Having assessed the rotation potential of Leicester and Swansea and West Brom and Aston Villa, we continues our series of articles by focussing on the partnership of Premier League new boys Bournemouth and Watford.
THE FIXTURES
For Fantasy managers on the lookout for a cut-price pairing, Bournemouth and Watford offer a perfect home and away rotation across the entire 38 Gameweeks. By playing the fixtures, however, rather than sticking strictly to the home side each week, there would be just one occasion where you’d never to play one of last season’s top four sides in the opening 20 rounds of fixtures. This occurs in Gameweek 9, where Watford entertain Arsenal and Bournemouth travel to Man City.
Aside from that, though, you’re left with a very respectable run of matches (AVL, WBA, SOT, LEI, SWA, SUN, CPL, WAT, TOT, WHM, NEW, swa, avl, NOR, sun, wba, CPL, TOT, lei) which hands you 14 home encounters and five away fixtures until the winter wildcard kicks in.
Once again, in the second half of the campaign, this pairing would only face one of last term’s top four on a single occasion. This takes place in Gameweek 32, when Bournemouth host City and Watford make their way to Arsenal.
Bearing in mind that both sides are new to the top-flight, it remains to be seen how their levels of resilience will fare against stronger attacks. While Bournemouth managed a respectable 19 shut-outs in the Championship last season (ten at home, nine away), Watford kept out their opponents on 15 occasions, with just seven clean sheets in 23 outings in front of their own fans.
It’s worth noting that there are other decent rotation pairings available for both sides, though. Bournemouth dovetail well with West Brom for 34 of the 38 Gameweeks, while Watford and Aston Villa would provide a good fixture for 34 of the 38 Gameweeks.
DEFENCE
Bournemouth
Despite playing an attacking brand of football that produced 98 goals last season, Eddie Howe’s men are also resilient at the back – they conceded 45 times, a tally bettered only by one other team.
In goal, it remains to be seen which of new signings Adam Federici and Artur Boruc (who was on loan with the Cherries last season) will start. Both have top-flight experience, and whoever establishes themselves as the first-choice should be able to flourish in a similar way to the likes of Kasper Schmeichel and Tom Heaton last season, with save points a guarantee. Like the rest of Bournemouth and Watford’s backlines, the duo should be handed a price tag of 4.5 in Fantasy Premier League (FPL), thus affording you a rotation partnership for 9.0.
Given that the Bournemouth boss is keen to encourage his full-backs to push forward, many will be eyeing up Simon Francis and new boy Tyrone Mings. Serving up a goal and six assists last season, Francis produced more key passes (76) than any defender in the Championship and his partnership with Matt Ritchie down the right is key for the Cherries. Mings, meanwhile, produced a goal and four assists for Ipswich, though may need a settling-in period to adjust to his new surrounds.
The arrival of Sylvain Distin will afford Bournemouth some top-flight experience on the heart of defence, with club captain Tommy Elphick favourite to partner him ahead of Steve Cook. The latter scored five times last term but looks the likeliest to miss out as a result of the Frenchman’s arrival.
Watford
With a new manager at the helm, we’ll be eagerly assessing the Hornets over the close season in order to ascertain Quique Sanchez Flores’ likely starters.
Frustratingly, there’s also uncertainty between the sticks here, too. Heurelho Gomes signed a new three-year contract following the club’s promotion, though the acquisition of Lithuanian stopper Giedrius Arlauskis places question marks over the number one spot for the campaign ahead.
In defence, new signing Sebastian Prodl boasts a considerable threat from set-pieces, having scored three goals in 19 starts for Werder Bremen last season. Fellow centre-back Gabriele Angella has produced nine goals and seven assists in the previous two Championship campaigns and could be a strong candidate here. Right-back Juan Carlos Peredes provided four assists last term and likes to push forward, whilst new Greek left-back Jose Holebas should be a secure starter, having arrived from Italian outfit Roma over the summer.
ATTACKING OPTIONS
Bournemouth
The Cherries were the highest scorers in the second tier last season, so their attacking assets are likely to be popular as budget options.
Midfielder Matt Ritchie clearly warrants attention, having scored 15 goals and laid on 17 assists last term. With set-piece duties in his locker, the Scotland international could offer a provide a pretty consistent source of attacking returns, but is likely to set us back between 5.5 and 6.0 in FPL. New loan recruit Christian Atsu could come in slightly cheaper and may be of interest if he finds a place in Howe’s regular starting XI, with the Ghana winger expected to fare better than he did on loan at Everton last season. Central midfielder Harry Arter, who scored nine goals last year, could come into contention if priced at 4.5 or 5.0, affording us a decent fifth midfielder for our benches.
Callum Wilson scored 20 goals last season, and his pace could cause plenty of problems for defenders over the coming months. The England U21 looks a sure starter up front for the Cherries, and should carry a similar price tag to Ritchie. Joshua King has been signed from Blackburn, and is expected to be classified as a forward in FPL, although he may feature as a left-sided midfield player when Howe opts for a 4-4-2 formation. At the moment, Yann Kermorgant is the favourite to start as a second striker alongside Wilson, but Bournemouth are expected to bring in another forward before the transfer window closes.
Watford
Given that the Hornets have slapped in a club record bid for Genoa winger Diego Perotti (who produced four goals and five assists in 27 Serie A appearances last season), it’s clear that Flores is determined to bolster his attack.
Almen Abdi scored nine times in just 28 starts last season and should come around the 5.0 mark, while Scotland international Ikechi Anya is likely to be classified as a midfielder in FPL and carries some assist potential, having created seven goals last term. New boy Etienne Capoue looks a guaranteed starter after arriving from Tottenham and provided an assist on his debut against St Albans last night. The Frenchman is expected to be handed a holding role in front of the back-four, though, and may struggle for returns over the season.
In attack, Troy Deeney has scored 65 goals over the last three seasons in the Championship and has the potential to make a similar impact to the likes of Charlie Austin, Danny Ings and Leonardo Ulloa last season. The Watford skipper also registered nine assists last term and is the primary penalty taker.
Odion Ighalo scored 14 goals in ten appearances in the middle part of the season but may struggle to cement a starting role under the new man in charge, though he did his prospects no harm by scoring twice against St Albans in Watford’s opening summer fixture. Matej Vydra should provide a cheaper alternative to Deeney and has recently signed a five-year permanent contract, to suggest he could be a significant figure this term. The Czech Republic international netted 16 times in 31 starts last time out but faces a tough task to oust Deenet as the main Fantasy target here.
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