Frisking the Fixtures – Gameweek 12 – The Weak

Having run the rule over the teams with the most favourable upcoming schedules yesterday, this afternoon we focus on the sides who appear unlikely to yield many points over the next six Gameweeks. The outlook remains gloomy for West Brom, Aston Villa and Norwich, who were all on the end of defeats in Gameweek 11.

WEST BROM

With just one favourable fixture in the next six – a home clash against Bournemouth in Gameweek 17 – it’s difficult to have too much hope for the Baggies Fantasy assets over the coming period. It’s the backline that has proved profitable so far this season, having racked up six clean sheets, but up against four of the top seven teams (ARS, whm, TOT, liv) for goal attempts from inside the box in the next six Gameweeks, those shut-outs could be about to dry up. Boaz Myhill (4.8) could rack up the save points though, but the likes of Craig Dawson (5.1) and Jonny Evans (4.8) may struggle for points.

In terms of opposition defences, there are good match-ups at West Ham and Bournemouth, but the other four fixtures on the upcoming slate are very unfavourable, with all of those teams looking strong at the back. Arsenal have kept clean sheets in three of their last four matches, while Man United have managed a trio of successive shut-outs. Tottenham and Liverpool also feature among the five teams allowing the least amount of shot attempts from inside the box, so we clearly can’t expect too much from Tony Pulis’ attackers. With the chances of Salomon Rondon (6.7) or Saido Berahino (6.2) being amongst the goals looking slim, then, many Fantasy bosses will continue to ignore the Baggies options in the final third.

ASTON VILLA

While the Villa hierarchy will hope Remi Garde can hit the ground running as the club’s new manager, the fact they face four tough fixtures in the next five may limit his potential impact in the short-term. Villa have only scored four goals in their last six matches, and up against some of the best defences in the league in Arsenal and Man City, that poor record appears unlikely to improve. Watford and Southampton have both only conceded four times in as many matches, leaving only the match-ups against Everton and Newcastle as reasonable fixtures. So continuing to avoid Villa’s attacking assets, as many FPL managers have done so far this season, looks the right way to go.

In terms of the Villa backline, the prospects are arguably even worse, with Everton and Newcastle having both recently scored six goals in home fixtures against weaker opposition. City and Arsenal top the goal scoring charts over the last four Gameweeks with 13 and 11 strikes respectively, while Southampton have netted 13 times in their last six matches and Watford boast one of the league’s in-form strikers in the shape of Odion Ighalo. Micah Richards (4.5) is still owned by 7.1% of managers in FPL, but few will be willing to play him over those matches.

NORWICH

Although the Canaries have scored in six of their last seven matches, with fixtures against Arsenal, Watford and Man United coming up, we may see that decent record come to a halt. The strengths of the Arsenal and United rearguards have already been mentioned, while the Hornets have kept four clean sheets in their six home matches. None of the other three fixtures in the next six are hugely favourable either, so with Nathan Redmond and Wes Hoolahan having ownerships over 4.0% in FPL, it may be time to find alternative budget midfielders.

Alex Neil’s side are still searching for their first clean sheet of the season, and while Arsenal are the only team that Norwich face in the next six who feature in the top nine teams for shots inside the box over the last four Gameweeks, all of the other five sides possess reasonably strong attacking threats. Keeping out the likes of Andre Ayew, Ighalo, Romelu Lukaku, Wayne Rooney and even out of form players such as Eden Hazard and Diego Costa could be beyond this defensive unit. With budget options such as Alberto Moreno and Joel Ward facing great fixtures over the coming period, anyone holding onto a Norwich defender is likely to be making alternative plans at this point.

BE WARY OF…

West Ham
The Hammers have been a strong attacking side so far this season, but the match-ups with Tottenham, West Brom and Man United in particular over the next six Gameweeks could see Slaven Bilic’s men begin to struggle in front of goal. The other three fixtures on the current slate (EVE, STO, swa) are fairly reasonable, though, so owners of Dimitri Payet (8.3), will likely retain the consistent Frenchman over the next few weeks.

From a defensive point of view, the home fixtures against the Baggies and Stoke are favourable, with both teams struggling to score goals this season. Managing a clean sheet against Everton and Tottenham could be difficult, though, while trips to Man United and Swansea are less than ideal, in spite of both team’s toils in recent matches.

Swansea
Only Man United have managed fewer shots from inside the box than the Swans over the last four Gameweeks, and while in the short-term fixtures against Norwich and Bournemouth means that owners of Andre Ayew (7.1) will be happy to hold for now, the following four fixtures (liv, LEI, mci, WHM) look less favourable. With so many options for our five-man midfields, the Ghanaian looks dispensable, particularly if he disappoints in the next two Gameweeks.

The Welsh outfit have only kept two clean sheets all season, and with shut-outs appearing unlikely against Liverpool, Leicester and City, the potential for all of Swansea’s backline, who set us back around 5.0 in FPL, looks limited. Even this weekend’s trip to Norwich doesn’t appear particularly favourable, with Garry Monk’s side yet to keep a clean sheet on their travels.

Stoke
While the Potters have tightened things up at the back of late, keeping three clean sheets in their last four, further defensive returns in the upcoming matches against Southampton, City and West Ham could be hard to come by. The other three match-ups (CHE, sun, CPL) are also not particularly favourable, so Jack Butland (4.6) may have to rely on save points to continue his fantastic form.

From an attacking sense, the next six fixtures aren’t so bad, with Chelsea and Sunderland vulnerable at the back, while West Ham have been conceding goals at home this season. Wth no Stoke attacker owned by more than 2.0% in FPL, interest in the likes of Bojan (5.2) and Marko Arnautovic (6.0) isn’t high anyway, and that appears unlikely to change over the next month or so.