Frisking the Fixtures – Gameweek 11 – The Strong

The forthcoming schedule remains kind to both Liverpool and Stoke City, keeping them firmly in our thoughts when it comes to our mid-term strategies.

But Leicester City and West Bromwich Albion have also caught our attention this week, suggesting that we need to re-assess their assets for the month ahead.

Liverpool

(WAT, sot, SUN, bou, WHM, mid)

Jurgen Klopp’s side remain in the middle of a hugely favourable run of fixtures, with home clashes against Watford and Sunderland the stand-out ties over the next six.

The Hornets have kept three consecutive clean sheets, but do tend to struggle against better quality opposition, having shipped five goals against Chelsea and Arsenal earlier in the season.

Sunderland, meanwhile, have allowed the second highest number of shots from inside the box (47) over the last four Gameweeks, while they have yet to keep a clean sheet this season.

West Ham also offer a decent match-up given they’ve allowed eight big chances in their four home matches, while trips to Bournemouth, Middlesbrough and, to a slightly lesser extent, Southampton are also reasonably favourable.

Philippe Coutinho, Roberto Firmino and Sadio Mane should all continue to be popular options for our five-man midfields.

Defensively, the prospects also appear very bright, with Sunderland ranked last for shots inside the box over the last four Gameweeks with just 16, while Watford have failed to score in two of their last three matches on the road.

Defensive returns also look a distinct possibility against West Ham United and Middlesbrough, with the Hammers creating just two big chances in their last four matches, while ‘Boro have failed to score in two of the previous three.

The two trips to the south coast will be slightly trickier, but the likes of Nathaniel Clyne and the cheaper Dejan Lovren could yet earn a couple of clean sheets over the coming period. As we saw at Palace in Gameweek 10, Lovren, along with the towering Joel Matip, also boast a threat from set-pieces.

Leicester City

(WBA, wat, MID, sun, MCI, bou)

Barring the home clash against Manchester City in Gameweek 15, the outlook for Foxes assets looks particularly bright over the next six Gameweeks.

As already mentioned, a clash against Sunderland is currently very favourable for potential points at either end of the pitch, while West Bromwich Albion and Middlesbrough both feature in the bottom half for both shots inside the box and big chances conceded, making clean sheets a strong possibility.

The trips to Watford and Bournemouth may be slightly tougher, but with five fixtures that offer solid shut-out potential, there looks to be enough reason to splash out on a premium defender such as Christian Fuchs: a player who can also push forward to earn attacking points.

Looking at the prospects futher forward, the West Brom and Sunderland clashes look very favourable, with both clubs conceding eight goals apiece across the last four Gameweeks.

The short-term appeal is further aided by kind match-ups against Watford and ‘Boro, although as already touched upon, those two sides have tightened up of late.

Rotation will be a slight concern for anyone eyeing up a Leicester attacker, with Ranieri having so many configurations at his disposal.

But the in-form Ahmed Musa could be worth a look, with Riyad Mahrez and Jamie Vardy perhaps a little to expensive given their current lack of form.

Stoke City

(whm, BOU, wat, BUR, ars, SOT)

The Potters have won three on the spin, and face four more kind looking fixtures before the schedule stiffens in Gameweek 15 onwards. They also have four home matches in six after the international break.

Bournemouth and Burnley have conceded 10 and nine goals respectively on their travels and offer up very enticing home clashes for Mark Hughes’ men.

West Ham, meanwhile, will be without the suspended Winston Reid on Saturday, weakening their defence, while the Gameweek 13 trip to Vicarage Road could also favour an in-form Potters.

Joe Allen is plundering the points at the moment, and continues to offer exceptional value in midfield, while Wilfried Bony may be worth a look after ending his six-game goal drought against former club Swansea City.

At the back, it’s the home encounters that could again provide dividends, with Bournemouth and Burnley managing just three and one goal respectively on their travels so far.

The away trips to West Ham and Watford could also yield a clean sheet given the Potters have conceded just three goals in their last five matches, so Erik Pieters remains a great budget option, while with Jack Butland still seemingly some way off a first-team return, Lee Grant is still destined to offer fantastic value in the short-term.

West Bromwich Albion

(lei, BUR, hul, WAT, che, SWA)

Ignoring this weekend’s difficult trip to the King Power Stadium, the Baggies could provide us with some interesting mid-price and budget options over the coming period, with four home matches in six to follow after the international break.

We’re always happy to have confidence in Tony Pulis’ defence, and it’s those home clashes, against Burnley, Watford and Swansea City, that catch the eye in this respect.

Burnley and Watford both rank in the bottom four for shots inside the box in away matches this season, while the Swans are clearly struggling for a cutting edge.

With a favourable trip to Hull City also thrown in, there looks every reason to own at least one West Brom defender, with the option to double-up also a viable strategy.

Gareth McAuley, Jonny Evans and Ben Foster all look set to offer great value over the next six weeks or so, then.

It’s those four fixtures that should also bring Baggies attackers into the spotlight over the coming period.

No team has allowed more big chances than Swansea (11) over the last four Gameweeks, while encouragingly, Leicester are not far behind with nine, perhaps giving hope that West Brom can get on the scoresheet on Sunday.

Hull have conceded 11 goals in the last four matches, more than any other side, while goals should also be possible against both Burnley and Watford, with the former perhaps offering the slightly easier match-up.

The designated penalty taker, Nacer Chadli could re-emerge as one of the strongest mid-price midfield options, while Salomon Rondon may also be worthy of consideration as a differential in attack.

Also Consider

Southampton
Saints have a pretty favourable run over the next six Gameweeks (hul, LIV, EVE, cpl, MID, sto), with their attacking prospects in particular appearing bright.

Hull and Crystal Palace have conceded more goals than any other sides over the last four Gameweeks, while ‘Boro and Stoke also offer up reasonable match-ups.

Liverpool have only kept a single clean sheet this season, so Claude Puel’s men will also be confident of finding the back of the net against the Reds.

Charlie Austin perhaps looks the best pick from the Saints attack, with Sofiane Boufal’s return to full fitness possibly placing more doubt on the minutes of Dusan Tadic and Nathan Redmond.

The matches probably aren’t quite as favourable from a defensive standpoint, with Liverpool, Everton and, to a slightly lesser extent, Stoke throwing up testing clashes.

But the other three fixtures appear pretty promising in regard to clean sheet potential, suggesting that owning a Saints defender may provide some reward over the coming spell.

Hull City
Over the next five Gameweeks (SOT, sun, WBA, mid, CPL), Tigers assets may be worth considering as value options.

Defensively, the outlook looks fairly positive, with only Southampton offering a really tough match-up.

While form will likely put many Fantasy managers off Hull players, Michael Dawson looks an interesting option at the back given his lowly price tag.

Palace, Sunderland and West Brom have been among the weakest defences over the past four Gameweeks in terms of goal conceded, so Mike Phelan’s men could yet sharpen their goal scoring statistics.

But with Robert Snodgrass currently sidelined, there doesn’t really look to be a worthwhile candidate from the Tigers attack to consider, with Abel Hernandez and Will Keane showing little suggestion of form over the past few matches.

Burnley
Only the clash against Man City looks unfavourable for the Clarets in the next six (CPL, wba, MCI, sto, BOU, whm), so Burnley players should certainly be on our radars as we seek to unearth some value.

It’s also worth remembering Sean Dyche’s side have already beaten Liverpool, Watford and Everton at home, so they may even be able to take something from the Gameweek 13 clash.

Tom Heaton is again providing outstanding value this season due to his save point potential. The Clarets stopper should continue to thrive, with clean sheets looking possible in the majority of the upcoming matches.

The fixtures are perhaps not quite so appealing in regard to the potential of Burnley attackers, but taking on four teams currently in the bottom half, there should be decent opportunities to plunder a few goals.

Andre Gray may be worth monitoring now that he’s back from suspension, then, with Steven Defour perhaps another to look out for providing he’s fully recovered from a hamstring injury.