Medium-term planning is becoming of less importance as we enter the final three Gameweeks of the 2022/23 season – but the Watchlist staggers on regardless.
If you’re new to this feature, it takes a look at the stand-out Fantasy Premier League (FPL) options over a longer lookahead than the glorified Free Hit chip that is the Scout Picks.
We’ve only got three Gameweeks left to consider, two of which are ‘doubles’ – something that inevitably influences the thinking.
We’ve had our weekly refresh today, with the main changes explained below.
ABOUT THE WATCHLIST
Players are selected and ranked according to factors such as form, club injuries, forthcoming fixtures, Rate My Team’s points projections and whether or not the player in question is likely to be a bargain in FPL.
Arrows before the name indicate whether a player has climbed or fallen in our reckoning since the previous update or if they are a new entry into the tables.
We typically toe the line with FPL’s definition of ‘form’ (average points accrued in matches played over the last 30 days), which takes us back to Double Gameweek 29 in this case.
The key for the factors you’ll see in the below tables is as follows:
THE WATCHLIST: BEST FPL GOALKEEPERS
What a sorry bunch of points-dodgers and gaffe-makers this lot are, with the top five all finishing without a clean sheet in Gameweek 35.
Jason Steele (£4.0m) may have risen to the top of the standings had Monday evening’s debacle against Everton not played out, as he had, lest we forget, hauled in the two Gameweeks before that.
Brighton and Hove Albion also have more fixtures to come than any other side:
| Team | Remaining fixtures from GW36 onwards | Remaining Double Gameweeks from GW35 onwards |
| Brighton | 5 | 2 |
| Chelsea, Man City, Man Utd, Newcastle | 4 | 1 |
| Arsenal, Aston Villa, Bournemouth, Brentford, Crystal Palace, Everton, Fulham, Leeds, Leicester, Liverpool, Nott’m Forest, Southampton, Spurs, West Ham, Wolves | 3 | 0 |
But can we be 100% sure that Roberto De Zerbi doesn’t bring Robert Sanchez (£4.5m) back into the equation after a 5-1 drubbing? It would seem extremely harsh, given that Steele had inadequate cover in front of him and was only culpable for one of the Toffees’ goals, but Albion’s head coach is a no-nonsense individual who has not been afraid of making some bold selection calls in his eight-month tenure.
How many clean sheets we can realistically expect from this lot is also a valid question:
And so, David de Gea (£5.0m) rises to top spot in place of the execrable Ederson (£5.4m).
The Brazilian’s security of starts was the primary reason why he featured so prominently in the Watchlist, with Pep Guardiola’s rotation against Leeds United underscoring the risk outfield. But even Ederson couldn’t escape the axe in Double Gameweek 34, being benched for the win-to-nil against West Ham United.
While there’s probably a slim chance of that happening again, City do have to face free-scoring Brighton and big-game specialists Brentford in the run-in. Three of Manchester United’s four remaining fixtures are at Old Trafford, meanwhile, where they have an excellent defensive record:
Above: Teams sorted by goals conceded (GC) in home matches this season. Clean sheets (CS) are also shown.
Doublers Nick Pope (£5.4m) and Kepa Arrizabalaga (£4.6m) – the latter of whom will likely be relying on save points in Chelsea’s Double Gameweek 37 – follow next, with a new budget-freeing entry in Fraser Forster (£3.9m) rounding off the list after Hugo Lloris (£5.4m) was ruled out for the season.
THE WATCHLIST: BEST FPL DEFENDERS
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