As we begin to look ahead to Gameweek 3, it’s time to analyse which sides have the friendliest schedules over the next six rounds of fixtures. Manchester City’s assets look ripe for investment, with form and fixtures heavily in their favour, while it may not be time to give up on our Bournemouth assets quite yet.
Man City
It’s been a sensational start to the season for Manuel Pellegrini’s side, with comprehensive 3-0 wins registered against West Brom and Chelsea. With three plum home fixtures (WAT, WHM, NEW) on the agenda, along with reasonable away match-ups, it really looks a matter of not how many, but which three City assets to include in our 15-man squads.
Sergio Aguero returned to the starting XI on Sunday, and while some of his finishing may have shown signs of rustiness, the problems he caused the Chelsea backline highlighted his immense quality. The Argentine will only improve from this point onwards, and has already been snapped up by 200,000+ Fantasy Premier League (FPL) bosses on the back of his goal on Sunday, seeing his price rise to 13.1.
David Silva (10.0), Yaya Toure (8.6) and Raheem Sterling (9.0) all look tempting options from the City midfield, although the latter has yet to deliver attacking points and perhaps appeals less given Toure’s cheaper price tag. The Ivorian has two goals and an assist to his name so far, while Silva has been at the hub of City’s attacking play in the “number ten” role in Pellegrini’s 4-2-3-1 system, notching three assists.
With two clean sheets racked up, there is also an argument to opt for a City defender, with Vincent Kompany the leading contender given he looks the most “nailed on” option, although he will now set us back 6.2 in FPL. Aleksandar Kolarov (5.5) is the other alternative, although with Gael Clichy featuring on the bench against Chelsea, he does face some competition for a starting spot.
Bournemouth
The Cherries have been slightly unfortunate not to get something from their opening two Premier League matches, but with three great home fixtures (LEI, SUN, WAT) coming up, it looks worth sticking with the likes of Callum Wilson, Matt Ritchie and Simon Francis for a while longer yet.
Wilson and Ritchie have both suffered price drops this week, down to 5.4 and 5.9 respectively, but have offered enough in their first two outings to suggest they can provide attacking returns, particularly against the weaker sides in the league.
At the back, Eddie Howe’s side didn’t afford Liverpool too many guilt-edged chances at Anfield, while it was poor defending from a set-piece that cost them against Aston Villa. With Francis and left-back Charlie Daniels, who impressed on Monday night and looks set to continue to keep Tyrone Mings out of the starting XI, continuing to raid forward as they did in the Championship last year, they should prove to be among the best options available at 4.5 in FPL over the next six Gameweeks.
Leicester
The Foxes have come firing out of the blocks under new boss Claudio Ranieri, and there is little doubt Fantasy managers should be looking to get at least one Leicester attacking asset in their 15-man squads. Riyad Mahrez is, alongside Kompany, the highest scoring player in FPL with 25 points so far, and while repeating those double-digit scores may prove difficult, the matches against Bournemouth and Villa in the next three in particular look good opportunities for the now 5.7-priced midfielder, who is the most transferred player in this week with over 231,000 new owners. Fellow midfielder Marc Albrighton is also in great form, bagging a goal and three assists, and is available at a slightly cheaper 5.1.
In attack, Shinji Okazaki and Jamie Vardy, both available for 6.0 in FPL, have found the back of the net and are worthy of consideration for our three-man frontlines. It’s worth noting that Okazaki was withdrawn just after the hour mark last week, though, with Ranieri moving to 4-5-1 after West Ham clawed a goal back at Upton Park.
Ranieri’s men have shipped three goals, so their defenders hold less appeal right now, although Wes Morgan and Robert Huth, as seen last season, hold a decent threat from set-pieces, and remain among the better options in the 4.5 price range.
Stoke
After difficult matches against Liverpool and Tottenham, the schedule really turns for the Potters from this weekend onwards, with the only testing fixture coming in Gameweek 5 at Arsenal. Mame Biram Diouf opened his account for the new season last weekend and looks a prime option in the mid-price bracket at 6.5 – with so many midfield options for Mark Hughes to choose from, he perhaps looks the safest pick from the Stoke attack, although Joselu does provide competition for the Senegal international, who was moved onto the right flank in the latter stages of the weekend draw at Spurs.
Xherdan Shaqiri should make his debut against Norwich on Saturday, but priced at 7.0, Fantasy managers may wait to see how he fares in his first few outings before investing in the Switzerland international, with the likes of Dimitri Payet (7.6) and Andre Ayew (7.1) having already proven themselves. Marko Arnautovic (6.0) is another genuine option, and should feature in Hughes’ preferred starting XI, although as already mentioned, there is quite a squeeze for the attacking midfield positions, with Stephen Ireland impressing off the bench at White Hart Lane. Jon Walters (6.0) could perhaps be the fall guy.
Stoke have looked slightly shaky at the back following the departures of Asmir Begovic and Steven N’Zonzi, and with skipper Ryan Shawcross out injured. Nonetheless, Jack Butland and Marc Muniesa are both available for 4.5 in FPL and could bring in the points over that upcoming schedule.
Also Consider
Aston Villa
While none of the Villa attackers are likely to force their way into our 15-man squads, unless Rudy Gestede gets a run of starts in the side or Adama Traore hits the ground running, the three favourable home fixtures (SUN, WBA, STO) in the next six should bring the likes of Micah Richards and Brad Guzan into our thinking.
Both are available at 4.5 in FPL and should be able to add to the clean sheet picked up on the opening day at Bournemouth over the next six Gameweeks, with away matches at Crystal Palace, Leicester and Liverpool also on the horizon. Jordan Amavi impressed on his home debut against Man United and offers a better attacking threat than Richards, but at this point doesn’t appear to be worthy of the extra 0.5 outlay.
West Ham
Dimitri Payet has shown plenty of class in his two outings so far, and has backed that up with a goal and an assist. The midfielder has already seen his price jump up to 7.6 in FPL, and looks a great option for this week, with Bournemouth visiting Upton Park on Saturday. With further home matches against Newcastle and Norwich to come, as well as a trip to Sunderland, the former Marseille man could well see his 8% ownership continue to soar.
Diafra Sakho (6.5) has disappointingly blanked in both matches this season, but shouldn’t be discounted given the favourable fixtures, although the likes of Stoke’s Diouf and Swansea’s Bafetimbi Gomis (7.1) offer tempting alternatives to the Hammers forward.
At the back, Aaron Cresswell (5.5) and Carl Jenkinson (5.0) look the leading contenders, with the former’s appeal slightly dented due to Payet’s dominance of set-piece duties.
Southampton
Although the Saints were disappointing in their 3-0 defeat to Everton on Saturday, Ronald Koeman’s side still have three great fixtures (wat, NOR, wba) up next, so the 8.0-priced duo Graziano Pelle and Saido Mane still look good options in the short-term, with both having plenty of chances in front of goal.
The prospects of the likes of Cedric Soares and Maarten Stekelenburg (5.0 apiece) at the back don’t appear quite as bright, with five goals conceded in two matches, although Soares has looked lively in his raids down the right flank and could add to the assist he picked up in Gameweek 1. The continued absence of Ryan Bertrand is a concern in terms of keeping clean sheets though, while Jordy Clasie’s ankle injury seems to be exacerbating the huge void left by Morgan Schneiderlin’s departure to Man United in terms of protecting the back four.
Norwich
The Canaries were perhaps unlucky not to take anything from their 3-1 defeat to Palace on the opening day, but Alex Neil’s men got their rewards at Sunderland on Saturday, with midfielders Nathan Redmond and Wes Hoolahan in particular grabbing the attention of Fantasy managers. The pair, priced at 5.5 and 5.0 in FPL respectively, have three favourable home matches (STO, BOU, LEI) coming up, and look worthy of some consideration, although the tough away clashes (sot, liv, whm) do hinder their prospects.
Cameron Jerome (5.0) has been unfortunate not to register attacking returns, and could be a handy differential with an ownership of just 1.1%, while John Ruddy and Russell Martin (both 4.5) look viable backline budget options for those afore-mentioned home encounters.
