Our Fantasy Premier League (FPL) Watchlist has been updated ahead of the Gameweek 14 deadline, with the new standings and the major changes detailed below.
Medium-term planning has given way to short-term thinking for FPL managers, with unlimited transfers handed to all and sundry during the World Cup break.
So instead of the usual four-to-six-week lookahead, we’re only focusing on the next three Gameweeks here.
We’ll continue to update our Watchlist standings right up to mid-November but this will be our final round-up article before Qatar 2022, as we’ll be into the realms of one- and two-week punts beyond Gameweek 14.
ABOUT THE WATCHLIST
Players are selected and ranked according to factors such as form, club injuries, forthcoming fixtures and whether or not the player in question is likely to be a bargain in FPL.
Arrows before the name indicate whether a player has climbed or fallen in our reckoning since the previous update or if they are a new entry into the tables.
We typically toe the line with FPL’s definition of ‘form’ (average points accrued in matches played over the last 30 days) but allowances are sometimes made for players missing because of/coming back from injury.
The key for the factors you’ll see in the below tables is as follows:
THE WATCHLIST: BEST FPL GOALKEEPERS
With Jose Sa (£5.1m) dropping out of the Watchlist due to upcoming fixtures against three clubs who know their way around an expected goal, Aaron Ramsdale (£4.9m) steps into the void.
We have our reservations about the Arsenal goalkeeper, who has only banked two save points all season and whose baseline bonus scores are poor – partly as a result of the lack of stops. But the fact is that Arsenal face the two lowest scorers in the division between Gameweeks 14-16, while all of their next three opponents, even Chelsea, are bottom-half material for xG in the last six matches and in 2022/23 overall.
Jordan Pickford (£4.5m) and Vicente Guaita (£4.5m) play for two of the four clubs who avoid a ‘big six’ side in the next three Gameweeks, with Ederson (£5.5m) one of the other two. The Manchester City custodian remains low down the list, however: his next three opponents are all in the top eight for goals scored, while save points are even more scarce than they are with Ramsdale and the fact is that Brazilian simply doesn’t enter the equation for most managers’ City triple-up.
Kepa Arrizabalaga (£4.5m) keeps his place at the top of the Watchlist despite a mixed bag of fixtures over the next three Gameweeks. Our Rate MyTeam (RMT) points projections tool has him as the best ‘value’ goalkeeper over this period, while he was mere seconds away from another double-digit haul in Gameweek 13.
Alisson (£5.4m) is RMT’s projected top scorer over the next three Gameweeks. Unlike his countryman at City, he’s a premium goalkeeper that does offer save and bonus points on top of the occasional clean sheet. In fact, eight save points have arrived over his last six appearances alone, with the wobbly Liverpool defence in front of him allowing him to see plenty of the ball.
THE WATCHLIST: BEST FPL DEFENDERS
A cut-price Luke Shaw (£4.7m) enters the radar as Manchester United get set for their semi-favourable fixture swing, albeit one that is cleaved by the World Cup break and features a trip to free-scoring Fulham.
The Red Devils’ next two opponents are both scoring at a rate of less than a goal a game but it’s United’s own defensive form that is catching the eye, as they haven’t conceded a goal from open play since Gameweek 10. Only a moment of rashness from Scott McTominay (£4.9m) spoiled a third consecutive clean sheet on Saturday evening, while Casemiro’s (£4.9m) impact is hinted at in his league-leading tackle statistics. In fact, since the midfield spoiler’s full debut, no club has conceded fewer ‘big chances’ or xG than United.
With David de Gea (£4.9m) another goalkeeper who is starved of save and bonus points and Diogo Dalot (£4.6m) one booking away from a ban, we’ve opted for Shaw as our United representative. The left-back is registering more touches in the final third and chances created per 90 minutes than Dalot, although is lacking when it comes to goal threat.
Marc Guehi (£4.4m) also being one booking away from a ban means that we’ve switched to Joachim Andersen (£4.5m) as our go-to Palace centre-half, and we still rank an Eagle higher than a Toffee – unlike between the posts, where Pickford bests Guaita for saves and security of starts – as Patrick Vieira’s side sit top of our Season Ticker for ‘defence’ over the next three matches.
We retain Virgil van Dijk (£6.4m) over any Liverpool full-back, meanwhile, as Trent Alexander-Arnold (£7.2m) and Andrew Robertson (£6.7m) have warmed the benched on a combined three occasions over the last three Gameweeks. Another tight Wednesday-Saturday-Tuesday turnaround awaits the Reds, leading to the possibility of more minute management outside of centre-half, although Jurgen Klopp’s side have now sealed a place in the Champions League last 16; the question is over whether Klopp really goes for the jugular against Napoli next week in the faint hope that his side can topple the Italian side at the top of Group A.
Van Dijk, incidentally, is first among FPL defenders for shots in the box this season.
THE WATCHLIST: BEST FPL MIDFIELDERS
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