As highly owned midfielders continue to disappoint their owners in Fantasy Premier League, The Scout highlights the best replacements.
Sales of highly popular midfielders are escalating in Fantasy over the international break after a host of them had a hugely underwhelming Gameweek 11.
Only three of the 15 most-owned midfielders in Fantasy produced an attacking return last weekend - Arsenal's Bukayo Saka (£10.1m), and Manchester United pair Bryan Mbeumo (£8.5m) and Bruno Fernandes (£8.9m).
There's no surprise, then, to learn that midfielders account for five of the eight most-sold players ahead of Gameweek 12, with Mohammed Kudus (£6.5m), Tijjani Reijnders (£5.5m), Jack Grealish (£6.8m), Enzo Fernandez (£6.7m) and Antoine Semenyo (£8.1m) the men in question.
So, as FPL managers look for replacements in their midfield, let's look at the best options.
How are the popular midfielders performing?
The table below shows the form of those 15 most-owned midfielders in Fantasy over both the last four and last six Gameweeks.
It's easy to see where the source of our frustration lies. Only THREE of them are among the top 10 midfielders for points in both of these periods.
Man Utd's Mbeumo is the top-performing midfielder over the last four Gameweeks, having scored four goals to collect 33 points.
Saka and his Arsenal team-mate Declan Rice (£6.9m) are the other standouts. Both have totalled 25 points in the last four Gameweeks - and over the last six Gameweeks, Rice's tally of 45 points knocks Mbeumo into second place.
AFC Bournemouth's Semenyo's recent drop-off is noticeable. His 34 points over the last six Gameweeks are just one fewer than Saka, but if you look at just the last four Gameweeks, he's only managed nine points.
Listen: FPL experts discuss what to do with Semenyo
Continuing to look at the last four Gameweeks helps to show why many managers are changing their midfielders.
Although Kudus, Reijnders, Grealish and Fernandez each have the excuse of missing one match in that spell, they have each totalled under eight points across their other three outings.
Most-owned midfielders' recent points
| Player | Owned | Pts last 4 GWs | Pts last 6 GWs |
|---|---|---|---|
| Semenyo | 64.2% | 9 | 34 |
| Mbeumo | 32.0% | 33 | 41 |
| Salah | 24.0% | 20 | 24 |
| Caicedo | 23.2% | 15 | 27 |
| Kudus | 22.1% | 6 | 20 |
| Rice | 20.4% | 25 | 45 |
| Reijnders | 19.7% | 3 | 8 |
| Saka | 17.3% | 25 | 35 |
| Grealish | 16.4% | 6 | 18 |
| Fernandes | 16.2% | 22 | 24 |
| Fernandez | 14.4% | 7 | 18 |
| Eze | 13.6% | 19 | 27 |
| Gakpo | 13.1% | 13 | 21 |
| Sarr | 13.0% | 10 | 28 |
| Ndiaye | 11.9% | 18 | 27 |
Scroll across on mobile to see the full table
Who's in form among FPL midfielders?
As mentioned above, Rice, Mbeumo, Saka and Semenyo have justified their ownerships across the last six Gameweeks.
Arguably, Saka's points distribution is the most impressive of the quartet over this period. The winger has twice collected two points for his defensive contributions (DC) and he has picked up a further four points from clean sheets (CS) - the same as his team-mate Rice.
Indeed, in terms of combined points from clean sheets and defensive contributions, Saka's total of eight in this spell is bettered only by defensive-midfield trio Casemiro (£5.5m), Granit Xhaka (£5.1m) and Palhinha (£5.5m).
So when it comes to considering Saka for the captain's armband, he's clearly offering a lot more than just attacking potential.
Notably, a look at the other form midfielders over the last six Gameweeks in the table below shows that as many as nine of the top 13 are owned by no more than six per cent of managers.
Whereas Chelsea's Fernandez has frustrated his 14.4 per cent backers, his team-mate Pedro Neto (£7.1m) has been an overlooked success. Found in just six per cent of squads, he has delivered two goals and two assists in the last four matches alone.
Using Saka's 35 points as the yardstick here, there have been plenty of strong options available for managers who have been both cheap and overlooked.
Indeed, there are five midfielders with an ownership of 1.0 per cent or under who are within two points of Saka's total in the last six Gameweeks - Casemiro, Bruno Guimaraes (£6.6m), Ryan Sessegnon (£5.4m), Emiliano Buendia (£5.3m) and Leandro Trossard (£6.9m).
Top-scoring midfielders in last six Gameweeks
| Player | Goals + assists | CS + DC pts | Owned | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rice | 4 | 8 | 20.4% | 45 |
| Mbeumo | 5 | 1 | 32.0% | 41 |
| Casemiro | 3 | 11 | 1.0% | 36 |
| Guimaraes | 4 | 3 | 3.6% | 36 |
| Neto | 4 | 3 | 6.0% | 36 |
| Saka | 2 | 8 | 17.3% | 35 |
| Sessegnon | 3 | 5 | 0.7% | 35 |
| Buendia | 5 | 1 | 0.4% | 34 |
| Semenyo | 5 | 1 | 64.2% | 34 |
| Trossard | 3 | 4 | 0.8% | 33 |
| Xhaka | 2 | 10 | 6.0% | 32 |
| Aaronsen | 4 | 3 | 0.2% | 31 |
| Palhinha | 2 | 9 | 1.8% | 31 |
Scroll across on mobile to see the full table
Which clubs have the best schedules?
If you're on the lookout for a new midfielder, focusing on the upcoming fixtures can help refine your targets.
Man Utd's very favourable upcoming run of opponents show why Mbeumo is the most-bought player in Gameweek 12.
According to the Fixture Difficulty Ratings (FDR), where the difficulty of each fixture is ranked from one to five - with one being the easiest possible match and five being the hardest - three of their next four matches score just two.
Across the next six Gameweeks, their average of 2.5 is the joint-best, being matched by Liverpool and Bournemouth.
Manchester City and Brentford also have three matches in the next six Gameweeks which score two in the FDR.
Crystal Palace, Brighton & Hove Albion, Aston Villa and Arsenal complete the set of nine clubs whose average FDR score is under three across the next six Gameweeks.
Best FDR schedules over next six Gameweeks
| Club | No. of matches scoring 2 in FDR | Average FDR |
|---|---|---|
| Liverpool, Man Utd | 3 | 2.5 |
| Bournemouth | 3 | 2.5 |
| Man City | 3 | 2.7 |
| Brentford | 3 | 2.8 |
| Crystal Palace | 2 | 2.8 |
| Brighton | 2 | 2.8 |
| Aston Villa | 2 | 2.8 |
| Arsenal | 1 | 2.8 |
*1=easiest possible fixture, 5=hardest possible fixture
Who's had the most attacking threat?
By focusing on the clubs above and looking at the best players for big chances - situations where the player is expected to score - you can get a better idea of who has both form and fixtures on their side.
Again, Mbeumo and Saka make strong cases for inclusion.
Man Utd's Mbeumo has had six big chances and created two of them for his team-mates, which means he's been involved in eight big chances across his last four appearances.
Saka takes second place, with his three big chances and three big chances created showing his all-round style of play.
Although Mohamed Salah (£14.2m) features highly here - with his 11 shots in the box placing first - it's fair to say he's failing to live up to his huge price tag right now.
Elsewhere, it's worth looking at Brentford and Man City for overlooked gems in midfield.
Brentford pair Dango Ouattara (£6.0m) and Kevin Schade (£7.0m) have each been involved in five big chances (BC) in the last four Gameweeks, yet both are owned by under one per cent of managers.
Man City's Jeremy Doku (£6.4m) and Rayan Cherki (£6.3m) offer less goal threat than the above duo but are also very much "differentials", with ownerships under six per cent.
Big-chance involvement, last four Gameweeks
| Player | Shots in box | BC | BC created | BC involvement |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mbeumo | 9 | 6 | 2 | 8 |
| Saka | 7 | 3 | 3 | 6 |
| Salah | 11 | 4 | 1 | 5 |
| Ouattara | 10 | 4 | 1 | 5 |
| Schade, Gakpo | 8 | 2 | 3 | 5 |
| Gomez | 6 | 3 | 0 | 3 |
| Trossard | 7 | 2 | 1 | 3 |
| Fernandes | 6 | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| Doku | 3 | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| Cherki | 4 | 0 | 3 | 3 |
Scroll across on mobile to see the full table
So, what should managers do with their midfielders?
Saka and Mbeumo have the form, fixtures and underlying attacking statistics to keep on delivering for many matches to come.
Saka's all-round potential arguably makes him the better captaincy pick of the pair. Meanwhile, due to the popularity of Arsenal defenders, his ownership of just 17 per cent still makes him a relatively overlooked asset.
If you're bringing in Mbeumo, you should be aware that he will depart for the Africa Cup of Nations in December. Regardless, his statistics make him a far better option that Fernandes right now as a route into the Man Utd's attack.
Semenyo's upcoming schedule - at home to West Ham United, Everton and Burnley in the next six Gameweeks - does suggest he can return to form. When that nice schedule is combined with his huge ownership of 64 per cent, it would be a risk to sell him and there's no real rush to do so.
Elsewhere, while Erling Haaland (£14.9m) and Igor Thiago (£6.3m) are the best routes into the Man City and Brentford attacks, doubling up with one of their midfielders could prove a very productive tactic.
Indeed, Ouattara, Schade, Cherki and Doku all have two home matches against promoted clubs in the next six Gameweeks, underlining their potential as low-owned assets who can help you fly up your mini-leagues.