Yesterday we began our weekly look at the upcoming fixture list with a rundown of the teams with strong schedules on the horizon. Today it’s the turn of the sides whose upcoming matches signal tough times ahead over the next four to six Gameweeks – Hull and Aston Villa face some testing opponents, while Chelsea and Everton have a note of caution hanging over them.
Hull
Denied all three points at Newcastle by the renaissance of Papiss Cisse, Steve Bruce’s side have had a decent start to the season, losing only once. They do now have a tough task to maintain that form, as their next four fixtures include Man City at home and trips to Arsenal and Liverpool. A home encounter with Crystal Palace provides some relief but there’s no doubting that Fantasy points look hard to come by on Humberside for the next month or so.
A switch to four at the back has robbed James Chester of his starting place, making him out of favour anyway, but anyone holding onto Allan McGregor or Curtis Davies will likely need good rotation options. Mo Diame has scored in successive weeks to announce himself to Fantasy punters but now doesn’t look like a good time to acquire his services. Nikica Jelavic has notched three times already this season, and like new strike partner Abel Hernandez, could prove to be excellent under-the-radar value, though the next four fixtures will likely postpone any investment.
Aston Villa
The installation of an alarmingly hirsute Roy Keane alongside Paul Lambert has paid immediate dividends for Villa in a series of confident and resolute displays that has earned them third place in the league. That new-found steel will be put to the sternest test over the next three weeks as the Midlands outfit square up to Chelsea, Man City and Everton. Owners of Brad Guzan and Alan Hutton have reaped fine rewards for a good price but the returns are likely to dry up for a little while. None of the Villa midfield have so far garnered much Fantasy attention but Andreas Weimann is currently ranked fifth for strikers and Gabby Agbonlahor isn’t far behind. Neither look like wise punts while these fixtures abide.
After that storm is weathered, though, an extended period of good fixtures presents itself and brings those Villa assets right back onto our radars. In addition, Christian Benteke may well be back to full fitness by that point and will be itching to put last season’s malaise behind him and return to his career-high form of the latter half of 2012-13 season.
Tottenham
The Gameweek 2 thrashing of QPR turned out to be something of a false dawn for Mauricio Pochettino’s side. Since that zenith, Spurs have gone into reverse gear with a series of increasingly lethargic displays that culminated in last week’s disappointing loss at home to West Brom. They will need to pull their socks up quickly as the next three weeks see them visit both Arsenal and Man City – fixtures that look unlikely to bring Fantasy returns. Following those two daunting road trips is a long spell of great fixtures; if Pochettino can indeed turn around his team’s form then there is a panoply of potentially assets to invest in.
In defence, Hugo Lloris may be a little over-priced but Danny Rose seems to have staved off the challenge of Ben Davies to retain his place at left-back. The mid-priced Nacer Chadli is the only Tottenham midfielder to have hit his stride as of yet, though Erik Lamela and Christian Eriksen have the class to prevail. Up front Emmanuel Adebayor is a great Fantasy asset when he’s in form – right now, though, he’s anything but and is the fourth most transferred-out frontman this week after a dire display against the Baggies.
BE WARY OF
Chelsea
It would take a brave person to bet against Chelsea right now – their performances have more than deserved top spot in the league and, accordingly, the top-scoring Fantasy midfielder and striker both hail from Jose Mourinho’s stable. The fixtures are mixed, though, with three of the next six weeks holding opponents who – on their day – can give Chelsea a run for their money: Arsenal, Man United and Liverpool. Their pricey defence has been slowly losing Fantasy investment anyway as the Blues struggle to shut teams out, while last week at the Etihad, we saw that against a tough opponent, Mourinho is content to curtail his team’s attacking verve in pursuit of a narrow win. In truth, it’s hard to see any of those teams emerging victorious, but the manner of Chelsea’s wins may be less profitable for Fantasy managers and more Fantasy points could be available elsewhere.
Everton
A surprise loss to Crystal Palace at the weekend was followed by defeat to Swansea in the League Cup to compound Roberto Martinez’s travails. Having toiled against weaker opposition, the Toffees travel to the red half of Merseyside and then to Manchester for a showdown with fellow strugglers Man United.
Faith in the Everton defence as a whole is at an all-time low at the moment, though Leighton Baines has dispensed with the need for clean sheets to deliver excellent Fantasy returns from attacking prowess alone. Goals are a different matter, though; Kevin Mirallas had been serving up the points for his owners before his unwelcome rest last weekend. Additionally, Steven Naismith was the subject of an early-season bandwagon, while Romelu Lukaku scored his second goal of the campaign last week.
Given the defensive form of their opponents and their manager’s willingness to go toe-to-toe with the big boys, one could predict more to come, despite the colour of the ticker. However, managers with Everton assets might be minded to hold for just a little while – Gameweek 8 heralds the arrival of a slew of brilliant-looking fixtures that seem primed for goals and perhaps even clean sheets.
Queen’s Park Rangers
QPR assets aren’t high on many Fantasy watchlists and they’re about to sink even lower. After rescuing a last-gasp point against Stoke, Harry Redknapp’s team need more points to haul themselves out of the relegation zone but the fixtures offer little help. The next six weeks include showdowns against Liverpool, Chelsea and Man City, and with trips to in-form Southampton and West Ham also in the offing, the prospects don’t look good for the Hoops. Steven Caulker finally delivered the goal that he had seemed to be promising but clean sheets seem altogether less likely. In midfield, Niko Krancjar was shifted to the role in “the hole” and fired a free-kick against the Potters but these fixtures are unlikely to grab our attention. Meanwhile, up front, Charlie Austin has his work cut out to add to his Gameweek 2 strike and replicate his prolific Championship form.
