Our frisk of the fixtures sees us assess the Premier League clubs and players with the strongest runs of league matches over the coming weeks – in theory, at least.
The primary focus in this article will be on a six-Gameweek lookahead but we will scrutinise the longer-term prospects where appropriate.
Our colour-coded Season Ticker is the primary source for this piece; using this tool as a Premium Member, you can sort by difficulty, rank by attacking and defensive potential or find budget rotation pairings. You can also set your own difficulty ratings, should you disagree with our own.
BEST FIXTURES
WOLVERHAMPTON WANDERERS
Next six: wat | BRE | sou | NEW | avl | lee
The audition by Wolverhampton Wanderers assets in the first three Gameweeks doesn’t look too promising on paper, with a hat-trick of defeats and zero goals scored.
But the performances have been very encouraging in spells, with only Liverpool and Manchester City registering more shots on goal than Wolves in the opening three rounds.
At the other end of the pitch, it’s only City who have allowed fewer attempts on their own goal.
And Wolves’ fixtures are about to get very good indeed, with Bruno Lage’s troops sitting top of our Season Ticker from now until the end of November.
In fact, they don’t meet a single member of the ‘big six’ (if that is such a thing anymore) from Gameweeks 4-14.
Encounters with all three promoted clubs and seven of the teams who finished between ninth and 17th in the top flight last season fall within this run, including matches against teams with ropey-looking defences in the form of Watford, Southampton, Newcastle, Aston Villa and Leeds – who have one clean sheet combined – between now and Gameweek 9.
LEEDS UNITED
- Next six: LIV | new | WHU | WAT | sou | WOL
With influential midfielder Kalvin Phillips (£5.0m) back to full match-sharpness, Raphinha (£6.5m) bursting into life in Gameweek 2 and dominant centre-half Diego Llorente (£4.5m) available again, now could be a good time to think about Leeds assets – if you weren’t already.
Not only that but they sit first on our Season Ticker over the next seven Gameweeks, with the upcoming home fixture against Liverpool the only blob of red in sight.
Newcastle, West Ham and Southampton’s defensive form deserted them in the second half of last season and continues to do so in 2021/22: they have kept fewer Premier League clean sheets from Gameweek 20 onwards than any other current top-flight sides.
And Watford have shipped five goals in the opening two Gameweeks, on top of the 10 they conceded to Arsenal, Crystal Palace and Brentford in pre-season.
While Patrick Bamford (£7.9m), an array of budget defenders and the set-piece taking Raphinha are obvious targets, it’s worth noting that Jack Harrison (£5.9m) delivered more attacking returns against Leeds’ Gameweek 4-9 opponents last season (eight) than any of his teammates.
ARSENAL
Next six: NOR | bur | TOT | bha | CRY | AVL
“FPL is not about what has happened but rather anticipating what will happen in the future.” So said three-time top 200 finisher Lateriser in his latest Pro Pundits piece for the site.
What has happened to Arsenal in the first month of the season is well documented but what will happen with the Gunners upon their imminent fixture swing is the burning question.
Mikel Arteta’s side sit rock-bottom of the Premier League table, goalless and having shipped nine goals in their opening three matches of 2021/22.
They are also top of our Season Ticker over the next eight Gameweeks, with a favourable run of matches starting in Gameweek 4.
There’s been precious little to encourage FPL investment so far but there are mitigating circumstances: the Gunners have arguably just faced two of the best sides in the division, have had their start to the campaign blighted by a coronavirus outbreak, have yet to see arguably their best two centre-halves – Ben White (£4.4m) and Gabriel (£5.0m) – playing in tandem and have been missing Thomas Partey (£5.0m) in the last few weeks.
The opening-day Brentford defeat was miserable but it’s worth remembering that they recorded more shots than any other side in Gameweek 1, with the absence of their three first-choice strikers a contributing factor in their failure to put away any of those chances.
Arteta’s troops were also among the form sides of 2021 before the start of this season; it’s unwise to disregard them completely over the next eight Gameweeks and the battering of West Brom reserves in the EFL Cup did illustrate their potential against the lesser lights.
EVERTON
Next six: BUR | avl | NOR | mun | WHU | WAT
Everton enjoyed favourable fixtures in August and their appealing run continues over the next seven Gameweeks.
Five of their next seven opponents either finished ninth or below in the Premier League last season or came up from the Championship.
Few clubs have better medium-term runs on home turf, with Dominic Calvert-Lewin (£8.2m) and co facing Burnley, Norwich City, West Ham United and Wolverhampton Wanderers in their next four matches at Goodison Park.
None of those clubs have kept a clean sheet yet.
Carlo Ancelotti’s erstwhile troops were in awful form on Merseyside in 2020/21 but the return of supporters to Goodison Park, the positive start under Rafael Benitez and the fixture calendar will give them an excellent chance of remedying that.
With the obvious exception of newly promoted Norwich and Watford, Calvert-Lewin hit seven attacking returns in nine appearances against his Gameweek 4-10 opponents in 2020/21.
ALSO CONSIDER
Watford (WOL | nor | NEW | lee | LIV | eve) ride high on our Season Ticker from Gameweeks 4-10 but it’s fair to say that their next three fixtures are a darn sight more appealing than the subsequent triple-header.
A clean sheet-less Norwich and Newcastle have shipped a combined 18 goals over the first three Gameweeks, for those eyeing up a move for Ismaila Sarr (£6.0m) or Emmanuel Dennis (£5.2m).
In fact, Gameweeks 4 and 7 opponents Wolves and Leeds United have also yet to record a shut-out this season.
At the other end, the recent return of the Hornets’ best centre-half, Francisco Sierralta (£4.4m), and significant upgrades in central midfield will boost Daniel Bachmann‘s (£4.5m) FPL potential – although with upcoming opponents Wolves, Liverpool and Everton among the top six sides for shots in the box attempted, save points may be more forthcoming than clean sheets.
Gameweek 7 is widely being viewed as the time to pounce on Chelsea (AVL | tot | MCI | SOU | bre | NOR) assets but ignore Thomas Tuchel’s troops before then at your peril.
Romelu Lukaku (£11.5m) is in ‘captain’ territory in Gameweek 4, with an Aston Villa side who are missing Emiliano Martinez (£5.5m) and who have already conceded four goals to two newly promoted sides set to visit Stamford Bridge.
The Blues have also won all three of their games against Gameweek 6 opponents Manchester City since Tuchel’s appointment and defeated Spurs 1-0 in their corresponding Gameweek 5 fixture last season.
In a similar boat to Arsenal but without the top-level pedigree to suggest their 100% losing record is a mere blip, Norwich City (ars | WAT | eve | bur | BHA | che) have the fixtures but not the form from Gameweek 4 onwards.
Their run over the next 11 Gameweeks is perhaps as appealing as that of Wolves, with only Chelsea of last season’s top seven to face in that time.
Among the Canaries’ ranks is the latest addition to the starting budget FPL defender pool, Brandon Williams (£4.0m).
Nominated for ‘Best in Fantasy Football – Editorial’ at the Football Content Awards 2020
