Following our look at the teams who have been handed the strongest schedules over the next six Gameweeks, we now turn our attention to the sides who look set to find the going more difficult over the coming period. Norwich have to face three of the current top five, while West Brom and West Ham may also struggle to remain in our thoughts.
NORWICH
Alex Neil’s men may have earned a morale-boosting 1-0 win over Swansea in their final match before the international break, but with Arsenal, Man United and Tottenham all to face in the next six Gameweeks, further victories could be hard to come by. That clean sheet against the Swans was their first of the season, though bearing in mind that Arsenal and Spurs both feature in the top five teams for goal attempts over the last four Gameweeks, shut-outs in those two clashes appear unlikely. United have only failed to score in one of their six home matches, while Chelsea and Everton have also found the back of the net with regularity in front of their own fans. So Norwich defenders appear best ignored for the time being, as has been the case for most of the season.
The Canaries have also been short of goals recently, with Neil prioritising the need to keep things tighter at the back. The match-ups against United, Arsenal and Tottenham remain the least favourable in terms of Norwich’s attacking prospects, with those three teams ranked in the top six for the fewest number of shots conceded over the last four Gameweeks. Vicarage Road has been a tough place for lesser sides to get on the scoresheet, leaving only the Chelsea and Everton clashes, of which neither is particularly friendly. It looks best to look elsewhere for budget attacking options, then.
WEST HAM
Given that the Hammers failed to score against Watford, only managed one goal against Everton and will be without the injured Dimitri Payet for the foreseeable future, there has to be some concern about their attacking prospects heading into a difficult run of fixtures. As already mentioned, Tottenham and United are among the meaner defences in the league, while West Brom are a strong defensive unit on their travels, registering four shut-outs in six away trips. Stoke have also kept clean sheets in each of their last three away matches, leaving only the away encounters at Swansea and Aston Villa as potentially favourable. So, while Manuel Lanzini (5.3) looks a viable replacement for Payet in our five-man midfields, and a way to free-up some funds for the soon-to-be-fit-again Sergio Aguero, the Argentine may struggle to bring in the points.
Without a clean sheet since the 2-0 victory in Gameweek 5 against Newcastle, confidence isn’t exactly high in the West Ham backline. So with a trip to Tottenham up next, with Spurs scoring nine goals in their last three matches, that poor record looks set to continue, while United will be confident of breaking down the Hammers defence. The other four fixtures are fairly reasonable, but with West Ham defensive assets setting us back at least 5.0 in Fantasy Premier League (FPL), their value for money looks unappealing.
WEST BROM
The foundations of the Baggies’ solid start to the campaign have certainly been built on the backline, but with their next four opponents all ranked among the top five clubs for total goal attempts over the last four Gameweeks, it’s difficult to see Tony Pulis’ men adding to the six clean sheets already accrued. Only from Gameweek 17 onwards does West Brom’s schedule begin to ease again, with match-ups against Bournemouth and Swansea pretty favourable, so it looks a case of either moving on our Baggies defensive assets, or consigning them to the bench in the short term.
Given that Jurgen Klopp has enjoyed some success in tightening things up at the back for Liverpool, that match-up, along with those against Arsenal and Tottenham, look difficult for a side that has only scored four goals in their last five matches. As previously stated, though, West Ham’s defence has been breached fairly often in recent weeks, while the fixtures against Swansea and Bournemouth also present decent match-ups. Regardless, West Brom attacking assets haven’t exactly been the order of the day this season, and the upcoming schedule suggests we shouldn’t be altering that line of thinking for the time being.
BE WARY OF…
Stoke
With only the trip to Sunderland in Gameweek 14 seen as favourable over the next six Gameweeks (sot, sun, MCI, whm, CPL, MUN), expectations for Fantasy points from the Potters aren’t high. The Southampton and Man City clashes, in particular, look unfavourable, while none of the other four fixtures look great match-ups. Jack Butland (4.6) has been in sensational form of late, but with clean sheets looking harder to come by in the next six, it may be that his 10% ownership have to rely on save points in the coming weeks.
The fixtures look harder when assessing the attacking potential for Stoke over the next month or so, with United and City probably the two strongest defensive teams at the moment. Crystal Palace and Southampton are generally resolute at the back too, so while the likes of Marko Arnautovic (6.0) and Bojan (5.2) had previously been seen as reasonable differential candidates, now doesn’t really look the time to be taking a gamble.
Swansea
While the Swans face four home fixtures in the next six (BOU, liv, LEI, mci, WHM, WBA), the lack of confidence among Garry Monk’s side has dampened our expectations for the Welsh outfit. The Bournemouth fixture will carry a fair bit of pressure for the under-fire Monk, although three of the matches at the Liberty Stadium do look decent match-ups for those still holding onto Andre Ayew (7.1), with the West Brom clash in Gameweek 18 being the exception.
Leicester have been full of goals all season and have to be backed to score in south Wales, but clean sheets in the other three home fixtures look possible, although far from a sure thing. The trips to Anfield and the Etihad look very difficult in terms of returns at either ends of the pitch, though.
Aston Villa
While Remi Garde’s first match in charge provided plenty of positives, the new Villa boss faces further difficult tests over the next six Gameweeks (eve, WAT, sot, ARS, new, WHM). The Villans have only managed two goals in their last five matches, and while the Arsenal fixture is the only really difficult match-up, none of the other five are against particularly weak defences, with Everton and Newcastle perhaps looking the best fixtures.
The task looks trickier at the other end of the pitch, though, with all six upcoming opponents ranked in the top 10 for goals scored over the past four Gameweeks. If their performance against City is anything to go by though, the Watford and West Ham clashes could yield further defensive returns if they can defend in a similar manner. Kieran Richardson (4.2) is likely to be handed a run of starts in light of Jordan Amavi’s season-ending injury, though few, if any, will be prepared to gamble on Villa’s defence right now.
Sunderland
With only two home matches in the upcoming slate of fixtures (cpl, STO, ars, WAT, che, mci), the Black Cats’ prospects don’t look particularly bright. Those two home fixtures are fairly favourable from a defensive viewpoint, with Stoke only managing three goals in their last five matches, while Watford are hardly prolific, either. Grabbing any defensive points in the four away matches appears unlikely, though, with the trip to Selhurst Park in Gameweek 13 looking their best opportunity.
It’s a similar story when assessing the prospects of their attackers, with goals expected to be hard to come by in the away matches. The two home fixtures could also be low-scoring affairs, though, with the Stoke and Watford rearguards, as already mentioned, fairly tough to break down.
8 years, 7 months ago😀