Frisking the Fixtures – Gameweek 9 – The Weak

Having assessed the teams with the most favourable fixtures over the last six Gameweeks yesterday evening, our focus this afternoon turns to the sides who look to have much tougher upcoming schedules. Aston Villa and Bournemouth’s Fantasy assets may well be best avoided, while Jurgen Klopp faces a baptism of fire as he takes the reins at Anfield.

ASTON VILLA

Tim Sherwood’s side have only picked up one point since their opening day victory at Bournemouth, and with their next three away matches (che, tot, eve), along with a home clash against Manchester City, all pretty testing, there’s not much hope of Villa’s Fantasy assets delivering the goods.

Tottenham and Everton’s backlines have been among the most resolute in recent weeks, and while Chelsea have let in 17 goals so far, their need for a victory in Gameweek 9 means backing a Villa attacker is still unlikely to pay off. The Villans have also failed to score in three of their four home matches, so while the Swansea and Watford clashes look reasonable match-ups, the overall difficulty of the six matches means it may well be best to ignore the likes of Scott Sinclair (5.0) and Rudy Gestede (5.8) as attacking options.

Villa have also been shipping goals, particularly on their travels, so those trips to Stamford Bridge, White Hart Lane and Goodison Park look particularly treacherous, with only those home clashes against Swansea and Watford offering slight rays of hope for possible defensive returns for the likes of Brad Guzan (4.5) and Micah Richards (4.6).

BOURNEMOUTH

With only one favourable fixture – the home encounter against Newcastle – over the next six Gameweeks, Bournemouth’s Fantasy assets appear unlikely to produce many points over the coming period.

The Cherries have only kept one clean sheet so far, and apart from that clash against the Magpies, shut-outs in the other five fixtures, all sides who finished in the top eight last season, look unlikely. Tottenham have scored eight times in their last four, Southampton have started to find form in front of goal, while Swansea have netted twice in three of their home matches thus far. The attacking threat of Simon Francis (4.5) means he’s perhaps worth holding on to given his very reasonable price tag, but all the other members of the Bournemouth backline hold little upside.

The long-term injuries to Callum Wilson and Max Gradel have left Eddie Howe short of attacking firepower, and while Glenn Murray (5.6) got on the scoresheet against Watford, the difficulty of the schedule means it’s best to turn our attention elsewhere for budget forward options. Likewise, Matt Ritchie (5.7) has started to deliver on the pre-season hype in recent weeks, bagging a goal and an assist, but won’t attract any further investment given the tough run of fixtures.

LIVERPOOL

Jurgen Klopp’s introduction to English football will see the German come up against six teams who finished in the top 10 last season. Given that many of Liverpool’s leading Fantasy assets carry hefty price tags, it remains to be seen whether they can offer great value over the next month or so.

Tottenham, Southampton and Crystal Palace have all conceded five goals or less in their last four matches, and should be able to keep things relatively tight at the back against the Reds, while the match-ups against Chelsea, City and Swansea won’t be much easier. Daniel Sturridge (10.5) looked sharp in front of goal against Villa when he scored twice, though may face a tougher time of it in the short-term. Philippe Coutinho (8.1) failed to register attacking points against Arsenal and Everton but is expected to retain the role in “the hole” in Klopp’s default 4-2-3-1 system.

After gaining three clean sheets at the start of the season, the Liverpool defence has looked very vulnerable in recent weeks. Up against in-form attacks such as City, Tottenham and Southampton, it’s hard to see them keeping such dangerous opposition out. Chelsea and Crystal Palace also have plenty of attacking threat, so while the visit of Swansea to Anfield could possibly yield defensive returns, the likes of Martin Skrtel and Nathaniel Clyne (both 5.5) look too expensive to carry over the coming period. Alberto Moreno, at 4.7, is one to monitor, though, given Klopp’s preference for raiding full-backs.

BE WARY OF…

Man United
With United’s away form starting to become a worry, given they have conceded seven goals in their last three matches on the road, the fact they have four away trips (eve, cpl, wat, lei) over the next six Gameweeks is definitely a cause for concern. Palace and, in particular, Watford may not be the most prolific sides in front of their own fans, but when you consider United also have to host City, the chances for decent defensive returns look quite slim. Alternatives for the likes of David de Gea (5.5) and Matteo Darmian (5.8) may need to be sought, then.

Over the last four Gameweeks, United have registered the lowest number of shots from inside the box (17) of any team in the top flight. That’s clearly a huge concern for the prospects of their attacking assets, with Watford having only conceded one goal at Vicarage Road so far, while Palace have only let in three goals in their last four matches. The Gameweek 9 trip to Goodison Park looks a difficult match-up, while the likely presence of Vincent Kompany at Old Trafford a week later would dent the prospects of the likes of Anthony Martial (8.4) and Juan Mata (8.9). West Brom could also stifle the United attack, having picked up three clean sheets on their travels so far, so goals could be pretty hard to come by over the coming period.

Norwich
With a mixed fixture list (new, WBA, mci, SWA, che, ARS) over the next six Gameweeks, it may be time to consider moving on our Norwich assets, particularly after the next two matches. Wes Hoolahan (5.2) was left out for the more testing away encounter at Anfield last month and the same fate could await the Irishman against City and Chelsea, with Alex Neil looking to tighten up. Nathan Redmond (5.7) has an ownership of 7.6% in Fantasy Premier League (FPL), but having been among the substitutes in the Canaries’ last two matches, and with the difficulty of the schedule in the coming weeks, his appeal is coming to an end.

Neil’s side are still searching for their first clean sheet of the campaign, and with three of the most potent attacking teams to play over the next month or so, those that still own John Ruddy (4.5) or Russell Martin (4.6) may want to look for alternatives. In the short term though, there’s no harm in keeping hold of Norwich defensive assets, with West Brom and Swansea both struggling to find the back of the net on their travels.

West Ham
While the Hammers’ next six matches (cpl, CHE, wat, EVE, tot, WBA) aren’t the most difficult, Slaven Bilic’s men will be coming up against some strong defences. Palace, Watford, Everton and Tottenham have all conceded four goals or less in their last four matches, while as already mentioned, West Brom have proven stubborn opponents on their travels. Dimitri Payet (8.1) has enjoyed a phenomenal start to his West Ham career, but adding to his two double-digit scores accrued so far may be a tough task. Likewise, there may be better options than Diafra Sakho (6.7) available to Fantasy bosses over the coming period.

Having surprisingly conceded four goals in their last two matches against Norwich and Sunderland, there is unlikely to be much investment in members of the Hammers’ backline, although the matches against Palace, Watford and West Brom could potentially prove to be profitable for those who intend to keep hold of their West Ham defensive assets.