Watchlist Update – Ederson top goalkeeper as budget options emerge

We are taking the opportunity of the international break to do a more in-depth update of our Watchlist.

Each option is ranked according to different factors to help managers work out their appeal for Fantasy Premier League.

We’ve started off with the goalkeepers, which you can see in the sidebar of the website.

Ederson (£5.6m) remains at the top of the Goalkeeper section of the Watchlist with more favourable fixtures on the horizon. The Brazilian may have only kept one clean sheet so far in 2018/19, but a Gameweek 5 match-up with Fulham followed by a trip to Cardiff and a home meeting with Brighton all have great defensive potential. The latter two clubs currently sit in the division’s bottom three when it comes to shots on target across the first four Gameweeks. Meanwhile, no club has allowed fewer accurate attempts than Man City in that time.

Having been a reliable source of points for the first four Gameweeks, Alisson‘s (£5.6m) stock has fallen a little, on account of the tricky fixtures that Liverpool are set to face between Gameweeks 5 and 8. The Reds face a trip to Tottenham up next before facing Chelsea at Stamford Bridge in Gameweek 7 and hosting Man City the following weekend. Those three sides have scored 30 goals between them so far, with City and Spurs in the top two for big chances too. However, the fact that Alisson and the Liverpool defence have conceded just once in four matches is enough for the former Roma man to hang on to his form factor.

Chelsea’s next match against a goal shy Cardiff side looks encouraging for goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga (£5.5m). The only sides to have conceded fewer shots on target than Maurizio Sarri’s men so far this season are Man City and Watford and, as we mentioned, Cardiff have registered a minimal amount in the other direction. With the next six matches for the Blues containing home matches against Liverpool and Manchester United it is difficult for us to attach the factor of Favour Fixtures onto Kepa, but trips to West Ham, Southampton and Burnley definitely save him receiving the Unfavourable Fixtures tag.

David de Gea‘s (£5.9m) stock has fallen since the start of the campaign but a first clean sheet of 2018/19 recorded at Burnley in Gameweek 4 suggests some hope for the future. Manchester United currently rank fifth for defence for the next six Gameweeks on our Season Ticker. After travelling to Watford immediately after the international break, they host Wolves, go to West Ham and then host Newcastle United in Gameweek 8. The Spaniard also benefits from being the only assured starter in Man United’s defence with rotation risk and injury circling above candidates for the back-four.

Asmir Begovic (£4.5m) ranks highest out of all the budget options currently in the Goalkeeper section of the watchlist. Bournemouth rank top for defence over the next six Gameweeks of our Season Ticker with some very favourable run of fixtures. That run includes home matches against Leicester, Crystal Palace and Southampton as well as trips to Burnley, Watford and Fulham. While Cherries defensive assets have not been so trustworthy in the past, Eddie Howe’s men actually rank joint-best with Liverpool for big chances allowed so far.

Rui Patricio (£4.5m) sits just below the Bournemouth custodian in the rankings as he also carries a B for form, largely Favourable Fixtures and the Potential Bargain factors. Like Begovic, he has one clean sheet to his name but has additional points for saves in three matches, compared to Begovic’s two. Where the Wolves man slips down a little in comparison, is a Gameweek 6 trip to Manchester United – although that is by far the hardest fixture he’ll face between now and Gameweek 10. It’s Burnley, Southampton and Watford at home with trips to Crystal Palace and Brighton also in the schedule. Furthermore, the only sides to have allowed fewer big chances than Wolves thus far are Bournemouth and Liverpool.

Petr Cech (£5.0m) comes next with the Favourable Fixtures facing his Arsenal side. The Gunners are yet to keep a clean sheet so far this season but there is no denying the relative ease of their fixtures; only Bournemouth rank higher for defence over the next six Gameweeks on our Season Ticker. Cech continues to come with the factor of Rotation Risk with new signing Bernd Leno (£5.0m) still waiting to make his first start of the campaign.

Wayne Hennessey (£4.5m) has several factors in his favour too. His penalty save against Southampton, a clean sheet in Gameweek 1 and extra points for saves in every match so far ensure an A for form. On top of his Potential Bargain factor he also some appealing fixtures, especially in the next two. It’s a trip to Huddersfield and then a home meeting with Newcastle after that. Hennessey would probably be a little higher in the Watchlist if Palace did not rank second-worst for big chances allowed so far this season.

Southampton’s Alex McCarthy (£4.5m) has the potential to be a bargain this season and enters the watchlist after a second clean sheet of the season in Gameweek 4. We are only four matches into the campaign, but the former Reading shot stopper currently ranks second for total saves made, earning him additional points in every match. The Saints next fixture is a home encounter with a travel sick Brighton side and has great clean sheet potential but after that, it’s a trip to Liverpool in Gameweek 6 before Wolves in Gameweek 7 and Chelsea in Gameweek 8. McCarthy’s form thus far suggests he could keep two shutouts in the next four matches as well additionals for saves against the two big-hitters, but we’ll have to see.

Leicester’s Kasper Schmeichel (£5.0m) has not had a hugely productive start to the campaign but has done well considering the difficulty of fixtures he has participated in. An additional point for saves made was chalked up at Old Trafford in Gameweek 1 and at Southampton in Gameweek 3, on top of the clean sheet secured against Wolves. The schedule eases up now for the Foxes with Huddersfield and Newcastle among their next four opponents.

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