In Frisking the Fixtures, we pinpoint the teams and players with the strongest runs of matches over the next six Gameweeks and beyond.
Our colour-coded Season Ticker is the primary source for this piece.
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SEASON TICKER OVERVIEW: NEXT 10 GAMEWEEKS
The above colours reflect the ‘overall’ ratings of each side. There are options within the ticker to separate attack and defence.
Chelsea’s attack, for example, is rated more highly than their defence.
BEST FIXTURES: GAMEWEEKS 17-22
ARSENAL
From an attacking perspective, Arsenal have disappointed in recent weeks. Apparently winnable games against Fulham and Everton in Gameweeks 15 and 16 resulted in low-scoring draws (1-1 and 0-0), which make investing in mid-priced assets such as Kai Havertz (£7.9m) or Martin Odegaard (£8.3m) unappealing. Arsenal are struggling to break down the low block and even Bukayo Saka (£10.6m), for all his corner-taking prowess, has blanked in three consecutive matches.
There should be no haste to sell Saka yet, though, as he remains the third-highest scoring player in Fantasy. A set-piece taker in a team renowned for their dead-ball prowess, he have even been having a go from open play: Saka has had six shots in the last three Gameweeks and against Everton his xGI was 0.89.
With Crystal Palace, Ipswich and Brentford up next Saka, has to be expected to start posting returns again in that run.
If Arsenal attackers hold limited appeal, the opposite is true of their defenders. Manchester United had an xG of 0.22 against Arsenal in Gameweek 14, Fulham’s was 0.16 in Gameweek 15 and Everton’s 0.09 in Gameweek 16. The Gunners are looking as tough as teak at the back and the return from injury of Gabriel Magalhaes (£6.1m) last Saturday only strengthened the rearguard further. They lead the way for xGC with 14.41.
With two goals and two clean sheets in the last three matches, William Saliba (£6.2m) has been excellent, but his goals came largely as a result of Gabriel’s absence, as the Frenchman became the target man on corners. Gabriel is the likelier scorer of the two from set-pieces as his three goals so far from corners demonstrate.
Jurrien Timber (£5.7m) is also an attractive and cheaper route into the Gunners backline. He is a nailed-on starter while the injuries are the way they are, cheaper than his team-mates and capable of producing assists with his ambitious raids down the right flank. The Dutchman is also a threat on corners as he demonstrated with his goal against Man Utd in Gameweek 14.
Those looking for a set-and-forget ‘keeper can also plump for David Raya (£5.6m). He is Arsenal’s third-highest scoring player, has only three points fewer than the highest-scoring goalkeeper, Andre Onana (£5.2m), and will surely add his six clean sheets in the nice run of fixtures coming up. Half of those clean sheets have come in the last six Gameweeks.
Simply put, we are spoilt for choice when it comes to Arsenal defenders/goalkeepers and they should be targeted in this fertile fixture spell.
CHELSEA
If Arsenal are struggling to break down defences, Chelsea are having no such problems. They have soared to second place in the table on the strength of their free-wheeling football. The Blues are the highest scorers in the Premier League with 37 goals – and 15 of those have come in the last four matches. So, it makes sense to get a piece of the action while the going is good.
Cole Palmer (£11.2m) had a quiet match in Gameweek 16 but he returned in each of the three previous Gameweeks and is the obvious first port of call. The second-highest points scorer in the game with 128 points, he has produced two double-digit returns since Gameweek 13 and is sure to harvest more hauls against Everton, Fulham, Ipswich and Palace.
He isn’t the only one either. Those still without Nicolas Jackson (£9.2m) must be ruing their decision as his price rises with each points-scoring week. The forward has nine goals already, has returned in three of the last four Gameweeks and starts every match for Enzo Maresca.
Also flying right now is Enzo Fernandez (£5.1m). He is a highly attractive own at his price point and has returned in each of the last five Gameweeks, ever since being moved to a more attacking midfield role.
Chelsea have struggled more from a defensive perspective, while none of their backline offers the attacking threat of yesteryear. There is also the threat of rotation over the festive period, without much of the upside that the attackers offers. Levi Colwill (£4.6m) is probably the best bet for minutes but even he was benched in Gameweek 14.
FULHAM
Along with Nottingham Forest, Fulham have emerged as one of the surprise teams of the season. They have shown that they can hold out for draws against the big teams as they did recently against Spurs, Arsenal and Liverpool and they can also turn it on to beat teams of a similar level (Forest and Brighton).
With the exception of Chelsea, their next matches against Southampton, Bournemouth, Ipswich and Leicester are winnable – and so their assets should be targeted.
Up front Raul Jimenez (£5.1m) has five goals and two assists this season, while Alex Iwobi (£5.7m) has become increasingly influential. The former Arsenal midfielder has produced six attacking returns in the last eight Gameweeks and is now Fulham’s leading points scorer.
He’s less of a rotation risk than Raul, too, as an ever-present starter.
Iwobi will relish the opportunities presented by Southampton, Chelsea and Bournemouth, who all play on the front foot, enabling Iwobi to make the most of the spaces that open up on transition.
Also impressive in recent weeks has been Antonee Robinson (£4.8m), who in the last three Gameweeks has kept Saka quiet and produced three assists. Fulham can be confident of keeping clean sheets against Southampton, Ipswich and Leicester, while Robinson’s lightning raids down the left will surely help him add this six assists this season.
MANCHESTER CITY
We all know what a shocking season Man City are having but they have had some tough matches of late during a debilitating injury crisis. And let’s face it, they were completely sucker-punched in the Manchester derby last time out.
Going forward, City will be reasonably confident of bouncing back in fixtures against an inconsistent Aston Villa, Everton, Leicester, West Ham and Ipswich. And Brentford are sure to offer up goalscoring chances aplenty.
The only problem with Man City is: which players are going to return for them? Erling Haaland (£14.9m) is the obvious choice but far too expensive for the returns he is producing (a goal and an assist in the last five Gameweeks).
Kevin De Bruyne (£9.5m) is back from injury and has produced three attacking returns in the last three Gameweeks. That price-point is expensive but a maverick move from, say, Saka to De Bruyne could pay off.
Phil Foden (£9.1m) would usually present himself as an option at the point of a fixture swing. The elephant in the room with Foden is the paltry one assist all season – but then he has only had seven starts in a season interrupted by injury and illness. We do know it’ll be ‘when’ and not ‘if’ City return to some semblance of form but how many of us are willing to gamble right now?
Probably the leading FPL contender from the reigning champions is Josko Gvardiol (£6.1m). Say what you want about his recent howlers but, after Haaland, he remains City’s greatest goal threat.
Only three defenders in Fantasy have produced more attacking returns and no defender has scored as many as his four goals. Factor in possible clean sheets (against Everton, Leicester, West Ham and Ipswich) and its little wonder he is still owned by 23 per cent of managers.
LIVERPOOL
It goes without saying that Mohamed Salah (£13.4m) is an FPL no-brainer. The Egyptian King continues to bash out attacking returns even on his quiet days. He only got an assist last time out – Liverpool were down to 10 men for a long period – but that was still better than the other two most-captained players, Palmer and Saka.
He has produced attacking returns in each of the last eight Gameweeks and boasts seven double-digit returns in the last 10 matches. God only knows the sort of damage he is set to wreak on the defences of Spurs, Leicester and West Ham in the next three Gameweeks.
A midweek rest for the Egyptian was a nice bonus, too.
Liverpool are not top of the league solely as a result of their goalscoring. They have also been, for the most part, tight as a drum at the back. The league’s best defence with only 13 goals against, Virgil van Dijk (£6.5m) and Trent Alexander-Arnold (£7.0m) are Liverpool’s second and third-highest FPL points scorers. Trent also offers the potential for attacking returns which had been absent for a large swathe of the season until normal business was resumed in Gameweek 15, when he produced two assists.
It should be noted, though, that the injury to Ibrahima Konate (£5.1m) has been telling. The centre-back has been replaced by Joe Gomez (£4.9m) but the Englishman has only managed one clean sheet in three matches, while not even the return of Alisson (£5.4m) in Gameweek 16 could prevent Fulham from scoring twice, albeit Liverpool had Andrew Robertson (£5.9m) sent off in the first half. The Scot gets to serve his suspension in the EFL Cup in midweek so will be back again for the Spurs match, but given the north Londoners’ propensity for goals, any move for Liverpool defenders is perhaps best left until Gameweek 18.
ALSO CONSIDER
The following two teams are worthy of a brief mention as they both have really nice fixtures over the next few Gameweeks but their inconsistent form undermines their cause somewhat.
NEWCASTLE UNITED
Newcastle put on probably their best display of the season when smashing Leicester 4-0 last time out. They play Ipswich next, while matches against front-footed Aston Villa, Spurs, Wolves and Bournemouth will surely offer up attacking opportunities.
To that end Alexander Isak (£8.7m) makes for huge appeal. He has produced attacking returns in six of the last eight Gameweeks, rattling off six of his seven goals this season in that run. He will surely help himself to more attacking returns over the next few weeks provided he steers clear of injury.
Also playing well is defender Lewis Hall (£4.6m). The full-back had been threatening attacking returns from several Gameweeks and finally ended his five-match drought with a double-digit haul in Gameweek 16. Clean sheets are possible against Ipswich, Villa and Wolves but it’s really his attacking potential that could reward managers.
Anthony Gordon (£7.2m) could also fare well over the next six Gameweeks, having produced four attacking returns his last six appearances.
Newcastle are an inconsistent side, who have conceded more goals (21) than their xGC of 20.78, and having lost Nick Pope (£5.0m) for a few weeks to a knee injury, the priority is their attacking assets for now.
SOUTHAMPTON
Southampton have nice home fixtures against West Ham and travel-sick Brentford to come – but does anyone really want to bring any Saints players into their team? They have lost five of their last six matches and conceded five goals twice in the last three. They have scored four goals in that run, but each has come from a different scorer, making picking a likely points scorer a total crap-shoot in more ways than one.
On the plus side, Russell Martin’s sacking and the imminent return of Aaron Ramsdale (£4.4m) will likely usher in a less cavalier approach. Defensive returns from someone like Taylor Harwood-Bellis (£4.1m) could emerge.
For the time being, however, advice here is to not touch any Saints players with a barge pole.
2 months, 18 days agoTis mine idea remember!