Having identified those teams with some kind schedules in the coming Gameweeks, it’s time to turn to the other end of the spectrum. We point the finger at those teams who will need to defy the fixture computer to prevail over the next month or so.
Swansea
While Gylfi Sigurdsson’s injury scare may have been evaporated by Garry Monk’s reassuring words, the Icelander’s owners will still be weighing up an exit plan. Swansea’s schedule hands the playmaker a run of opponents over the next three that may well limit his influence and output.
Saturday’s trip to Goodison is followed by a home clash with Arsenal, capped by a daunting trip to face champions Man City at the Etihad. Certainly, Monk’s side look very ulikely to add to their clean sheet tally in this spell, while Sigurdsson and striker Wilfried Bony will have to show up as “fixture proof”.
On the plus side, none of that illustrious trio boast watertight defences in the current climate, with the City away tie perhaps the only write-off in terms of attacking returns. In addition, the Swans come out of that into a blue sky period, with back-to-back home encounters against Palace and QPR.
Sunderland
Gus Poyet’s side are handing goals to opponents right now and the fixture list is not about to grant the Uruguayan any favours in his bid to salve recent wounds.
Trips to Palace and Leicester in the next three will provide stern tests of their confidence and few will back them to come out of those encounters unscathed. A home clash with free-scoring Everton is the gristled meat in that sandwich.
Then things get worse as the Black Cats face back-to-back meetings with Chelsea and City at the Stadium of Light, followed by a trip to Anfield.
Sunderland will need to up their goal output considerably to rescue points from this half dozen, but few Fantasy managers are likely to take a punt on that falling into place. It seems much more likely that we’ll see Poyet’s defence denied a further clean sheet until possibly the home clash with Hull on Boxing Day. If I was Vito Manonne, I’d be asking to be dropped.
Stoke
Like Sunderland, the Potters are another side who, in the early season, provided us with mid-to-low price options in defence that tempted investment. Ryan Shawcross is still found in 14% of Fantasy Premier League lineups – despite returning just two shut-outs so far this campaign. A forthcoming run of evil away trips is unlikely to change that record.
Saturday’s home meeting with high-flying West Ham looks vital given that, following on from this, Mark Hughes takes his team to White Hart Lane, Anfield and Old Trafford in three of the subsequent four. With clashes with Arsenal and Chelsea also looming, this looks set to be a winter of discontent for the Britannia boys.
Plan your Shawcross and Asmir Begovic escape routes and expect to see Stoke listed in this section for the foreseeable.
Also be wary of…
Man United
Louis van Gaal’s team navigated past the Chelsea clash and even presented reason to be more optimistic about their top-four credentials and Fantasy potential. However, they will need to make more of their forthcoming Old Trafford matches if they are to deliver on that promise. United still face three daunting away trips over the next six with City, Arsenal and Southampton the next to welcome the Dutch maestro and his ever-improving charges. The flip side is that those matches may just draw the sting from Angel Di Maria and company, while home encounters with Palace, Hull and Stoke certainly look bountiful. As always, don’t count on the back four and also consider how United’s big names will react on the big stage provided by those away trips.
Southampton
Rosier than Ronald Koeman’s cheeks, the situation at Southampton surely warrants Fantasy managers to dive in with both feet. Well, yes and no.
While the Saints are excelling at both ends of the field, there are some firm tests on their radar. A St Mary’s meeting with City will act as a major barometer of their progress and that’s followed by encounters with Arsenal, United and Everton. Some spoiled sheets look on the cards, while Graziano Pelle and Dusan Tadic will have to step up to trouble some of the more savvy defences. They’re not taking anyone by surprise from now on.
Crystal Palace
Pegged back at the Hawthorns, Neil Warnock may look wistfully back on those points lost in a few weeks’ time as the Eagles glide through stormier skies. This weekend’s visit of Sunderland appears to be a must-win given that a home encounter with Liverpool and trips to Old Trafford and The Liberty loom thereafter. Away trips to Spurs and City are also on the horizon, making Palace’s Selhurst Park clashes with Villa and Stoke in December all the more vital.
