As you’ve probably noticed, the Premiership fixtures were published today and while I’m not going to risk the wrath of the Premier League by listing them here, they do serve up an interesting dilemma very early on. The second set of fixtures, scheduled for August 14 and 15 respectively find Liverpool facing West Ham at Anfield while Arsenal are due to travel to face Newcastle. However, both these games are to be postponed as they clash with the first leg of the third round of the Champions League qualifier. This is compounded by the fact that Liverpool then face Chelsea on the Saturday while the Gunners visit Blackburn – both very tough games. This stuttered, rather difficult start for both Liverpool and Arsenal should certainly be considered by Fantasy Managers looking to invest early on in the likes of Henry, Fabregas, Gerrard and indeed the Liverpool defence.

Having had just a quick glance around the fixtures it’s Boro who look to have the best start. In their first 5 games they start with Blackburn at the Riverside before travelling to Wigan and Fulham followed by Newcastle and Birmingham at home. A very reasonable set of fixtures, avoiding all of the big hitters, which makes Boro players worth considering for the first month or so if pre-season form shows promise.