Having run through the changes among the Goalkeepers and Defenders on our Watchlist, which offers player recommendations for the next four-to-six rounds of fixtures, our attention this afternoon turns to the midfielders. Newcastle’s Georginio Wijnaldum is the talk of the town after scoring four goals against Norwich, and looks to have the fixtures to continue to flourish, whilst Mesut Ozil’s recent form earns him a place in our latest refresh.
With an average of 15.3 points per appearance over the last three Gameweeks, there is no stopping Alexis Sanchez at the moment. The Chilean has scored six goals in those three outings, and leads all midfielders for total goal attempts over the last six Gameweeks, with 32. The former Barcelona man has attracted over 122,000 new Fantasy Premier League (FPL) owners this week, seeing his price rise to 11.4, ahead of a very favourable run of fixtures (EVE, swa, TOT, wba, nor, SUN) for the Gunners, while he also currently leads this week’s Captain Poll with 35% of the votes ahead of Arsenal’s encounter with Everton at the Emirates.
While he only delivered a single assist in Man City’s 5-1 demolition of Bournemouth, Kevin de Bruyne remains a stand-out option in the premium price bracket, with his winner against Sevilla last night underlining his form. The former Wolfsburg midfielder has made a hugely encouraging start to his career at the Etihad, bagging three goals and providing three assists in just five appearances, and is another who has seen his price rise this week, with the Belgian now setting us back 10.5 in FPL. City’s upcoming schedule (mun, NOR, avl, LIV, SOT, sto) is pretty reasonable, with that Gameweek 11 clash at home to Norwich likely to see Manuel Pellegrini’s side continue to rack up the goals in front of their own fans.
Southampton’s Sadio Mane disappointingly blanked in the 2-2 draw against Leicester, but with further favourable fixtures (liv, BOU, sun, STO, mci, AVL) to come, the Senegal international keeps his place near the summit. The 7.9-priced attacker has strong underlying statistics, with 14 shots from inside the box and 12 chances created over the last six Gameweeks, and looks primed to add to his two goals and five assists over the next few weeks.
Our fourth non-mover at the top of our rankings is West Ham’s Dimitri Payet, who produced attacking points for the fifth match in a row after netting in stoppage time in the Hammers 3-1 victory against Crystal Palace. The 8.2-valued France international sits atop the FPL standings with 66 points accrued and despite Slaven Bilic’s men facing a pretty testing run of fixtures (CHE, wat, EVE, tot, WBA, mun) over the next month or so, the former Marseille man remains firmly in contention, having already returned points away to the likes of Arsenal and City.
Newcastle’s Georginio Wijnaldum had shown glimpses of his quality during the first two months of the season, having registered two goals and an assist. Few could have predicted his 25-point haul against Norwich on Sunday, and while that is unlikely to be repeated, the fixture list over the next few weeks (sun, STO, bou, LEI, cpl, LIV) is undoubtedly pretty favourable. Second only to Sanchez in terms of transfers in amongst midfielders this week, the 6.9-priced Dutchman – who sits in just 4% of sides – looks a real candidate in the mid-price bracket.
Although Leicester’s Riyad Mahrez again started on the bench for the Foxes against Southampton, he did make a significant impact after coming on at half-time. The Algerian created three chances, one of which was an assist for Jamie Vardy’s equaliser, and registered two goal attempts as Claudio Ranieri’s men fought from a two-goal deficit to draw 2-2. That should mean he stands a good chance of returning to the starting XI this weekend, and with the fixture list (CPL, wba, WAT, new, MUN, swa) still very friendly for the Foxes, his huge 53% ownership will certainly be hoping ‘the Tinkerman’ restores the 6.5-rated midfielder to the starting line-up against Palace.
After scoring from the penalty spot in three successive matches for Palace, Yohan Cabaye (6.5) keeps his place around halfway up our ladder. While that run of gaining spot-kicks will come to an end at some point, with plenty of pace and trickery in the Palace attack, it’s perhaps no fluke they’re drawing so many fouls the opposition area. The France international has only created seven chances in his last six outings, though, so he does appear to be pretty reliant on those opportunities from 12 yards for attacking points.
With six assists this season, the joint-highest among midfielders alongside David Silva, Mesut Ozil is back in our thoughts. The German international is very kindly priced at 8.4 in FPL, and having created 25 chances in his last five appearances, those assist numbers could well be maintained. With the aforementioned favourable schedule for the Gunners, the option to double up on Arsenal midfield assets looks very tempting, with Ozil in particular looking “nailed onâ€, having started every league match he’s been fit for.
Tottenham’s Christian Eriksen is another riser this week, although compared to Arsenal’s upcoming fixtures, it’s fair to say Spurs’ (bou, AVL, ars, WHM, CHE, wba) don’t hold quite the same appeal. The 8.3-priced Denmark international’s numbers are also not quite as impressive as Ozil’s, with 10 chances created in his last four outings, while the former Ajax man has only managed one shot from inside the box over the same period. As illustrated against Swansea, Eriksen does have fantastic ability from direct free-kicks, which can’t be underestimated.
The third Arsenal player to appear on our ladder this time around is Theo Walcott. The 8.6-valued attacker hasn’t been quite as prolific as Sanchez and Ozil in recent weeks, and isn’t as sure of a starting berth as those two, with Olivier Giroud pushing hard for a start in the lone striker role. Nonetheless, the England international has started the last six league matches up front, racking up two goals and two assists, and represents terrific value should he be able to keep that starting position through this favourable stretch.
After surprisingly being taken off at half-time against Everton, and rested to the bench in Moscow last night, Juan Mata slides down the rankings in our latest update. The Spaniard also faces a tough match-up against Man City this weekend, although United’s schedule thereafter (cpl, WBA, wat, lei, WHM) is very favourable. Setting us back at 8.9 in FPL, there looks to be stronger options available at the moment, particularly bearing in mind the former Chelsea man has only completed 90 minutes in two of his last six appearances.
With Everton’s difficult start to the campaign about to come to an end (ars, SUN, whm, AVL, bou, CPL), Ross Barkley could be someone to keep an eye on. The 6.8-rated midfielder may have blanked in his last four outings, but he has created nine chances over the same period, more than the likes of Philippe Coutinho and Mata (both six). Ten of his 13 goal attempts have come from outside the area, but it would come as little surprise if the England international manages to spark into life over the next month or two.
Back from his one-match suspension, Jeremain Lens could be the man Sam Allardyce will hope can ignite Sunderland from their slumber. The Dutch international has two goals and three assists already this season, and with the fixture list (NEW, eve, SOT, cpl, STO, ars) pretty reasonable, the now 6.4-priced attacker could be worth a look as a differential, with his current ownership standing at just 0.4% in FPL.
The amazing decline of Eden Hazard is showing no signs of abating, with last season’s PFA Player of the Year only afforded a late cameo appearance against Aston Villa last weekend. The Belgian did start against Dynamo Kiev in the Champions League on Tuesday, but it’s not certain he will line up against West Ham on Saturday. His price has dropped to 11.2 in FPL this week, on the back of over 60,000 transfers out, and that figure will only increase should he fail to make the starting XI once again.
Given he’s only registered four goal attempts and created three chances in his last four appearances, it’s little surprise that Swansea’s Andre Ayew (7.2) has only bagged a single goal over the same period. The Welsh outfit seem to have lost their mojo, having only found the back of the net three times in their last five matches, and while their forthcoming fixtures (avl, ARS, nor, BOU, liv, LEI) are pretty reasonable, there’s little doubt many of the Ghanaian’s 19% ownership will be considering alternatives at this point.
With many questions to be answered about Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool, we are just about keeping faith in Philippe Coutinho, despite a less than friendly run of fixtures (SOT, che, CPL, mci, SWA, new) coming up. The 8.1-valued schemer can often flatter to deceive, and only has a single goal and two assists to his name so far this season. The Brazil international has managed 21 goal attempts in his last four appearances, though, with 10 of those coming from inside the box, and the hope will be that Klopp can get the best out of the talented midfielder.
