The Watchlist takes a medium-term look at the more desirable Fantasy Premier League (FPL) transfer targets, rather than concentrating on just the upcoming Gameweek as the Scout Picks does.

With the Blank Gameweek 28/32 picture set to be clearer after next week’s FA Cup ties, there are minimal changes to the rankings this week.

Double Gameweek 29 has been confirmed, however, so players from the likes of Aston Villa and Nottingham Forest – who avoid a blank in Gameweek 28 and the play twice in the following round – get a boost here.

MORE ABOUT THE WATCHLIST

Players are selected and ranked according to factors such as form, club injuries, forthcoming fixtures, Rate My Team’s points projections 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 with few matches actually played over that time, we’ve extended it slightly back to Gameweek 20.

The key for the factors you’ll see in the below tables is as follows:

THE WATCHLIST: BEST FPL GOALKEEPERS

Kepa Arrizabalaga (£4.7m) keeps his place at the top of the Watchlist despite blanking in each of his last two matches. The Spaniard has a guaranteed fixture in Blank Gameweek 28 and a newly-announced Double Gameweek 29, which will see Chelsea host Aston Villa and Liverpool. In fact, four of the Blues’ next six matches are at Stamford Bridge, where they have conceded just eight goals all season – the joint-best home record in the division. Our Rate My Team (RMT) points projection tool has him as the second-best ‘value’ goalkeeper over the next six Gameweeks.

Emiliano Martinez (£4.9m) is a new entry, splitting Double Gameweek 25 ‘keepers Aaron Ramsdale (£4.9m) and Jordan Pickford (£4.4m). There’s still a healthy amount of distrust over Aston Villa’s defence, who have conceded at least four more big chances than any other top-flight side since the restart, but what the Argentine World Cup winner does have going for him is fixtures: Unai Emery’s troops have a guaranteed game against Bournemouth in Blank Gameweek 28 and will double the week after. For those planning longer-term, it’s also worth noting they visit Brentford in Blank Gameweek 32.

There’s not much change elsewhere, but Manchester City’s Ederson (£5.4m) does suffer a drop. The Brazilian shot-stopper is a rotation-free route into the champions’ defence, but there is no getting away from the fact he has underperformed since the World Cup, with just two clean sheets kept. As a result, 13 goalkeepers have outscored Ederson from Gameweek 17 onwards. Still, Man City’s underlying numbers suggest they remain one of the best defences in the division, but with no doubles on the horizon and a likely blank in Gameweek 28, others are clearly ahead.

THE WATCHLIST: BEST FPL DEFENDERS

Little has changed since our last update, with the preference still for Gabriel Magalhaes (£5.2m), Kieran Trippier (£6.0m) – despite his imminent blank – and Trent Alexander-Arnold (£7.3m), who is the second most-bought defender of Double Gameweek 25.

Trippier has suffered a price drop this week off the back of three consecutive blanks against Liverpool, Bournemouth and West Ham United. However, despite returning just five FPL points in that period, it’s worth noting his underlying creative numbers (see below) remain elite. Newcastle United’s fixtures pick up after hosting Man City in Gameweek 26, with a guaranteed game at Nottingham Forest in Blank Gameweek 28. Key midfielder Bruno Guimaraes (£5.5m) is also back, with his importance to the team highlighted by their three-match winless run in his absence.

TRIPPIER – GW22-24

Entering the Watchlist is Tyrone Mings (£4.3m), who replaces teammate Alex Moreno (£4.4m). There is no doubting the attacking full-backs ‘upside’ when on the pitch – see his assist v Arsenal last weekend – but he has been the subject of a spot of rotation with Lucas Digne (£4.6m) of late. In a period when FPL managers need guaranteed starters, especially in Blank Gameweek 28, Mings is undoubtedly the more secure option right now.

Benoit Badiashile (£5.0m) bows out, with Chelsea’s iffy form under Graham Potter removing the need for two Blues defenders on the Watchlist. And Reece James (£5.8m) would be the Chelsea defender that most of us would want, given his attacking threat.

Elsewhere, budget defender Joe Worrall (£4.2m) comes in. The Nottingham Forest centre-back has a reasonable set of fixtures on the horizon, he plays in Gameweek 28 and is also more secure in Steve Cooper’s first XI following hamstring injuries to Willy Boly (£4.2m) and Scott McKenna (£4.4m).

THE WATCHLIST: BEST FPL MIDFIELDERS

The top 13 midfielders remain in the same order as before, even though Marcus Rashford (£7.3m), Bruno Fernandes (£9.8m), Kaoru Mitoma (£5.4m) and Solly March (£5.1m) won’t participate at the weekend.

Furthermore, there are doubts over Kevin De Bruyne (£12.3m) and James Maddison (£8.1m) for Saturday’s action. Pep Guardiola rated the Belgian as a “maybe”, whilst the Foxes playmaker is “still nursing a knee issue.”

Although RMT predicts Mohamed Salah (£12.7m) will have the most points for Double Gameweek 25 and over the next six rounds, it’s still unknown whether Liverpool will feature in Gameweek 28, whereas we know that Arsenal’s Martin Odegaard (£7.0m) and Bukayo Saka (£8.4m) are already locked in to face Crystal Palace.

Their Gunners team-mate Gabriel Martinelli (£6.5m) has now had his rest – one that still brought success – and could return to the starting XI for their double-header against Leicester City and Everton.

This week’s only new entrant is Morgan Gibbs-White (£5.5m) after two goals and four assists arrived in his last nine league appearances. Nottingham Forest are currently one of five teams that has both a Gameweek 28 and Double Gameweek 29.

He replaces Miguel Almiron (£5.5m), the one name to drop out. The Paraguayan not only blanks this week but travels to Man City next Saturday.

THE WATCHLIST: BEST FPL FORWARDS

Up front, the new names are Ollie Watkins (£7.2m) and Brennan Johnson (£5.7m). This week’s announcement confirmed that Aston Villa is another of the five teams to follow up their Gameweek 28 with a Double Gameweek 29.

Not only that, Watkins has scored in four successive matches and is now above Aleksandar Mitrovic (£6.8m) as the fourth-best FPL forward of this season. It might get worse for the Fulham man, as he’s an injury doubt for tonight’s game with Wolverhampton Wanderers.

We still have faith in Eddie Nketiah (£6.8m), without a goal in four matches but joint with Saka for the league’s most penalty areas touches during this period. He also ranks joint-top amongst forwards for goal attempts, alongside Darwin Nunez (£8.7m).

Above: Nketiah has the best expected goals (xG) tally amongst forwards between Gameweeks 22 and 24

Speaking of Darwin, Jurgen Klopp has placed a slight doubt on his game time over Double Gameweek 25. Speaking in Friday’s press conference, Klopp stressed how changes will need to be made because of Liverpool’s schedule.

“We are not sure if all of the boys could even play again after Madrid because of some knocks here and there. We are really not 100% clear, so then we have to make changes and we will make changes anyway.

“We cannot play all the time with exactly the same [players]. There were times when Sadio, [Mane] Mo [Salah] and Bobby [Firmino] were very young, maybe they played a lot of games but even then we needed [to make changes].” – Jurgen Klopp

Finally, it remains to be seen how Wilfried Gnonto (£5.1m) will be utilised by new head coach Javi Gracia. As explored in our Scout Report, the new Leeds boss typically plays a 4-4-2 system and this has the potential to make Gnonto the stand-out cheap FPL forward.

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