After taking time to assess the teams with the strongest schedules over the next six Gameweeks yesterday, we now turn our attention to those sides whose leading Fantasy assets may perhaps be best left alone due to some tough upcoming fixtures.
Swansea
(lei, CHE, sot, MCI, LIV, ars)
The Swans could hardly have a tougher run of fixtures over the next six Gameweeks, with not one match rated as favourable on our Season Ticker.
Chelsea, Man City and Liverpool all visit the Liberty Stadium, with those three teams all ranked in the top five for goals scored and top six for attempts so far this season, making clean sheets appear unlikely.
The fact that Liverpool have conceded five goals may offer a little encouragement at the other end, but it’s hard to see Swansea attackers having much success in those matches, as well as on the road at Leicester and Southampton, who have allowed just one big chance between them over the opening two Gameweeks.
A trip to the Emirates, despite being a happy hunting ground for the Welsh club, is also unlikely to provide great returns at either end of the pitch.
So those who own cheap Swansea defenders may now look elsewhere, or consign them to the final spot on our benches, while Gylfi Sigurdsson doesn’t appear worth considering until the fixtures ease from Gameweek 9 onwards.
Liverpool
(tot, LEI, che, HUL, swa, MUN)
The short-term outlook for the Reds doesn’t appear very bright, with defensive returns in particular expected to be hard to come by with Tottenham, Leicester and Chelsea all near the top of the charts for big chances created and total goal attempts.
The Liverpool attack has often revelled against tougher opposition, particularly away from home, but they will come up against three strong defensive teams, with Tottenham and Chelsea allowing just 10 and seven shots from inside the box respectively over the first two Gameweeks. Leicester, meanwhile, have yet to concede a big chance in their first two fixtures.
Some respite comes in the shape of fixtures against Hull and Swansea, which could both provide excellent opportunities for points at either end of the pitch, but the visit of Man United in Gameweek 8 further dampens the expectations of Liverpool assets over the coming period.
Jose Mourinho’s side have yet to concede a big chance, and let in just one goal, while they have scored five at the other end, and look a totally different proposition following the arrivals of Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Paul Pogba.
So while Liverpool’s premium midfielders may be able to tick over during this period, they could struggle to out-score other similarly priced players with more favourable matches. Reds defenders, meanwhile, don’t appear very desirable at all at this point, with shut-outs set to be in short supply.
Hull City
(MUN, bur, ARS, liv, CHE, bou)
The Tigers may have surprised many observers with their start to the campaign but now may not be the time to jump on some of their successful Fantasy assets, with four difficult fixtures in the next six.
The three visitors to the KCOM Stadium, as already mentioned, are among the tightest defensive teams, with Arsenal’s collapse against Liverpool not expected to be repeated following Laurent Koscielny’s return to fitness.
At the other end of the pitch, those three clubs have to be fancied to break down the Hull defence, with the Gunners’ attack expected to hit their straps following a slow start to the season once Mesut Ozil and Olivier Giroud are back to full fitness. A clean sheet also appears a tough ask away to Liverpool, who lead the way for shots inside the box so far with 21.
The trips to Burnley and Bournemouth could throw up reasonable match-ups at either end of the pitch, but two decent fixtures in six probably isn’t enough to make us seriously considering the likes of Curtis Davies, Robert Snodgrass and Abel Hernandez, who have all been among the points over the first two matches.
Also be wary of…
Burnley
It’s on the road where the Clarets look set to struggle over the coming period, with clashes at Chelsea, Leicester and Southampton likely to provide tough examinations of the newly promoted side.
Both clean sheets and goals could be in short supply in those matches, then, while the home fixture against Arsenal in Gameweek 7 is another where Sean Dyche’s men are likely to find the going tough, although the win over Liverpool does offer some encouragement.
Home encounters with Watford and Hull will probably mean owners of Tom Heaton and Andre Gray, providing the latter’s FA charge doesn’t lead to a suspension, are happy to hold. Indeed, Heaton’s save point potential arguably makes him one of the most appealing “fire and forget” options between the posts.
Southampton
While Saints have the strongest home matches (SUN, SWA, BUR) over the coming period, they also face unfavourable away trips to Arsenal, West Ham and Leicester.
Their mid-price defenders may not be particularly desirable if there’s not much hope of them being able to accrue any defensive returns away from St Mary’s, while Swansea perhaps surprisingly rank second for total goal attempts so far with 40, potentially making them a tricky opponent on home soil.
The same could perhaps be said of Dusan Tadic at the other end of the pitch, although the cheaper price tag of Nathan Redmond will likely mean his 11.5% ownership in Fantasy Premier League (FPL) are happy to hold for the time being as he continues to offer out-of-position potential.
Man City
Pep Guardiola’s side face two testing away trips to Man United and Tottenham in the next six, with those two teams, along with Everton, who City host in Gameweek 8, topping the charts for big chances created with five, meaning clean sheets could be hard to come by.
Those sides are also pretty solid defensively, although Sergio Aguero has show time and again he can flourish against the toughest opposition.
Clashes against Bournemouth and Swansea in Gameweeks 5 and 6 arguably offer City the best chance of points at both ends of the pitch during this run.
Aguero and John Stones still appear strong options, then, with the latter’s modest 5.0 valuation making him hard to ignore. The schedule suggests that now might not be the time to invest in a third City asset, despite their bright start under the new manager.
