Frisking The Fixtures – Gameweek 6 – The Strong

With teams facing a mixture of two, three or even four home matches in the next six Gameweeks, there are real extremes at play when assessing the strength of schedule over the upcoming period.

Swansea City, Man City, Everton and Southampton all face four home fixtures and lead the way heading into Gameweek 6.

Here’s our summary of those sides with the schedule to drive Fantasy investment, together with analysis of where the points could come and when the tide turns.

Swansea City

(WAT whu HUD LEI ars BHA)
The Prospects – Goals
The attack remains a problem area for the Welsh side – no team has produced fewer shots (30) than Paul Clement’s side.

Watford will provide unpredictable opponents on Saturday, given that the Hornets have yet to concede on their travels.

Meanwhile, West Ham United have improved defensively of late, registering back-to-back clean sheets.

Huddersfield Town have conceded three goals in their last two matches and are perhaps regressing, while Leicester City have shipped seven goals in their three away trips.

Like West Ham, Arsenal appear to have turned a corner defensively, producing two consecutive shut-outs. Meanwhile Brighton – based on the evidence of their display at Bournemouth – are likely to arrive at the Liberty and put up some stubborn resistance.

The Prospects – Clean Sheets
The Swans are yet to concede on their travels, although four of their next six come at the Liberty. Even so, there is clear potential for a rash of clean sheets.

Watford have won both their away matches 2-0 and are a much improved attacking force under Marco Silva.

But West Ham have failed to score in three of their five encounters, while Huddersfield have blanked in two of their last three.

Leicester have scored in four of their five fixtures, though, and Arsenal have netted seven times in just two matches at the Emirates.

Brighton have only scored once in three away trips and – along with Huddersfield – look set to provide the most favourable match-up and best opportunity for defensive returns.

The Turning Point
Clement’s side face a trip to Chelsea in Gameweek 14, but it’s from Gameweek 17 onwards when Swans assets look set to lose their appeal – matches against Manchester City and Everton signal the start of a tough run.

Verdict
Clearly, it’s the Swans defence that is crying out for investment. Lukasz Fabianski and Kyle Naughton offer great value, while Federico Fernandez appeals due to his bonus point potential.

The goal threat of Alfie Mawson could justify the extra outlay, while in attack, Wilfried Bony may soon be a factor – he played 82 minutes in the 2-0 win over Reading in the EFL Cup as he continues to increase his match sharpness. The Ivorian looks poised to start against Watford in an audition for our third striker role.

Manchester City

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The Prospects – Goals
Pep Guardiola’s men have been rampant over the last two Gameweeks, scoring an impressive 11 goals.

Crystal Palace arrive at the Etihad without a point, and have conceded eight goals so far.

The trip to Chelsea is clearly a tough match-up – they have recorded back-to-back clean sheets at home.

But following that, another two home fixtures smooth things further.

No club has conceded more big chances than Stoke City (13), while Burnley lead the way for total shots conceded (113), making those two home fixtures hugely appetising.

The final two fixtures of this run are more testing.

West Bromwich Albion can be strong at the back and will rarely open up even when they fall behind. As for Arsenal, they showed in the goalless draw at Chelsea that they can keep things tight at the back in difficult away matches if Arsene Wenger is willing to play to contain the opponent.

The Prospects – Clean Sheets
Palace are yet to score, so City couldn’t ask for a better fixture to produce a third successive clean sheet.

Defensive returns are probably unlikely at Chelsea, but Stoke have only scored twice in three away fixtures and should provide a favourable match-up.

The Burnley clash a week later may actually be trickier – the Clarets have scored away to Chelsea, Spurs and Liverpool.

West Brom are still struggling for goals, but Arsenal will be backed to breach the City defence in Gameweek 11.

The Turning Point
Difficult tests against Manchester United and Spurs come in Gameweeks 16 and 18, but City avoid a concerted run of tough fixtures until the second half of the campaign.

Verdict
All signs point to backing the City attack, with rotation appearing less of a concern as Guardiola instead looks to manage the minutes of his leading men.

Sergio Aguero, Gabriel Jesus and David Silva appear the most desirable attackers, while in defence, Nicolas Otamendi looks the best value pick and also seems less prone to rotation than premium options Benjamin Mendy and Kyle Walker. Vincent Kompany’s return to fitness could cloud the issue and, of course, there are always trust issues with Guardiola.

Everton

(BOU BUR bha ARS lei WAT)
The Prospects – Goals
With the brutal start now behind them, and with four in six at home, the fixtures should present Ronald Koeman’s side with the opportunity to wake from their slumber.

Bournemouth are joint-second in terms of big chances conceded (11), though Burnley, while certainly beatable, will likely arrive on Merseyside with great confidence after recent away trips.

The Arsenal and Watford fixtures are trickier still.

In terms of the away matches, Brighton and Leicester offer a further platform for points, to complete a schedule that should give the Toffees a chance to show a semblance of attacking form.

The Prospects – Clean Sheets
Everton did produce a clean sheet in their only reasonable home clash so far – at home to Stoke in Gameweek 1 – and should be able to add to that tally over the coming period.

Bournemouth have failed to score on their travels so far, though Burnley have shown they can score in the toughest of away fixtures.

Shut-outs will surely be more difficult come by at home to Arsenal and Watford, however.

Brighton have created fewer big chances (two) than any other side, so that looks a promising fixture, but Leicester are dangerous opponents at the King Power.

The Turning Point
Everton have a strong run all the way up to Gameweek 15, before facing Liverpool and Chelsea in the space of four Gameweeks.

Verdict
Wayne Rooney has shown enough over the opening five Gameweeks to suggest he could still be a factor, while Gylfi Sigurdsson has the pedigree to emerge as another viable midfield option.

At the back, Jordan Pickford and Michael Keane look to be the primary targets. The ongoing battle between Cuco Martina and Mason Holgate for the right-back role is frustrating given that one of that pair would make an ideal budget option.

Southampton

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The Prospects – Goals
Saints have only scored four goals during a soft early schedule, giving us little or no confidence in their attack.

They face their first major test at home to Manchester United on Saturday, and with four clean sheets so far for Jose Mourinho’s side, the prospects don’t look bright.

Indeed, given Saints’ poor goal scoring at St Mary’s in recent times, home meetings with Newcastle and West Brom could also prove tricky.

The Burnley fixture in Gameweek 11 probably looks the most promising of the four, although the Clarets’ away form is becoming a feature of the early season.

The away matches at Stoke and Brighton may actually be more favourable – the Potters have conceded in four of their five encounters, while Brighton’s only clean sheet came when they drew with ten-man Watford.

The Prospects – Clean Sheets
No team has scored more goals than Man United, so Saints face a difficult challenge in keeping the Red Devils at bay.

Newcastle’s attack has been pretty impressive, leaving the West Brom clash as probably the best of the home fixtures, given Burnley’s away day heroics.

The trips to Stoke and Brighton also appear reasonable, particularly based on what was perhaps Southampton’s best performance of the season in the 1-0 win at Selhurst Park.

Mauricio Pellegrino’s men have registered three clean sheets and look primed to add to that total during this spell.

The Turning Point
The Burnley fixture in Gameweek 11 marks the end of the prosperous start to the campaign.

Saints then embark on a brutal run, meaning none of their Fantasy assets are likely to be in our thoughts for quite some time.

Verdict
Interest is sure to be restricted to the defensive options. The return of Virgil van Dijk should further enhance the clean sheet prospects – although that does somewhat cloud the issue of the leading targets.

Cedric Soares looks the safest option, although Wesley Hoedt may also emerge if he establishes himself as van Dijk’s partner at the heart of the defence.

Also consider…

Spurs
The short-term outlook (whu hud BOU) remains strong, with away matches currently perhaps more favourable given the results at Wembley Stadium so far this season.

The schedule does then stiffen, with matches against Liverpool and Man United, so should Harry Kane and Christian Eriksen fail to perform over the next few weeks, patience could be in short supply and an exodus on the cards.

Ben Davies is expected to return this weekend, and should remain an excellent option over the next three Gameweeks.

Arsenal
The Gunners face three favourable home fixtures (WBA BHA SWA) over the next five Gameweeks, along with a to Watford that looks difficult to predict.

Confidence in Arsene Wenger’s backline has been restored of late and, given his added attacking threat, Sead Kolasinac looks a very appealing option during this stretch.

The attacking options are perhaps not so convincing, although Alexis Sanchez is surely likely to emerge as a candidate over this period. How we go about fitting him into our plans is another matter.

West Ham United
Slaven Bilic’s side have two tough tests at home (TOT LIV) over the next eight Gameweeks, but the rest of the schedule (SWA bur BHA cry wat LEI) remains promising.

Joe Hart and Aaron Cresswell – particularly if Bilic continues to use wing-backs – stand out at the back. In attack, Michail Antonio has performed well over the last two matches and looks one to watch, the caveat here is that he too could end up playing right-wing back in order to accommodate Bilic’s attacking talent elsewhere – namely Marko Arnautovic and Chicharito.

Newcastle United
The Magpies look to have the fixtures (bha LIV sot CRY bur BOU) to maintain their recent form, promoting several budget options.

Rob Elliot is the stand-out option in defence, due to his 4.1 price tag in Fantasy Premier League, although Chancel Mbemba returned last weekend and could keep his place at left-back. Central defenders Jamaal Lascelles and Ciaran Clark offer a significant set-piece threat and could still warrant the extra outlay.

Further forward, assist king Matt Ritchie and Christian Atsu continue to provide excellent value in midfield, while enough chances are being created for Joselu to be a viable third forward option.