After running the rule over our preferred Defenders for the upcoming four-to-six Gameweeks, we now turn our attentions to the centre of the park. There’s no surprise that the Gameweek 30 blanks play a major part in our reshuffle, with the likes of Gylfi Sigurdsson and Christian Eriksen finding a place in our top three behind Riyad Mahrez.
Having broken the 200-point mark in Fantasy Premier League (FPL) on Saturday after scoring the winner in Leicester’s 1-0 win at Watford, Riyad Mahrez (7.3) sits comfortably on top of our midfielder’s ladder. The Algerian faces a hugely favourable home clash against Newcastle on Monday night, while the rest of the Foxes schedule over the coming period (cpl, SOT, sun, WHM, SWA) is also pretty kind.
With six goals and an assist to his name in his last ten matches, Swansea’s Gylfi Sigurdsson is undoubtedly one of the league’s form players since the turn of the year. The Icelander climbs all the way up to second spot this week ahead of a pretty kind run of fixtures (bou, AVL, sto, CHE, new, lei) over the next five Gameweeks, with the Gameweek 31 clash at home to Aston Villa, in particular, looking likely to provide further attacking points. Still available at 7.2 in FPL, the Swans playmaker surprisingly still has an ownership of just 5%, making him a great short-term differential.
Another midfielder who found the back of the net last weekend, Man City’s Yaya Toure, also enjoys a hefty rise up the Watchlist this time around. Manuel Pellegrini’s men face a pretty strong run of fixtures over the next six Gameweeks (nor, MUN, bou, WBA, che, STO), not to mention there’ll be a double Gameweek somewhere down the line when their away trip to Newcastle is rearranged. Setting us back just 8.5 in FPL, the Ivorian has a slight edge over David Silva (9.9) as our preferred City midfield option given his superior goal threat and cheaper price point.
Although Tottenham’s Christian Eriksen has blanked in his last three matches, the Dane moves up a couple of spots in our latest refresh due to Spurs facing a very favourable trip to Villa Park on Sunday when 10 sides face a blank, while they also face a favourable home clash against Bournemouth in Gameweek 31. The 8.6-valued midfielder’s main attacking threat is through his assist potential, having created 12 chances over his last four matches, while he’s accrued 10 assists so far this season, second to only Mesut Ozil (18) and Mahrez (11).
It’s Mesut Ozil who comes next on our ladder, with the German international holding station in fifth position by virtue of the possibility of Arsenal facing a DGW34 (CPL, WBA). That looks a best case scenario for those wondering whether to hold onto the former Real Madrid man, given the blank this weekend is followed by tricky trips to Everton and West Ham, sandwiching a favourable home fixture against Watford. Should that West Brom match be rearranged after Gameweek 34, the 10.0-rated playmaker may struggle to deliver great value in the short-term.
Dele Alli also enjoys a slight rise this week with those strong fixtures for Tottenham against Aston Villa and Bournemouth firmly in mind. Mauricio Pochettino has revealed the England international has been playing through minor knee and ankle problems, but it seems those won’t stop him getting out onto the pitch over the next few weeks. Still available at a meagre 6.0 in FPL, Alli still looks a well-priced Fantasy asset until we start to reassess our teams towards the DGW.
While Liverpool face a blank this weekend, the outstanding form of Roberto Firmino sees the Brazilian move up a couple of spots in our latest update. The 8.2-priced midfielder has scored an impressive seven goals and registered four assists in his last eight matches, and looks to be thriving in the number ten role for the Reds. Jurgen Klopp’s side do face difficult matches after the Gameweek 30 blank (sot, TOT), but have a favourable run thereafter (STO, bou, NEW), while they also have home matches against Everton and Chelsea to be rearranged, with one likely to drop into Gameweek 34 when they already face Bournemouth.
Despite his 13-point haul against Everton last weekend thanks to a goal, assist and full bonus, West Ham’s Dimitri Payet slips a few places on our ladder with the Hammers Gameweek 30 blank followed by tricky clashes against Chelsea and Arsenal on either side of a favourable home fixture against Crystal Palace in Gameweek 32. The 8.3-valued Frenchman could come firmly back onto our radars if their home match against Watford is rearranged for Gameweek 34, though, creating a double Gameweek along with a trip to Leicester.
The lack of a really favourable fixture in the next six for Stoke (SOT, wat, SWA, liv, TOT, mci) sees Marko Arnautovic also slide down our rankings. The Austrian international, who sets us back 6.5 in FPL, does rank joint-second among midfielders for shots from inside the box over the last four matches with eight, though, so his 14% ownership will likely be happy to stick with him until the more difficult fixtures come from Gameweek 33 onwards.
The other midfielder who’s registered eight shots from inside the box over the last four matches is Norwich’s Nathan Redmond, who is a big climber this week ahead of some very kind looking fixtures (wba, NEW, cpl, SUN, WAT) from Gameweek 31 onwards. The 5.0-rated wide man has regained his spot in the Canaries starting XI over the past few weeks, and given his ownership stands at just 2% in FPL, some Fantasy managers may look to the former Birmingham winger as a possible differential for the coming period.
Four consecutive blanks and a run of unfavourable matches (blank, ARS, mun, wat, SOT) sees Everton’s Ross Barkley fall right towards the foot of the Watchlist. The England international has registered an impressive 15 goal attempts (seven from inside the box) over his last four outings, but has worryingly only hit the target with two of those shots. While the Toffees will have a couple of doubles during the final weeks of the season, with matches away to Liverpool and Sunderland to be rearranged, it’s only from Gameweek 34 onwards that the 7.2-priced midfielder may come back into serious consideration for our five-man midfields.
Likewise, it’s West Ham’s afore-mentioned tough upcoming schedule that sees Michail Antonio plummet down our ladder despite his excellent recent form, having scored in his last three league appearances. The former Nottingham Forest midfielder, available at 5.4 in FPL, could certainly be a viable option come the confirmation of the Hammers’ doubles, but until then there certainly look to be stronger options out there for us to consider.
Following a promising start to his Sunderland career, registering a goal and two assists in his first three matches, three successive blanks and this weekend’s blank for Sam Allardyce’s men sees Wahbi Khazri fall to the final spot on our Watchlist. The former Bordeaux playmaker also picked up a minor knock last weekend, but he should be fit to line up against Newcastle in Gameweek 31. The 6.0-valued midfielder has created 11 chances over his last four appearances though, a pretty impressive statistic given his price tag, so he could well come into contention as an enabler when the Black Cats face their double, which may come in Gameweek 34 (nor, EVE).
