Fixture Analysis – Rotation Pairs – Swansea and Cardiff

Today, we roll out the sixth in our series of rotation articles for the season ahead. So far, we’ve analysed the prospects of pairing West Ham/Southampton, Norwich/Stoke, Crystal Palace/Hull, Newcastle/Sunderland and Aston Villa/West Brom. We wing our way to Wales this time round to asses what’s on offer by combining Cardiff and Swansea.

The Fixtures

Once again, our featured duo offer an alternating home/away partnership right across the entire 38 Gameweeks. The fixture list, however, is firmly against the idea of kicking off the season with this combination – Cardiff entertain City, Everton, Spurs, United and Arsenal by Gameweek 13, while Swansea welcome United, Liverpool and Arsenal to the Liberty in their first three home games; a schedule that looks anything but conducive to clean sheets.

From Gameweek 7 until Gameweek 19, however, the Welsh duo face just three tricky home games between them and offer up a run of 10 favourable fixtures out of 13 (NEW, SUN, WHM, SWA, STO, NEW, HUL, WBA, SOT, SUN), with the only issues being in Gameweek 12, 13 and 17, with home clashes against United, Arsenal and Everton. For those eyeing up a three-way defender rotation, Newcastle hand us an alternative not only across those three matches (NOR, WBA, cpl) but also have a kind opening schedule which, combined with the best on offer from Swansea and Cardiff would give you (whm, WHM, FUL, hul, HUL, ful) over the first six Gameweeks.

In the second half of the campaign, while a Cardiff/Swansea rotation partnership would allow you 14 favourable home fixtures from 19, Malky Mackay’s side work even better with Sunderland. Pairing the Bluebirds and Black Cats would hand Fantasy managers 16 obliging fixtures in front of their own fans over the remaining 19 Gameweeks – a tactic to consider when wielding a winter wildcards, perhaps.

Defence

Cardiff
The Championship winners’ exploits last term certainly bode well for those looking to invest in their main defensive assets. Mackay’s side racked up 18 clean sheets (10 at home and eight on the road), suggesting they could offer a decent option in the budget bracket .

David Marshall is nailed-on between the sticks and should accumulate plenty save points if his side do concede – the former Glasgow Celtic man has the potential to be one of the best value keepers over the coming season, with a 4.5 price tag expected in Fantasy Premier League (FPL). Elsewhere at the back, Andrew Taylor provided five assists from left-back, while Matthew Connolly (five goals) and skipper Mark Hudson (four goals, three assists) offered some decent attacking returns last term – the latter is hoping to recover from ankle surgery which forced him out towards the end of the title-winning campaign.

Swansea
Over at the Liberty, a drop in price for Michel Vorm looks on the cards. The Dutchman was slapped with a 5.5 price tag in FPL last term after earning 158 points in his debut season but with injuries limiting him to 26 starts, Vorm will surely slip to 5.0, bearing in mind the Swans’ number of clean sheets also dropped from 14 to 10 after Brendan Rodgers was replaced by Michael Laudrup. Angel Rangel looks the stand-out option from defence – very occasionally utilised on the right of the attacking midfield three, the Spaniard’s three goals and an assist, while enough to see him finish higher than any defensive option for the Welsh club last year, is unlikely to earn him a price rise from 5.0.

At left-back, Ben Davies’ prospects have been hit hard by Neil Taylor’s return from injury – the pair could alternate from one game to the next and thus negate one another’s Fantasy potential. Ideally, then, a move away for Ashley Williams could promote new boy Jordi Amat as a possible budget option, though Williams’ exit may well dent the Swans’ overall defensive appeal.

Attacking Options

Cardiff
Looking at the statistics from 2012/13, Peter Whittingham (eight goals, seven assists) and Craig Noone (seven goals, eight assists) will turn heads but neither looks a guaranteed starter under Mackay. Whittingham failed to score after October and relied on game time off the bench towards the end of the season, while Noone suffered from his manager’s penchant for rotation out wide on too many occasions.

Aron Gunnarson, with eight goals and five assists, looks to be more of an assured pick in a deeper, central midfield role, while Bo Kyung-Kim became more influential as the campaign unfolded and is expected to be a pivotal figure in the middle of the park. Both are expected to cost around the 5.0 to 5.5 mark and could offer us a viable midfield option, though Blackpool’s Tom Ince could be the one to watch if Mackay manages to secure his signature.

Elsewhere, Craig Bellamy’s potential is dented by the 4-5-1 – the Welshman is fielded out wide in his manager’s favoured system and, if classified as a forward, will be a reverse out of position prospect. New centre-forward Andreas Cornelius has the target man qualities which should ensure he will spearhead the Bluebirds’ attack, with Bellamy or Fraizer Campbell partnering the big Dane if Mackay opts for a front two.

Swansea
Having produced 18 goals and 190 FPL points in his first season in the English top-flight, Michu will no doubt be targeted by many a Fantasy manager next time out. The Spaniard will be subject to a significant price hike, though – a jump from last term’s 6.5 to around the 8.5 mark would be no real surprise, given his advanced role in “the hole” and occasional stint up front; bearing in mind he netted in only four fixtures from Gameweek 19 onwards, many may overlook him initially in light of his opening few fixtures.

With Europa League duties also to consider now, rotation on the flanks looks an even greater risk – Laudrup could once again alternate Nathan Dyer, Wayne Routledge and Pablo Hernandez, thus reducing their chances of consistent starts. Given that the Swans are intent on sealing a deal for Vitesse Arnhem forward Wilfried Bony, Jonathan de Guzman’s chances of occasionally been fielded in “the hole”, with Michu up top, look reduced – the Dutchman was second only to Michu for the Swans last time out and with a share of set-pieces and corners (and spot-kicks, at present) in his locker, may be worth considering if he remains around the 6.0 mark.

With Jose Canas already on board, Laudrup bolstered his options further yesterday by picking up Alejandro Pozuelo from Real Betis and is also in the market of Liverpool’s Jonjo Shelvey. Given the number of options available, then, rest and rotation could be a real issue for many of the Swans’ mid-price midfield protagonists – while Michu’s price could be an issue, he looks like one of the few to offer us guaranteed game time under Laudrup next time out.