Frisking the Fixtures – Gameweek 17 – The Strong

After a busy week, with both Gameweeks 15 and 16 consigned to the history books, we now see a slight shift in the fixtures over the next four-to-six rounds of matches, with many sides set to benefit from a pair of home clashes in Gameweeks 18 and 19.

Man United, Arsenal, Swansea and Chelsea are four such teams, while Watford assets could return to our radars as their upcoming schedule improves considerably.

Man United

(wba, SUN, MID, whm, LIV, sto)

West Bromwich Albion and Liverpool are the only two sides from the current top 10 that United face over the next six Gameweeks, with the two home fixtures against Sunderland and Middlesbrough, in particular, looking very favourable.

The Black Cats rank third for shots allowed inside the box over the last four Gameweeks with 43, while although ‘Boro are a better defensive side, they’ve still conceded in each of their previous three away trips.

West Ham United also feature in the top four for the most shots conceded inside the box and big chances created, while West Brom have only managed one clean sheet in their last 13.

The Stoke City and Liverpool match-ups are slightly trickier, but there look to be plenty of opportunities for perhaps Paul Pogba, and certainly Zlatan Ibrahimovic, to harvest attacking returns.

At the other end of the pitch, clean sheets look a strong possibility against Sunderland and ‘Boro, with those two teams managing just five goals between them over the last four Gameweeks.

Stoke City have also failed to score in two of their last three home fixtures, while West Ham rank 19th for shots inside the box over the last four Gameweeks with only 21.

The West Brom and Liverpool match-ups are slightly unfavourable, but providing he stays fit, it’s hard not to see Phil Jones providing strong value priced at just 4.8 in Fantasy Premier League (FPL) over the coming period.

Arsenal

(mci, WBA, CPL, bou, swa, BUR)

Once Sunday’s trip to the Etihad is out of the way, Arsenal’s upcoming schedule looks enticing.

Shkodran Mustafi’s absence is a concern regarding clean sheet potential, but all five matches from Gameweek 18 onwards should provide Arsene Wenger’s side with a decent opportunity to register a shut-out.

Crystal Palace and West Brom have scored 11 and seven goals respectively over the past four Gameweeks, though, and do offer a reasonable goal threat.

Swansea City are also in good goal scoring form at home, so it’s only the Burnley match-up which appears to offer assured clean sheet returns.

Arsenal defenders may struggle to live up to their premium price tags, then, unless they can deliver some attacking points.

Those five fixtures are much more favourable from an attacking point of view, though, given that Swansea, Palace and Bournemouth are the three clubs who have conceded the most goals over the past four Gameweeks.

Burnley have also conceded 16 times in their seven away matches, while even the Man City and West Brom clashes could see the Gunners register a goal or two.

With the home fixtures being the more favourable, it’s Theo Walcott who could be set to benefit, having netted in his last two appearances at the Emirates, while Alexis Sanchez flourishes more on the road, scoring four goals and adding an assist in his last two away outings.

Swansea City

(mid, WHM, BOU, cpl, ARS, liv)

The Swans’ kind run of fixtures continues for four more matches, before their schedule turns sour from Gameweek 21 onwards.

From an attacking point of view, the outlook appears very bright, given that West Ham and Bournemouth rank second and fourth respectively for shots conceded inside the box over the last four Gameweeks, while, as already mentioned, Palace have leaked 11 goals in their last four encounters.

‘Boro’s confidence may also have been dented after shipping three goals to Liverpool in midweek, so Gylfi Sigurdsson should remain a leading mid-price option in midfield, while Fernando Llorente, who has scored four goals in his last two home matches, could continue to flourish at the Liberty Stadium in particular.

The next four match-ups perhaps aren’t quite as appealing from a defensive standpoint, given that Palace are in such strong goal scoring form, while Bournemouth have scored in each of their last three away matches.

The ‘Boro and West Ham fixtures appear more favourable, though, so Jordi Amat should prove to be a viable starter through the coming weeks, and offer solid value.

Once we hit Gameweek 21, though, it’s likely we’ll be looking to shed Swans assets due to the swing in the fixtures.

Watford

(sun, CPL, TOT, sto, MID, bou)

With only the clash against Tottenham Hotspur standing out as being unfavourable in the next six, Watford assets could be about to come back onto our radars.

The next two fixtures look very appealing against two of the leakiest defences in the Premier League, so Troy Deeney may have the ideal match-ups in which to end his nine-match goal drought.

The Hornets skipper was benched for last night’s trip to City, though Walter Mazzarri has today revealed that his decision was a tactical one – Deeney sits on four yellows and his manager was keen to protect him in order to have him available for the Sunderland encounter.

Stoke, ‘Boro and Bournemouth are all fairly solid defensive sides, but those fixtures should still provide the Hornets with a reasonable opportunity to bag a goal or two.

Etienne Capoue could also be of use over the coming weeks, then, particularly off the bench if we see some rotation over the festive period.

The defensive prospects for Walter Mazzarri’s men are also fairly promising, with the Sunderland, ‘Boro and Stoke clashes appearing the most likely to yield a clean sheet.

Sunderland have failed to score in their last two matches, while ‘Boro and Stoke have only managed three and four goals respectively over the last four Gameweeks.

While the Palace and Bournemouth fixtures are trickier, they still present decent match-ups, so the likes of Jose Holebas and Daryl Janmaat appear decent value options over the next month.

Also Consider

West Ham United
It’s at the back in particular where Hammers assets could be set to profit over the next six Gameweeks, with home fixtures against Hull City, and to a lesser extent, Palace looking favourable.

There are also decent away trips to Swansea and ‘Boro, so Winston Reid, who has scored once and registered three assists this season, may prove to be a decent differential.

The other two matches on the current slate are away to Leicester City and at home to Manchester United, though, so there is some downside to investing in a Hammers defender.

The fact that Slaven Bilic’s side have only managed two goals in home clashes against Sunderland and Burney is a concern when considering investing in a Hammers attacker, perhaps leaving Dimitri Payet, Michail Antonio and Andy Carroll on the periphery of our thoughts.

Chelsea
From a defensive standpoint, Chelsea’s next six fixtures (cpl, BOU, STO, tot, lei, HUL) are deemed the most favourable according to our Season Ticker.

Most FPL bosses already own at least one Blues defender, but should you not own both Eden Hazard and Diego Costa, there looks an obvious temptation to double up at the back, with Marcos Alonso and Cesar Azpilicueta the leading options.

Only the Spurs and, to a lesser extent, Stoke match-ups look slightly unfavourable from an attacking outlook, so Costa and Hazard, providing he recovers from the knock that saw him miss the trip to Sunderland, should remain among the leading attacking options.

Middlesbrough
Of ‘Boro’s next six matches (SWA, bur, mun, LEI, wat, WHM), only the Gameweek 19 trip to Old Trafford is really off-putting.

Given that Aitor Karanka’s men have kept two clean sheets in their last four home matches, it’s members of their backline in particular that could appeal, with Ben Gibson and perhaps Antonio Barragan currently appearing the safest routes.

The fixture list is also pretty positive from an attacking sense, but with ‘Boro the lowest scorers in the top flight with just 13 goals, it’s unlikely that Alvaro Negredo, and providing he recovers from a foot problem, Gaston Ramirez, will be attracting much interest.