This article sees us assess the clubs and players with, in theory, the strongest runs of matches from now right through until the end of the season.
Our colour-coded Season Ticker is the primary source for this piece; using this tool as a Premium Member, you can sort by difficulty, rank by attacking and defensive potential or find budget rotation pairings. You can even set your own difficulty ratings, should you disagree with our own.
You can see a tutorial on the Season Ticker here.
GAMEWEEK 33-38: SEASON TICKER OVERVIEW
The only two outstanding Premier League fixtures without a date were rescheduled on Saturday, slotting into Double Gameweek 37 as expected. The matches in question – Brighton and Hove Albion v Manchester City and Manchester United v Chelsea – created doubles for all four sides.
This follows an announcement on Thursday that Newcastle United v Brighton and Hove Albion will take place in Double Gameweek 36.
It’s not just the supposed quality of fixture that matters in the Season Ticker but also the quantity, with teams playing the highest number of games in with a better chance of appearing higher up.
REMAINING FIXTURES/DOUBLES IN 2022/23
| Team | Remaining fixtures | Remaining Double Gameweeks |
| Brighton | 9 | 3 |
| Man City, Man Utd | 8 | 2 |
| Chelsea, Fulham, Liverpool, Newcastle, West Ham | 7 | 1 |
| Arsenal, Aston Villa, Bournemouth, Brentford, Crystal Palace, Everton, Leeds, Leicester, Nott’m Forest, Southampton, Spurs, Wolves | 6 | 0 |
BEST FIXTURES
BRIGHTON
Brighton are the only side to have three Double Gameweeks over the run-in, with a whopping nine fixtures still to play.
Among their remaining games are matches against relegation-threatened Nottingham Forest, Wolverhampton Wanderers, Everton and Southampton. There are quite a few trickier tests, too, but Fantasy managers won’t mind one bit given the volume of fixtures on offer.
In terms of FPL transfer targets, Kaoru Mitoma (£5.6m) is comfortably Albion’s most popular pick, having produced 11 attacking returns in 15 games since the restart. Fellow midfielders Solly March (£5.2m) and Alexis Mac Allister (£5.5m) can also offer value, providing the latter doesn’t revert to a deeper-lying role.
At the back, Pervis Estupinan (£4.8m) and Lewis Dunk (£4.7m) look like the safest routes into a defence that has kept clean sheets in four of their last six home matches.
MAN UTD
Manchester United tick a lot of boxes in the season run-in, especially now they are out of Europe, easing fixture congestion.
They have two Double Gameweeks still to come, while their immediate prospects look that little bit more appealing in light of Tottenham Hotspur’s 6-1 capitulation at St James’ Park on Sunday, even if their next three opponents are all currently inside the top eight.
Marcus Rashford (£7.1m) is already a staple of many Fantasy squads and now back from injury, is their main target. Bruno Fernandes (£9.5m) has failed to return in each of his last six matches, but there were promising signs in Gameweek 31 when he was pushed back up into a no. 10 role.
Defensively, injuries to Raphael Varane (£4.8m) and Lisandro Martinez (£4.5m) has dampened enthusiasm in their backline, yet Luke Shaw (£5.1m) still carries potential, with five attacking returns across the season so far.
MAN CITY
Manchester’s City schedule from Gameweek 33 to 38 is one of the best around. Even league-leaders Arsenal arrive at the Etihad on Wednesday having failed to keep a clean sheet in each of their last five matches, a period that has coincided with the absence of William Saliba (£5.0m).
Beyond that, Double Gameweek 34 looks particularly appealing, as they face Fulham and West Ham United. A meeting with Leeds United’s porous defence follows.
However, City’s UEFA Champions League semi-finals against Real Madrid fall either side of Gameweek 36, so we should probably prepare ourselves for a spot of rotation during that period, although if they are still fighting for the title that could be kept to a minimum.
Given the schedule, which now also includes an FA Cup final, Ederson (£5.4m) might pick up a bit more interest than usual, due to his security of starts. Further forward, Jack Grealish (£7.2m) – who has two goals, three assists and 31 points in his last three matches – and Erling Haaland (£12.1m) are the main attractions.
LIVERPOOL
Liverpool visit West Ham United in midweek, before hosting Spurs and Fulham in Double Gameweek 34.
It’s just a question of if any of their players are worth owning beyond Trent Alexander-Arnold (£7.4m) and Mohamed Salah (£12.9m), who combined for the Reds’ winning goal on Saturday.
Talk of Andrew Robertson’s (£6.8m) demise as a Fantasy asset may have been premature, yet it will be hard for managers to fit him in, given the appeal of team-mate Alexander-Arnold and Kieran Trippier (£6.2m).
It gets even more complicated in attack, with Cody Gakpo (£7.7m), Luis Diaz (£7.8m), Darwin Nunez (£8.7m), Roberto Firmino (£8.0m) – who is currently injured – and Diogo Jota (£8.8m) vying for places. That’s not to say they can’t deliver even if the odd rest might be forthcoming, however. Jota has now recorded back-to-back double-figure hauls and a forward is probably easier to accommodate in our squads right now.
As for the league fixtures themselves, some porous defences like Spurs, Leicester City and Southampton will provide the opposition for Salah and co.
ALSO CONSIDER
Any accusations that Fulham are ‘on the beach’ have been firmly cast aside, with consecutive wins recorded against Leeds United and Everton.
Admittedly, Double Gameweek 34 is about as tough as it gets, but it’s followed by appealing ties against Leicester City and Southampton, so Andreas Pereira (£4.4m) could pick up a bit of interest in the fifth midfielder spot.
Newcastle responded to their 3-0 defeat at Villa Park in emphatic fashion on Sunday, thrashing Spurs 6-1. And with Everton and Southampton up next, followed by Double Gameweek 36, interest in their assets is set to gain further momentum.
Beyond Trippier, Alexander Isak (£6.7m) looks like the pick of the bunch, have scored his 10th and 11th goals of the season on Sunday, even if Callum Wilson (£6.9m) is eating into his minutes.
Roy Hodgson couldn’t have timed his arrival much better in terms of giving himself the best chance of handing Crystal Palace a new manager bounce. Since his appointment, they have faced Leicester City, Leeds United, Southampton and Everton, with their tasty run set to continue right through until the end of the season.
There are no doubles, yet the highest-placed team they face is Spurs, who are hardly convincing right now. That raises interest in their defensive assets, plus budget midfielders Eberechi Eze (£5.6m) and Michael Olise (£5.6m).
