Frisking the Fixtures – Gameweek 28 – The Weak

Following our look at the teams who face the most favourable fixtures over the next four-to-six Gameweeks yesterday, our focus now turns to those whose schedules look much tougher over the coming period.

Those sides who face a blank in Gameweek 28 remain at an obvious disadvantage, but Bournemouth and West Bromwich Albion – who both play this weekend – see their upcoming schedules turn unfavourably over the next month or so.

Manchester City

((bla), LIV, ars, che, HUL, sot)

It’s in the short-term where Man City’s schedule looks particularly tough, with this weekend’s blank followed by three matches against top six rivals.

While Pep Guardiola’s side have managed to keep three successive clean sheets, defensive returns are going to be harder to come by against Liverpool, Chelsea and Arsenal.

The Gameweek 33 trip to Southampton could also be tricky given that the Saints rank joint-first for goals scored over the last four matches with 10.

That leaves only the home fixture against Hull City where you’d strongly fancy the Citizens to register a shut-out.

For those that invested in a City defender for double Gameweek 27, there will probably be a temptation to move them on over the next week or so.

From an attacking perspective, the prospects aren’t perhaps so bad.

Liverpool, Arsenal and even Chelsea have all shown vulnerabilities at the back of late, with the Blues failing to keep a clean sheet in their last five matches.

So while they are difficult fixtures, City may still be able to score some goals in those clashes.

The Hull and Southampton match-ups are pretty favourable, so although the likes of Sergio Aguero and Raheem Sterling may have limited potential over the next few weeks, they may still be able to keep ticking over until City’s schedule really softens from Gameweek 32 onwards.

Bournemouth

(WHM, SWA, sot, liv, CHE, tot)

While there is a small window for investment for Cherries players with the next two home fixtures, the prospects from Gameweek 30 onwards look pretty bleak.

Having conceded 11 goals over the last four matches, it’s hard to foresee Bournemouth managing to keep a clean sheet in any of their next six.

Southampton have been in fine goal scoring form of late as already alluded to, while Tottenham Hotspur have been racking up the goals at White Hart Lane.

The Liverpool and Chelsea match-ups are also very difficult, while West Ham United and Swansea City have scored seven times apiece in their last four matches, and will also fancy their chances of scoring at the Vitality Stadium.

Those that own Cherries defenders will be happy to hold given the disrupted Gameweek 28 fixtures, but they look to hold very little appeal once the Swansea match is out of the way.

It’s perhaps unlikely that Eddie Howe’s side will be able to profit heavily in attacking terms against Liverpool, Chelsea and Spurs, so Bournemouth attackers are likely to be bench fodder for many during that period.

Josh King and Ryan Fraser may well offer good value in the short-term then, but will probably hold little appeal by the start of April.

West Bromwich Albion

(eve, ARS, mun, wat, SOT, LIV)

Despite being one of only eight teams playing in Gameweek 28, West Brom’s favourable section of their schedule has now come to an end.

With three clean sheets in their last four matches, Manchester United boast one of the strongest defences at this point of the season, while Everton have registered shutouts in three of their previous four home encounters.

The other four fixtures could see the Baggies score goals, but with no match-up against any of the bottom seven, there looks to be limited potential for West Brom attackers.

Once this weekend is out of the way, then, those who have kept hold of Salomon Rondon, Nacer Chadli and Matt Phillips will no doubt be prioritising an exit.

The situation is perhaps slightly different with key defensive assets Chris Brunt and, in particular, Gareth McAuley, with his goal threat from set-pieces making the centre-half almost fixture-proof.

There’s no doubting defensive returns are likely to be in short supply, bearing in mind that United, Liverpool and Southampton occupy the top three spots for shots inside the box over the last four matches, and are all in good goal scoring form.

Clean sheets also appear unlikely against Everton and Arsenal, while even the Watford fixture could be tricky, with the Hornets having scored six goals in their last three home matches.

But with just five shut-outs all season, McAuley has stuck around in squads to this point, maintaining his appeal via his six goals scored.

Also be wary of…

Southampton
Claude Puel’s side sit out Gameweek 28, and also face difficult matches away to Spurs and at home to Man City.

That doesn’t look great for the thousands of managers who’ve invested in Manolo Gabbiadini, but the three fixtures between Gameweeks 30 and 32 (BOU, SPL, wba) do appear very promising for the in-form Italian.

Nathan Redmond and Dusan Tadic both produced double-figure hauls in the 4-3 win at Watford, but are only likely to come back onto our radars once their two double Gameweeks are rescheduled.

That will probably be the case for Saints defenders, too, with only those two home fixtures offering any respite over the next six Gameweeks.

Crystal Palace
The Eagles’ schedule ((bla), WAT, che, sot, ARS, LEI) is also something of a mixed bag over the coming period.

The trip to Stamford Bridge will be tough from both an attacking and defensive perspective, while only the home clash against Watford stands out as being favourable regarding clean sheet potential.

Back-to-back shut-outs do suggest Sam Allardyce is beginning to turn the corner with the Palace defence, though.

Palace attackers are also unlikely to be on our radars given the lack of plum match-ups, although there are still one or two favourable fixtures where the likes of Wilfried Zaha and Christian Benteke could shine.

Burnley
While the Clarets do play in Gameweek 28, when they travel to Anfield, they only face two home matches in the next six (liv, sun, TOT, STO, mid, eve).

Given their struggles on the road, there’s obvious concern surrounding Burnley players’ short-term potential, although trips to Sunderland and Middlesbrough could yet offer some profit.

Providing he recovers from the illness that saw him miss the 3-2 defeat to Swansea City, we can expect Tom Heaton to tick over with the odd clean sheet and save points, then.

Andre Gray returned to form with a brace at the Liberty Stadium, but there are other forwards in the mid-price bracket who face easier fixtures, with chances set to be at a premium against Liverpool, Spurs and Everton.