We have revised our Watchlist player rankings for midfielders and forwards following Gameweek 6 and the latest midweek action.
There was an update for our goalkeepers and defenders sections earlier this week.
The Watchlist can be found in your sidebar on a desktop, or via your slide-in menu on mobile or tablet. It acts as a collection of our current thoughts on 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 double-coverage is advisable, two players will be listed instead.
Midfielders
Our top three midfield options remain unchanged going into Gameweek 7. Eden Hazard (£11.0m) still tops the pile despite his blank against West Ham. Mohamed Salah (£12.9m) and Sadio Mané (10.0m) keep their places in second and third.
All three of those options no longer have fixture-related factors. That’s because Chelsea and Liverpool both have two difficult and two appealing fixtures in the next four Gameweeks.
There is a minor change in fourth, fifth and sixth as Richarlison (£6.6m) moves above Ryan Fraser (£5.9m) and David Silva (£8.6m) switch places. We believe that all three players stand to do well in Gameweek 7, as they face Fulham, Crystal Palace and Brighton at home respectively, but favour goes slightly towards the Everton man. That’s because Richarlison is more likely to start than Silva, following his no-show in Gameweek 6, and is more explosive than Fraser.
However, even though he blanked in Gameweek 6, Fraser had more shots than any other player on the pitch in Bournemouth’s defeat to Burnley. The fixtures still favour Fraser with Crystal Palace, Watford, Southampton and Fulham to come in the next four Gameweeks.
Below that there are no changes to the order of the Watchlist apart from the introduction of Anthony Knockaert (£5.5m). The Brighton man has registered a goal and three assists in the opening six Gameweeks and is about to embark on a favourable set of fixtures. After the Gameweek 7 trip to Manchester City, the Seagulls don’t face another meeting with one of last season’s top-six until Gameweek 17.
Meanwhile, an injury to Pedro (£6.7m) and two tough fixtures in the next four means that the Chelsea man comes off the list. It is currently hard to justify doubling-up on the Blues’ midfield.
Forwards
Nothing has occurred in the last week to suggest Sergio Aguero (£11.4m) should drop down from the top of the Watchlist. The Manchester City striker played no part in Tuesday’s 3-0 win over Oxford United in the League Cup while Gabriel Jesus was present for the full 90 minutes.
Aleksandar Mitrovic (£7.0m) stays in second-place based on the fact that only Aguero has had more shots than him so far this season. Fulham’s fixtures remain favourable, especially for someone in this kind of form.
Alexandre Lacazette (£9.5m) has finally taken the place of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (£10.8m). The Frenchman has outscored his Gabonese colleague over the first six Gameweeks despite playing fewer minutes. Now that his place in the team is completely assured and he is still £1.3m cheaper than Aubameyang, he has to go onto the Watchlist. Arsenal’s fixtures are still very attractive.
Harry Kane (£12.4m) swaps places with Callum Wilson (£6.3m) ahead of Gameweek 7. The Tottenham man made a return to underlying statistics we have become used to in a Gameweek 6 win at Brighton, while his next two opponents look like easy prey. Meanwhile, Wilson drops down as a result of his poor performance at Burnley and the fact that Fraser can offer better value.
Romelu Lukaku (£11.1m) and Raúl Jiménez (£5.5m) remain unchanged between Kane and Wilson.
Jamie Vardy (£8.9m) comes into the frame having scored and assisted in Gameweek 6. Leicester have some nice fixtures over the next six Gameweeks and the forward could prove a powerful differential. His inclusion pushes Marko Arnautovic (£6.9m) off the list after injury has ruled him out of the last two West Ham matches.
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