In Frisking the Fixtures, we pinpoint the teams and players with the best runs of matches from Gameweek 20 onwards.
Our colour-coded Season Ticker is the primary source for this piece.
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TICKER OVERVIEW
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 20-25
FULHAM
Fulham have a highly favourable run of matches over the next six Gameweeks. Two of the bottom three clubs, Ipswich and Leicester, as well as struggling West Ham, are among their next three fixtures.
Ipswich have lost five of their last seven and failed to score in four of those matches. Leicester have lost four in a row, scoring only once. West Ham were tonked 5-0 by Liverpool last time out and have lost their main source of goals, Jarrod Bowen (£7.5m) to a broken foot.
All of which makes investment in Fulham assets a very sensible policy. Managers searching for a goalkeeper could do worse than plump for Bernd Leno (£5.0m), who should pick up clean sheets across the next four fixtures.
From Fulham’s backline, Antonee Robinson (£5.0m) appeals as a player who can provide returns at both ends of the pitch. Among all defenders in Fantasy, he leads the way for assists, with seven, is joint-third for touches in the final third (416), fifth for crosses with 88 and sixth for chances created (24). Timothy Castagne (£4.2m) also represents a budget-friendly alternative at the back. As well as clean sheets, Castagne offers the potential for attacking returns. Since returning to the starting lineup in Gameweek 17 he has produced an assist, a clean sheet and ranks second at the club for crosses with 10.
Managers seeking a replacement for Matheus Cunha (£7.0m) should consider Raul Jimenez (£5.6m) as a budget option – if they can stomach the potential minutes risk. The forward has scored in each of his last two starts at Craven Cottage and will fancy his chances of making that three in a row against Ipswich. After that, he faces a Leicester side who have conceded more goals (15) and shots (115) than any team between Gameweeks 14-19, a West Ham side who have conceded the joint-most shots in the box (79) in that time and a wretched Manchester United outfit who have shipped the fourth-most goals over those Gameweeks.
Plenty of opportunity then for a Fulham side who have scored two goals in each of three of their last four matches against Chelsea, Bournemouth and Liverpool.
CRYSTAL PALACE
Crystal Palace have negotiated a tricky set of fixtures and, with the exception of the 5-1 defeat by Arsenal, acquitted themselves well, holding Man City, Aston Villa, Newcastle and Bournemouth to draws and beating Brighton, Ipswich and Southampton.
Their next match is tough on paper, but Chelsea have lost back-to-back matches and their front-footed approach should play into the hands of Palace, for whom Ismaila Sarr (£5.9m) is particularly dangerous on the counter. In the last four Gameweeks Sarr has recorded more goals (three), big chances (three), shots (14) and penalty-area touches (24) than any team-mate and ranks second for chances created (seven) and take-ons (11).
After Chelsea, Sarr can exploit the aforementioned weaknesses of Leicester, West Ham and Manchester United – and also capitalise on Brentford’s awful winless away record.
Eberechi Eze (£6.6m) is another midfielder coming into form as he demonstrated with his goal against Southampton in Gameweek 19. Over the last four Gameweeks, he ranks top at Palace for take-ons (12), second for shots (11) and has taken four free-kicks.
Given the nature of Palace’s opposition until Gameweek 25, defenders also appeal. Clean sheets can be expected against Leicester, West Ham and Everton, while Daniel Munoz (£4.7m) and Tyrick Mitchell (£4.8m) have provided a real offensive threat of late.
Managers seeking a goalkeeper might also be interested in acquiring Dean Henderson (£4.5m) who is Palace’s second-highest-scoring player with 64 points. He can add to his four clean sheets across this benign stretch of fixtures.
SOUTHAMPTON
It’s now or never for Southampton. The Saints know they need to start getting results if they are to stand any chance of survival. They have certainly improved defensively since Ivan Juric replaced Russell Martin, recording a goalless draw with Fulham and two defeats by the slenderest of margins. They were unlucky to be beaten by Palace, whose equaliser should have been ruled out for a foul on Aaron Ramsdale (£4.5m), but at least they have Rambo back to help keep the goals at bay.Â
Juric will have identified travel-sick Brentford as a good opportunity for points, while out-of-sorts Man Utd and Ipswich will offer up scoring opportunities. Tyler Dibling (£4.5m) demonstrated his obvious talent as Saints’ most prodigious talent with a goal last time out, while over the last five Gameweeks Kyle Walker-Peters (£4.3m) ranks second among defenders for penalty-area touches with 16, joint-fifth for passes completed in the final third (56) and joint-sixth for take-ons with nine.
In truth, it will take a brave manager to place any faith in Southampton assets, but they are worth keeping an eye on in case their improvement is more than just a dead-cat bounce.
ASTON VILLA
Four of Aston Villa’s next six matches are eminently winnable, with home matches against Leicester, West Ham and Ipswich offering the most obvious low-hanging fruit. Villa are particularly strong at home and even without the suspended Morgan Rogers (£5.6m) they can start the New Year with a bang in Gameweek 20 when the Foxes visit.
Villa were unlucky not to beat Brighton in Gameweek 19, as they showered 20 shots at goal, seven of which came from Leon Bailey (£6.2m) – the most by any player in the Gameweek.Â
After an injury-interrupted season, Bailey looked back to his dangerous best on his first start in five Gameweeks, as he also produced three chances and ranked sixth among midfielders for non-penalty expected goal involvement.
Ollie Watkins (£8.8m) can also reward managers after reminding Unai Emery of his abilities in the absence of the suspended Jhon Duran (£6.0m) in Gameweek 19. Watkins scored and assisted for a return of 12 points – the same haul he produced on his previous start – and will surely keep his place if he shines against Leicester. Further punishment for Duran wouldn’t go amiss.
ALSO CONSIDER
NEWCASTLE UNITED
No Fantasy side should be without Newcastle assets at present and the coming Gameweeks offer even further encouragement for investment. Next opponents Tottenham have conceded 12 goals in the last three home matches, while Wolves, Southampton and Man City are all teams whose defences can be breached.
Alexander Isak (£9.2m) is now the highest-scoring forward in the game and a must-have for Fantasy managers. Over the last five Gameweeks he has scored more goals (seven) and had more big chances (nine) than any player and produced more shots (19), created more chances (14) and provided more big chances (four) than any forward.
Also playing well are Jacob Murphy (£5.2m), Anthony Gordon (£7.4m), Joelinton (£6.0m), Bruno Guimaraes (£6.1m) and Lewis Hall (£4.8m). In the last five Gameweeks, Murphy has scored three goals and produced more big chances (six) than any midfielder in the game other than Mohamed Salah (£13.6m), as well as having 12 shots on goal. Gordon has created the third-most chances (13) of any midfielder, scored twice, delivered three assists and had 11 shots. His corner-taking ability also makes the England winger a highly desirable asset.Â
Joelinton has scored twice and assisted in the last two matches and produced 10 shots in only four matches (one fewer than his aforementioned team-mates), and Bruno has created four big chances, 10 standard chances, and off-loaded nine shots.
Hall has produced more Fantasy points (41) than any defender over the last four Gameweeks, the joint-most assists (three) and the highest expected goal involvement of any defender (1.49).
The Newcastle options are myriad but the advice would be to avoid investing in defenders until after the Spurs match as for all their defensive frailties, the north Londoners are a free-scoring side.
CHELSEA
Chelsea still have desirable fixtures over the next few weeks, but are slightly undermined by their unexpected brace of back-to-back defeats.Â
The Blues remain unreliable from a defensive point of view but potent up front, the only complication being Enzo Maresca’s recent rotation of forwards. Cole Palmer (£11.4m) is not hitting the heights of earlier this season but has nonetheless continued to show attacking threat. Across the last five Gameweeks no midfielder has created more than Palmer’s 16 chances, while only two have produced more than his 19 shots on goal or his four big chances. In Gameweek 19 he had four shots, created four chances and hit the post from a free-kick.
Enzo Fernandez (£5.1m) remains a viable budget midfielder. In Gameweek 19 no player created more chances than Enzo’s five, while only Salah and Sarr surpassed his xGI of 0.93. He has produced attacking returns in six of the last nine Gameweeks and will be confident of adding to that tally at home to Bournemouth and Wolves, away to Man City and at home against West Ham.
ARSENAL
Arsenal are coping well with the absence of Bukayo Saka (£10.3m) and have kept their title race on track with three successive wins. They remain strongest in defence, where they have conceded the joint-fewest goals of any team and the second-fewest shots on goal. Gabriel (£6.4m) and William Saliba (£6.3m) have kept six and seven clean sheets and scored three and two goals from set-pieces respectively. Arsenal lead the way with goals from set-pieces this season (11) and have even continued to score from corners despite Saka’s absence.
It is harder, however, to identify attacking assets to target as the Gunners are sharing the goals around, although Gabriel Jesus (£6.9m) is enjoying a remarkable resurgence. Only Isak has scored more goals than the Brazilian’s three across the last three Gameweeks, but one wonders whether he would have lasted 90 minutes in Gameweek 19 had Kai Havertz (£7.9m) not been ill.
Arsenal have a tricky away trip to Brighton to negotiate but home matches against injury-depleted Spurs, travel-sick Aston Villa (five away defeats) and out-of-sorts Man City should work in their favour. The Gunners thrive against teams who adopt a more open approach and so will be confident of coming out on top in those fixtures at the Emirates. Trips to Wolves and Leicester should also be winnable but with Arteta mixing and matching his increased midfield options it is hard to recommend any other Arsenal assets.
LIVERPOOL
Last but not least come Liverpool, whose extraordinary title charge continues unabated. The league leaders will surely make mincemeat of a desperate Manchester United side, while they can also be expected to outclass Ipswich and Wolves. Brentford’s home form could cause them problems, albeit the Bees have lost their last two at the Gtech, while Bournemouth and Nottingham Forest are tricky foes on their own patch. Nuno Espirito Santo’s side are flying high and, unlike anyone else, have already beaten the Reds this season.
Along with Isak, Mohamed Salah (£13.6m) is Fantasy’s only absolute must-have asset. He is on course to beat his best-ever season return of 303 points from the 2017-18 season and, having produced eight double-digit hauls in the last 11 Gameweeks, is pretty much a nailed-on set-and-forget captaincy option.
Also worthy of consideration are Cody Gakpo (£7.3m) and Luis Diaz (£7.6m). Gakpo has been flying under the radar but deserves his flowers for having produced four goals and an assist over his last six appearances. The Dutchman has started the last seven matches in a row and from Gameweek 15 has produced the fourth-most chances and the 10th-most shots among forwards, despite having played a match fewer than the other players on that shortlist.Â
Luis Diaz has also been a shining light. Playing essentially as a forward, Diaz is Liverpool’s second top-scoring player, with eight goals and three assists. From Gameweek 15, only Salah has scored more goals among all midfielders. However, there is the risk that both Diaz’s and Gakpo’s minutes may be limited by the return from injury of Diogo Jota (£7.2m).
One Liverpool player whose place is not under as much threat from rotation is Trent Alexander-Arnold (£7.2m). The full-back produced his season’s best FPL return of 15 points in Gameweek 19. Among defenders he leads the way for big chances created with 12 and xGI (5.42), is second for total FPL points (83) and chances created (36), joint-third for assists (four) and joint-fourth for goal attempts (18).
Given Liverpool have the joint-best defence and the best attack (45 goals), it makes sense to invest in a player so very involved in delivering at both ends of the pitch – so long as he stays on Merseyside, of course…
