Having assessed the latest Watchlist movements among the defence and midfield over the past two days, we now analyse the risers and fallers up front. Sergio Aguero moves back to the summit after bagging a brace against Villa, whilst Harry Kane and Jamie Vardy tuck in just behind as the trio brace themselves for very favourable Gameweek 30 fixtures.
Given he leads all forwards for penalty box touches, total goal attempts and shots from inside the box over the last four matches, it will come as no surprise to see Sergio Aguero head our latest refresh. Man City also face a kind looking fixture list over the coming period (nor, MUN, bou, WBA, che, STO), while they have an away trip to Newcastle that will form a double Gameweek at some point, perhaps in Gameweek 34 (che, new). The Argentine striker, now priced at 13.6 in Fantasy Premier League (FPL), is the runaway leader of this week’s Captain Poll with 56% of the votes ahead of the trip to struggling Norwich, who have conceded 12 goals in their last four home matches.
Tottenham’s Harry Kane also moves up a spot on our ladder after he returned to the score sheet in last weekend’s 2-2 draw against Arsenal following two successive blanks. The England international faces very favourable match-ups over the next two Gameweeks (avl, BOU), although with Spurs’ schedule (liv, MUN, sto, WBA) less promising thereafter, he could certainly be dispensable as we look towards the doubles. The 10.1-valued Spurs front man also impressively leads all forwards, along with Romelu Lukaku, for shots on target (nine) over the last four matches.
Having failed to score in four of his last five appearances, Leicester’s Jamie Vardy slips to third position in our latest update. The Foxes striker, who currently sets us back 7.8 in FPL, has also fallen behind Aguero and Kane for shots from inside the box over the last four matches (11 compared to 17 for Aguero and 14 for Kane). Claudio Ranieri’s side are still flying high at the top of the table though, while their upcoming schedule (NEW, cpl, SOT, sun, WHM, SWA) remains very friendly, with four of their next six at the King Power Stadium.
Although Everton’s Romelu Lukaku faces a blank this weekend, and some tricky fixtures thereafter (ARS, mun, wat, SOT), the Belgian is a non-mover this time around given he’s scored three goals and bagged an assist in his last four outings. The 8.8-rated striker still offers great value then, while the Toffees will have at least two doubles during the final weeks of the season, with matches away to Liverpool and Sunderland to be rearranged.
Diego Costa (10.8) has been a striker transformed since the arrival of Guus Hiddink to Stamford Bridge, scoring eight goals and registering four assists in his last ten matches. The Spain international was forced off with a calf injury as Chelsea limped out of the Champions League on Wednesday night, however, and could be a doubt for their next league match at home to West Ham in Gameweek 31. He stays towards the top of our rankings in the hope he’ll fully recover by then, with favourable away fixtures at Aston Villa, Swansea and Bournemouth on the agenda over the next six Gameweeks. The Blues will also have a double Gamewek at some point, with their trip to Anfield needing to be rearranged.
After ending his poor form by scoring a brace in Arsenal’s 4-0 win at Hull in midweek, Olivier Giroud moves up a couple of places on our ladder. The Gunners do face a blank this weekend, but their fixture list is generally pretty kind over the next month or so (eve, WAT, whm, CPL, sun), while the home fixture against West Brom will also form a double further down the line. The 8.9-priced Frenchman isn’t assured of a place in the starting XI at the Emirates though, with Danny Welbeck and Theo Walcott both viable options to lead the line.
Sunderland’s Jermain Defoe (5.1) is also on the rise in our latest refresh, with the Black Cats facing three favourable fixtures (new, WBA, nor) between Gameweeks 31 and 34. Their clash at home to Everton also needs to be rearranged at some point, so the experienced front man still appears to be one of the strongest budget forwards around, as Sam Allardyce’s men battle to secure their Premier League status for another year.
The big climber this week is West Brom’s Salomon Rondon, who can’t be ignored any longer after finding the back of the net four times over the last six Gameweeks. The Baggies also face great fixtures against Norwich, Sunderland and, to a slightly lesser extent, Watford over the coming weeks, so while they face a blank in Gameweek 30, the 6.5-valued Venezuelan should certainly appeal as a possible differential for our three-man frontlines, with his current ownership at just 0.9% in FPL.
Bournemouth’s Benik Afobe and Man United’s Marcus Rashford both fall towards the bottom of our Watchlist rankings due to their respective teams’ tough upcoming schedules. Afobe still looks a decent option in the short-term with matches against Swansea and Aston Villa in the next four, but the other four matches on the current slate (tot, MCI, LIV, CHE) lessen the appeal of the 6.1-rated forward.
Likewise, Rashford faces difficult away trips to Man City and Tottenham in the next four Gameweeks, while United also have a blank to contend with this weekend. He may come back onto our radars should the Crystal Palace fixture that needs to be rearranged fall into Gameweek 34 (AVL, CPL), but otherwise the 4.6-priced youngster looks unlikely to repeat the heroics we saw against Arsenal on his Premier League debut.
A fairly decent run of fixtures after this weekend’s blank (STO, ars, EVE, wba, nor) sees Watford’s Odion Ighalo move up a spot or two on our ladder. Having blanked in his last six matches, the Nigerian, who is now down to 5.9 in FPL, is unlikely to see much investment until we see some evidence of a return to form in front of goal.
Southampton’s Shane Long takes the final place in our ladder. Passed fit for the weekend trip to Stoke, the Irishman has bagged five goals in his last 11 appearances, netting against the likes of Arsenal and Chelsea, and has clashes against Newcastle, Everton and Villa’s dodgy defences in the upcoming six rounds of fixtures.
