Frisking the Fixtures – Gameweek 17 – The Weak

Having assessed those teams with Strong upcoming schedules yesterday evening, we now turn our attentions to those with less favourable fixtures across the next four-to-six Gameweeks. Three of the current top six face testing times ahead, whilst nearer the bottom of the table, Burnley face a tough task to steer clear of the drop zone.

Arsenal

The Gunners are set for a tough time over Christmas, with four of their next six fixtures on the road. Trips to Liverpool, West Ham, Southampton and City will test their resolve, though it’s worth noting that Arsenal have failed to score just once all season – away to Chelsea – and with Alexis Sanchez, Danny Welbeck, Santi Cazorla and Olivier Giroud all offering options in the final third, their potent attack could still prevail.

Home clashes against QPR and Stoke certainly offer a greater degree of optimism but with Laurent Koscielny still struggling due to injury, it remains to be seen if the north London side can improve upon a run of two clean sheets in six. Fit-again Mathieu Debuchy, at 5.2, is the cheapest regular, though Calum Chambers should benefit if Arsene Wenger continues to court caution with Koscielny’s fitness over the busy period.

Southampton

It’s five defeats in a row now for the Saints after last night’s demoralising cup loss at Sheffield United. With their confidence at a season-low, it’s difficult to see how Ronald Koeman can turn his side around in light of a schedule which pits them against Everton, Chelsea, Arsenal and United over the short-term, whilst trips to Palace and Newcastle will be far from straightforward, either.

Koeman has Morgan Schneiderlin, Victor Wanyama and Florin Gardos suspended for the Toffees visit, though will be hoping his decision to rest Dusan Tadic in midweek will reinvigorate the Serbian, who now has one assist in eight appearances. Graziano Pelle served a one-match suspension against the Blades but has similarly poor form, whilst a run of five matches without a clean sheet looks very unlikely to be rectified anytime soon.

Stoke

After taking four points from their last two, Mark Hughes’ side are in decent form right now. Whether the Potters can maintain their recent revival looks debatable, though – showdowns with Chelsea, Everton, United and Arsenal in the next five Gameweeks suggest otherwise.

Certainly, Stoke’s defence has looked one to avoid for some time anyway – a single shut-out in the last 13 rounds of fixtures should have alarms bells ringing for anyone still holding the likes of Asmir Begovic or Ryan Shawcross. Jon Walters’ run of three goals and as many assists in his last six looks to be severely tested here – all the more so if Bojan fails to shrug off the hip complaint that forced him off at the weekend. Peter Crouch has notched in back-to-back outings since a first-team return but there are plenty of budget options around with far better fixtures.

Also Be Wary Of…

Chelsea
Clearly, Jose Mourinho’s side have the form, the class and the confidence to make a mockery of any fixture list and anyone owning Chelsea players will be more than happy to hold. Nonetheless, with four road trips in the next six (sto, sou, tot, swa), Eden Hazard’s owners will be desperate for a major improvement, bearing in mind the Belgian has just two assists away from Stamford Bridge all season. Last night’s cup opener at Derby will hopefully be a sign of things to come.

Like Hazard, Oscar has also toiled on his travels and earned points only once away from home, though the pair, along with Cesc Fabregas, also welcome West Ham and Newcastle to the Bridge over that period. Diego Costa’s 12 goals in 13 appearances continue to bring in new owners – rested in midweek, he could now be immune to his manager’s talk of festive rotation.

Surprisingly, Chelsea have managed just one away clean sheet in eight attempts but with four shut-outs in their last five in the league, Mourinho’s men have stepped up their resilience as they start to grind out results over the winter period.

Burnley
Sean Dyche’s side face three testing trips (tot, mcy, new) and a home encounter with Liverpool over the next four rounds of fixtures before the schedule smiles a little kinder around the Gameweek 21 mark. Bearing in mind that Burnley have scored more than a single goal on just two occasions so far, Danny Ings’ owners may be thinking twice over holding across the festive period, though three goals and a pair of assists in the previous five highlights his form. Elsewhere, budget favourite George Boyd may struggle for more than two-pointers, whilst a run of two clean sheets in 11 league outings underlines the Clarets’ issues at the back.

Newcastle
The Magpies welcome back Steven Taylor and Moussa Sissoko from suspension just in time for a derby clash with Sunderland this weekend. Alan Pardew’s side have now conceded in each of their last four, though, and the white-hot atmosphere of a Tyne-Wear encounter is always unpredictable at both ends of the pitch. After that, Newcastle face United, Everton and Chelsea in the subsequent four, with only a visit from Burnley providing the calm amidst a Christmas storm. Papiss Cisse showed against Chelsea he’s capable of producing regardless of opponent but with Pardew keen to manage his minutes, it remains to be seen how much pitch time he’ll be afforded over the packed festive period.