanwhile, has created more chances than any FPL defender in 2018/19 so far. Only Ricardo Pereira (£5.1m) of Leicester City has had more penalty box touches than the Scottish international.

Alonso and Robertson lead the way in the bonus point stakes, meanwhile, with eight and six to their names respectively.

Both Patrick van Aanholt (£5.5m) and Aaron Wan-Bissaka (£4.1m) feature in our Watchlist ahead of Crystal Palace’s juicy-looking run of fixtures (SOU, hud, NEW, bou, WOL, eve).

For budgetary reasons, we cannot overlook Wan-Bissaka as an option. His clean sheet-and-assist return in Gameweek 1 was perhaps more than we could ever wish for and, although he sat out Gameweek 3 through suspension, the young right-back’s excellent performance in the Carabao Cup win over Swansea City last night means he will surely come back into the side in place of Joel Ward (£4.4m) for the visit of the Saints.

Though two Palace defensive assets are hard to justify, we can’t ignore van Aanholt’s attacking menace for these forthcoming half-dozen fixtures.

The Dutch left-back scored five goals in the final ten Gameweeks of 2017/18, while Palace have five clean sheets in their last 11 league matches.

Midfielders

Liverpool’s upcoming fixtures are a worry, but Mohamed Salah (£13.0m) and Sadio Mane (£9.8m) remain at the forefront of our thoughts.

Salah has delivered attacking returns in each of his three appearances this season and sits top of the FPL midfielders’ table for goal attempts, big chances, penalty box touches and key passes.

For those worrying about the looming matches against Spurs, Chelsea and Manchester City: the Egyptian scored five goals in Liverpool’s six meetings with those three teams last season.

Mane, meanwhile, is still the leading midfield points-scorer in FPL despite his blank in the 1-0 win over Brighton.

All eight of his attempts on goal this season have come from inside the opposition area.

Eden Hazard (£10.6m) has risen up the ranks after his first start – and goal – of the season last Sunday.

With that double-header of matches against Bournemouth and Cardiff to come in the next two Gameweeks, we’re finding it tough to look past the Belgian midfielder’s ominous form.

Hazard has delivered attacking returns in all three of his appearances this season, despite two of them being cameos off the bench.

The Belgian winger had more penalty box touches and attempts on goal than any player on show at St. James’ Park at the weekend, and has evidently resumed his role as Chelsea’s first-choice penalty taker after converting from the spot on Tyneside.

Henrikh Mkhitaryan (£7.1m) has completed 90 minutes in each of Arsenal’s three league matches this season – the only Gunners’ midfielder or attacker to do so –  and seems, for the moment at least, to have banished any rotation fears.

Arsenal rank top of our Season Ticker between now and Gameweek 10 and, with the Gunners’ attacking alternatives not presenting a strong case for investment, Mkhitaryan’s cut-price cost and short-term security of starts is a strong incentive.

The Armenian midfielder has created more chances than any Arsenal player this season.

With Richarlison (£6.7m) suspended, Theo Walcott‘s (£6.7m) stock has risen. The former Arsenal winger’s position looks secure for the next two matches at least, while four of Everton’s next six matches are home fixtures against Huddersfield, West Ham, Fulham and Crystal Palace. Walcott has scored two goals in as many matches and his form suggests that he would be difficult to drop, even when Richarlison becomes available again and Bernard (£6.0m) is ready to start a league match.

Forwards

There’s no looking past Sergio Aguero (£11.3m) despite two blanks away from home and fears of rotation hanging over his head.

The Argentinean forward’s 20-point haul in the 6-1 win over Huddersfield bodes well for City’s run of four home matches against Newcastle, Fulham, Brighton and Burnley in the next six Gameweeks and Aguero’s form against the Magpies, in particular, is worthy of mention – the City striker has eight goals in his last two home league meetings with Newcastle.

No FPL forward has had as many attempts on goal as Aguero this season, either. The City forward was unlucky to come away without a goal in the draw with Wolves at the weekend, having struck the woodwork on two occasions.

Aguero trails behind only Callum Wilson (£6.1m) in terms of penalty box touches. The Bournemouth striker has also had more shots in the opposition area than any player in his positional classification and has been involved in five of the Cherries’ six league goals this season.

While a visit to Chelsea in Gameweek 4 is tough on paper, Eddie Howe’s side won 3-0 at Stamford Bridge last season – with Wilson among the scorers. Bournemouth’s run of fixtures after this weekend (LEI, bur, CRY, wat, SOU, ful) is one of the more favourable in the top flight.

We’re looking at fixtures over form for Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang‘s (£10.9m) inclusion. The Gabonese striker has managed as many penalty box touches as Daniel Sturridge has recorded in 14 minutes this season and his lack of goal threat is something of a concern.

Arsenal’s run of matches between now and Gameweek 10, however, is difficult to ignore. Only Luciano Vietto (£5.5m) of Fulham has created more chances than Aubameyang this season among forwards, while no striker scored more goals (ten) than the former Borussia Dortmund man after his Arsenal debut in Gameweek 26 of last season.

Harry Kane (£12.5m) has well and truly vanquished his August demons with two goals this month, though four of Spurs’ next six fixtures are on the road and one of their home matches is against Liverpool.

Spurs’ 3-0 win at Old Trafford on Monday, however, reminded us that the Lilywhites are a force to be reckoned with regardless of opposition or venue.

That Kane has scored two goals without converting any of his three “big chances” is ominous, while only Aguero and Wilson have been more involved in the opposition box.

Still without a goal or bonus point this season, Roberto Firmino (£9.5m) continues his slide down our Watchlist with unfavourable fixtures and possible rotation on the horizon.