Frisking the Fixtures – Gameweek 13 – The Strong

Everton’s favourable stretch on their schedule continues over the coming period. Arsenal face an inviting run of fixtures over the next four Gameweeks, whilst Crystal Palace also embark on a kind stretch, kicking off with two plum home fixtures at Selhurst Park.

ARSENAL

While only one of Arsenal’s next four is at the Emirates, their form on the road indicates they could still flourish against some weak opposition. West Brom, Norwich, Sunderland and Villa all feature among the bottom ten sides for shots from inside the box over the last four Gameweeks, with only the Black Cats managing more than a goal a game over the same period. We could easily see Arsene Wenger’s side add to the three clean sheets they’ve managed in their last five matches, then.

Looking at the other end of the pitch, West Brom have conceded 12 goals in their six home matches thus far, while Norwich, Sunderland and Aston Villa have all found it difficult to keep out the opposition. The Canaries and Black Cats both feature in the top four for shots allowed over the last four Gameweeks, so the likes of Mesut Ozil (8.8) and Alexis Sanchez (11.6) should continue to be backed as some of the leading midfield options available to Fantasy bosses.

EVERTON

The Toffees have featured regularly in this section over the past few weeks, and continue to look a likely source of points. Roberto Martinez’ men put six past Sunderland in their last home match, and with lowly Aston Villa visiting Goodison Park next, more goals could be on the cards, although the Villans did look more organised at the back in Remi Garde’s first match in charge. Everton also face Crystal Palace, Norwich and Newcastle in their next six, all teams that feature in the top six sides for chances conceded inside the box over the last four Gameweeks, so the in-form Romelu Lukaku (8.6) is likely to feature in many of our three-man frontlines. The trip to Bournemouth is also very favourable, with the Cherries having conceded 13 goals in their last four matches. Gerard Deulofeu (6.2) currently looks the pick of the midfield options with a goal and four assists from his last three appearances.

Defensively, Everton haven’t been great of late, having failed to manage a clean sheet since the goalless draw against Swansea in Gameweek 6. Nonetheless, with Villa and Palace both struggling for goals, those two home fixtures in particular look very favourable, while Bournemouth have only scored twice in their last four matches. The goals have also been drying up for Norwich with Alex Neil opting for a more cautious approach, so there looks to be good opportunities for the likes of Seamus Coleman (5.9) and Tim Howard (5.1) to pick up some defensive returns. Leighton Baines (6.1) could also appear on our radars if he proves his fitness in time – the left-back stepped up his recovery with a goal and assist for the reserves on Wednesday evening.

CRYSTAL PALACE

On the back of a creditable draw against Man United and impressive 2-1 victory at Liverpool, the Eagles look to have both form and fixtures in their favour over the coming period. Plum home clashes against Sunderland and Newcastle are up next, while the trip to Bournemouth also looks very favourable. Alan Pardew’s team have been much more solid at the back in recent weeks, and with Newcastle having failed to score in two of their last three matches and Sunderland blanking in three of their last four away matches, clean sheets could be a distinct possibility. Stoke have also only scored twice in their last four matches, and have always been towards the bottom of the rankings for goal attempts this season, while as already mentioned, Bournemouth’s goal threat has been limited due to long-term injuries by key attackers Callum Wilson and Max Gradel. Scott Dann (5.1) and Wayne Hennessey (4.0) look strong options at the back, then.

Goals have been hard to come by for Palace, managing just six in their last eight matches. Sunderland have allowed their opponents 38 shots from inside the box over the last four Gameweeks though, the second most out of any side, while Everton and Southampton also feature in the top three for most shots conceded from inside the area over the past month. With the Newcastle and Bournemouth match-ups also looking favourable, Eagles attackers could be handy differentials over the coming period. The return to fitness of Connor Wickham (5.5) should also add a much-need physical side to the Eagles’ attack, with the 3%-owned Yannick Bolasie (6.1) looking the pick of the bunch from Pardew’s attacking midfielders. Those eyeing up Yohan Cabaye or Wilfried Zaha should be aware that both are just one booking away from a single-match suspension.

ALSO CONSIDER…

Tottenham
Mauricio Pochettino’s side have four home matches (WHM, CHE, NEW, NOR) in the next six, along with trips to West Brom and Southampton. Spurs have found their shooting boots in recent weeks, scoring nine times in their last three matches, and with the Newcastle and Norwich clashes certainly favourable, and West Ham and Chelsea also finding clean sheets hard to come by, look well placed to continue that good form in front of goal. Harry Kane (9.4) should continue to flourish, then, with Christian Eriksen (8.4) looking the most reliable option among the midfielders. Mousa Dembele (5.3) has netted twice in the last three and could be worth a punt in the centre of the park.

Tottenham have conceded exactly one goal in their last three matches, frustrating for those who own members of their backline. Three of their four shut-outs this season have come in front of their own fans, though, while West Ham will be without star man Dimitri Payet when they visit White Hart Lane in Gameweek 13. West Brom also struggle for goals, although seven of their ten strikes have come at the Hawthorns. Nonetheless, we should see quite a few reasonable opportunities for defensive points over these six fixtures, so Hugo Lloris (5.1), Toby Alderweireld and Eric Dier look safe investments at this juncture. Danny Rose (5.2) has earned an assist in each of his last three now and has started the previous four league fixtures.

Man United
United’s next six (wat, lei, WHM, bou, NOR, sto) should provide us with plenty of options over the coming period. The Red Devils’ strength so far this season has definitely been at the back, managing eight clean sheets so far, and with Watford, Bournemouth, Norwich and Stoke possessing limited attacking threats, the likes of David de Gea (5.6) and Chris Smalling (6.7) look nigh on guaranteed to mop up further defensive returns.

In attack, the story has been slightly different, with United failing to score in three of their last five matches. Clashes against Leicester, West Ham, Bournemouth and Norwich look favourable for goals, but with so many in-form options for our front eight slots, the likes of Juan Mata (8.7) and Anthony Martial (8.0) may not figure at the top of many Fantasy managers’ shopping lists due to their recent lack of output.

Chelsea
With four juicy home fixtures (NOR, BOU, SUN, WAT) in the next six, the likes of Eden Hazard and Diego Costa (both 10.9) will have the ideal match-ups to rediscover their form. A trip to the King Power Stadium could also see goals on the cards, so while only Willian (6.9) has any sort of form heading into the upcoming matches, we could see the fortunes of their “big hitters” begin to turn around.

Given the champions have failed to keep out the likes of West Brom, Newcastle and Stoke, it’s hard to hold too much confidence in them keeping clean sheets against any opposition for now. Bearing in mind that both of their shut-outs this season have come at Stamford Bridge, though, there does seem a strong possibility the Blues will be able to provide some defensive points to those who have stuck with members of their backline through some difficult times over the last few weeks.

Watford
With three favourable matches in the next four (avl, NOR, sun), the Hornets could continue to provide us with some excellent budget options. Quique Sanchez Flores’ side have kept five clean sheets so far this season, although four of those have come at home. With Man United’s struggling attack coming to Vicarage Road in Gameweek 13, along with the Canaries two weeks later, the likes of Heurelho Gomes (4.6) and Nathan Ake (4.4) remain among the better budget options available in that price bracket.

The Hornets have found the back of the next in six of their last eight matches, and with more goals likely in those three favourable match-ups, Troy Deeney (5.1) and, in particular, Odion Ighalo (5.5) should be able to continue delivering fantastic value in the budget category among the forwards.