The Watchlist Updated – Gameweek 27 – The Defence

With so many teams facing blanks in Gameweek 27 and 30, we’re placing a real emphasis on the next four rounds of fixtures for our updated Watchlist rankings. Three home fixtures in four sees Leicester pair Kasper Schmeichel and Christian Fuchs keep their places towards the top of the Watchlist, whilst Southampton duo Fraser Forster and Virgil van Dijk also remain among the leading options at the back after racking up six straight clean sheets.

GOALKEEPERS

Southampton’s in-form Fraser Forster keeps his spot as the top-rated goalkeeper, having racked up a sixth straight clean sheet in the 1-0 win at Swansea last time out. The upcoming schedule (CHE, bou, SUN, sto, LIV, lei) is fairly reasonable for Ronald Koeman’s side, particularly in the short term after Saturday’s tough match-up against Chelsea. The 5.0-priced England international should see his 3% ownership in Fantasy Premier League (FPL) continue to grow, then, although he has failed to pick up any save points in five of his last six appearances.

Stoke’s Jack Butland has, by comparison, been struggling for shut-outs of late, managing just one from his last eight appearances. He clings on to second spot with plum home fixtures against Aston Villa and Newcastle on the horizon, though, while the rest of the Potters’ fixture list over the coming period (che, SOT, wat, SWA) is fairly favourable, with four of their next six at the Britannia. The 5.2-valued keeper’s prospects would be further boosted if Stoke captain Ryan Shawcross is fit to start against Villa on Saturday, with the centre-half set to resume full training this week following a back problem.

Kasper Schmeichel is our third non-mover at the top of our ladder, with a very favourable fixture list (NOR, WBA, wat, NEW, cpl, SOT) making the Leicester stopper a strong option between the sticks. The Danish international has seen his price rise to 4.6 in FPL, but that still looks outstanding value given Claudio Ranieri’s men have kept clean sheets in five of their last eight. Fantasy managers may prefer to use one of their three Leicester slots on a defender with attacking potential, though, with Riyad Mahrez and Jamie Vardy likely to occupy the other two spots in our 15-man rosters.

Bournemouth’s nice run of fixtures over the next four Gameweeks (wat, SOT, new, SWA) ensures that Artur Boruc keeps his place towards the top of the Watchlist. The Cherries have failed to register a shut-out in their last four though, so while the former Celtic goalkeeper still offers solid value at 4.5 in FPL, there do look to be more appealing options for us to ponder over in goal.

Although Swansea face tough trips to Spurs and Arsenal over the next two Gameweeks, their subsequent schedule (NOR, bou, AVL) helps Lukasz Fabianski climb a few spots on the Watchlist. The 4.7-rated keeper has conceded exactly one goal in each of his last four outings, but clean sheets registered in home matches against West Ham, West Brom and Watford over the past few months offer genuine hope of defensive returns against the Canaries and Villa.

Arsenal’s Petr Cech stays in our thoughts despite the possibility of the Gunners most favourable fixture in the next six – the home clash against West Brom in Gameweek 30 – being rearranged should they progress past Hull in their FA Cup Fifth Round replay. Tough trips to Man United and Tottenham sandwich a favourable home clash against Swansea over the next fortnight, so the 5.9-rated Czech Republic international could struggle to deliver great value in the short-term if that Gameweek 30 blank comes into play.

With a pretty tough trip to Southampton on Saturday and a blank in Gameweek 30, Chelsea’s Thibaut Courtois slides down our ladder. The Blues do have favourable match-ups at Norwich and at home to Stoke in between, but with the Belgian setting us back 5.2 in FPL, there is little doubt cheaper options such as Forster and Schmeichel currently look better investments. The champions have also failed to register clean sheets in recent favourable home clashes against West Brom and Newcastle.

Tottenham goalkeeper Hugo Lloris (5.2) falls a little due to concerns over a minor shoulder problem. Should he recover, the Frenchman faces a weekend home encounter with Swansea and showdowns with Aston Villa and Bournemouth in the next five, though tough matches against West Ham and Arsenal could limit his potential.

DEFENDERS

Having averaged 6.1 points per appearance over the last eight Gameweeks, Christian Fuchs keeps his place at the summit ahead of Leicester’s aforementioned favourable fixtures. The Austrian left-back is still available at just 4.8 in FPL, and leads all defenders for chances created (six) over the last four Gameweeks. With a realistic chance of gaining Fantasy points at either end of the pitch, having registered three assists and picked up 12 bonus points so far this season, the former Schalke defender looks to have plenty of upside over the coming weeks, as does his team-mate Robert Huth, who has scored three goals over the last six Gameweeks.

Virgil van Dijk is another who has emerged as something of a bonus point magnet, picking up seven extra points from Southampton’s recent run of six successive shut-outs. The Dutch international, available at 5.5 in FPL, stays in second spot, then, with the fixture list (CHE, bou, SUN, sto, LIV, lei) fairly positive over the coming weeks.

Tottenham’s weekend FA Cup exit helps Toby Alderweireld (6.3) climb back up a few positions, with Mauricio Pochettino’s men one of the sides who face no blanks over the next six Gameweeks (SWA, whm, ARS, avl, BOU, liv). The 6.3-rated centre-back, who leads all defenders in FPL this season with 116 points and sits in over 42% of teams, continues to look a reliable source of Fantasy points, although Spurs have managed just two shut-outs over the last eight Gameweeks.

A non-mover in our latest refresh is Bournemouth’s Charlie Daniels. Despite missing a penalty in the Cherries’ 2-0 FA Cup defeat to Everton on Saturday, the left-back looks set to remain on spot-kick duties, judging by his manager’s post-match comments, and carries reasonable attacking potential, having registered 16 crosses and created four chances over the last four Gameweeks. The fixture list (wat, SOT, new, SWA) is pretty favourable in the short term, so the 4.7-priced defender should still prove to be one of the strongest budget options currently available to us.

The major mover among the defenders this week is Stoke’s Philipp Wollscheid, with the two plum home fixtures against Aston Villa and Newcastle over the next two Gameweeks firmly in mind. The German centre-back only costs 4.5 in FPL and has picked up a reasonable seven bonus points so far this season, although he has yet to register any attacking returns. With an ownership of only 3%, the former Bayer Leverkusen defender could be worth a roll of the dice as a short-term differential – particularly if Ryan Shawcross recovers from injury in time to boost his clean sheet potential

Swansea’s Ashley Williams is also on the rise with the Welsh side facing three favourable fixtures (NOR, bou, AVL) between Gameweeks 29 and 31. The Wales skipper has also been a real threat from set-pieces of late, registering six shots from inside the box over the last four Gameweeks, the joint-highest among defenders along with Everton duo Seamus Coleman and Ramiro Funes Mori. Setting us back 4.8 in FPL, the centre-back looks ripe for investment once the difficult trips to Tottenham and Arsenal are done and dusted.

Having earned a recall against Swansea in Gameweek 26, Southampton’s Matt Targett zooms up our rankings this week due to his bargain price tag of 3.9 in FPL. The England U21 international has started four of the Saints’ last six matches, and has picked up two assists and five bonus points in the process. Playing at left wing-back, Targett has plenty of attacking potential, but his place in the starting XI is not totally assured due to Maya Yoshida being a viable option as a starter in central defence, with Ryan Bertrand then switching to left wing-back.

Having failed to earn any attacking points since Gameweek 9, and with three tough away matches in the next five (mun, SWA, tot, WBA, eve), Arsenal’s Hector Bellerin continues to hold limited appeal. There is also the possibility of the West Brom match being rearranged as already mentioned, and with the right-back coming in at a significant cost of 6.1 in FPL, there will likely be a temptation among many of the Spaniard’s 20% ownership to make a change in the near future.

One premium defender who does drop a couple of places on the Watchlist is Chelsea’s Branislav Ivanovic, who faces a blank in Gameweek 30 following the Blues’ 5-1 win against Man City to progress in the FA Cup. The upcoming fixture list (sot, nor, STO, blank, WHM, avl) looks decidedly mixed now, and with the Serbian setting us back 6.6 in FPL, some of his 8% ownership may think that money could be better spent elsewhere, although he has registered five shots from inside the box over the last four Gameweeks, highlighting his goal threat.

*Please be aware that our Watchlist Forwards tab is currently broken (there should be no Wayne Rooney) and will be amended as soon as possible.