GW6 Saturday review: Cancelo the top-scoring defender

Joao Cancelo (£6.1m) has moved to the top of the Fantasy Premier League defender standings thanks to his impact at both ends of the pitch.

The Manchester City full-back supplied the assist for Gabriel Jesus’ (£8.6m) goal in a 1-0 win over Chelsea, earning 12 points at Stamford Bridge.

Cancelo has helped Man City to five successive clean sheets and has also produced two assists and six bonus points, totalling 44 points over the first six Gameweeks and starting every match.

He is now five points clear of Marcos Alonso (£5.8m) and Man City team-mate Ruben Dias (£6.1m).

Aston Villa’s Kortney Hause (£4.4m), meanwhile, was the top-scoring player over Saturday’s seven matches.

The centre-back netted the only goal in Villa’s win at Manchester United, earning a total of 15 points after coming into the team for the ineligible Axel Tuanzebe (£4.5m).

Dean Smith’s side have now produced back-to-back clean sheets since changing to a wing-back formation, lifting the appeal of their defenders ahead of a favourable schedule from Gameweek 8.

Four of Villa’s subsequent six matches score just two in the Fixture Difficulty Ratings (FDR) from that point on.

Everton duo outshine Gray

Everton midfielders Abdoulaye Doucoure (£5.6m) and Andros Townsend (£5.4m) continued their strong starts to the season under Rafa Benitez, scoring a goal apiece in a 2-0 home win over Norwich City.

Doucoure and Townsend returned 11 and 10 points respectively compared with the six points of Demarai Gray (£5.8m). 

Doucoure’s two goals and three assists this term already matches his attacking output for the whole of 2020/21.

Watford winger Ismaila Sarr (£6.2m) rewarded the 665,000+ managers who bought him for Gameweek 6 with his fourth goal of the season.

The Senegalese’s strike in a 1-1 home draw with Newcastle United took him into third place among midfielders in Fantasy, on 39 points. 

Sarr is the most transferred-in player for Gameweek 7, earning 100,000+ new owners for his trip to Leeds United.

Antonio form continues

Michail Antonio (£7.9m), the most-bought player in Gameweek 6, continues to lead the way at the top of the forward standings.

The West Ham United striker fired a late winner against Leeds to claim eight points on his return from suspension. 

Antonio has five goals and four assists in only five appearances this term. 

Jamie Vardy (£10.4m) sits just seven points behind Antonio after scoring both of Leicester City’s goals in a 2-2 home draw with Burnley.

Vardy picked up 11 points at the King Power Stadium, despite also scoring an own goal.

Owned by a mere 12.2 per cent of managers, he remains an overlooked pick ahead of a favourable short-term schedule.

Two of Leicester’s next three matches score only two in the FDR. 

Also in this series

Part 1: FDR Analysis: Time to go big on Chelsea
Part 2: GW6 FPL stats: Top captain pick Ronaldo blanks
Part 3: GW6 Bonus points: Veltman and Maupay's late joy