The FPL players on the Watchlist ahead of Gameweek 3

Back by popular demand, the Watchlist articles make a return to Fantasy Football Scout in 2021/22.

In this series, we pinpoint the Fantasy Premier League (FPL) players who are the stand-out medium-term targets based on fixtures, form and value.

Seven-time top 10k finisher and Scout regular Zophar will be taking the reins this season, producing a bi-weekly piece and discussing the rankings by position.

With the ‘template’ FPL team starting to splinter following the arrival of Romelu Lukaku, Gameweek 3 seems like the ideal time to revisit the Watchlist.

ABOUT THE WATCHLIST

Our reguarly updated Watchlist, which is visible on the sidebar, ranks players in each position for the month ahead – or rather, the next four Gameweeks.

This allows site users to get a longer-term view on recommended players beyond the weekly Scout Picks.

Players are selected according to factors such as FPL’s form rating*, club injuries, club morale, forthcoming fixtures and whether or not the player in question is likely to be a bargain in FPL.

The table displays the player name and club, along with the abbreviation for the factors that played a part in their ranking. A key for these factors can be found below the player in the table and looks like this:

Arrows before the name indicate whether a player as climbed or fallen in our reckoning since the previous update or if they are a new entry into the tables.

Please note that while we may generally only recommend one player from each club within a position, alternative assets at the same club can always be considered.

*points divided by a club’s matches played over the last 30 days

FPL Watchlist: Best Goalkeepers

Robert Sanchez (£4.5m) retains top spot, with the Spaniard keeping his first clean sheet of the season in Gameweek 2. 

Daniel Bachmann (£4.5m) also keeps hold of second place despite the concession of four goals in his opening two matches, with Watford embarking on a kind run of fixtures from Gameweek 3. 

Hugo Lloris (£5.5m) has accrued back-to-back clean sheets and maximum bonus points and finds himself climbing up the Watchlist, meanwhile. 

David Raya (£4.5m) also moves up the list but I have my doubts over whether Brentford’s clean sheets are sustainable, given the volume of shots they have faced so far.

FPL Watchlist: Best Defenders

Luke Shaw (£5.5m) maintains his second spot despite the lack of clean sheets as he is still displaying plenty of attacking threat and the introduction of Raphael Varane (£5.5m) should shore up the Red Devils’ backline.

Vladimir Coufal (£5.0m) once again exemplified his potential with an assist against Leicester City, meanwhile.

Reece James (£5.5m) is a new entry on the Watchlist. With Marcos Alonso (£5.6m) likely staying at Chelsea, there is a chance that the Spaniard plays the easier games instead of Ben Chilwell (£5.8m), which makes James my preferred Chelsea defensive option. He can deliver a mean cross and having Romelu Lukaku (£11.5m) to finish them off this time around should make a huge difference.

Lucas Digne (£5.5m) has dropped down the pecking order, even though he’s taking the majority of set pieces at Everton. Rafael Benitez seems determined to correct the lopsided nature of their attack from last season and is emphasizing creativity from the right as well. 

Ben White (£4.5m) has dropped out of the watchlist with COVID issues and the general malaise surrounding Arsenal. He has been replaced by Eric Dier (£4.5m), who has a decent run of fixtures coming up – even if I’m still not entirely convinced he is the preferred partner to Cristian Romero (£5.0m). 

Rico Henry has been afforded a very attacking role with Brentford playing a wing-back system and is value at just £4.5m. 

In the £4.0m defender bracket, Kostas Tsimikas (£4.2m) drops out with Andrew Robertson (£7.0m) returning to the Liverpool bench in Gameweek 2. Shane Duffy (£4.1m) is above Tino Livramento (£4.0m) because of Brighton’s immediate fixtures but I do believe the latter is more likely to retain his spot in the team long term. 

FPL Watchlist: Best Midfielders

Mohamed Salah (£12.6m), Bruno Fernandes (£12.1m) and Son Heung-min (£10.0m) retain the top spots but Jack Grealish (£8.0m) replaces Riyad Mahrez (£9.0m) as my preferred Manchester City midfielder. Pep Guardiola has talked about Grealish adding more goals to his game and I think he is a more secure starter than the Algerian going forward, especially after the performance of Gabriel Jesus (£8.5m) down the City right in Gameweek 2.

Diogo Jota (£7.6m) and Mason Greenwood (£7.6m) both offer ‘out of position’ potential and the former is ranked higher purely because of Liverpool’s kinder run of fixtures but I do believe that Greenwood is less prone to rotation short term.

With 24 points over the first two Gameweeks, Said Benrahma’s (£6.2m) inclusion is a bit of a ‘no-brainer’. I had my doubts about the Algerian but he looks to have settled in the top flight and he is making a mockery of his budget price tag.

Dele Alli (£6.5m) may be operating slightly deeper than we’d like in some games but his appeal is enhanced with confirmation that he’s on penalty duties whenever Harry Kane (£12.3m) is absent, although this might not be all that often given the news that emerged from north London on Wednesday. Unlike Lucas Moura (£6.5m), I think Alli’s spot in the team is very secure and he’s a great budget pick for their upcoming run of fixtures.

Raphinha (£6.5m) took a whopping six shots against Everton and with concerns over the Gameweek 4 COVID quarantine relaxed a bit, he’s a great pick for Leeds’ kind run of fixtures. 

FPL Watchlist: Best Forwards

FPL’s top-scoring asset over the first two Gameweeks, Michail Antonio (£7.7m) merits his spot on top of the forwards’ Watchlist. West Ham have a great run of fixtures upcoming, too, so it’s not too late to get him in.

Dominic Calvert-Lewin’s (£8.1m) spot-kick duties have added massively to his appeal and it’s clear that Benitez is tailoring his attack to get the best out of the Englishman. 

Danny Ings (£8.1m) has scored two goals but his underlying numbers have been poor. After the Gameweek 3 fixture against Brentford, things get trickier and I think a lot of managers will be shifting to Calvert-Lewin after the international break. 

Romelu Lukaku (£11.5m) showed his potential to be a game-changer with a dominant display against Arsenal and I don’t think the fixtures should really put you off him. Moving early could be a great differential and the Aston Villa fixture in Gameweek 4 looks prime for captaincy.

Ivan Toney (£6.5m) drops down the list: his attacking numbers from open play for the first two Gameweeks haven’t been great and Brentford’s fixtures start to turn a bit now. 

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THE FPL WIRE

These players and more are discussed on this week’s episode of The FPL Wire, where Zophar is joined by regular co-hosts Lateriser and Big Man Bakar.

Check it out in the link below: