The Stock Check – Gameweek 36 – Saturday

Two Belgians shine, four Foxes catch the eye and, finally, even a Sunderland man enjoys himself. But Fantasy Premier League’s most popular player blanks on the road once again as managers continue to bail out.

Here’s Saturday’s Stock Check.

On the Rise

Kevin De Bruyne
Remember him? The Belgian was a Fantasy staple last season, delivering seven goals and ten assists from midfield.

This campaign has been a rather more stealthy affair, but a stellar performance in the 5-0 rout of Crystal Palace earned him 17 points and an early place in the top five acquisitions ahead of Manchester City’s double Gameweek 37.

De Bruyne has featured in all but two league matches under Pep Guardiola – quite an achievement considering the Spaniard’s liking for tinkering – and has now edged ahead of Spurs’ Christian Eriksen, for FPL assists by 18 to 17.

Throw in five goals and 172 total points which has him sixth among midfielders, and it comes as a surprise that he’s owned by just 7.1% of managers – the injured Sadio Mane is the only other midfielder in the top ten without double-figure ownership.

De Bruyne’s 10.4 price tag and his relatively modest goal output – his strike against Palace was his first since Gameweek 23 – have counted against him, but he now looks due a late surge in popularity as an explosive differential with his home double against Leicester City and West Brom to come.

Vincent Kompany
Another Fantasy favourite of yesteryear is reminding us of his good old days.

Kompany made his fourth successive league start against Palace and marked it with a third clean sheet and a second goal.

The centre-half has racked up 34 points in that spell and suddenly looks as guaranteed a starter as anyone can be under Guardiola.

Much like his compatriot De Bruyne, the Belgian has a hefty price (5.9). That, and a miserable, injury-hit season has rightly kept his ownership to a bare minimum.

But Kompany has always had the pedigree and now has his fitness and form back to boot. He presents a differential, albeit a costly one and so far ahead of Gameweek 37, he is the most popular defensive acquisition.

Adam Smith
A frugal 14,000+ managers paid 4.5 for the Bournemouth defender as a cheaper alternative to Charlie Daniels (5.2) and it proved a canny investment.

Smith notched his fifth assist of the campaign in the 2-2 draw with Stoke City and was unlucky not to score when he hit the post in the first-half.

Three bonus points gave him a seven-point haul to take him to 21 points from his last three starts.

Bournemouth offer just two remaining fixtures but they’re at home to Burnley next, with Smith’s 6.6% ownership surely set to hold and start the full-back, ignoring the lure of double Gameweek assets.

Jamie Vardy, Marc Albrighton
Leicester City are handed a testing double Gameweek – away at Man City, before hosting Spurs, which would normally be enough to deter investment.

But there’s fixtures, and then there’s form, and Vardy has the latter in abundance.

Two assists in the 3-0 win over Watford mean that he’s delivered points in all but one match since Gameweek 26.

More than 40,000 moved for the striker before yesterday’s deadline and he’s already back in the top 15 for transfers-in despite the less than delightful double to come.

Albrighton, meanwhile, has already proved to be a very efficient budget “enabler” in the Gameweek 36 Wildcard.

His goal against the Hornets was his second in five matches as he continues to provide potential for a modest 4.9 price tag.

Robert Huth, Kasper Schmeichel
Just as two attacking Foxes catch the eye, another defensive pair make their late-season play for attention.

Four clean sheets in seven for Leicester has promoted Huth’s stock ahead of that testing double, with the German’s undoubted attacking threat offering an extra dimension.

Another attempt on target against Watford took his tally to 23 efforts in the box – no FPL defender has recorded more.

Meanwhile, Schemeichel has largely been ignored in the clamour for double Gameweek keepers – only 4,000 brought him this week – but he made seven saves today to claim maximum bonus points and his first double-digit haul of the season.

The Dane now has 10 save points from his last 10 Gameweeks and looks good for more of the same in the run-in, as well as the opportunity of a clean sheet from a home match with Bournemouth on the final day – the Foxes have had three shut-outs from their last four at the King Power.

Jordan Pickford
The Sunderland stopper was outstanding as he kept a first clean sheet since Gameweek 29, making five saves for a second successive match and returning two bonus points the surprise 2-0 win at Hull City.

Pickford is second only to Burnley’s Tom Heaton for saves over the season (120 v 136) despite playing seven matches fewer.

His ownership has climbed steadily, and those who looked to him for his two Gameweek 37 fixtures as part of their Bench Boost squad will be decidedly encouraged by today’s display.

Pickford is currently second to Petr Cech and Willy Cabellero for new acquisitions, as the relegated-but-relaxed Sunderland threaten to actually enjoy their exit from the Premier League.

Craig Dawson
The Baggies right-back headed a fourth goal from his last ten Gameweeks in the 2-2 draw at Burnley, confirming his new status as their major goal threat at set-pieces.

Dawson has overshadowed team-mate Gareth McAuley since finding the net for the first of those goals in Gameweek 24, mustering eight attempts to the Irishman’s modest total of three.

Clearly, Tony Pulis appears to have earmarked Dawson as his new key man at set-plays, suggesting that those considering a risky investment in a West Brom defender ahead of their double Gameweek should re-align their sights.

In Decline

Tom Heaton
With Wildcards in play, the 19.5%-owned Burnley man has suffered a bout of unpopularity – he was sold by 21,000 ahead of Gameweek 36 and is likely to suffer more after an unusually porous defensive performance at Turf Moor.

Having conceded only 14 goals from 16 home fixtures prior to today, shipping two goals in one match was bad enough. Being so generous to a West Brom side that hadn’t scored for five matches rather put the tin lid on it.

Fantasy managers agreed – Heaton is now suffering further sales ahead of fixtures with Bournemouth and West Ham as the double Gameweek keepers push him to the sidelines.

Gylfi Sigurdsson
The Icelander suffered a minor loss of ownership ahead of Swansea City’s vital 1-0 win today, despite their talisman having returned an assist and that sublime free-kick at Old Trafford.

Sigurdsson’s remaining owners were seeking another productive day against Everton, but that failed to materialise.

In an edgy encounter, he put in a subdued performance which saw Sigurdsson muster just one shot on goal. Another ownership loss is now expected, although with Sunderland and West Brom left to play, there is merit in holding the 10.9% owned midfielder as a differential.

Romelu Lukaku
The Belgian suffered heavy sales of 153,000+ ahead of Gameweek 36 as strikers with a double dose of fixtures stole his thunder.

Another blank away day at Swansea won’t have improved the mood of the 40.7% of managers who kept the faith for one more week.

Lukaku has now produced just a single goal in his last nine trips and he’s already the most sold asset ahead of next Friday’s deadline, with more than 14,000 already jumping ship.