Our early-week regular is rolled out once again, as we analyse the strength of schedule across the next four to six Gameweeks. United’s fixtures are about to take a turn for the better and, while the likes of Stoke and Newcastle also appeal, West Ham and Fulham could be set for a testing time ahead…

The Strong

Man United

Sir Alex Ferguson’s side looks simply full of goals right now and is primed for a run of games which looks set to offer Robin Van Persie plenty opportunity to rack up the Fantasy returns – starting with the visit of former club Arsenal this Saturday lunchtime. After that, United then face trips to (avl, nor, rdg) in the following five and also welcome QPR and West Ham to Old Trafford. Van Persie could potentially hold the captain’s armband for weeks to come if he maintains the form that has produced 63 Fantasy Premier League (FPL) points from eight starts.

Wayne Rooney will also be backed if Ferguson returns to the diamond formation that harvested double figures in recent back-to-back Gameweeks for the former Everton man, while Antonio Valencia has provided assists in each of his last four starts. Elsewhere, the diamond could also offer potential to Danny Welbeck or Javier Hernandez as Van Persie’s strike partner, though with two clean sheets all season, and 13 goals conceded, a punt on the backline looks less tempting, although the attacking verve of Rafael remains eye-catching.

Stoke

With a single goal conceded in four home games this term, investment in the Potters’ defence looks profitable. Britannia clashes with (QPR, FUL, NEW) should tempt more suitors to snap up Tony Pulis’ backline; with Marc Wilson injured, Andy Wilkinson (4.4) and Geoff Cameron (4.5) look set to offer the budget FPL options, for those Fantasy managers content to overlook the pricier Robert Huth at 5.5.

Asmir Begovic is an obvious option between the sticks; at 4.8, he is now just two points behind Petr Cech in the FPL rankings and also has trips to (nor, whm, wba) on the agenda over the next six. Michael Kightly offers a cheaper alternative to Jon Walters in midfield, while Peter Crouch has scored all of his side’s home goals – the only problem being that they have found the net just three times in front of their own fans.

Newcastle

A last-gasp winner against West Brom earned the Magpies their first victory since Gameweek 5 and the schedule continues to offer Alan Pardew plenty reason to be optimistic. With West Ham, Swansea and Wigan visiting St James’ Park in the next six, in addition to a trip to Southampton, the Magpies boss can certainly earmark four of his upcoming matches as potential victories. Trips to Liverpool and Stoke will perhaps prove problematic but given the form of Demba Ba, Newcastle will be confident.

Pardew will hope the Senegal striker shaking off a shin problem in time for next Sunday’s trip to Anfield but with Papiss Cisse also (albeit somewhat fortunately) finding the net against West Brom, the Magpies will be looking for someone to share the goalscoring load; while Ba has now notched seven and assisted one of their 11 goals, Hatem Ben Arfa continues to struggle, with just a single assist in his last six. With just one clean sheet all season and Cheick Tiote suspended for the next two, investment in defence is hard to justify right now.

Man City

The champions sit just a point off the top despite failing to impress in recent matches; an ominous sign for their challengers if Roberto Mancini’s side can hit their stride. Certainly, the upcoming schedule offers hope. City will be confident ahead of future home clashes (TOT, AVL, EVE) bearing in mind they dropped just two points at home all last season and with their next three on the road reading (whm, che, wig), only the Stamford Bridge encounter in Gameweek 13 looks likely to threaten the last unbeaten record in the top-flight.

Carlos Tevez continues to offer a more than viable alternative to Sergio Aguero, with attacking returns in seven of his eight starts, while Mancini will be hoping David Silva can return for this weekend’s trip to Upton Park (recent reports suggest otherwise) as City look to arrest a recent decrease in attacking output. At the back, however, one goal conceded in the last three suggest they are finally returning to the form of last season which saw them produce 17 clean sheets over their title-winning campaign.

Also Consider

Everton – having slipped out the top four after yesterday’s Merseyside derby draw, David Moyes’ side are handed an enticing run of four games (ful, SUN, rdg, NOR) to boost their chances. With Marouane Fellaini back from injury and Steven Pienaar returning from suspension, the Toffees will be confident of adding to their 17-goal haul. Nikica Jelavic remains a decent mid-priced contender up top, while Leighton Baines goes on racking up the points despite a single clean sheet in the last eight.

Sunderland – with just six goals to their name thus far, Martin O’Neill’s men have found the net fewer than any other side but have four decent looking fixtures in the next six to perhaps address their attacking woes. The Black Cats play host to Aston Villa, West Brom and QPR and also travel to Norwich, offering Steven Fletcher a chance to add to his five goals so far. At the back, Sunderland have conceded just twice in three home games, making the likes of Simon Mignolet and Carlos Cuellar that little bit more enticing.

Reading – without a win or a clean sheet thus far, investment in Reading’s backline looks impossible to justify. If Brian McDermott continues with a 4-4-2 formation ahead of (qpr, NOR, EVE, wig, avl), though, they could offer some decent cut-price attacking prospects. The Royals have fielded a 4-4-2 in three of their last four and have scored seven goals across that trio of games, culminating in Saturday’s 3-3 home draw with Fulham. Jobi McAnuff has now assisted five of their 11 strikes, while Pavel Pogrebnyak is the only forward to start all eight of their games thus far.

QPR – there have been signs of encouragement against Everton and Arsenal and now Mark Hughes’ side have three consecutive matches that offer the potential of some victories that could help them off the bottom of the table. Fantasy managers will be hesitant but Ryan Nelsen looks a steady option the back four, whilst Adel Taarabt continues to promise returns having cemented a starting role up in support of Bobby Zamora.

The Weak

West Ham

Sam Allardyce will be desperately disappointed with last weekend’s loss at Wigan, particularly when you take a glance at the Hammers’ fixtures to follow. While the Upton Park outfit sit in eighth place with 14 points already accrued, they now brace themselves for showdowns with eight of the top 10 in the next 10 Gameweeks.

In a dire run of fixtures that doesn’t really ease up until Gameweek 20, West Ham play host to Man City, Stoke, Chelsea, Liverpool and Everton, with Kevin Nolan’s record of scoring in all but one of his five home matches to date set to be firmly tested. Bearing in mind his side have now failed to keep a clean sheet in the last five, Allardyce will be fearful of this run continuing and, with trips to newcastle, Tottenham, United, West Brom and Arsenal also on their agenda, the Championship play-off winners have a difficult time ahead for the foreseeable future. It could be time to reconsider those defensive acquisitions with Guy Demel, Winston Reid and Jussi Jaaskelainen surely hard pressed to fetch returns in the coming weeks.

Swansea

The Welsh club offered a spirited showing in Saturday evening’s narrow defeat at City but the fixtures continue to look testing for Michael Laudrup’s men. Swansea welcome league leaders Chelsea to the Liberty this weekend and also face a trip to Newcastle in the next four. While a trip to Southampton should offer little fear, the Gameweek 13 visit of former boss Brendan Rodgers and Liverpool could be potentially problematic.

Michu’s owners should be happy to hold firm. Preferred to Danny Graham once again as the lone striker, he was perhaps unlucky not to notch at the Etihad and with a goal in four of his first five home appearances, the Spaniard still looks strong value for his current 7.3 FPL price. With Michel Vorm set to be sidelined for four to six weeks, though, faith in a defence that has conceded in each of their last seven is likely to be further diminished.

Also Be Wary Of…

Fulham – Martin Jol’s side sit pretty in seventh but now square up to four of the top six over the next six Gameweeks and also face a trip to the Britannia. Fulham welcome Everton, Sunderland and Spurs to the Cottage and travel to Arsenal, Stoke and Chelsea – without doubt they have a testing time ahead. In attack, Fulham have the third best scoring record in the top-flight, suggesting the likes of Dimitar Berbatov, Bryan Ruiz and Damien Duff could continue to prosper but while Jol has addressed his side’s attacking potential on the road, the Cottagers have been poor at the back on their travels – only Southampton have conceded more away from home.

Wigan – the Latics will be buoyed by their first home win of the season last weekend but face a stiff run of fixtures over the next six Gameweeks. Wigan face trips to Spurs, Liverpool and Newcastle and welcome West Brom, Reading and City with that home match against Reading in Gameweek 13 perhaps the only straightforward looking fixture. With one clean sheet all season – back in Gameweek 2 at Southampton – the short-term looks decidedly dodgy for Roberto Martinez’s men.

Aston Villa – with just one win and a single clean sheet to their name thus far, Villa’s start under Paul Lambert has been far from impressive. The midlanders now face a run of fixtures (sun, MUN, mci, ARS) that could easily see them taste defeat in each of the next four Gameweeks if their current form is continued. It’s no surprise that their most popular FPL player, Ciaran Clark, has a mere 2.2% ownership, with Fantasy faith at a bare minimum for the Villains right now.