After a Gameweek which saw Chelsea and Bournemouth secure their first clean sheets of the season, we’re rolling out the first update of our Watchlist rankings, which offer player recommendations for the next four-to-six Gameweeks. West Brom’s defensive assets remain at the forefront of our thoughts with form and fixtures in their favour, but the prospects look bleak for Liverpool’s Martin Skrtel, who continues to fall down the ladder after the Reds failed to keep out Norwich at Anfield.
GOALKEEPERS
West Brom’s Boaz Myhill climbs to the top spot in our rankings after registering his fourth clean sheet of the season in the 1-0 win at Aston Villa. The Baggies stopper saw his price rise to 4.6 in Fantasy Premier League (FPL) last week after he saw off the challenge of Anders Lindegaard for the starting position at the Hawthorns, and with five favourable fixtures (EVE, cpl, SUN, nor, LEI) on the horizon, looks primed for further shut-outs.
Despite failing to keep a clean sheet for the sixth consecutive Gameweek, Jack Butland returned seven points in FPL thanks to his assist for Jon Walters’ goal, while he also bagged two bonus points and an extra save point. The 4.5-priced keeper still has a strong upcoming schedule (BOU, avl, swa, WAT, new), but until Stoke captain Ryan Shawcross returns from his back injury, clean sheets could continue to elude Mark Hughes’ men.
With a price tag of 5.0 in FPL, Asmir Begovic now becomes a great option between the sticks with Chelsea’s fixtures (new, SOT, AVL, whm, LIV, sto) much more favourable over the coming period. The Blues grabbed their first clean sheet of the campaign in the 2-0 victory against Arsenal, and are beginning to resemble the strong defensive unit they were last term.
Manchester United may have failed to register a shut-out for the third match in a row in their 3-2 win at Southampton, but David de Gea, available at 5.4 in FPL, still looks a viable option for Fantasy managers. United’s fixtures are mixed (SUN, ars, eve, MCI, cpl, WBA) over the next six Gameweeks, but that hasn’t stopped over 22,000 FPL bosses drafting in the Spain international so far this week.
After conceding exactly one goal in the previous three Gameweeks, Swansea’s Lukasz Fabianski finally delivered his second clean sheet of the campaign in the goalless draw against Everton. The upcoming fixtures (sot, TOT, STO, avl, ARS, nor) remain pretty reasonable for Garry Monk’s men, so the 5.0-valued Poland international should continue to be a reliable source of Fantasy points.
With West Ham top of our Season Ticker for the next six Gameweeks (NOR, sun, cpl, CHE, wat, EVE), Adrian sees his stock rise in our latest refresh. The Spaniard, valued at 5.0 in FPL, returned to the starting XI against Man City following his three-match ban, and racked up eight saves as the Hammers pulled off a surprise 2-1 victory. With confidence high at Upton Park, further defensive returns appear likely over the coming weeks.
Joe Hart conceded his first goals of the campaign in that 2-1 defeat to West Ham at the Etihad, but the 5.7-rated keeper should still be backed over the next six Gameweeks given City’s schedule (tot, NEW, BOU, mun, NOR, avl). The downside for the England international remains that Bacary Sagna (5.2) in particular offers greater value in the City backline, although the France international will soon be competing with the fit-again Pablo Zabaleta for the right-back position.
Norwich’s John Ruddy sneaks back onto our ladder with the Canaries only facing one difficult match-up (whm, LEI, new, WBA, mci, SWA) over the coming period. Nonetheless, without a clean sheet so far this term, there’s no doubt the 4.5-priced keeper is well behind Myhill in terms of budget options between the posts.
One faller in our latest update is Crystal Palace’s Alex McCarthy, who will have been disappointed at how Heung-Min Son’s strike managed to squeeze past him. Eagles boss Alan Pardew was quick to criticise, and with Julian Speroni now also available for selection, the former QPR man may face a battle to cling onto his starting spot. For the time being, he still offers great value at just 4.1 in FPL, while the schedule for Palace (wat, WBA, WHM, lei, MUN, liv) is pretty decent over the next month or so.
On the back of a first clean sheet of the season in the 2-0 win against Sunderland, Bournemouth’s Artur Boruc is back in our thoughts this week. The Cherries have a fairly mixed fixture list (sto, WAT, mci, TOT, sot, NEW) on the horizon, but with the former Southampton stopper only setting us back 4.5 in FPL, the experienced Pole should provide good value in the budget price bracket.
DEFENDERS
There’s no change at the top of our defenders ladder, with Aleksandar Kolarov – despite registering zero points in the 2-1 loss against West Ham – remaining on top. The now 6.1-valued left-back is joint-first among defenders for total goal attempts (ten), while he has also created nine chances for his team-mates. With the upcoming schedule (tot, NEW, BOU, mun, NOR, avl) still very much favourable, Kolarov should continue to keep rewarding his 32.0% ownership in FPL with returns at both ends of the pitch.
West Brom’s Craig Dawson continues to push hard for the top spot, with the 5.0-rated defender racking up his fourth clean sheet of the campaign against Aston Villa. The former Rochdale man also created three chances at Villa Park, which has just managed to keep him ahead of Jonny Evans as our preferred Baggies option, with the former Man United defender, available at 4.8 in FPL, making his case by picking up two bonus points in the 1-0 victory.
As previously mentioned, the tide could well be starting to turn for Chelsea, with two clean sheets in as many matches in all competitions, so Cesar Azpilicueta zooms straight back towards the top of our rankings. The 6.0-priced full-back has bagged a goal and an assist already this season, and while Kurt Zouma (5.4) is starting to become a genuine option on the back of four consecutive starts, the Spaniard looks more “nailed on”, and has already proven he can deliver returns at both ends of the pitch.
Aaron Cresswell continues to rise up our ladder, with the left-back the highest scoring defender in FPL outside of the City trio of Kolarov, Sagna and Vincent Kompany, with 30 points accrued. The former Ipswich defender, who is available at 5.6 in FPL, has registered two assists and three clean sheets this season, and looks worthy of consideration as a more expensive option in our five-man backlines.
Given he’s averaging five points per appearance, it’s perhaps surprising that Arsenal’s Hector Bellerin has yet to see his price rise from 5.5 in FPL. Right now, the Gunners difficult fixtures over the next two Gameweeks (lei, MUN) may deter any potential suitors, but from Gameweek 9 onwards (wat, EVE, swa, TOT), the attack-minded right-back may well emerge as one of the primary defensive targets.
There’s little doubt that Bournemouth’s Simon Francis is leading the way among budget defenders this season. The 4.5-valued right-back has bagged two assists and four bonus points so far, and leads all defenders for chances created, with 11. The Cherries fixtures are reasonable over the coming weeks, so the former Charlton defender should see his 3.3% ownership in FPL continue to grow.
The remarkable goal scoring feats of Russell Martin continued on Sunday, with the Scotland international netting his third strike of the season from just four goal attempts. As already mentioned, Norwich’s upcoming slate of fixtures are fairly reasonable, so coming in at 4.5 in FPL, you can’t really go wrong with the Canaries skipper as a budget option at the back.
Swansea’s Kyle Naughton remains around halfway up our ladder after picking up a second clean sheet in Gameweek 6. The 5.0-rated right-back missed out on the bonus points against Everton, but he created two chances against the Toffees, making it 10 key passes for the season, and continues to offer an attacking threat down the right flank for the Welsh outfit.
After three successive clean sheets to open the season, Liverpool have conceded seven goals in the last three Gameweeks, which means Martin Skrtel (5.5) continues to plummet down our rankings. The Reds also face a testing period in their schedule (AVL, eve, tot, SOT, che, CPL), so the Slovakian’s 8% ownership in FPL may want to start making alternative plans after the home clash with Villa has passed. Should Alberto Moreno continue to be deployed as a wing-back, the 4.7-priced defender could be one to monitor, although given the strong attacks Liverpool will face in the coming weeks, his prospects would largely hinge on attacking returns.
With Marc Muniesa being dropped to the bench against Leicester, Erik Pieters is now our favoured Stoke option at the back. The left-back hasn’t warranted his 4.9 price tag so far this season, bagging just six points in FPL, but the Potters fixtures (BOU, avl, swa, WAT, new) over the coming weeks offer hope he could become a genuine Fantasy option at the back.
Matteo Darmian remains towards the bottom of our rankings, with United’s fixtures not particularly favourable at this point. The Italy international was also replaced at half-time against Southampton for tactical reasons, and while he is expected to line up against Sunderland on Saturday, he may struggle to deliver value for his 5.8 price tag over the next month or so.
Although Newcastle face Chelsea and City over the next two Gameweeks, we’re backing Daryl Janmaat’s raids down the right. The Dutch international scored in the 2-1 defeat against Watford, and with the schedule much rosier from Gameweek 9 onwards (NOR, sun, STO, bou), the 4.9-valued right-back could soon find his way into many FPL managers’ 15-man squads.
Crystal Palace’s favourable fixtures over the next three Gameweeks (wat, WBA, WHM) mean we’re keeping an Eagles defender in our thoughts, with Pape Souare replacing Scott Dann on our ladder, with the centre-back nursing a calf injury. The 4.5-rated left-back has created seven chances so far this term, and provided an assist in the 3-1 win at Norwich in Gameweek 1.
Another budget option worthy of our consideration is Watford’s Allan Nyom. The Hornets are yet to concede a goal at Vicarage Road, and are full of confidence following back-to-back victories. Priced at 4.5 in FPL, and with four bonus points to his name already, the Cameroon international should continue to fare pretty well with some reasonable fixtures (CPL, bou, ARS, sto, WHM, lei) over the coming period.
