Having assessed the sides who face the most favourable upcoming schedules over the next six Gameweeks earlier today, we now turn our attention to those braced for tougher fixtures over Gameweek 29-34. West Ham, Watford and Everton’s prospects look a little bleaker than most, with a run of testing opponents adding to their respective blanks in Gameweek 30.
West Ham
Slaven Bilic’s side have only scored five goals in their last four matches, and with four difficult match-ups (eve, che, ARS, lei) and a blank in the next six, goals could continue to be in short supply. Everton have only allowed two big chances in their last four matches, conceding just two goals in the process. Chelsea are similarly stingy, conceding only four goals and three big chances over the same period, while Arsenal and Leicester have only conceded four and five goals respectively over their last four encounters. Only the home fixture against Crystal Palace in Gameweek 32 looks reasonably favourable, then, with the Eagles shipping 10 goals in their last four away matches. The only piece of good news is the Hammers home clash against Watford may well be rearranged for Gameweek 34, in which case the likes of Dimitri Payet (8.3) and Michail Antonio (5.3) could be back on our radars before that Palace clash ahead of Gameweek 34. With a blank in Gameweek 35 due to the original fixture against Man United being postponed as the two clubs also face off in the FA Cup sixth round, though, Hammers attackers may struggle to attract much investment for quite some time. That home encounter is likely to provide a double in Gameweek 37, where West Ham also face a favourable Upton Park clash against Swansea.
It’s a similar story when looking at the prospects for the West Ham defence, with the matches against Everton, Chelsea, Arsenal and Leicester all unlikely to yield many defensive points. All of those sides feature among the top seven for goals scored and big chances created over their respective last four matches, so it’s hard to see the Hammers keeping many clean sheets here. Again, the Palace fixture looks fairly favourable, with the Eagles managing to create just three big chances in their last four encounters, while the potential Watford clash in Gameweek 34 would also be very favourable, given the Hornets have netted a mere four times in their last seven matches. West Ham defenders don’t look great options in the short-term, then, while the prospects of the double in Gameweek 34 are somewhat tempered by the fact they’ll face a blank immediately after.
Watford
Goals have been a problem for the Hornets in recent matches as previously discussed, and with tough match-ups against Leicester, Arsenal and Everton, it’s understandable why Odion Ighalo has been transferred out by over 154,000 Fantasy Premier League (FPL) bosses ahead of tonight’s testing trip to Old Trafford. The Nigerian is now down to 6.1 in FPL, with his price likely to drop further given Watford also face a blank in Gameweek 30. The fixtures against Stoke and West Brom are reasonably favourable, with both teams ranked among the top three for big chances allowed over the last four matches with 12 and 11 respectively. Certainly, should the trip to Upton Park be rearranged for Gameweek 34, Ighalo could re-emerge as a strong option for our three-man frontlines – until then, the Hornets leading goalscorer and all of their attacking assets look best avoided.
Quique Sanchez Flores’ men have registered clean sheets in their last two home matches, but with Leicester, Stoke and Everton the visitors to Vicarage Road over the next month or so, defensive returns could be at a premium. The Foxes have only failed to score in three matches so far this season, while Everton have netted exactly three goals in all but one of their last four. Stoke also look to have regained their form in front of goal, having scored five goals over the last two Gameweeks. With a trip to Arsenal also on the agenda, the upside of owning a Hornets defender looks extremely limited, perhaps until Gameweek 34 comes along when they could face away matches at West Brom and West Ham, with reasonable clashes against Norwich and Aston Villa to follow in Gameweeks 35 and 36.
Everton
The Toffees defence has been much improved over the past month, but with tough fixtures against West Ham, Arsenal and Man United in the next four Gameweeks, along with the blank in Gameweek 30, it’s unlikely many Fantasy managers will be keen to have an Everton defender in their 15-man squads. The Hammers clash is probably the best fixture of the three, although Slaven Bilic’s men have found the net six times in their last four matches on the road. Arsenal rank third for total goal attempts over the last four matches, though, while United have scored eight goals over the same period. The likes of Seamus Coleman (5.8) and Ramiro Funes Mori (5.5) may only come into our thoughts from Gameweek 33, then, when Everton face a reasonable match-up away to Watford, ahead of what could be a double Gameweek at home to Southampton and Liverpool. Saints have failed to score in three of their last five on their travels, while Liverpool have blanked in two of their last three on the road.
The Everton attack produced the goods again last night, scoring three times at Villa Park. Nonetheless, with West Ham having only conceded three goals in their last four, Arsenal keeping clean sheets in two of their last three away matches and a trip to Old Trafford also looking a fairly testing clash, the need to own a Toffees attacker looks pretty limited in the short-term. The blank in Gameweek 30 clearly also plays a major role in that thinking, so, as was the case with the backline, it’s from Gameweek 33 onwards that the likes of Romelu Lukaku (8.8) and Ross Barkley (7.3) should come back into our thoughts. Watford have only let in two goals in their last four matches, though, while the possible clash against Liverpool in Gameweek 34 could also yield few goals given the Reds have allowed the fewest number of shots from inside the box (14) over the last four matches. With wildcards likely to be at play come that time, it appears the majority of FPL bosses will probably find a spot for at least one Toffees attacker.
Be Wary Of…
Crystal Palace
Although two viable attacking options have emerged at Selhurst Park over the past few days in the shape of Connor Wickham (5.5) and the fit-again Yannick Bolasie (6.0), it’s unlikely either will see much investment given the Eagles’ upcoming schedule ((LIV, blank, LEI). Both matches represent fairly tough assignments from an attacking point of view, so while the pair may come onto our radars from Gameweek 33 onwards (NOR, ars), with the possibility of their postponed trip to Man United being rearranged for Gameweek 34 to provide a DGW, they’re best left alone in the short-term.
Without a clean sheet in their last nine matches, Palace defenders hold little appeal, with only the Norwich fixture in Gameweek 33 looking favourable over the coming period. Even the prospect of DGW34 (ars, mun) is unlikely to stop owners of Scott Dann (5.9) consider alternatives, with his 22% ownership in FPL likely to fall over the coming weeks.
Man United
While owners of United defenders may be happy to hold ahead of Sunday’s trip to West Brom, the Gameweek 30 blank, along with the three difficult fixtures that follow (mci, EVE, tot) will likely see an avalanche of sales. United could face a very favourable DGW34, though, with the home fixture against Crystal Palace possibly coming in the week they already face Aston Villa at Old Trafford. Louis van Gaal’s side will then face a blank in Gameweek 35, with the likelihood of another double in Gameweek 37 with their trip to West Ham likely to come in the week they also travel to Norwich.
United attackers have not been particularly prominent Fantasy assets for much of the season, and as with the defenders, they don’t appear to be very desirable until that probable DGW. Given that Wayne Rooney is expected back in the next few weeks, it t remains to be seen just how much pitch time man-of-the-moment Marcus Rashford (4.6) will get over the run-in. The likes of Anthony Martial (7.6) is perhaps a more secure starter, whilst Jesse Lingard (4.3) could prove a valid midfield enabler for those eyeing up a move in time for the double.
Aston Villa
While Villa don’t face a blank over the next six Gameweeks (mci, TOT, swa, CHE, BOU, mun), the fact they have four difficult matches in the next six means Fantasy managers will surely continue to ignore their Fantasy assets, given they’ve only scored four goals in as many matches, and conceded 11 times over the same period.
Taking stock of Villa’s upcoming opponents is more pertinent a point. Remi Garde’s side are scheduled to come up against the likes of Sergio Aguero and Harry Kane, who both look obvious captain choices. Similarly, defenders who face a match against Villa should also stand a reasonable chance of defensive returns as the midlands outfit continue their meek slide towards the Championship.
*** As mentioned in our previous Frisking article, it’s worth bearing in mind that the upcoming schedule could be subject to change due to the domestic cup postponements that curtailed Gameweek 27 and are set to hit Gameweek 30 harder.
This popular hot topic concurs with our current line of thinking and could see up to eight teams handed doubles in Gameweek 34, whilst Gameweek 37 is expected to afford us six team with doubles to plan around.
As covered in our West Ham section above, Fantasy managers should also be aware of the likelihood of more blanks in Gameweek 35 as we look to plot our way around the tricky run-in.
