With the big kick-off just three days away, it’s time to turn our attentions to the strength of schedule over the first six rounds of fixtures of the 2016/17 season. First up, we get underway by analysing those teams who have been handed favourable starts to the upcoming campaign.
West Brom
(cpl, EVE, MID, bou, WHM, sto)
The Baggies are treated to an enviable opening six fixtures which sees them avoid all of the traditional big six clubs until the Gameweek 8 meeting with Tottenham at the Hawthorns.
Their home fixtures over this spell are far from straightforward, though. Everton and West Ham were amongst the most celebrated sides on their travels last season, while Middlesbrough are an unknown quantity, although we can presume they will seek to put up a stubborn defensive display away from the Riverside.
It’s generally West Brom’s away fixtures that help seal their place in our mid-term thinking.
They have the kindest set of opening four road trips, visiting Crystal Palace, Bournemouth, Stoke and Sunderland.
Rarely do we look to Tony Pulis’ side for anything but defensive reinforcements, and the Baggies had a stronger record at the back away from home last term. The defence allowed just 22 goals over their 19 road trips – but they shipped 26 goals at the Hawthorns.
With little to shout about in attack, aside perhaps from the direct threat of new signing Matt Phillips, we’re anticipating that Pulis will again prioritise defence and damage limitation away from home.
With that in mind, they should be backed to return several clean sheets over their opening run, with the goal threat from set-pieces adding further appeal to the likes of Jonny Evans, Gareth McAuley and, if you’ve the funds, Craig Dawson.
Middlesbrough
(STO, sun, wba, CPL, eve, TOT)
On their return to the Premier League after a seven-year hiatus, Middlesbrough could hardly have wished for a more favourable opening schedule, with their first match against one of last season’s top eight coming in Gameweek 6, when Tottenham visit the Riverside.
Before then, home clashes against Stoke and Crystal Palace, along with away trips to Sunderland, West Brom and Everton, should provide Aitor Karanka’s side with the ideal platform to get some early points on the board.
No side in the Championship last season registered more clean sheets (22) than ‘Boro, so members of Karanka’s are expected to provide decent budget options for the opening weeks of the season.
Victor Valdes and George Friend look the standout options in that regard, with the Spanish goalkeeper likely to reward his owners with save points alongside his clean sheet potential, while Friend offers an attacking threat due to his crossing ability.
It may be tougher at the other end of the pitch for ‘Boro, having failed to score in 13 of their 46 league matches last term.
Karanka has been busy in the transfer market trying to address the lack of potency in attack though, bringing in Alvaro Negredo and Viktor Fischer, while he also sealed a permanent move for Gaston Ramirez, who shone on loan at the Riverside last season. All three could offer viable budget options if they can take advantage of those fixtures.
Tottenham
(eve, CPL, LIV, sto, SUN, mid)
With a Gameweek 3 visit of Liverpool deemed the only difficult fixture in the opening six rounds of matches according to our Season Ticker, Spurs appear one of the big clubs who deserve our backing from the off.
Home encounters against Crystal Palace and Sunderland should provide Mauricio Pochettino’s men with favourable match-ups to gain some early momentum, while although trips to Everton and Stoke appear fairly tricky, it’s worth remembering Tottenham did score four goals when visiting the Potters late last season, while the Toffees conceded more goals (30) at home last season than they did on their travels (25).
A trip to Middlesbrough in Gameweek 6 could also prove profitable at either end of the pitch, so the prospects for both the Tottenham defence and attack appear pretty bright.
Given no side managed more total goal attempts (658) than Spurs last season, there’s every expectation that backing a Tottenham attacker could pay off given the favourable opening fixtures.
The fact that Moussa Dembele will miss the opening four matches of the season due to suspension could deter some from investing in Harry Kane, given the drop off in production for the England man when the Belgian is absent, though Kane’s recent double against Inter indicates he’s approaching the season in fine form. Similarly, Dele Alli, Christian Eriksen and Erik Lamela could all plunder the points early in the season.
Pochettino also oversaw a much improved defence last term, with his side registering 13 shut-outs, so the likes of Kyle Walker, given his added attacking potential, may continue to prove worthy of consideration. Rotation in the full-back area, particularly around Champions League matches, could make Toby Alderweireld a safer, though more expensive, bet.
Everton
(TOT, wba, STO, sun, MID, bou)
New Everton boss Ronald Koeman looks to have been handed a kind start to his reign at Goodison Park, with the matches against West Brom, Sunderland, Middlesbrough and Bournemouth all appearing pretty favourable over the first six.
The visit of Stoke to Merseyside in Gameweek 3 is also a reasonable fixture, leaving only the opening day home clash against Tottenham as problematic for the Toffees.
As already mentioned, Everton’s home form was particularly disappointing last season, winning just six matches in front of their own fans, so that will certainly be something the Dutchman looks to put right.
Scoring goals wasn’t a problem on home soil, though, averaging 1.8 per match, so the likes of Ross Barkley, Gerard Deulofeu and, in particular, Romelu Lukaku, providing he stays at the club, could all get off to fast starts.
Koeman presided over a Southampton side that kept 27 clean sheets over the past two seasons, so it’s expected that he’ll improve an Everton defence that regressed under Roberto Martinez, shipping 55 goals last time around.
The added attacking threat of Leighton Baines and Seamus Coleman means they could emerge as great picks under the former Saints boss should we see improvement at the back, but with some uncertainty over who will start in central defence for the Toffees, it may take Koeman some time to turn it around.
Also Consider
Crystal Palace
Only the Gameweek 2 trip to Tottenham looks a difficult fixture for the Eagles over the opening six Gameweeks (WBA, tot, BOU, mid, STO, sun), so the south London outfit could provide us with some reasonable mid-price and budget options for the first weeks of the new season.
The addition of Andros Townsend provides further threat, although Alan Pardew will still need to find a new front man in order for his side to truly fulfil their attacking potential.
Goals could be hard to come by for West Brom, Middlesbrough and Sunderland this season, so Palace defenders certainly look worthy of some consideration as we finalise our Gameweek 1 squads. Scott Dann is the obvious target after netting five times last term, though some may baulk at his lofty valuation.
Man City
The two home match-ups against Sunderland and Bournemouth in the opening six Gameweeks jump off the page when assessing City’s fixtures. New manager Pep Guardiola may fancy his side to dominate those two encounters, and Sergio Aguero will be heavily backed to fill his boots against the Black Cats and Cherries in particular. Kevin de Bruyne is the most appealing in midfield, though there are concerns over the Belgian’s fitness levels ahead of the weekend.
The other four matches (sto, WHM, mun, swa) are more mixed, though, so the Spaniard could face a tricky baptism to the Premier League.
Guardiola’s pre-season selections in defence may have raised some alarm bells, with captain Vincent Kompany’s fitness still a concern. Clean sheets may be at a premium in the early stages of the season then, although the signing of Everton’s John Stones could be key, with the new boy’s distribution from deep likely to be vital to City’s possession play.
BurnleyThe Clarets are the only team to face four home matches over the opening six Gameweeks (SWA, LIV, che, HUL, lei, WAT), so home comforts should hand Sean Dyche’s men the chance to get off to a solid start.
Certainly, the matches against Swansea, Hull and Watford look ideal for Andre Gray to continue his pre-season form and prove his Premier League pedigree, while Iceland international Johann Berg Gudmundsson could be one to monitor.
Defensive returns may be harder to come by, with the partnership of Watford’s Troy Deeney and Odion Ighalo making that a testing fixture, but the likes of Tom Heaton and Ben Mee generally look strong options for defensive rotation pairings. Having netted five times last term, Michael Keane could be worth the extra outlay.
