Frisking the Fixtures – Gameweek 5 – The Strong

Following an exhilarating return to Premier League action last weekend, it’s time to assess which teams look ripe for investment over the next six Gameweeks.

Both north London sides appear to have particularly favourable fixtures, while West Ham assets could also deliver excellent value given their strength of upcoming schedule.

Arsenal

(hul, CHE, burn, SWA, MID, sun)

With only one difficult fixture in the next six, coming at home to Chelsea in Gameweek 6, Arsenal’s premium assets should be able to live up to their price tags.

The matches against Swansea and Sunderland look particularly favourable from an attacking perspective, with the Swans having conceded 11 big chances so far this season, the joint most along with Bournemouth, while Sunderland have shipped an average of two goals per match.

Newly promoted sides Hull, Burnley and Middlesbrough have defended reasonably well thus far, but all three teams feature in the top seven for shots conceded inside the box, and those match-ups should also provide the Arsenal attack with reasonable opportunities to rack up a few goals.

It’s a similar story when assessing the prospects for the Gunners defence, with Hull, Burnley and Middlesbrough all in the bottom six for shots inside the box. Sunderland and Swansea have also offered a limited goal threat so far, so members of the Arsenal defence should be able to muster a few clean sheets over the coming weeks.

Laurent Koscielny may provide the best value at 6.0 in Fantasy Premier League (FPL), while at the other end of the pitch, Alexis Sanchez and Mesut Ozil appear the safest and most profitable routes into the Gunners attack. Back-to-back spot kicks from Santi Cazorla underlines the Spaniard’s value at just 7.6, though.

West Ham

(wba, SOT, MID, cpl, SUN, eve)

The Hammers avoid all of last season’s top five over the next six rounds of matches, with the trip to Goodison Park in Gameweek 10 looking their toughest fixture.

The next five matches all appear to offer strong opportunities for clean sheets, with West Brom having only scored twice so far this season, while Southampton have failed to really fire as an attacking unit, scoring only three times, and creating just two big chances.

As already touched upon, showdowns with Middlesbrough and Sunderland should also offer pretty kind match-ups defensively, so based purely on the strength of schedule, Slaven Bilic’s men should be able to bring in some defensive returns over the next month or so.

While none of the Hammers next five clashes are particularly tricky, all of their next five opponents have generally defended well over the opening month. The Sunderland and Southampton fixtures appear the most favourable, having let in eight and six goals respectively, but West Brom, Crystal Palace and Middlesbrough may prove relatively tough to break down.

The Everton match will also be a difficult one from an attacking point of view, with the Toffees keeping clean sheets in their last two encounters.

Michail Antonio should continue to offer strong value over the coming period, then, while Dimitri Payet could also attract some investment. At the back, Sam Byram and James Collins offer the value, but with their starting spots perhaps in a little doubt after the 4-2 defeat to Watford, Winston Reid and Arthur Masuaku may be worth the extra outlay.

Tottenham

(SUN, mid, MCI, wba, bou, LEI)

Spurs looked back to their best against Stoke last weekend, and match-ups against Sunderland, Middlesbrough and Bournemouth over the next five Gameweeks could see their leading Fantasy assets find their way into our 15-man squads.

The Cherries have conceded 11 big chances so far this term, the joint highest in the top flight, while the Sunderland rearguard capitulated during the second half of Monday night’s 3-0 defeat to Everton. ‘Boro were also exposed at the back by Palace last weekend, so Mauricio Pochettino’s side should be able to flourish in those three matches in particular.

The way Liverpool exposed the Leicester defence will also offer encouragement for the teams coming up against the champions over the next few weeks, but the match-ups with West Brom and particularly Man City will probably provide trickier tests for the Spurs attack.

From a defensive outlook, shut-outs look a strong possibility in the showdowns against Sunderland, Middlesbrough, West Brom and Bournemouth, with none of those sides managing to score more than four goals over the opening four Gameweeks.

Tottenham defenders appear worthy of investment, then, with Kyle Walker looking the standout option given he’s cheaper than the other regular starters at the back, and has already picked up two assists. As we’ve seen in the past with Pochettino, there still remains a chance of rotation in the full-back berths around European fixtures, though.

At the other end of the pitch, Harry Kane appears the player least likely to be rotated, and therefore the safest route into the attack, although Dele Alli, Erik Lamela and Christian Eriksen all offer the potential to deliver double-digit hauls given the forthcoming fixtures.

Also Consider

Everton
The Toffees favourable start to the campaign continues over the next month or so, with a trip to the Etihad in Gameweek 8 the only really tough fixture on the horizon (MID, bou, CPL, mci, bur, WHM).

As already mentioned, the Everton defence has looked particularly solid since Ashley Williams has come into the side, and appears likely to rack up a few more clean sheets over the coming period. The Wales captain and – should your budget allow – Leighton Baines look set to accrue plenty of points over the coming weeks, then.

With the West Ham fixture also looking kind from an attacking perspective, given the Hammers have conceded nine goals and rank joint-third for most shots allowed inside the box, the Toffees look ripe for investment in the final third.

Heading the queue after his hat-trick on Monday night is Romelu Lukaku, while Yannick Bolasie could provide solid value at 6.0 in FPL. Kevin Mirallas has scored or assisted in three of the first four and looks another option, though Ross Barkley’s owners will be considering their options after his half-time withdrawal at Sunderland sparked a major improvement from the Merseysiders.

Watford
Once this weekend’s difficult home clash against Man United is out of the way, the upcoming schedule for Walter Mazzarri’s men looks hugely promising.

The Hornets face all three promoted sides (bur, mid, HUL), while matches at home to Bournemouth and away to Swansea also offer the possibility of returns at either end of the pitch.

Available at a mere 4.8, Etienne Capoue has made a strong claim for a place in our starting XIs after rising to the top of the FPL player standings, while Troy Deeney and Odion Ighalo may shortly be on our radars after impressing in the 4-2 win over West Ham.

In defence, Jose Holebas holds plenty of upside given he’s able to push forward from his position at left wing-back, and costs just 4.5 in FPL.

Stoke
While it’s been a slow start to the season for Mark Hughes’ men, the upcoming schedule (cpl, WBA, mun, SUN, hul, SWA) offers hope of a turnaround in fortunes.

As previously mentioned, all of their upcoming opponents bar Man United have offered a limited attacking threat thus far, so while it’s hard to trust the Potters backline based on their performances up to this point, they could be able to deliver a shut-out or two against weaker opposition.

It’s a similar story when assessing the prospects for Stoke attackers, although Palace, West Brom and Hull have yet to concede more than two goals in a match. They’re still reasonable match-ups though, while home clashes with Sunderland and Swansea appear favourable.

Erik Pieters looks the most appealing route into the defence given his 4.5 price tag, and the fact he doesn’t appear to have too much competition for his spot at left-back. While Wilfried Bony may need a few more matches before he’s fully up to speed, he may be worth a roll of the dice given the strength of the Potters upcoming schedule. Marko Arnautovic looks the most appealing route into Hughes’ midfield, with Xherdan Shaqiri still injured and Bojan benched for the last two.

Liverpool
The Reds have four kind fixtures (HUL, swa, WBA, cpl) in the next six, while the fact they’ve managed to score four goals in what should have been tougher match-ups against Arsenal and Leicester suggests their attack could also register a goal or two in difficult match-ups at Chelsea and at home to Man United.

The in-form Roberto Firmino and Sadio Mane look strong contenders for places in our five-man midfields at this point, then, whilst Philippe Coutinho and Adam Lallana have also scored at least 20 points in the first four Gameweeks.

While they’ve failed to keep a clean sheet so far, the chances of a shut-out over the coming period look pretty bright given the level of opposition they’ll face. Set to recover from an eye injury, Dejan Lovren may come into consideration for most FPL bosses, given he only sets us back 5.0, whereas Nathaniel Clyne and Joel Matip might struggle to justify their loftier price tags.