Frisking the Fixtures – Gameweek 29 – The Weak

Having highlighted the teams with Strong fixtures over the next four to six Gameweeks in yesterday’s article, we now turn to those with less favourable schedules. Four of the current top five feature in this afternoon’s rundown, with two north London heavyweights in particular set for testing times ahead:

Arsenal

The Gunners’ form is on the slide at just the wrong time, with Arsene Wenger describing their performance against Stoke as a “big worry”. With a series of crucial games coming soon, he will need to turn his team around quickly to stay in the title hunt. Following a blank Gameweek 29, the Gunners have away games against Tottenham, Chelsea and Everton plus the visit of Manchester City. Their double Gameweek, comprising a trip to Chelsea and a home game against Swansea, sweetens things, but only very slightly.

Managers who have profited from the clean sheets and bonus points of a resilient Gunners defence will need to decide whether now is the time to cash out in favour of options with better prospects, with Laurent Koscielny owners perhaps swayed by the hamstring problem that caused him to miss France’s clash with Holland last night. The Arsenal attack has seen a steady decline in ownership as their chief assets have slipped off the radar but the expected return of Aaron Ramsey later this month could be the tonic they need. Fantasy managers may wish to use these fixtures to monitor his progress before the schedule takes a turn for the better in the run in.

Tottenham

With just one goal scored in two games, against supposedly weak opposition, a dip in form is the last thing Tim Sherwood needs ahead of a punishing few weeks that may decide whether Spurs qualify for next season’s Champions League. The next four Gameweeks see them travel to Chelsea and Liverpool either side of home clashes against Arsenal and Southampton.

With a rare fixture this week, few will have the luxury of offloading any of their Spurs players immediately but, following that, the likes of Emmanuel Adebayor and Michael Dawson may find themselves out of favour in Fantasy circles. The uncertainty over Christian Eriksen’s starting berth and his current back problem means that these fixtures are likely to the last straw for the Dane’s remaining owners.

Aston Villa

Having blown the Canaries out of the water last time out, Paul Lambert will be hoping to use the result to rouse his troops and end the season on a high. They do have a couple of testing fixtures to come, though, (CHE, mun) and, with no fixture this weekend or double Gameweek 31 to compensate, the Villains’ schedule should persuade Fantasy managers to steer clear in the short-term, at least.

Christian Benteke finally delivered the point-haul his underlying numbers had hinted at but, in spite of his form, a multitude of better options eclipse his Fantasy appeal right now. Meanwhile the Villa defence, hardly a regular source of points at the best of times, tumbles even further down our collective Watchlists. And one could be forgiven for thinking that Aston Villa had no midfield, for all the impact they’ve made on this season’s Fantasy landscape – Leandro Bacuna may have taken his tally to five for the campaign last weekend but his role as a right-back will scupper the midfielder’s appeal to many.

BE WARY OF

Liverpool
Fresh from another high-scoring win, and with a very tasty-looking double Gameweek on the horizon, Fantasy managers are looking to maximise their stake in Brendan Rodgers’ trail-blazing side. But it’s worth doing so with open eyes – the two fixtures in GW31 are by far the best in the next six weeks. Trips to United and West Ham may be testing, whilst home games against Tottenham and Man City are hardly routine. With the in-form strike partnership of Luis Suarez and Daniel Sturridge so popular, the option of a third Red – Raheem Sterling or Steven Gerrard perhaps – needs to be exercised with caution. Certainly, buying into their fragile defence looks unwise with these fixtures.

Hull
Having suffered a pummelling on their own turf at the hands of Newcastle, this season’s Premier League dark horses have a mixed set of fixtures ahead to help salvage their pride. The next six Gameweeks contain a blank, trips to Man United and Stoke and the visit of Man City. The rose between these thorns is, of course, their kind-looking double Gameweek which sees them face West Brom at home before travelling to West Ham. However, the amount of investment in that double will be curtailed by their other fixtures – whilst Nikica Jelavic presents a genuine differential option and the Tigers’ defence has proven to be good value all season, these fixtures urge restraint.

Man City
With their Argentinian talisman fit again and the prospect of three double Gameweeks (two still to be scheduled) on the horizon, there’s a lot of excitement about Man City’s Fantasy allure for the last quarter of the season. However, a look at the immediate fixtures suggests that it could be a little premature to go overboard immediately. The next six Gameweeks contain just two home fixtures (Fulham and Southampton), and with trips to Man United, Arsenal and Liverpool in that period, going all in on the Citizens could prove to be less of a Fantasy goldmine than expected. Of course, the likes of Sergio Aguero and Yaya Toure have proven themselves capable of scoring against any opposition, but with City still active in two other competitions, rotation is also a factor to be considered.