A swing in the schedule means that a number of teams play just twice in front of their own fans in the next six Gameweeks.
After looking at those sides with strong upcoming schedules, we now turn our attentions to those faced with testing fixtures to follow.
Form may be enough for Man United assets to continue producing during this stretch, but the same can’t be said for Crystal Palace players, while Huddersfield Town’s outlook also continues to stiffen.
Manchester United
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The Prospects – Goals
Jose Mourinho’s men are flying in attack, scoring 16 goals in five matches, while they lead the way for big chances created with 20.
But they face a number of testing match-ups during this spell, starting at Southampton on Saturday – Saints have kept three clean sheets this season.
Crystal Palace present a plum home fixture in Gameweek 7, but a tough trip to Anfield follows, with Jurgen Klopp’s side conceding just a single goal in home matches to this point.
Huddersfield Town have conceded in each of their last two matches, and provide another decent match-up, before difficult encounters against Spurs and Chelsea loom.
Mourinho has historically adopted a pragmatic approach in matches against top six rivals, which is a concern heading into this period.
Having to juggle domestic matters with the UEFA Champions League campaign adds another layer of difficulty.
The Prospects – Clean Sheets
United do lead the way for shut-outs so far with four, and, in the short-term at least, look capable of adding to that tally.
Southampton have only scored four goals despite a relatively easy start to the season, so another clean sheet looks a possibility this weekend.
Mourinho’s side have to be fancied for a shutout the following week against Palace, but keeping Liverpool at bay looks a tough proposition.
Huddersfield have only netted twice in their last four matches before the unfavourable clashes with Spurs and Chelsea arrive.
The Turning Point
There’s a brief respite in the schedule between Gameweeks 12 and 14 with three kind fixtures, but a sustained run of strong matches only arrives from Gameweek 17 onwards.
Verdict
The encounters with Liverpool, Spurs and Chelsea will be a concern for owners of Romelu Lukaku and Henrikh Mkhitaryan if Mourinho does adopt more defensive tactics.
With a limited set-piece threat, popular early season option Phil Jones looks set to lose some of his appeal once the schedule stiffens, while other members of Man United’s backline will probably struggle to deliver value through this period.
Crystal Palace
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The Prospects – Goals
Without a goal, and with a very difficult set of fixtures, the outlook for the Eagles could not be much bleaker over the next six Gameweeks.
Man City and Man United lead the way for the fewest penalty area shots conceded, and have recorded seven clean sheets between them.
Chelsea have only given up four big chances so far and – like Newcastle – have shut-outs in two of their last three. Meanwhile, West Ham United have registered back-to-back clean sheets since moving to a wing-back formation.
Spurs have kept just one clean sheet at Wembley in the league, but present another difficult match-up – they have allowed fewer shots on target (eight) than any other club.
The Prospects – Clean Sheets
The likelihood of Palace keeping out either Man City or Man United appear very slim.
Chelsea, meanwhile, have scored twice in each of their away trips and Newcastle impressively rank fourth for big chances with 13.
The West Ham home fixture in Gameweek 10 looks the best chance of a clean sheet – the Hammers have failed to score in three of their four away matches.
Although Spurs have only scored twice at Wembley, they have registered more shots (105) than any other team.
The Turning Point
The Eagles have a clear run of good fixtures between Gameweeks 12 and 19 and their main assets could well come onto our radars during that period.
Verdict
The West Ham clash is one which Hodgson is sure to be targeting, with the evil trio of fixtures up next unlikely to provide much joy.
Ruben Loftus-Cheek again impressed, this time in the No 10 role, in the 1-0 defeat to Southampton, and remains a viable fifth midfield option. The return to fitness of Mamadou Sakho does provide some hope that Hodgson can turn around the defence, at least.
Huddersfield Town
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The Prospects – Goals
It’s the Terriers home fixtures in particular that are giving us cause for concern.
They face a hard task trying to find the back of the net against Spurs and Man United, while West Brom should also provide stern resistance.
A trip to Anfield is another fixture that is unlikely to be fruitful for David Wagner’s side, but matches at Burnley and Swansea City, who are second-worst for total shots conceded, do offer some room for optimism.
The goals have started to dry up, though, and chances could be at even more of a premium over the next month or so.
The Prospects – Clean Sheets
Huddersfield have impressed as a defensive unit, but they’ll be severely tested over the next six Gameweeks.
At home, both Spurs and Man United will be expected to register at the John Smith’s Stadium, although West Brom provide a reasonable match-up that offers potential returns.
Similarly, the Burnley and Swansea fixtures may possibly yield further defensive points.
Although Liverpool only notched two goals in home encounters against Palace and Burnley, it’s very unlikely the Terriers will be able to produce a shutout at Anfield.
The Turning Point
Huddersfield’s tough run goes on for quite some time, with the period between Gameweeks 18 and 24 – when they avoid all of last season’s top seven – likely to rekindle our interest in their leading assets.
Verdict
While Aaron Mooy is capable of ticking over due to his set-piece duties, there looks to be better budget options available to us during this testing period.
Wagner’s defence could collect a clean sheet or two over the next six Gameweeks, but there are now more appealing budget options available to us in their price bracket based on fixtures.
Also be wary of…
Bournemouth
With three of their next four (eve LEI tot stk) away from home, the Cherries don’t appear to have the platform to build on two wins over Brighton & Hove Albion.
They also host Chelsea in Gameweek 10, so Bournemouth assets look set to remain off our radars until their schedule turns favourably from Gameweek 11 onwards.
Watford
The Hornets are another side who only play two of their next six (swa wba ARS che STK eve) at home, limiting the appeal of some promising Fantasy options.
Watford’s fantastic away form offers hope ahead of decent trips to Swansea City and West Brom, but with tough matches against Chelsea and Arsenal and no plum home fixture, there’s little incentive to invest based on the schedule.
Players such as Richarlison and Abdoulaye Doucoure have had their moments this season, though, and could still produce some surprise returns over this spell.
West Bromwich Albion
With the Baggies’ only two home encounters coming against Watford and Man City, who both travel well, there’s concern surrounding West Brom assets.
The four away fixtures (ars lei sot hud) are also pretty unfavourable, although clean sheets could be possible at low-scoring Southampton and Huddersfield.
Ben Foster could remain a viable rotation option in goal, then, while the defenders may also be worth holding, with the chance of some defensive returns alongside their significant set-piece threat.
But, as always, there looks to be little incentive to invest in any Baggies attackers.
Liverpool
The short-term prospects (lei new MUN tot) are slightly worrying, particularly after some disappointing results over the past week.
Only two of their next six come at Anfield and with Champions League fixtures to also bear in mind, there are concerns surrounding Reds assets.
Mohamed Salah is still producing the goods, but Roberto Firmino will need to get back on track this weekend to prevent further sales.
Jurgen Klopp’s side face some strong attacking teams, so clean sheets may also be scarce during this run.
