Frisking the Fixtures – Gameweek 1 – The Weak

Yesterday afternoon, we kick-started our look at the newly-released 2014/15 schedule by focusing on those sides with the kindest opening schedules over the first four to six Gameweeks. Today we turn our attentions to those teams whose opening few fixtures look fraught with danger, as three of last term’s top five and a couple of the newly-promoted sides have their work cut out from the off:

Man City

Manuel Pellegrini’s champions face a tough task to get their title defence off to a productive start. The blue half of Manchester have been handed a schedule that includes three of their likely rivals in the first six games, and indeed only one of their opening fixtures (Stoke at home) looks particularly fruitful. Of course, City have shown themselves more than capable of humbling any opponent and it is worth bearing in mind that Gameweek 6 signals the start of a prolonged period of rather enticing fixtures.

Last season’s unexpected revelation was the emergence of Yaya Toure as a bona fide big hitter. There is some scepticism that he will be able to maintain that output and justify his inevitable premium price and these fixtures will surely add to those doubts. Similarly, Edin Dzeko stepped up his game last season but may be omitted from Fantasy sides pending the fixtures clearing. A defence that see-sawed from solid to porous and back again all last season may not be at the top of Fantasy managers’ agendas anyway, and these opening fixtures provide enough deterrent until the schedule takes a turn for the better.

Leicester City

The runaway Championship winners will be hoping to hit the ground running as they return to the Premier League for the first time in a decade. Unfortunately for The Foxes, the fixture schedule is very much against them, as Nigel Pearson’s side find themselves facing Everton, Chelsea, Arsenal and Man United in the first six games, with visits to Stoke and Crystal Palace also factored in. Fantasy budgets are typically balanced with acquisitions from promoted sides, particularly in defence and with 18 clean sheets last term, many managers had eyed up Leicester assets such as Kaspar Schmeichel for their initial drafts – one look at these fixtures should be enough to deter investment in any areas for now.

Burnley

Another promoted side handed a baptism of fire, Burnley’s return to the top flight is inaugurated with home games against Chelsea and Man United in the first three Gameweeks, somewhat lessening their initial budget appeal. After that, the schedule does let up a little for Sean Dyche’s side with the following six fixtures holding some promise. As noted in our article on Burnley’s 2013/14 exploits, the Turf Moor outfit achieved promotion with a small and, in some areas, makeshift squad and Dyche will need to make a raft of canny signings to have hope of surviving the rigours of a Premier League season. The highly-rated marauding full-back Kieren Trippier is on many radars and suitors will have a bit of a dilemma over whether to select him from the off and ride out the early fixtures, or wait until the fixtures clear and use a transfer to grab him later.

BE WARY OF

Liverpool
Brendan Rodgers and his men will be anxious to atone for falling just short of clinching the title in the closing weeks of last season and their free-scoring assets will be a high priority for Fantasy managers. They do unfortunately have two tricky looking fixtures in their first three games and whilst there is no doubt that they’re capable of scoring against all-comers, back-to-back visits to Man City and Tottenham may curb their Fantasy points. Luis Suarez’ exploits last season make him very hard to ignore, whilst Daniel Sturridge provides an explosive alternative and Steven Gerrard managed an unrivalled level of consistency. Snapping up all three from the off doesn’t look such a wise move, though, and with United’s schedule bringing Robin Van Persie immediately into our thoughts, juggling budgets will be a necessity for those intent on starting with the Dutchman alongside Suarez in their opening squads.

Everton
Roberto Martinez was a sensation in his debut season at the Toffees’ helm, guiding and inspiring them to levels of performance and results that gladdened many a Blues’ heart. Seamus Coleman turned in an outstanding campaign and Ross Barkley had his long-awaited breakthrough season, whilst further up the field, Kevin Mirallas showed flashes of potential and on-loan Romelu Lukaku scored very well in spells. With Lukaku back at Chelsea, acquiring a new forward is a priority for Martinez but with Arsenal and Chelsea paying visit in the first three Gameweeks and a trip to Anfield in Gameweek 6, some may limit their initial level of investment in the Merseysiders’ main men.

Aston Villa
With so much to deter Fantasy investors, from the underwhelming performance last season to the subsequent sale of the club, the Villains scarcely needed another reason for Fantasy managers to steer clear. Just to put the icing on the cake, though, Paul Lambert’s side have to negotiate a horror-show of fixtures from Gameweeks 4 through 8, playing all of last season’s top five in those five matches. The good news for Fantasy managers is that it affords us time to monitor Christian Benteke for signs of life; if he can shake off the cobwebs of his terrible injury and put last season behind him, he could once again be the outstanding Fantasy asset he was in early 2013.