Frisking the Fixtures – Gameweek 9 – The Weak

After analysing those clubs who face the most favourable upcoming schedules over the next six Gameweeks yesterday, we now turn our attention to those teams who look to have particularly tricky fixtures over the next month or so.

It’s Southampton and Chelsea players in particular who we should perhaps be most concerned about as we look to plan ahead for the next few Gameweeks.

Southampton

(mci, CHE, hul, LIV, EVE, cpl)

Saints face four of the current top six over the coming period, with their only two reasonably favourable matches coming on the road against Hull City and Crystal Palace.

Defensively, in particular, it’s tough to see Claude Puel’s side enjoying too much success, with Liverpool, Man City and Palace all ranked in the top four for goals scored over the last four Gameweeks.

Chelsea and Everton also present difficult match-ups, leaving only the Hull City clash in Gameweek 11 as one where you’d be confident in Southampton keeping a clean sheet.

Virgil van Dijk may struggle to live up to his price tag, then, while it’s unlikely many Fantasy managers will want a Saints defender in their five-man backlines through this testing run of fixtures.

The outlook is slightly more positive at the other end of the pitch, with City and Liverpool having only managed one clean sheet each so far this season.

But those two sides, along with Chelsea and Everton, all rank in the bottom seven for shots conceded inside the box over the last four Gameweeks, so it’s fair to say chances will be at a premium in those four matches.

Palace have also defended fairly well over the last month or so, leaving just the Hull match-up as the only favourable one in the next six.

Charlie Austin provides a classic form over fixtures debate then, while Dusan Tadic is probably best avoided until the schedule eases from Gameweek 14 onwards.

Middlesbrough

(ars, BOU, mci, CHE, lei, HUL)

‘Boro’s away fixtures are particularly daunting and with Chelsea also set to visit the Riverside over the next six Gameweeks, the coming stretch of matches looks pretty unappealing from a Fantasy perspective.

Arsenal and City have only conceded three and four goals respectively in their last four matches, while Leicester City have kept three clean sheets at home already this season.

Given Chelsea have also registered back-to-back shut-outs, the prospect of two favourable home matches (BOU, HUL) probably isn’t enough for us to consider carrying a ‘Boro attacker through the next run of matches.

From a defensive standpoint, it’s equally gloomy regarding the prospects of ‘Boro assets, with Arsenal, City and Chelsea all featuring in the top five for shots inside the box over the last four Gameweeks, while Bournemouth have scored eight goals in their last two matches.

A trip to the King Power Stadium is also unlikely to yield a clean sheet, so there looks to be little appeal in owning a ‘Boro defender over the next month or so.

Chelsea

(MUN, sot, EVE, mid, TOT, mci)

Chelsea’s fixtures over the next six Gameweeks are deemed the least favourable according to our Season Ticker.

Antonio Conte’s men face off against five of the current top eight, with three of those clubs – Southampton, City and Man United, all ranked in the top four for big chances created over the last four Gameweeks.

Tottenham, meanwhile, top the charts for total goal attempts over the same period, and Everton have only failed to score in one of their eight matches this season.

Defensive points could be in short supply over the forthcoming period, then, so it may be best to look elsewhere for premium options at the back.

The next six fixtures are also not particularly attractive from an attacking perspective, with Southampton and Tottenham having only conceded one and two goals respectively over the last four Gameweeks.

Man United and Everton are also pretty tight defensively, allowing just four big chances apiece over the same period, while City have allowed the third fewest number of shots in the box (20) over the past four matches.

Diego Costa presents another form versus fixtures conundrum, then, although it’s fair to say double-digit scores certainly appear unlikely through a difficult run of fixtures.

Despite returning to goal scoring form last weekend, now doesn’t appear to be the time to start considering Eden Hazard for one of our five midfield spots.

Also be wary of…

Tottenham Hotspur
Mauricio Pochettino’s side have a mixed run of fixtures over the next six Gameweeks, with two difficult away trips (ars, che) combined with a plum home fixture against Swansea, and three other decent match-ups (bou, LEI, WHM).

Bournemouth, Chelsea and Arsenal are among the four highest scoring home teams so far this season, though, so clean sheets may be hard to come by on the road. The loss of Toby Alderweireld for this week’s trip to the Vitality hardly helps, either.

So while Spurs defenders may accrue a shut-out or two, and the likes of Kyle Walker also offer an attacking threat, there may be other premium options out there that will provide better value over the coming weeks.

It’s those away fixtures again that are a concern in regard to Tottenham’s goal scoring potential, with Bournemouth and Chelsea having both registered two clean sheets on home soil this season, while Arsenal have managed shut-outs in two of their last three.

The three home fixtures are pretty favourable, though, so the likes of Dele Alli and Heung-Min Son may be able to continue their impressive form.

Crystal Palace
Palace assets look set to struggle in the short-term, with this weekend’s trip to Leicester followed by difficult home clashes against Liverpool and Man City.

It’s unlikely the Eagles will manage to keep clean sheets in any of those matches, and with the lack of a genuine plum fixture in the other three encounters on the current slate (bur, swa, SOT), there doesn’t appear to be a huge upside in owning any Palace player.

Christian Benteke did find the back of the net against a solid Everton backline, though, so he could perhaps remain a viable option over the coming period.

But having failed to keep a clean sheet in the opening eight Gameweeks, we should probably continue to ignore Eagles defenders through this testing run of fixtures.

West Ham United
While the short-term outlook for the Hammers is pretty positive, with home matches against Sunderland and Stoke in the next three, their three fixtures from Gameweek 12 onwards (tot, mun, ARS) could not be much tougher.

With a trip to Goodison Park also on the agenda in Gameweek 10, those currently owning a West Ham player may soon need to consider moving them on as their schedule toughens up.

Everton, Tottenham, United and Arsenal are all among the strongest defensive sides in the Premier League, so both Dimitri Payet and Michail Antonio could struggle to deliver any significant attacking returns.

Equally, it’s hard to see Slaven Bilic’s side managing to keep out any of those teams, so once Saturday’s plum home tie against the Black Cats is out of the way, Hammers defenders look unlikely to feature in our plans.