Frisking the Fixtures – Gameweek 12 – The Weak

After breaking down the sides with the kindest fixtures over the next six Gameweeks yesterday, our focus now switches to those who look to have been dealt a rough hand through the rest of November and the first few weeks of December.

When isolating teams to avoid, it’s difficult to rival West Ham United, with Slaven Bilic’s side facing a hugely challenging run of fixtures.

But there are also reasons to be slightly wary over Everton and Man City assets, with both facing testing schedules as we head into the festive spell.

West Ham United

(tot, mun, ARS, liv, BUR, HUL)

The Hammers could hardly face a more treacherous run of fixtures over the next four Gameweeks, with matches against four of the current top six.

The defensive prospects, in particular, appear pretty grim. Liverpool have scored 12 goals in their last four matches, while Arsenal rank joint-second for big chances created over the same period.

Tottenham Hotspur will also prove to be a tough proposition following the return to fitness of Harry Kane, while Man United showed significant signs of improvement as an attacking force against Swansea City before the international break.

There looks to be little appeal in owning a West Ham defender until their fixtures ease considerably from Gameweek 16 onwards, then.

The outlook from an attacking point of view isn’t much brighter, with Liverpool and United among the four teams allowing the fewest number of shots inside the box over the last four Gameweeks.

Tottenham and Arsenal are also unlikely to provide too many opportunities to score, so there certainly look to be several more appealing premium options than Dimitri Payet over the next month, while the same can be said for Michail Antonio in the mid-price bracket.

The pair will come back onto our radars from Gameweek 16 onwards, though, with Burnley and Hull City offering up two plum home fixtures for the Hammers.

Everton

(SWA, sot, MUN, wat, ARS, LIV)

Although the Toffees do face four of their next six at Goodison Park, the calibre of three of those opponents has made us a little wary of Everton’s leading assets over the coming period.

Once Saturday’s favourable home clash against Swansea is out of the way, a trip to Southampton throws up a fairly testing match-up from a defensive standpoint, while clean sheets are also unlikely against Man United, Arsenal and Liverpool.

The Gameweek 15 encounter at Watford may provide some respite for those currently holding onto a Toffees defender but, in truth, there look enough reasons to part company with the likes of Seamus Coleman and Ashley Williams after this weekend’s match.

Attacking prospects also seem somewhat limited given the level of opposition Ronald Koeman’s side will be facing.

But United, Arsenal and Liverpool have shown a little vulnerability at times this season, so Romelu Lukaku’s 34.2% ownership in Fantasy Premier League (FPL) may be happy to hold, despite the chances of double-digit hauls appearing reduced over the coming period.

Outside of the Belgian, though, there looks to be little reason to own any other Everton attacker through this tricky stretch, with no obvious favourable fixture once the Swansea tie has passed.

Man City

(cpl, bur, CHE, lei, WAT, ARS)

With home clashes against in-form Chelsea and Arsenal to contend with, along with a tricky trip to Burnley and a match-up against champions Leicester City, Man City assets may struggle to provide great value over the next month or so.

Chelsea have kept five successive clean sheets, while Liverpool, Arsenal and Everton have all struggled for goals when they’ve visited Turf Moor.

The matches against Arsenal and Leicester may also limit City’s goalscoring potential, leaving only the clashes against Crystal Palace and Watford as favourable over the next six Gameweeks.

Owning just one of Sergio Aguero and Kevin De Bruyne may be the wisest move, then, with Raheem Sterling appearing dispensable in order to load up on Liverpool’s midfield and the in-form Eden Hazard.

City have only managed to keep two clean sheets so far, and certainly look to have their work cut out against Chelsea and Arsenal, who are the first and joint-third highest scoring teams respectively over the last four Gameweeks.

Additionally, Palace have also scored in eight of their last nine matches, while Burnley have totalled five goals in their last two home encounters.

With Leicester also a difficult proposition on home turf, it’s only the Watford clash in Gameweek 16 where you could confidently forecast a City clean sheet.

So while John Stones offers good value at 5.0 in FPL, the fixtures suggest he may still find it difficult to claim defensive returns, while rotation is also a slight concern given the Watford clash is a midweek match, sandwiched between two testing fixtures.

Also be wary of…

Arsenal
The Gunners only have two home fixtures in the next six (mun, BOU, whm, STO, eve, mci), while none of their away matches appear particularly straightforward.

That pair of Emirates encounters are pretty positive from an attacking sense, although Bournemouth and Stoke do surprisingly feature among the four sides allowing the fewest number of big chances over the last four Gameweeks.

The two trips to Manchester are far from straightforward, while West Ham have conceded just two goals in their last three home fixtures.

There certainly looks no need to own more than one Arsenal attacker then, and even if Alexis Sanchez is fully fit, he may struggle to provide value for his 11.3 price tag in FPL. The return to fitness of Olivier Giroud also offers Arsene Wenger the option to move the Chilean out wide if he’s looking for a more physical presence to lead the line.

At the back, clean sheets could be hard to come by over those four matches on the road, so Arsenal’s premium assets in defence may also struggle to deliver value unless they can chip in at the other end of the pitch.

Man United
Both Arsenal and Spurs visit Old Trafford in the next four, so we should be a little wary regarding the potential for United assets over the coming period.

Defensive returns certainly appear unlikely in those two matches, while the other four fixtures on the current slate (WHM, eve, cpl, wba) fail to throw up any really kind match-ups.

Interest in United defenders looks set to remain limited, then, while the same could perhaps be said at the other end of the pitch.

The lack of a plum home fixture means Zlatan Ibrahimovic is unlikely to attract much investment once he returns from his one-match ban, while there’s no other United attacker that is currently showing enough consistency to at least be considered by Fantasy bosses.

Middlesbrough
Aitor Karanka’s side have four difficult fixtures (CHE, lei, sot, LIV) in the next six, with goals looking likley to be in short supply.

Home fixtures against Hull City and Swansea may persuade anyone currently holding onto a ‘Boro attacker to keep faith, but there are certainly plenty more appealing budget options available for Fantasy managers.

It’s much the same when assessing the outlook for the ‘Boro defence, with returns appearing very unlikely against Chelsea and Liverpool, although their performances at both the Emirates and the Etihad perhaps offer a little hope ahead of the trips to Leicester and Southampton.

Those who own a ‘Boro defender may be happy to hold then, given that they also face two kind home fixtures, should you have more pressing transfers to make elsewhere in your 15-man squads.

Bournemouth
It’s in the short-term in particular where we should perhaps be a little concerned regarding Cherries assets, with matches against Arsenal and Liverpool coinciding with trips to Stoke and Burnley.

Clean sheets, in particular, could be hard to come by in those four matches, while the two home fixtures that follow (LEI, SOT) also offer limited appeal.

Bournemouth defenders may be consigned to our benches for much of the coming period, then, or even transferred out should you not have more pressing moves to be made.

The Cherries do avoid most of the leading defences over the next six matches, but with no plum home fixture, there appear to be stronger budget options out there than the likes of Callum Wilson and Junior Stanislas.