Watchlist Update – Arsenal fixture swing and Alonso form are key changes

Our Watchlist player rankings have now been revised following the first two Gameweeks of the 2018/19 season.

The Watchlist can be found in your sidebar on desktop, or via your slide-in menu on mobile or tablet. It acts as a collection of our current thoughts on player selection for each position, also citing the factors that affect their ranking on the list.

As a general rule, we try to commit to just one player per position per club. However, in some cases we where we believe double-coverage is advisable, two players will be listed instead. We’ve got further examples of that this week.

Form continues to play the overriding role in the factors available to us given that we are just two weeks into the season.

GOALKEEPERS

Ederson (£5.5m) sits atop the list of goalkeepers still, even if Manchester City failed to keep a clean sheet against Huddersfield. Even still, his assist for Sergio Aguero’s (£11.1m) first goal means he has averaged 6.5 points per game so far this season, and still has a favourable run of fixtures.

Petr Cech (£5.0m) rises slightly now that Arsenal have come out on the other side of a tough opening two Gameweeks and now face a more favourable run of matches.

Despite Cardiff’s tough fixtures, Neil Etheridge (£4.5m) simply had to go into the Watchlist after saving two penalties in as many Gameweeks.

DEFENDERS

Now without a rotation risk, Marcos Alonso’s (£6.6m) third attacking return in two Gameweeks sees him jump up the rankings. The Chelsea man is now behind only Benjamin Mendy (£6.2m) and Andrew Robertson (£6.0m), who remain the top two. Both players are still in top form and continue to have great fixtures.

Luke Shaw (£5.1m) receives similar treatment now that he has two two goal involvements in as many Gameweeks to the start the 2018/19 campaign.

Aaron Wan-Bissaka’s (£4.1m) red card in Gameweek 2 rules him out of Gameweek 3, damaging his appeal somewhat. However, the extreme value he offers in a strong defence means the Crystal Palace man remains in the Watchlist for his Gameweek 4 return.

Steve Cook (£4.6m) has shot right up after his goal and assist against West Ham, adding to his six-point haul from Gameweek 1.

Ricardo Pereira (£5.0m) makes a deserved appearance in the list after making it two assists in two as Leicester beat Wolves in Gameweek 2. As you will have seen from our latest Big Numbers article, he has the potential for more attacking returns this season.

After returning from World Cup leave in Gameweek 2, Kieran Trippier (£6.0m) gets a mention now that he has wrestled some set piece responsibilities away from Christian Eriksen (£9.5m).

MIDFIELDERS

The form and fixtures of Mohamed Salah (£13.0m), Richarlison (£6.8m) and Sadio Mané (£9.8m) make them the top three midfield options in FPL right now.

Joining them in the top four of the Watchlist is Arsenal man Henrikh Mkhitaryan (£7.1m) after his goal and assist against Chelsea. The Gunners now have a run of favourable games until a home meeting with Liverpool in Gameweek 11. The only factor that could detract from Mkhitaryan’s appeal is a slight risk of rotation with Arsenal’s front-three a little unsettled currently.

Pedro (£6.6m) remains the highest Chelsea option after scoring twice in the first two Gameweeks, although he still carries some rotation risk. That’s because Eden Hazard (£10.5m) is pushing a return to the side although Maurizio Sarri still seems to insist he is not ready to start matches yet.

Even though he played at right wing-back against Huddersfield and was not involved in any of Manchester City’s goals, Bernardo Silva (£7.6m) keeps his place as the highest rated midfielder from the champions, simply on account of his likelihood of starts. The absence of Kevin de Bruyne (£9.8m) and his versatility make him harder to drop than most of his team-mates right now. Meanwhile, Riyad Mahrez (£9.0m) loses his place in the list having registered just 85 minutes in two matches so far.

Ryan Fraser (£5.5m) receives a boost as his form continues ahead of long period of appealing fixtures for Bournemouth. The Scottish winger now has a goal and an assist in his first two outings with a porous Everton defence up next for him at the Vitality Stadium. James Maddison’s (£6.5m) first goal of the season also sneaks him into the Watchlist.

FORWARDS

That Arsenal fixture swing has propelled Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (£11.0m) up the rankings. However, he is still marked with a C for form after failing to record any attacking returns in the first two Gameweeks.

Conversely, Callum Wilson (£6.1m) has three to his name making it very difficult for us not to push him up the Watchlist with Everton coming to Bournemouth this week.

Harry Kane (£12.5m) is also on the rise after finally proving he is capable of scoring a Premier League goal in August. However, we can’t attach fixtures as factor to him until after Tottenham have got a Gameweek 3 trip to Manchester United out of the way.

Differential Danny Ings (£5.5m) has managed 10 goal attempts in the first two matches, getting himself a goal against Everton in Gameweek 2. While Southampton’s fixtures are a little uninspiring, the former Burnley and Liverpool man can offer value at his price point.

Roberto Firmino (£9.5m) continues to fall down the Watchlist. Salah and Mané are clearly the go-to attacking options with defence also needed to be covered by the three-player Liverpool allocation.

Become a Member and access our data

Memberships for the 2018/19 campaign are now available for the price of £15.

Join now to get the following:

• Plot your transfer strategies using the fully interactive Season Ticker.
• Get projections for every Premier League player provided by the Rate My Team statistical model.
• Use Rate My Team throughout the season to guide your selections and transfers.
• Get access to over 130+ exclusive members articles over the season.
• Analyse our OPTA-powered statistic tables specifically tailored for Fantasy Football Managers.
• Use our exclusive tool to build custom stats tables from over 100 OPTA player and team stats.
• View heatmaps and expected goals data for every player.
• Use our powerful comparison tool to analyse players head-to-head.

CLICK HERE TO BECOME A FANTASY FOOTBALL SCOUT MEMBER