After we analysed the teams with the strongest fixtures over the next six Gameweeks yesterday, we now take time to assess those sides we should perhaps consider avoiding over the coming weeks.
Crystal Palace
(eve, WHM, lei, LIV, bur, MCI)
Given Burnley’s home form so far this season, Alan Pardew’s men don’t appear to have a favourable match-up in their next six fixtures, although West Ham’s leaky defence does offer a little bit of hope for Crystal Palace’s attackers.
Goals generally look set to be in short supply, though, with Everton and Man City having only conceded four and five respectively so far, while Liverpool have allowed the fewest shots from inside the box (30) among all Premier League clubs.
Leicester City and Burnley have also kept two clean sheets apiece at home already this season, so Christian Benteke and Palace’s midfielders may struggle for attacking points over the coming period.
At the other end of the pitch, the outlook isn’t much brighter, with City and Liverpool the highest scoring teams so far with 18 and 16 strikes respectively. Everton and Leicester are also both joint-third for big chances created with 14, leaving only the West Ham and Burnley clashes as possible chances for clean sheets.
The Hammers have netted in all three of their away matches so far this season, though, while the Clarets look a more potent threat following the signings of Steven Defour and Jeff Hendrick. Members of Palace’s backline perhaps look best avoided for the next few weeks, then, or consigned to the final places on our benches.
Swansea City
(LIV, ars, WAT, sto, MUN, eve)
The Welsh outfit face four of the current top six over the next six Gameweeks, so it’s hard to see Francesco Guidolin’s side providing us with too many viable Fantasy options during this stage of the season.
Defensively, the Swans won’t be expected to keep clean sheets against strong attacking sides such as Liverpool, Arsenal, Man United and Everton, with all those clubs ranked in the top five for goals scored.
Watford also boast an attacking threat with the front pairing of Odion Ighalo and Troy Deeney, while Stoke may well have found some form by the time the two sides meet in Gameweek 10. The well-owned Jordi Amat should remain rooted to our substitutes bench then, with no other Swansea defenders worth consideration at this point in time.
In attack, it’s more of the same, with Everton, Man United and Arsenal all pretty formidable at the back, while Liverpool, as already touched upon, have posted some pretty impressive defensive numbers thus far, despite conceding nine goals.
Now doesn’t look to be the time to be considering Gylfi Sigurdsson for our 15-man squads, then, while no other Swansea attackers look worthy of appearing on our radar through these difficult fixtures.
Burnley
(ARS, sot, EVE, mun, CPL, wba)
It’s in the short-term where things look particularly tricky for the Clarets, with no decent fixture until they host Palace in Gameweek 11.
Their next four opponents all rank in the bottom eight for shots conceded inside the box so far this season, with Arsenal and Southampton in particular look strong in defence over the past few weeks. It’s hard to forecast many goals against Everton and United either, though, while a match-up against West Brom is also unlikely to bring much joy.
So while Steven Defour may be in good form, the fixtures mean the Belgian is unlikely to attract much of a bandwagon for now.
With the Palace and West Brom attacks looking more dangerous following the acquisitions of Christian Benteke and Nacer Chadli respectively, the outlook from a defensive standpoint is perhaps even gloomier.
Man United, Arsenal and Everton all feature in the top six for big chances created, while Southampton look to have hit form over the last few weeks, on the back of four consecutive victories in all competitions.
Tom Heaton owners will no doubt be happy to hold, given save points mean the Burnley stopper is always likely to keep ticking over at the very least. Apart from the England international, the Clarets rearguard look best left alone for the time being.
Also be wary of…
West Brom
The Baggies face four hard fixtures over the next six Gameweeks (TOT, liv, MCI, lei), tempered somewhat by a trip to Sunderland and a home encounter against Burnley.
While those two favourable matches may be enough for some Fantasy managers to keep faith in the likes of Ben Foster, Gareth McAuley and Jonny Evans, it’s hard to see many defensive returns in the other four matches, making their spots in our 15-man squads slightly vulnerable.
As previously mentioned, Tottenham, City and Liverpool are among the strongest defensive sides, so Tony Pulis’ men look to set to struggle for goals in those encounters, although those two favourable matches mean those who currently owning the likes of Salomon Rondon or Nacer Chadli face a difficult decision.
Middlesbrough
A trip to West Ham, along with home clashes against Watford and Bournemouth, mean the prospects for ‘Boro Fantasy assets, in the short-term at least, aren’t particularly gloomy.
But they do also face trips to Arsenal and City over the next month or so, matches in which both attacking and defensive returns appear unlikely.
A home encounter against Chelsea in Gameweek 12 is also a tough match-up, so those who own a ‘Boro defender may consider looking elsewhere given Aitor Karanka’s men have also conceded seven goals in their last three matches, while Alvaro Negredo’s ownership looks set to continue to drop during this mixed run of fixtures.
Southampton
Saints are another side who face four very testing fixtures (lei, mci, CHE, LIV) over the coming period, making us question the merits of their main Fantasy assets.
Those four teams are particularly impressive in an attacking sense, so while Claude Puel’s side have registered back-to-back shut-outs, it’s hard to see them managing too many more over the next few weeks.
The matches at home to Burnley and away to Hull may not be enough for us to keep faith in Southampton defenders, then, given they set us back a minimum of 5.0 in FPL.
With Chelsea and Leicester showing some vulnerabilities in defence over the past few weeks, the next six fixtures don’t appear quite so tricky from an attacking point of view. The in-form Charlie Austin may still be able to flourish, then, although most FPL bosses will probably look elsewhere to fill their three forward spots.
Chelsea
With away trips to Hull and Middlesbrough regarded as their most favourable fixtures over the next six Gameweeks, we perhaps shouldn’t expect too much from Chelsea players over the coming period.
The Blues face three tricky home fixtures (LEI, MUN, EVE), while the Gameweek 10 trip to Southampton could also prove unfavourable for Antonio Conte’s side.
The fixtures are certainly mixed enough for many FPL managers to go without a Blues attacker, with Diego Costa and Eden Hazard looking unlikely to deliver many double-digit hauls over the coming weeks.
Chelsea’s most promising matches arrive on the road over this period, yet bearing in mind they have yet to keep an away clean sheet this season, there too looks little appeal in backing their defence right now.
