Yesterday we looked at those sides with Strong fixtures over the forthcoming four-to-six Gameweeks. Today we bring you the flipside of the coin, where a trio of London-based teams and the blue half of Merseyside feature in our analysis:
Stoke City
With just one win since their famous victory over Chelsea back in Gameweek 15, the Potters have been gradually shedding Fantasy ownership. The upcoming fixtures suggest this pattern may well continue – the next six include trips to Southampton and Man City in addition to home games against Man United and Arsenal.
With Asmir Begovic injured, Jack Butland has been deputising but his price (4.7) is a turn-off even without these fixtures – one clean sheet since the start of December inspires little confidence, either. One-time leftfield bandwagon Marko Arnautovic did well in the game against Liverpool but few will be gambling on him with these fixtures. John Guidetti’s loan from Man City is intriguing; if the highly-regarded Swede can earn regular game time, we will hopefully be given a chance to assess his Fantasy potential before the fixtures turn nicer from Gameweek 29.
Fulham
The Cottagers’ visit to the Emirates wasn’t as brutal an affair as many had predicted but the 2-0 defeat means Rene Meulensteen’s team still languish just above the relegation zone. The upcoming fixtures suggest that Fulham will find it hard to improve their position in the short term. The next six Gameweeks feature home clashes with Southampton, Liverpool and Chelsea and, with visit to Old Trafford also on their agenda, the schedule suggests a rapid revival of fortunes is unlikely and Fantasy investment unwise.
Interest in the Fulham defence started the season low and only declined as the season unfolded; that won’t change anytime soon, with Sascha Riether and Maarten Stekelenburg, remaining off the radar. Steve Sidwell has been an improbable mini-bandwagon after scoring three goals in three games in all competitions, but these fixtures ought to slow down his profits. Archetypal enigmatic striker Dimitar Berbatov, who looked at one point to have risen from his slumber under his new manager, has dropped off the pace again and will probably have to wait until the fixtures turn before his siren call becomes audible to Fantasy followers.
Newcastle
After a slow start to the season, Alan Pardew’s side had been building up a head of steam before three defeats on the trot saw their progress hit the skids. It won’t help that their next four fixtures are a mixed bag. A trip to Norwich is followed by the home leg of the North East derby but Newcastle then have a visit to Chelsea and a home game against in-form Tottenham. The first two of those fixtures hold potential in but the latter couple are troublesome before the schedule picks up again.
Clean sheets have not been much in evidence from the Magpies lately and Tim Krul’s stock has taken a bit of a tumble. The loss of Fabricio Coloccini hasn’t helped in that department and Fantasy managers may want to wait until the Argentine is back before even considering defensive investment. Yohan Cabaye’s form is a different matter though; five goals from seven starts has Fantasy managers loading up on his goalscoring impetus, regardless of those two tricky fixtures. Loïc Remy bagged his first goal in four weeks and his current owners will surely be holding for the next two games, at least.
BE WARY OF
Arsenal
Even the most ardent Gunner will concede that Arsene Wenger’s team have gone off the boil in terms of attacking potential recently. Still top of the table, of course, but outside the defence they’re not quite the Fantasy goldmine they once were. Arsenal also have a couple of testing fixtures ahead in the shape of a trip to Anfield and a home game against Man United. Few will give up on defenders de jour Per Mertesacker or Laurent Koscielny but such fixtures may make some Fantasy managers think twice about acquiring the services of the recently revitalised Santi Cazorla or the soon to be fit Aaron Ramsey.
Crystal Palace
Having turned Selhurst Park into a fortress, Tony Pulis still has the unenviable task of pulling Palace out of the mire. And although they have two perfect-looking home games (Hull and West Brom) in the next three to turn that defensive resilience into vital league points, the Eagles do also face Arsenal, Everton and Man United in the next six, the former two being away games. Few Fantasy owners of Joel Ward, Danny Gabbidon or Julian Speroni will hesitate to play them for those two home games but once the clean sheet points have been wrung out of those games, it’s hard to see a lot of attraction in Palace assets for a while thereafter, suggesting Jason Puncheon may toil to continue the form which has produced goals in two of the last three.
Everton
A fairly toothless display at the Hawthorns grabbed the Toffees their third 1-1 draw in four away games on Monday evening. Although the upcoming home games look prosperous (AVL, CPL, WHM), Everton’s next three road trips (liv, tot, che) suggest that insipid away form is likely to continue. Seamus Coleman’s hamstring injury may not keep him out of many games but Fantasy managers are handed a real conundrum over whether they can afford to bench a goalscoring defender for those away fixtures, where clean sheets seem unlikely. Kevin Mirallas has hinted at the potential many saw towards the end of last season but these fixtures and the injury of key playmaker Ross Barkley may prevent him realising it. With just one goal in nine Gameweeks and just a collection of dubious assists keeping his points tally afloat, owners of Romelu Lukaku may decide that it’s finally time to move on to someone a little more prolific.
