Frisking the Fixtures – Gameweek 6 – The Weak

On the back of yesterday’s look at the teams with the strongest upcoming schedules, our attention now turns to the sides who face more difficult fixtures over the next six Gameweeks. Both Manchester United and Arsenal feature this week, handing Fantasy managers some tricky decisions regarding the likes of the well-owned Matteo Darmian, Memphis Depay, Laurent Koscielny and Alexis Sanchez, while Everton’s testing start to the season continues over the next month or so.

Everton

Roberto Martinez’ side have done remarkably well to register eight points from their first five matches, given the opposition they’ve faced. Their task doesn’t get any easier over the next six Gameweeks, though, with Liverpool and Man United travelling to Goodison Park, while the Toffees also have to visit Arsenal, West Brom and Swansea, with the plum home fixture against Sunderland the only favourable match-up.

Phil Jagielka (5.4) and Seamus Coleman remain popular picks in Fantasy Premier League (FPL), with ownerships of 17.3% and 12.6% respectively, but clean sheets could be hard to come by, although having registered shut-outs in both of their away matches so far, the trips to West Brom and Swansea could yet yield some further defensive returns. Coleman is also a slight doubt for the trip to South Wales after picking up a hamstring injury in the 3-1 win against Chelsea.

Ross Barkley is the third most transferred player in so far this week with over 116,000 new owners, seeing his price rise to 6.8 in FPL. While there’s no doubting his form, having scored twice and provided three assists so far this season, the England international will be up against some strong defences over the coming weeks. Romelu Lukaku (8.2) has blanked in his last three outings, and could well continue to frustrate his 20.9% ownership with the schedule still not in the Belgian’s favour.

Arsenal

With away clashes at Chelsea and in-form Leicester over the next two Gameweeks, Arsene Wenger’s men certainly face a challenging time of it in the short-term. Chelsea may have started the season poorly, but having to travel back to London after playing in Croatia last night for a Saturday lunchtime kick-off is hardly ideal for the Gunners. The home form of Watford and Swansea means those matches won’t be straightforward either, while Man United and Everton also visit the Emirates.

On the back of three successive clean sheets, owners of Petr Cech (5.5), Laurent Koscielny (6.0) and Hector Bellerin (5.5) may well be happy to hold tight, particularly with United and Watford struggling for goals. Nonetheless, given their price tags, the trio may well struggle to provide value over the next six Gameweeks.

With Wenger rotating Theo Walcott and Olivier Giroud in attack, it has dented the Fantasy prospects of both players, so regardless of the tough schedule, owning either looks unlikely to pay dividends. Alexis Sanchez (11.0) has severely underperformed so far this season, only registering a single assist, and is another who is unlikely to live up to his premium price tag. The likes of Mesut Ozil (8.4) and Santi Cazorla (8.3) are kinder on the budget, and are perhaps worth keeping if Fantasy managers have more pressing issues to fix in their 15-man squads.

Man United

With four away matches (sot, SUN, ars, eve, MCI, cpl) and a home clash against Man City in the next six, Louis van Gaal’s side appear unlikely to provide us with many Fantasy points over the coming period.

The Red Devils were dealt a huge blow in the week after Luke Shaw was ruled out for months with a broken leg. Up against some strong attacks such as Arsenal, Everton, Man City and Crystal Palace, the likes of Matteo Darmian (5.7) and Chris Smalling (6.2) certainly look dispensable at this point.

United have struggled for goals so far this season, and with Southampton and Arsenal keeping clean sheets in their last three matches, not to mention City’s record of having yet to concede, there’s no doubt those struggles could well continue unless new signing Anthony Martial (8.0) can help ignite the attack. Memphis Depay (8.4) again netted in the Champions League in midweek, but the Dutch international has been largely ineffective in the league, with now perhaps the time to make alternative plans. Juan Mata (8.6) has enjoyed a price rise on the back of a goal and assist in his last two appearances, but the Spaniard may struggle to maintain that form.

Be Wary Of…

Leicester
While the Foxes fixtures (sto, ARS, nor, sot, CPL, wba) only include a single encounter against one of the “big guns”, they do only face two home matches over the next six Gameweeks. So although faith in Riyad Mahrez (6.2) isn’t going to waver, it may be more difficult for Jamie Vardy (6.2) to maintain his excellent record of providing attacking returns in four of his five outings so far. Marc Albrighton (5.2) now also faces added competition from Nathan Dyer (4.8) for a place out wide following the latter’s winning goal against Aston Villa on his Foxes debut.

Claudio Ranieri’s side have yet to keep a clean sheet, so Kasper Schmeichel and Wes Morgan (both 4.5) don’t look worth persevering with given the upcoming schedule, with perhaps only the trips to Stoke and West Brom offering hope of a possible shut-out.

Southampton
While the Saints face four home matches (MUN, SWA, che, LEI, liv, BOU) over the next six Gameweeks, the quality of opponents means it may be best to ignore their Fantasy assets for the time being. The south coast club have kept three consecutive clean sheets, though, so Cedric Soares (5.0) may be worth holding, given he also provides an attacking threat from right-back. Jose Fonte (5.4), however, looks a tad expensive to carry over the coming weeks.

Graziano Pelle (7.9) has enjoyed playing at St Mary’s since moving to Southampton last summer, so the Italian could well still deliver a reasonable amount of points for his 12% ownership. Dusan Tadic looks to be coming back into the form which saw him rise to prominence this time last year, and looks well-priced at 6.9 in FPL, but Sadio Mane (7.8) may struggle to attract further investment until the fixtures improve.

Tottenham
Spurs are another side who face four home match-ups over the coming period, but with Crystal Palace and Aston Villa dangerous sides on the road, along with Man City and Liverpool visiting White Hart Lane, defensive returns for the likes of Toby Alderweireld, Eric Dier and Kyle Walker (all 5.0) may be hard to come by. Away trips to Swansea and Bournemouth should also test the Tottenham rearguard.

In terms of attacking prospects, they are perhaps somewhat brighter with the Palace, Bournemouth and Villa backlines all fairly suspect. With Harry Kane (9.4) yet to get off the mark this season, and Christian Eriksen (8.3) still bothered with a knee injury, there aren’t really any appealing options. Nacer Chadli (7.0) will likely struggle to deliver more points than the in-form Dimitri Payet (7.6) and Andre Ayew (7.3) over the coming period.