After a goal crazy weekend it’s time to clear the head and start studying form once again. The fixture list is of course our first point of call and with a pattern of four home matches in the next six for some teams, there’s plenty of potential to find some favourable patterns in our “Season Tickers”.
Allow us to do some of the donkey work and enlighten you on the sides the scream profit and loss going into the congestion of the Christmas period…
…
The Highs…
Liverpool
Consistency remains a major issue for Roy Hodgson’s side and with injuries continuing to disrupt matters they’ve struggled to establish a form foothold. Fantasy Managers will rightly approach with caution then but there’s no getting away from the fact that Liverpool have the forthcoming fixtures to push up the table.
Not only do they face four Anfield clashes in the next six Gameweeks (AVL new FUL blp WOL BOL), they also go right through until Gameweek 26 before they come up against a “top four” opponent. Steven Gerrard’s return, expected in a fortnight, could provide the catalyst for improvement but prior to this the likes of Paul Konchesky and Sotirios Kyrgiakos offer a cheap route to potential clean sheets, while up front they have there is of course the world class talent that is Fernando Torres. He may well crave Gerrard’s re-introduction more than anyone, but if he can find a semblance of form, he will surely begin to build on his modest 10% ownership in the Fantasy Premier League game.
Blackburn
Sam Allardyce’s shell-shocked outfit will have to dust themselves down following the 7-1 romping at the hands of Manchester United this weekend. Fortunately for them, they’ve got the perfect set of fixtures to do just that and build on the form that saw them win 3 games in 4 before Saturday’s drubbing. With a solid home footing, Rovers will be playing at Ewood Park three times in the next four gameweeks (against Wolves, West Ham and Stoke) which will give Fantasy Managers cause to go rooting around amongst their mid-price offerings. Chris Samba and Ryan Nelsen provide good defensive options who can and will pop up with the odd goal, while Morten Gamst Pedersen has four goals and 9 FPL bonus points in his last four games. David Dunn is your real gamble as a differential – back in the starting lineup, he produced decent returns last season and seems likely to take up spot-kick duties.
Man City
Apart from the 4-1 trouncing of Fulham at Craven Cottage a couple of weeks ago, City have struggled to find a cutting edge to crown their possession football; as a consequence they’ve picked up more draws than they would have surely wanted – epitomised by the 1-1 at the Britannia in Gameweek 15.
An upturn in fixtures offers the ideal remedy for Roberto Mancini’s men to get back on the front foot and continue their assault on the top four. A quartet of home games (BOL, EVE, AVL, BLP) in their next six Gameweeks will see City try to pick up that form that saw them dispel of Fulham so easily, while even their two away trips at West Ham and Newcastle provide potential.
A solid back four offers the potential for at least a handful of clean sheets and at £5.7m Aleksander Kolarov looks to offer a cheap route in. Midfield options are more troublesome with rotation a concern; David Silva continues to impress on the pitch but hasn’t clicked in Fantasy terms – he displays all the symptoms of “Luka Modric syndrome” (classy on the ball but often assists the assist). The partnership of Mario Balotelli and Carlos Tevez will undoubtedly attract the heavy investment. Be wary of Carlos’ four yellow cards though – he now teeters on the suspension tightrope after the yellow at Stoke.
Sunderland
Through December and into the New Year the Wearsiders have four home games (WHM, BOL, BLP, BLA) in their next six fixtures, a favourable bunch. The loss of the Bramble/Turner partnership at the back casts doubt on their clean sheet potential but Phil Bardsley and Craig Gordon offer cheap investments for those who dare to tread. Investment at the other end of the pitch sees the midfield mostly disregarded, while the cheap and in-form Danny Welbeck (£5.0m), secure consistent scorer Darren Bent (£8.5m) and enigmatic new talent Asamoah Gyan (£7.2m) offer a variety of outlets up front. They will surely be the targets and will be expected to continue to deliver goals over the next six Gameweeks.
Also to consider: West Brom – After picking up their first victory in six fixtures the Baggies continue to have a run of fairly kind opponents. Man United – Finally coming out of the traps, United will face stern tests against Arsenal and Chelsea but, around those fixtures, there’s plenty of promise. Wolves – Mick McCarthy’s men now have a victory to build upon and fixtures to help them build a solid platform for survival.
The Lows…
Chelsea
The Champions have four Stamford Bridge encounters in the next six Gameweeks so it seems unfeasible to be listing them as a team to avoid. Form and confidence is still lacking however, and until the likes of John Terry and Frank Lampard are back installed and Didier Drogba starts firing, doubts over their title credentials will linger. The first home clash with Everton next weekend looks crucial – fail to win that with some conviction and Ancelotti takes his troops on a run that could leave them some distance off the top of the table (tot MUN ars).
The defence has kept just a single clean sheet in the last six, while in attacking terms they’ve scored just 4 goals – an incredible turnaround from the early season form that made them look like Champions elect. Confidence in the likes of Ashley Cole, Florent Malouda and Didier Drogba in the Fantasy community has understandably diminished and in the coming weeks, those players will either be effective differentials or expensive liabilities. Current form and forthcoming fixtures suggests the latter.
Blackpool
Ian Holloway’s men are continuing to hold their own in the Premier League to the shock of nearly all pre-season pundits, but now they are about to embark on their most testing run of opponents so far which could severely test their mettle. Bloomfield road will be welcoming United, Spurs and Liverpool in December, while the Tangerines will face travels to the likes of Stoke, Sunderland and Man City. Clean sheets look unlikely and in attacking terms Ian Holloway’s swashbuckling style will come up against some stern barriers. Charlie Adam continues to hoover up FPL Bonus Points (19) but he now walks the suspension tightrope and since the opening day of the season has only had one contribution to a goal from open play (added to three penalties and a free-kick assist). Should Blackpool struggle for positive results, it’s just possible that Adam’s points supply via the Bonus route could dry up.
Fulham
Mark Hughes’ men have only one victory to their name in the last eleven fixtures and they teeter on the brink of the relegation zone as a result. They now they face an uphill struggle not to be sucked into the mire of a bottom of the table battle. Crippling away form will be tested further with trips the Emirates, Anfield, the Britannia Stadium and White Hart Lane in the next six Gameweeks. Investors in the Fulham defence will have to cling to hope that their two home games (Sunderland and West Ham) can offer some respite in between these four tough adventures. Clint Dempsey’s owners meanwhile will surely be looking for alternatives given Fulham’s dismal scoring record on the road.
Be wary of: Everton – 2 points (and 11 goals conceded) from their last five games sees David Moyes’ men in a slump and their fixtures offers little assistance to help them stop the rot. Aston Villa – one victory in nine sees the Villans also stumbling, a whole spectrum of difficult fixtures means this may well continue. Birmingham – Alex McCleish’s men are most marked for strong home defensive Fantasy returns in the mid-price bracket, but their coming home games (TOT, NEW, MUN, ARS) means they’ll likely find it tough to reward that investment; Ben Foster is going to be a busy boy.
