Watchlist Update – Firmino breaks into forwards selection

After the hectic Christmas schedule came to an end in Gameweek 21, we have finally been able to update our Watchlist.

This feature helps us keep track of the best Fantasy Premier League options to monitor over the coming matches.

It is split by position and uses a variety of factors to decide the rankings.

The top story coming into Gameweek 22 is probably not a huge surprise in that we have given Mohamed Salah (£13.3m) a return to the summit of the midfield section.

The Egyptian’s form is hard to ignore, with three double-figure hauls in his last four matches and appealing fixtures on the horizon. A trip to Brighton this weekend might be harder than some imagine, but home matches against Crystal Palace and Leicester afterwards look like routine outings for Liverpool. In Gameweek 25 and 26, Salah will face the shaky defences on offer at West Ham and Bournemouth.

That means Eden Hazard (£11.1m) drops to second place, partially caused by blanks in both of his last two fixtures. However, we still believe the Chelsea man is a good option long-term with strong underlying statistics and decent fixtures too. Newcastle, Huddersfield and Brighton are the next three players to visit Stamford Bridge, while the defences of Arsenal, Bournemouth and Manchester City, their next three away trips, have been suspect recently.

The biggest riser in the midfield category is Gylfi Sigurdsson (£7.3m) as he sneaks in between Christian Eriksen (£9.3m) and Felipe Anderson (£7.4m) to sit in seventh place. The fixtures are good for Everton, who have Bournemouth, Southampton and Huddersfield as their next three, all of which are vulnerable through the centre. Sigurdsson himself has two goals and an assist in his last three starts. The inclusion of the cheaper Richarlison (£6.9m), who still has a chance of playing out of position as a centre-forward, is the main reason why we can’t really push the Icelandic international any higher.

At the other end of the midfield section, Ryan Fraser (£6.1m) comes back onto the Watchlist to replace Roberto Pereyra (£6.3m). The Bournemouth winger is currently an injury doubt (hamstring), which is why we can’t really put him any higher, but he looks capable of performing very well over the next few weeks if he’s fit. The left-sided midfielder is second for chances created over the last four Gameweeks and faces sides either vulnerable on their right or to ser pieces in each of his next six.

We also see Anthony Martial (£7.3m) drop down several places. The Frenchman has been a victim of Paul Pogba (£8.4m) and striker Marcus Rashford‘s (£7.3m) success.

The forwards’ section has also seen some changes, not least including the removal of Rashford’s injury doubt, although we still see him as a slight rotation risk with Romelu Lukaku and Alexis Sánchez potentially waiting in the wings.

Harry Kane (£12.6m) remains top of the pile based on his better fixtures compared to Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (£11.4m), although it’s a close-run thing between the two strikers.

Raúl Jiménez (£6.4m) and Marko Arnautovic (£6.9m) remain the tried and tested budget forwards, while two new names have joined the forwards ranks just below them.

Roberto Firmino‘s (£9.2m) recent form, four goals in his last two matches, forced him into our thinking. He also benefits from Salah’s favourable fixture run but has registered more penalty box shots than him in the last six Gameweeks.

Threatening to become one of the new cheaper forwards offering excellent value is Ashley Barnes (£5.6m). He comes onto the list in place of the injured (and similarly priced) Danny Ings (£5.6m) having recorded eight shots on target since Gameweek 18. Only Rashford and Pogba have managed more in that time.

Further down, Callum Wilson (£6.7m) drops to the bottom of the list in light of his recent injury doubt, Eddie Howe revealing he has a hamstring problem ahead of Gameweek 22.

Not much has changed in defence, with Andrew Robertson (£6.6m) still the best option as Liverpool’s fixtures carry more clean sheet potential. We were close to adding Trent Alexander-Arnold (£5.2m) and encouraging a double-up on the Reds’ backline but we’d like to see which options are fit to line-up in Gameweek 22 before pushing that angle.

Meanwhile, Matt Doherty (£5.2m) and Lucas Digne (£5.2m) remain the cheaper options, although their popularity has seen them both move out of the budget category.

Jan Bednarek (£3.9m) keeps his place on the Watchlist as he continues to hold down a spot in Southampton’s defence. The Polish international has started the last six Premier League matches in a row and can help any Wildcarders spend a little extra elsewhere.

The biggest changes in the Goalkeeper section over December saw Ederson (£5.6m) drop all the way from the top three to the bottom of the pile. Manchester City are now without a clean sheet in eight Gameweeks, making his expensive price not worth paying at all.

Crystal Palace’s new number one Vicente Guaita (£4.2m) offers the best value right now. He appears to be the starting goalkeeper at Selhurst Park and the fixtures indicate there could be more clean sheets on the way for him, including the trip to Southampton in Gameweek 24 and a home match against Fulham in Gameweek 25.

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