With Liverpool and Everton facing off in the final match of Gameweek 28 this evening, our regular “Frisking of the Fixtures” arrived a little earlier than usual. As always, we assess the strength of schedule ahead for the coming month, as United’s surge to the summit coincides with the start of a more than favourable run of games ahead:
The Strong
Man United
A return to the top of the league last weekend, followed by an incredibly kind run of fixtures, is set to see the transfers-in of Sir Alex Ferguson’s squad continue to snowball. United have now scored two or more goals in all but one of their last 14 fixtures as the goals keep flowing- compare that to City’s two goals in their last six on the road and the difference in consistency is marked.
Wayne Rooney’s seven goals in his last four are indicative of his step up in performance and, with trips to Wolves, Blackburn and Wigan, in addition to home clashes against Fulham, QPR and Villa in the next six, it’s obvious that Robin Van Persie has a clear rival for the captain’s armband.
Ashley Young, with attacking returns in each of his last three appearances, will continue to see investment, while Antonio Valencia –expected back this week- has now dropped to 7.6 in price and could find his way into plenty teams if he can return to the United right. Valencia’s price, compared to Young’s 9.8 and Nani’s 10.0 is a huge factor in his favour. At the back, the same applies to Jonny Evans- the Irishman has started the last eight and, with a single goal conceded in their last four at Old Trafford, is a real bargain at 4.7. Phil Jones’ versatility affords him a look in, while David De Gea’s improved form suggests Anders Lindegaard faces a battle to regain his first-team place when fit.
Liverpool
There’s no doubt they have the fixtures- the question is whether Kenny Dalglish’s side can scramble together a semblance of form to take advantage of their upcoming schedule. Liverpool have the second best defensive record in the league but their standards at the back are slowly slipping, with five goals conceded in the last three matches. Daniel Agger has been a definite miss and if the Dane can recover from a rib injury, faith in the Reds’ backline should be re-established. With home clashes against Wigan, Villa and Fulham, allied with trips to QPR and Blackburn in the next six, owners of Martin Skrtel and Jose Enrique will remain confident of defensive returns.
Up front, the lack of faith is obvious. Liverpool continue to have plenty of efforts- indeed, they have had more shots than the likes of Arsenal and Man United, but Luis Suarez and co have been plagued with an inability to put the ball in the back of the net. Aside from the bottom three, only Stoke and Everton have scored less and, in spite of their outstanding schedule, investment in attacking options can hardly be justified right now.
West Brom
Last weekend’s defeat at Old Trafford brought their winning run to an end but Roy Hodgson’s side are afforded plenty chances over the next six gameweeks to rack up the points once again. Home clashes with Newcastle, Blackburn and QPR, in addition to a trip to Wigan, look tempting.
James Morrison’s role in the hole has boosted his Fantasy prospects considerably and, priced at just 5.3, the Scotsman has proven to be a strong cut-price option over the last few gameweeks. Chris Brunt’s return from an ankle injury may see investment come his way, Peter Odemwingie’s move to the right has seen him step up in goal returns, while Gareth McAuley’s guaranteed game time and 4.2 price tag offers a bargain basement route into Roy Hodgson’s back-four.
Bolton
The Trotters began a favourable run of fixtures with victory over QPR last week- a result which saw Owen Coyle’s side climb out of the bottom three after a prolonged period in the drop zone. The schedule continues to look kind; trips to Villa and Wolves and home games against Blackburn and Fulham affords Bolton the perfect opportunity to maintain their climb up the table.
Adam Bogdan and Tim Ream both looked to have cemented their places in the first XI of late and priced at 4.0 apiece, offer the cheapest route into the Trotters’ defence. Ryo Miyaichi justified our recent faith with an assist for the winner last Saturday- with so few of his team mates producing, the youngster’s creativity looks key to his side’s fortunes.
Also Consider…
Fulham – in the short-term, at least, the Cottagers look to have three out of four winnable fixtures. Home games against Swansea and Norwich, with a visit to Bolton also on the agenda, will surely see plenty more investment in Clint Dempsey and Pavel Pogrebnyak. With one goal conceded in the last three, Mark Schwarzer is looking a safe pair of hands right now, too.
Arsenal – games against Villa, QPR, Wolves and Wigan in the next six suggest plentiful returns for Robin Van Persie. Investment in the likes of Theo Walcott could prove dividend, while Alex Song’s steady supply of assists and the flourishing form of Thomas Rosicky continue to creep under the mid-price radar.
The Weak
Wigan
Roberto Martinez’s side may have tasted defeat just once in their last five but one look at the fixture list suggests they’ll be hard pushed to keep up their recent mini-revival. In-form West Brom, Stoke and United all roll up to the DW, while road trips to Liverpool, Chelsea and Arsenal suggest the opportunities for points may be few and far between.
With a single clean sheet since December, Ali Al-Habsi will be reliant on save points to boost his tally, while Victor Moses’ recent upturn in attacking returns on the road will be severely tested by the upcoming schedule.
QPR
Without a clean sheet since defeating nine-man Chelsea back in Gameweek 9 and with just 10 goals in the eight games since Mark Hughes’s installation in the Loftus Road hot seat, QPR’s form at both ends of the pitch has been far from impressive.
Recent defeats by fellow-strugglers Wolves, Blackburn and Bolton have done little to install confidence since Neil Warnock’s departure and with (LIV, sun, ARS, mun) up next, the future is anything but bright. Djibril Cisse and Bobby Zamora look likely to struggle for goals, while the backline’s inability to keep out opponents is afforded little chance of a let-up as the fixture list shows no mercy on Hughes’ out-of-sorts outfit.
Aston Villa
An obliging home fixture against Bolton offers Alex McLeish’s side the chance to build on last week’s win over Fulham but, beyond that, the midlands outfit look up against it. Between Gameweeks 30-34, Villa go head to head with Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool and United, suggesting McLeish will still have some work to do if Villa are to reach the 40 point mark in the near future.
The loss of Darren Bent up front has seen Villa score just twice in the last four fixtures but the backline has improved of late, with just two goals conceded in those four. A look at those upcoming opponents, however, suggests McLeish’s outfit may be hard pushed to rely on their defence to dig them out of trouble.
Also Be Wary Of…
Norwich – Paul Lambert’s have, potentially, one fairly straightforward fixture in the next six. A home clash with Wolves in Gameweek 30 looks appetising but, aside from that, trips to Newcastle, Fulham and Spurs, with home games against Everton and City, look tricky for the likes of Anthony Pilkington and Grant Holt.
Man City – as mentioned above, City’s away form is threatening to bring their title bid to a standstill, after an outstanding first half to the season. The 1-0 defeat at Swansea was the fourth time in six games they have failed to score on the road and, with United playing at home when City are away, the points swing in certain gameweeks could prove to be substantial. With Chelsea, Stoke, Sunderland and Arsenal up next, Roberto Mancini’s side need to quickly rediscover their eye for goal or they face being left behind by a resurgent United.
