Frisking the Fixtures – Gameweek 25 – The Weak

After picking out the teams facing the kindest schedules over the next four-to-six Gameweeks yesterday, our focus now turns to those who may struggle over that same period.

The threat of blanks provides a real concern for Manchester City players, while a severe lack of form and a treacherous fixture list means that Liverpool’s appeal is unlikely to stage a recovery following wretched form.

Manchester City

(bou, (bla), sun, STO, LIV, ars)

City are already without a fixture in Gameweek 26 and, if they see off Huddersfield Town in the fifth round of the FA Cup as expected, they’ll also have another blank in Gameweek 28, with their Etihad clash against Stoke City postponed and rescheduled.

That would leave Pep Guardiola’s side with just one home match in seven Gameweeks, and that is against Liverpool.

So while those that have recently invested in the in-form Gabriel Jesus could profit in the upcoming matches against Bournemouth and Sunderland, particularly given that the Cherries have conceded more goals (13) than any other team over the last four Gameweeks, he does come packaged with a major caveat.

The clashes against Liverpool and Arsenal aren’t particularly favourable either, so should you also own a number of Arsenal and Manchester United players, who are also without a fixture in Gameweek 26, and perhaps Gameweek 28, investing in City players will present unwanted headaches further down the line.

City defenders haven’t been strong Fantasy options throughout the season, and with the blanks, along with the continued threat of rotation around Champions League ties, that looks set to remain the case over the upcoming period.

Liverpool

(TOT, lei, ARS, BUR, mci, EVE)

The Reds face a very testing run over the next six Gameweeks, coming up against Tottenham Hotspur, Arsenal, City and Everton, while their easiest fixture, at home to Burnley in Gameweek 28, will be moved if the Clarets progress past Lincoln City in the fifth round of the FA Cup.

Given that Jurgen Klopp’s side are also in abject form, there currently looks little appeal in owning any Liverpool player.

Only the Leicester City and Burnley match-ups look kind from an attacking perspective in the next six, and given that the latter fixture may be postponed, the likes of Philippe Coutinho, Roberto Firmino, Sadio Mane and Adam Lallana could all continue to struggle for attacking points.

Liverpool have conceded seven goals in their last four matches, and look very unlikely to keep clean sheets over the next month or so.

Everton, Arsenal, City and Spurs all rank among the top six for goals scored over the last four Gameweeks, so it’s only the Leicester match-up that looks to offer a decent possibility for a shut-out.

Those that have the likes of Nathaniel Clyne or Dejan Lovren in their five-man backlines will surely be making alternative plans, then.

Stoke City

(CPL, tot, MID, mci, CHE, lei)

Once Saturday’s home clash against Crystal Palace is out of the way, the outlook for the Potters is pretty bleak all the way up to Gameweek 32.

As already mentioned, the City fixture could present a blank in Gameweek 28, while the clashes against Spurs and Chelsea aren’t likely to yield many points for Stoke in defence or attack.

Given his budget price tag, Peter Crouch’s 6% ownership in Fantasy Premier League (FPL) may be happy to hold, with the fixtures against Middlesbrough and Leicester City offering some respite.

But the forward was replaced by Saido Berahino before the hour mark last weekend, with the January signing likely to be pushing for a start over the next few matches.

Again, those who own a Stoke defender may be happy to hold if the rest of your backline is in good shape when Mark Hughes’ men face their difficult fixtures, given that defensive returns appear possible against Palace, ‘Boro and Leicester.

But it’s asking a lot of Erik Pieters over the coming period, and there’s certainly no appeal for FPL bosses to invest in Potters defenders at this juncture.

Also be wary of…

Crystal Palace
Sam Allardyce’s men need to find some form quickly, as their schedule turns particularly tricky very soon.

That Gameweek 28 clash against Spurs could, of course, be a blank if Spurs beat Fulham in the fifth round of the FA Cup, but Palace also face unfavourable matches against Chelsea and Arsenal.

The fixtures in the short-term (sto, MID, wba) are more reasonable, although taking their current form into account, those ties are unlikely to be enough for the majority of Fantasy managers to consider Palace players.

Those who own the likes of Wilfried Zaha and Christian Benteke may be happy to hold for the next three Gameweeks, then, but last weekend’s 4-0 defeat to Sunderland has dented confidence in the Eagles’ backline, despite the attacking potential of Patrick van Aanholt, Scott Dann and Jeffrey Schlupp.

Bournemouth
While the Cherries do have a guaranteed fixture in Gameweek 28, at home to West Ham, and also host Swansea in Gameweek 29, the unfavourable nature of their remaining matches (MCI, wba, mun, sot) over the next six places huge importance on those two Vitality fixtures.

The run between Gameweeks 30 and 33 (sot, liv, CHE, tot) looks particularly gruelling, so we ideally need to shed their assets by that point.

The value offered by Josh King, particularly if he is retained in the lone striker role, could see him emerge as a decent option, but Junior Stanislas’ 3.4% ownership in FPL will hope he earns a recall before those two home fixtures after being dropped against Everton.

From a defensive standpoint, it’s hard to see Cherries defenders picking up any clean sheet points in the next three. They’ll need to improve markedly to muster shut-outs against West Ham and Swansea but, given their recent form, the Cherries backline offers little appeal, even with the guaranteed Gameweek 28 fixture.