After taking a look at those clubs with kind upcoming schedules yesterday evening, we turn our attentions to those with some tough fixtures to follow. Trouble could be brewing for the Tyne-Wear duo, whilst the Saints’ recent rise to prominence is set to be put to the test.
Sunderland
Unbeaten in their last three, the Black Cats will need to retain that recent resilience to navigate a tricky fixture list. Gus Poyet’s side entertain Chelsea, Man City and West Ham in the next four – the three highest scoring away sides in the league so far.
With a trip to Liverpool also to consider in the next four, the Wearsiders will surely remain off Fantasy radars for now. At the back, Costel Pantilimon has earned 14 points in three starts since taking over from Vito Mannone and will at least offer save point potential, whilst Steven Fletcher faces a tough task to continue the form which has brought four goals and an assist in his last six appearances.
Stoke
Last weekend’s home defeat to Burnley is hardly ideal preparation for what’s to follow. With his injury-hit defence conceding in each of the last six and key winger Victor Moses out for up to eight weeks, Mark Hughes has his work cut out to steer Stoke up the table over the next few matches.
The Potters will be looking for Bojan to maintain the form that has earned him a goal, assist and four bonus points in the last two matches, but with showdowns against Liverpool, Man United, Arsenal, Chelsea and Everton in the next six Gameweeks alone, Hughes is afforded little reason for festive cheer right now.
Newcastle
The league’s form side have now won five on the spin and collected four clean sheets over that period but whether they can prevail over an evil fixture schedule is perhaps debatable.
Alan Pardew’s side travel to West Ham, Arsenal and United in the next six, and with Chelsea paying visit, in addition to a derby showdown with Sunderland, it leaves only a Gameweek 14 trip to Burnley looking full of promise. Budget option Paul Dummett and raiding right-back Daryl Janmaat may struggle to serve up the defensive returns, whilst further up the field, the cut-price duo Moussa Sissoko and Ayoze Perez could have their current form curtailed.
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Southampton
Sitting second in the table after 13 rounds of fixtures, Ronald Koeman’s side now present us with the classic case of form against fixtures. A defence that has conceded a single goal in their last five now squares up to City, Arsenal, United and Everton in the next five – Nathaniel Clyne and Ryan Bertrand are amongst the four most popular defenders in the Fantasy Premier League game but their owners may find returns slowing over this period, with many looking for a way out. The erratic Dusan Tadic, with eight blanks in 12 appearances, and the off-form Graziano Pelle – without a shot on target in the last four and just one booking shy of a ban – may well be set for an exodus as the returns dry up.
Hull
The short-term schedule is unrelenting on Steve Bruce’s out-of-sorts side, with Hull travelling to United, Everton and Chelsea in the next four Gameweeks. With just one goal and a single point to their name over the last four, the Tigers will need to dig deep to get anything from those matches – Bruce will be hoping the fit-again pair Nikica Jelavic and Michael Dawson can make a difference at both ends of the pitch but the KC pickings look slim to none right now.
Crystal Palace
Victories against the likes of Everton and Liverpool show that, on their day, Neil Warnock’s side can mix it with the best of them. Palace will need to carry on from the form that swept aside the Reds last Sunday, though, as they now face trips to Swansea, Spurs and City, in addition to the visit of Southampton over the next six. Home encounters with Villa and Stoke still look promising for key man Yannick Bolasie, whilst Mile Jedinak’s dead-ball duties continue to keep the Eagles skipper in contention as a valid budget option.
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