After the international break and pre-match press conferences, The Watchlist has been updated ahead of Gameweek 6 of Fantasy Premier League (FPL).
MORE ABOUT THE WATCHLIST
Players are selected and ranked according to factors such as club injuries, forthcoming fixtures, Rate My Team’s (RMT) points projections and whether or not the player in question is likely to be a bargain in FPL.
‘Form’ also comes into the equation.
Arrows before the name indicate whether a player has climbed or fallen in our reckoning since the previous Gameweek or if they are a new entry into the tables.
The key for the factors you’ll see in the tables below is as follows:
THE WATCHLIST: BEST FPL GOALKEEPERS
Konstantinos Tzolakis (£4.7m) is a new entry.
The Hull City goalkeeper is Rate My Team’s (RMT) second-highest projected points scorer in his position over the next four Gameweeks.
We’re not getting too carried away by Sergej Jakirovic’s side yet, but with clean sheet opportunities (they have conceded only four times and are 10th for xGC in 2026/27 so far) and save point potential, Tzolakis deserves to make his first appearance on the Watchlist.
There’s little movement elsewhere.
Fulham’s appeal is short-term, and the jury is still out on their defence, so we’re happy overlooking Bernd Leno (£4.5m) and sticking with a Defcon-collecting teammate (see below) who can also deliver the goods outside of the next three.
Carl Rushworth (£4.5m) and Djorde Petrovic (£4.5m) have decent fixtures but only one combined clean sheet so far, so we’ll stick these two on ice.
Emi Martinez (£5.0m) really should be higher, given the fixtures, his relatively low price and his nailed starter status, but Chelsea’s dearth of clean sheets – none since January – means it’s difficult to back them more at present.
THE WATCHLIST: BEST FPL DEFENDERS
David Affengruber (£4.5m) is promoted to the Watchlist, with Fulham about to face the three promoted sides in consecutive Gameweeks.
However, the centre-back’s ability to rack up defensive contributions (DefCon) – he’s banked DefCon points in both of his starts this season – means he could still return even when the fixtures toughen up.
As a cheap budget enabler, we’ve also added Bobby Thomas (£4.0m): he’s got a 60% DefCon success rate and has taken more shots than any other FPL defender (10) over the first five Gameweeks.
Coventry City top the ticker in this period, too…
Ezri Konsa (£4.6m) is a concern (dead leg) ahead of the Saturday lunchtime kick-off in Gameweek 6. William Saliba (£5.9m) is back on the grass too and reportedly targeting an early-November return, but a cheap route into the Premier League’s best defence is not easily passed up, so he’ll remain on the Watchlist for now – albeit moving down a place.
Elsewhere, we’ve replaced Newcastle United’s Malick Thiaw (£5.0m) with Lewis Hall (£5.3m). Hall combines attacking threat and set-piece duties with surprisingly good DefCon numbers that show no sign of abating, so it feels warranted – and probably overdue.
We’re holding firm on Maxence Lacroix (£5.9m), who even in the absence of clean sheets, has hit the DefCon threshold in 75% of his starts. Perhaps the return of Moises Caicedo (£5.3m) can finally help tighten Chelsea up?
Meanwhile, we’ll resist the urge to add Antonio Silva (£5.0m) and Jan Paul van Hecke (£4.9m), and instead wait until their tricky Gameweek 6 matches are out of the way. Bournemouth and Tottenham Hotspur travel to Chelsea and Manchester United respectively on Saturday.
THE WATCHLIST: BEST FPL MIDFIELDERS
There’s not a great deal of activity in our midfielders’ Watchlist, although we have added Marcus Tavernier (£6.1m) and Kevin Schade (£6.2m).
Our RMT tool actually has Tavernier as the fifth-highest-scoring FPL midfielder until the end of the year, behind only Bruno Fernandes (£11.9m), Cole Palmer (£9.7m), Bukayo Saka (£9.6m) and Bryan Mbeumo (£7.9m).
As for Schade, his addition isn’t just a knee-jerk reaction after he delivered four attacking returns in two matches prior to the international break. His Brentford side are seventh for projected goals on our ticker over the next six Gameweeks.
Also, with no European football, Schade is the joint-second-best FPL midfielder for shots in the box (12) and arguably feels undervalued.
Brentford teammate Mamadou Sangare (£5.6m) departs, following his Gameweek 5 benching. That came a fortnight after a half-time withdrawal.
Dominik Szoboszlai (£6.9m) takes a slight dip, with Liverpool’s fixtures in mind.
THE WATCHLIST: BEST FPL FORWARDS
There are no new entries in attack, just a tweak to the foot of the ranks with Gonzalo Garcia (£6.1m) and Thierno Barry (£5.6m) enjoying better upcoming fixtures than Dominic Calvert-Lewin (£6.0m).
Alexander Isak (£9.1m) has been ruled out of Gameweek 6 due to injury, but it doesn’t look “long-term” according to Andoni Iraola, so there’s no immediate hurry to remove him, particularly with four goals in five matches.
We have a few reservations about Yoane Wissa’s (£6.2m) deeper role, but it’s not like there are too many other mid-price forwards staking a claim.
Three of Newcastle United’s next five opponents – Aston Villa, Crystal Palace and Fulham – are at least in the bottom three for expected goals conceded (xGC).
