Frisking the Fixtures – Gameweek 8 – The Weak

On Wednesday we took our first look at the upcoming fixtures over Gameweeks 8-13 and assessed the teams with Strong schedules over that period. Today it’s the turn of the less fortunate sides. In the main, Fantasy managers are mostly unaffected by the worst of the schedule, with relatively low-ownership sides such as QPR, Hull and Sunderland bearing the brunt of the fixture list’s ire, although Man United are about to face their first real test, posing questions for owners of Louis van Gaal’s premium-priced assets.

QPR

Pinned to the foot of the table after failing to make the most of their easier fixtures, Harry Redknapp’s side now have a terrible month or so ahead, with Liverpool, Chelsea and Man City lying in wait over the next four Gameweeks. This is a team with both form and fixtures against them and a defence that has so far only kept out Sunderland, and looks unlikely to improve any time soon. Any remaining owners of Steven Caulker may be minded to thank him for his Gameweek 5 goal and move on, while Rob Green will be in need of save points. Likewise, an attack that has mustered just four goals looks highly unlikely to prosper, taking Charlie Austin off the table as a contender.

After these fixtures are done, though, the Hoops do have a rather decent schedule up to and including the Christmas period, but they will have to turn their form around quite dramatically at both ends of pitch to persuade managers to consider investment.

Hull

Defeated just twice so far, Steve Bruce’s side have given a good account of themselves after a summer filled with new arrivals. Even so, the Tigers haven’t brought a great deal of Fantasy appeal as they’ve struggled to shut teams out and their attacking points have been spread just a little too thinly, with the possible exception of Nikica Jelavic. The icing on the cake is the turning of the fixture list against them, as the next six Gameweeks includes trips to Arsenal, Liverpool and Man United.

Ironically, James Chester is now back in the side after Bruce reverted to a 3-5-2 formation that paid off with a clean sheet, but the timing doesn’t encourage investment. Mo Diame has popped up with three goals in four appearances, but the returns of the Senegalese look likely to slow down against this calibre of opposition. Nikica Jelavic has scored four goals and would possibly have blinked brighter on Fantasy radars before now if it hadn’t been for the remarkable competition in his price bracket. As it is, he’s likely to stay off the radar, at least until the fixtures really clear around Gameweek 17. At that point, we will have seen more of his team-mate Abel Hernandez and be better placed to make a more informed judgement over his potential.

Sunderland

Having toiled for much of the season, Gus Poyet finally got the mix right as the Black Cats exploded into life to put three past Stoke and earn their first victory of the campaign. The timing could have been better for Fantasy managers as the fixtures take a marked nosedive – the next six Gameweeks include four unappealing ties against Southampton, Arsenal, Everton and Chelsea. For all the progress Poyet has made, Sunderland’s Fantasy assets are rather unlikely to profit from these fixtures.

In defence, Patrick van Aanholt’s move from Chelsea has made him quite popular, at least amongst our community, and he’s earned his owners fair rewards; the time has probably come to move him on, though. Vito Mannone could still pay his way with save points (he’s shown himself more than capable in that regard) but clean sheets look a bit too optimistic to hope for. A midfield which started brightly has waned of late, though Steven Fletcher and Connor Wickham, have only just started to blossom – again, though, investment ahead of these fixtures seems unwise.

BE WARY OF

Crystal Palace
Well beaten by Hull, Neil Warnock’s reign at Selhurst Park has brought mixed success so far. Palace are still a more attacking bunch than under previous boss Tony Pulis and some of their assets could yet do very well for their value but the time to gamble probably isn’t now, as the Eagles square up to Chelsea, Man United and Liverpool in the next five Gameweeks. After that, though, the pastures turn greener and Martin Kelly and Jason Puncheon could pique our interest, while even Marouane Chamakh could find his way into Fantasy squads if he impresses against the big guns.

Man United
Overcoming early season disappointments to rise to fourth place in the league, there are still question marks over Louis van Gaal’s side, not least around his injury-beset backline. We’re about to find out whether his side are ready to once again hold their own against the cream of the Premier League, as over the next six Gameweeks, the Red Devils square up to Chelsea, Arsenal and Man City. With so many injuries compounding poor defensive form, the United defence wasn’t high on any watchlists anyway, but the midfield and attack seemed at least to be clicking. The jewel in the Fantasy crown is the gifted Angel Di Maria, whose third double-figure haul in four weeks has managers clamouring for his services but such testing fixtures cast doubt over his ability to maintain that form. The suspension of Wayne Rooney brought Juan Mata briefly back into contention, but with one of the next two fixtures against Chelsea, the little Spaniard doesn’t look like a good short-term punt, with his skipper returning in Gameweek 10. Radamel Falcao finally got off the mark but spending 11.0 of your FPL budget on a player with these fixtures seems brave.

Swansea
After a cracking start to the season, Garry Monk’s side have begun to toil and are winless since Gameweek 3. The Swans still have two decent fixtures left of their kind run, but after that the skies turn dark for a time as trips to Everton and Man City bookend a home clash with Arsenal. Reasonable fixtures follow those matches, though, and anyone holding Neil Taylor may wish to rotate him to the bench for those weeks, while Gylfi Sigurdsson’s third double-figure haul of the season served a timely reminder of his value and few will be willing to part company in spite of a testing schedule. Wilfried Bony, on the other hand, hasn’t yet moved into top gear and the time doesn’t look right to jump on board.