The FPL players on the Watchlist ahead of Gameweek 24

In our Watchlist series, we pick out the Fantasy Premier League (FPL) players who are the best medium-term targets in each position based on fixtures, form and value.

Unlike the Scout Picks, we’re not just focusing on the upcoming Gameweek with these articles.

Seven-time top 10k finisher and Scout regular Zophar is taking the reins for this series in 2021/22, producing a fortnightly piece and discussing the rankings by position, and talks us through our latest update here.

ABOUT THE WATCHLIST

Our regularly 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 has significantly climbed or fallen in our reckoning since the previous update or if they are a new entry into the tables.

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

THE WATCHLIST: BEST FPL GOALKEEPERS

With the announcement of Manchester United’s Double Gameweek 25, David De Gea (£5.2m) retains his spot at the top of the goalkeeper rankings. Despite just one clean sheet in the last four matches, the Spaniard is good for bonus points and the Red Devils have shown against West Ham United that they can be resilient on their own patch, with three of their next five opponents at home.

Robert Sanchez (£4.6m) sits in second, the caveat being the obvious lack of a Gameweek 24 fixture. The Brighton and Hove Albion shot-stopper has more fixtures to schedule than De Gea so, if you have a back-up in place for that blank, I think he is a better pick from Gameweek 25 onwards.

Nick Pope (£5.4m) also moves up, with Burnley showing some semblance of their usual defensive solidity against Arsenal. The Clarets still have four fixtures that require scheduling and three of these are at Turf Moor. Emiliano Martinez (£5.5m) ranks fourth because Aston Villa look a much better defensive outfit under Steven Gerrard. The Birmingham side have a great run of opponents over the next five Gameweeks which see them come second only to Man United on our Season Ticker.

THE WATCHLIST: BEST FPL DEFENDERS

Trent Alexander-Arnold (£8.5m) and Joao Cancelo (£7.1m) are unmoved at the top of the watchlist, as is Aymeric Laporte (£5.7m). The next three spots were a bit trickier but with the Double Gameweek in mind, Diogo Dalot (£4.5m) takes fourth place. The Portuguese has put in promising displays in Aaron Wan-Bissaka’s (£5.1m) absence and his three bonus points against West Ham highlight his potential in the double.

Andrew Robertson (£7.1m) is the form defender in FPL right now, with seven assists in his last eight appearances. Getting to the Scot can be a bit difficult – given his price tag – but he is out-statting Trent at the moment.

Marc Cucurella (£5.1m) is my Brighton defender of choice and it is again worth mentioning that he has a blank in Gameweek 24 but more doubles to come afterwards.

Matthew Lowton (£4.4m) is on the verge of dropping out despite Burnley having so many outstanding fixtures to fulfil; he was benched for the first time in 52 Premier League matches in Gameweek 23, so it remains to be seen if he has now relinquished the right-back slot or if this was a one-off omission based on match fitness (i.e. we’re not sure of every Burnley player who was affected by Covid-19 during their recent outbreak).

THE WATCHLIST: BEST FPL MIDFIELDERS

Lots of changes here, with old favourite Bruno Fernandes (£11.7m) rocketing to the top of the midfielders’ Watchlist with the announcement of Man United’s double. In my opinion, the midfielder is more likely to start both matches than Cristiano Ronaldo (£12.5m) and his new role has offered a lot more freedom in attack.

Mohamed Salah (£12.7m) is likely to be back for Gameweek 24, even if Egypt make the semi-finals of the African Cup of Nations. Both the final and the third-place play-off are scheduled for Sunday 6 February and Liverpool do not play until four days later on Thursday. Managers who can afford only one of Salah or Bruno have a tricky decision to make.

Kevin De Bruyne (£12.2m) looks back to his best after a difficult first half of the campaign and is Manchester City’s best attacking asset. It wouldn’t surprise me to see the Belgian outscore both Fernandes and Salah over their next two fixtures against Brentford and Norwich City.

Diogo Jota (£8.4m) sees a significant drop now that rotation in the Liverpool front three will soon be likely. The Champions League is around the corner too, so if I want to go for a third Liverpool player it would be Robertson, not Jota.

I would have liked to put Philippe Coutinho (£7.0m) higher than eighth but I worry about rotation while he is building match fitness. Brighton’s Leandro Trossard (£6.1m) is not included as I think there are better midfield options and he might not start both Double Gameweek matches anyway.

THE WATCHLIST: BEST FPL FORWARDS

Ronaldo overtakes Harry Kane (£12.3m) as the top forward pick because of Manchester United’s Double Gameweek 25. Neal Maupay (£6.5m) also sees upward movement as the favoured Brighton attacker despite the immediate blank.

Emmanuel Dennis (£6.2m) drops out but Ollie Watkins (£7.7m) moves up. As mentioned earlier, Villa have a great run of fixtures and Watkins seems to have nailed down his place as the spearhead of their attack.

Michail Antonio’s (£7.9m) next three opponents – Watford, Leicester City and Newcastle United – offer plenty of reason to keep faith. Armando Broja (£5.2m) was unlucky not to get any returns against Man City and the schedule really opens up for the Saints from Gameweek 26.

Crystal Palace really should have scored more against Liverpool and Odsonne Edouard’s (£6.5m) performance was encouraging. I’ve moved Josh King (£5.9m) down significantly as I expect Watford to be a lot more defensive-minded under Roy Hodgson but, if the Hornets do show a new manager bounce, he will be moved up rather quickly.