We turn our attentions to the upcoming schedule this lunchtime and cast an eye over the next four-to-six Gameweeks. We begin by looking at the teams with tough fixtures to follow, with the bottom two bracing themselves for some testing times ahead.
Burnley
Firmly ensconced in the bottom three ahead of tonight’s clash with United, Sean Dyche’s side face a tough task to climb to safety over the next few matches in light of a thoroughly evil schedule. The Clarets make their way to Chelsea, Liverpool and Southampton in the next six and with home encounters against City and Spurs also on the horizon, this leaves just the visit of Swansea as a possible source of points.
Over the last six Gameweeks, though, Dyche’s side have been one of the most consistent sides in the final third – scoring at least twice in five of those fixtures. Danny Ings and Ashley Barnes owners will surely be thinking twice now, though, whilst George Boyd looks confined to bench-warming duties for the foreseeable future.
Liverpool
Last night’s thrilling 3-2 win over Tottenham extended the Reds’ unbeaten run to nine league matches since moving to a 3-4-2-1 system. Brendan Rodgers’ side have the form, then, but the fixtures are very much against them – Southampton, City, United and Arsenal in the next six may stall their quest for a top four finish.
With four clean sheets in the last five, though, the likes of Martin Skrtel and Alberto Moreno have thrived in their manager’s new formation, whilst Daniel Sturridge’s return to action has already harvested a goal and two assists in three appearances. It remains to be seen whether Raheem Sterling will be sidelined for any period of time after missing out against Spurs and his 30% ownership won’t hang about if his prognosis is pessimistic.
Leicester
Nigel Pearson faces a tough task to arrest a run of four straight losses over the next few matches. Trips to Everton, City and Spurs in the next five, allied with a blank Gameweek 27, leaves only a home clash with Hull as reason for optimism at the King Power right now.
Their schedule could be subject to change, though. It’s possible that if Leicester are beaten by Villa in the FA Cup this weekend, they could –potentially- be handed a double Gameweek 28. The downside is that this would see them travel to the Etihad before facing Chelsea – a pair of fixtures that few, if any, Fantasy managers would be willing to invest in. Pearson’s decision to move to five at the back and bench Marcin Wasilewski ended a run of 15 straight starts for the cut-price Pole, though Jeffrey Schlupp continues to be fielded as an out of position prospect on the left wing. At 4.9, Riyad Mahrez is one to consider in the budget bracket and has offered plenty of threat in recent outings, though Pearson’s tinkering up top leaves us with no real options to consider.
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Crystal Palace
After this evening’s encounter with former club Newcastle is out of the road, Alan Pardew braces himself for a schedule that pits Palace against five of the current top ten in the next six Gameweeks.
The 2-1 home win over Spurs highlighted their form under the new man in charge and with three league wins in four, they’ll feel they can prevail against the likes of Arsenal, West Ham, Southampton, Stoke and City over that period. Jason Puncheon and Dwight Gayle have been subject to plenty of new investment on the back of their recent returns but with the likes of Yannick Bolasie back in the frame, rotation could start to kick in and many may feel that now is the time to bail on their Eagles’ assets.
Newcastle
John Carver has steadied the ship in recent weeks and earned four points from showdowns with Hull and Stoke. Unfortunately for the Magpies, the schedule takes a significant turn for the worse now – City, United, Everton, Arsenal and a trip to neighbours Sunderland await them in the next six, leaving just the visit of Villa as the one bright spot on the horizon.
With that run of fixtures in mind, it looks highly debatable whether Jack Colback can be expected to maintain the form that has served up three goals and two assists in his last six, whilst a defence that has registered a single clean sheet in 12 Gameweeks seems unlikely to improve any time soon.
Man United
The Red Devils go head-to-head with Burnley this evening on the back of one defeat in 14 Gameweeks but that record papers over the cracks. With Louis van Gaal tinkering with tactics and personnel all too often, United have lacked any sort of cohesion and have failed to take advantage of some excellent recent fixtures.
United may have the fourth best scoring record in the league but their main men are toiling. Robin van Persie is their top scorer with nine strikes yet has netted twice in his last six, whilst Wayne Rooney is second most impressive with eight goals, despite the fact he’s failed to produce any attacking returns in his previous six appearances. Considering that Angel di Maria has failed to score since Gameweek 7, it’s perhaps no surprise that David de Gea is their highest scoring FPL player, with 94 points. Showdowns against Swansea, Spurs and Liverpool in the next five affords the Spaniard the chance to earn points yet again as Van Gaal looks to keep his side’s bid for a fourth place finish intact.
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