Frisking the Fixtures – Gameweek 6 – The Strong

With a tricky Gameweek 5 behind us, we assess the strength of schedule over the next four to six rounds of matches. We start, as always, with the teams blessed with kind sets of fixtures to come – in-form Southampton and Leicester blink on our radar, whilst Liverpool have the chance to improve upon their poor start to the current campaign.

Southampton

Sitting pretty in second place, Ronald Koeman’s side have well and truly blown the prophecy of doom out of the water. The good news for Fantasy managers is that the Saints still have a great collection of fixtures to maintain their momentum, with four home matches (QPR, SUN, STO, LEI) in the next six supplemented by trips to Tottenham and Hull.

A third clean sheet for Fraser Forster sees him spring onto many a watchlist, while owning at least one of Koeman’s energetic full-backs Nathaniel Clyne and Ryan Bertrand seems prudent. One-time want-away Morgan Schneiderlin seems content now, and leads the Southampton midfield scoring by a margin, though many expect Dusan Tadic to show his colours before long. Up front, Koeman’s prodigal son Graziano Pelle has scored three goals in three appearances and has accordingly found himself part of many more Fantasy teams over the last few weeks.

Liverpool

Outplayed by West Ham, Brendan Rodgers’ side are doing little to persuade the doubters that last season’s achievements were down to more than their Uruguayan talisman. Three losses in the first five suggests the Reds’ title ambitions are already in question but they do, at least, have some decent-looking fixtures to help find their rhythm again. After the Anfield leg of the Merseyside derby this weekend, the Reds have home clashes against West Brom and Hull plus trips to whipping boys QPR and Newcastle.

It’s clear now that the Liverpool defence is, to put it kindly, a work in progress. A clean sheet against Spurs looks like an anomaly and very few would invest in Simon Mignolet right now, while even Alberto Moreno’s attacking strength seems like a questionable investment, regardless of fixtures. Raheem Sterling, on the other hand, is defying his team’s form; he served up his third goal of the season and should continue to prosper. Steven Gerrard, as ever, has penalties and set-pieces to rely on for his points and could be worth a gamble. Up front, the absence of Daniel Sturridge has handed Mario Balotelli the platform to shine, and though he managed only an assist against the Hammers, he did at least look determined after a dire home display against Villa – again, these fixtures could scarcely be more conducive to goal-scoring for the Italian.

Burnley

A third goalles draw on the bounce tells a succinct story of Sean Dyche’s side – they can go toe-to-toe with established Premier League sides but the ability to deliver a knockout blow is, for now, just out of reach. Still, Dyche is confident that their style and execution will bear fruit, and the forthcoming opponents over the next six Gameweeks can only help – home matches against Everton, West Ham and Hull combine with trips to West Brom and Leicester to provide fertile ground for goal-scoring.

Joint-top for clean sheets among goalkeepers, Tom Heaton looks like a decent shout, whilst Michael Duff, at 4.1 in the Fantasy Premier League (FPL) game, is the stand-out budget option for those unwilling to shell out on the attacking threat of Kieran Trippier. In midfield, Scott Arfield’s underlying stats may well come to fruition, while George Boyd appears nailed on in the left wing position for 4.4. The injury to Danny Ings isn’t helpful to the Clarets’ cause, though it does, at least, allow Lukas Jutkiewicz to continue up front as the 4.9-priced striker attempts to reprise his pre-season form.

Swansea

Unlucky to lose out to Southampton after going down to 10 men, Garry Monk has nevertheless impressed many in his first full season in charge. His team find themselves fifth in the league with prospects of improving on that, given the near-term fixture list. Over the upcoming four Gameweeks, the Swans face Newcastle and Leicester at home and hit the road hopeful of wins against Sunderland and Stoke – such fixtures look good for Fantasy points at both ends of the pitch.

Lukas Fabianski has had a new lease of life in Wales and isn’t bad value at 5.0, though at 4.5, Neil Taylor is the pick of the defenders, with both attacking threat and price on his side. Elsewhere, Gylfi Sigurdsson and Nathan Dyer sit amongst the top five midfielders in the FPL game, though few will be tempted by a double-up tactic, and with the former in over 40% of teams, Dyer, at 5.7, remains a relative differential. Wilfried Bony’s red card last weekend adds further ignominy to his poor start to the season, and with the Ivorian continuing to share pitch time with Bafetimbi Gomis, it seems best to steer clear for now.

Also Consider

Leicester
The fairytale events of Sunday will live on in Foxes lore for generations – putting five past Man United was merely the icing on the cake as Nigel Pearson’s side have emerged from a very daunting season opening with a great deal of credit and a healthy points tally.

Leicester now find themselves on much easier ground as their prospects in our season ticker turn from red to blue. Home matches against West Brom and Burnley combine with four profitable-looking away trips (cpl, new, swa, sot) to bring the likes of Kasper Schmeichel and Luke Moore onto radars in goal and defence respectively. In midfield, Esteban Cambiassio’s defensive duties didn’t stop him scoring against United and he could be an option, but the big Fantasy story is new signing Leonardo Ulloa. Signed from Brighton, the Argentine has now scored five goals in as many matches and is second only to Diego Costa in the FPL game – at just 5.7, he presents extraordinary value if he can continue his form, whilst Jamie Vardy – despite a 21-point display against United – looks unlikely to oust Ulloa in Fantasy manager’s plans.

Stoke
Drawing 2-2 with QPR last weekend, the Potters haven’t yet delivered on their previous season’s promise. Mark Hughes will be desperate to get his team to gel and the fixture list is still on his side – the next six Gameweeks include home clashes with Newcastle, Swansea and West Ham plus visits to Sunderland, Southampton and Tottenham.

Frustratingly, defensive returns have so far only materialized in their toughest fixture (away to Man City) but hope still abounds for Asmir Begovic and the 4.5-priced Marc Wilson. The Stoke midfield has yet to show up to the Fantasy party, though Victor Moses has an assist to show for his impressive recent displays. Mame Biram Diouf – despite being fielded on the right against the R’s – added a second goal to his season tally, but while Peter Crouch opened his Fantasy account for the season with a goal and assist, few, if any, will be prepared to opt for a Potters forward right now.

Crystal Palace
The Eagles have responded to a change of manager by abandoning their defensive resolve and scoring more goals to compensate. The next six fixtures do include Chelsea and Man United but, more promisingly, they face Leicester and Sunderland at home as well as Hull and West Brom away. Few would invest in Neil Warnock’s defence but Jason Puncheon and Yannick Bolasie are providing good value, while Mile Jedinak has penalty duties to bolster his returns. Frustratingly, Wilfried Zaha was left on the bench for the win at Everton and looks a poor pick until he regains his manager’s faith. In attack, injury to Marouane Chamakh means the only regular starter at the moment is Fraizer Campbell, who notched a first Premier League goal for his new club last time out.