With a few teams facing four home fixtures over the next six
Gameweeks, there are clearly some sides who look ripe for investment.
The time to invest in big hitters may be upon us once again, with
Chelsea and Manchester City in particular facing very favourable
schedules over the coming period, while Swansea’s upcoming schedule
means it may be slightly premature to write off the likes of Andre Ayew
and Bafetimbi Gomis.
According to our Season Ticker, the champions have the most favourable upcoming schedule over the next six Gameweeks. The Blues have four home encounters, which includes clashes against two of the leakiest defences in Aston Villa and Norwich, while their other four opponents all feature around “mid table” in terms of goals conceded in the top flight.
The prospects look bright for the likes of Eden Hazard (11.3) and Pedro (9.5), then, with the Belgian, in particular, starting to show some form of late, bagging a goal and an assist in his last two outings. With Diego Costa set to return from suspension in Gameweek 9, the short-term appeal of Radamel Falcao and Loic Remy is negligible. Oscar (8.3) could be worth a look as a differential, with a current ownership of 1.2% in FPL, although the Brazilian will primarily be competing with Willian for a place alongside Hazard and Pedro in the three advanced midfield positions.
In terms of the backline, defensive returns may be slightly harder to come by, given Chelsea have only managed one shut-out so far. West Ham are the joint-highest scorers in the league with 15, while Southampton lie third for total goal attempts with 116. Norwich have found the back of the net in six of their seven matches so far, and Aston Villa registered two goals at Anfield on Saturday. There’s no doubt Asmir Begovic (5.0) and Kurt Zouma (5.4) offer great value, but unless we see a return to the stingy defence which helped Chelsea to the title last year, clean sheets could still be pretty scarce at Stamford Bridge.
While City’s form has dipped over the last two weeks, Manuel Pellegrini’s men should still provide us with strong Fantasy options over the coming period, with four home matches on the horizon.
Newcastle, Aston Villa and Bournemouth all feature towards the bottom of the charts for total goal attempts, and could represent strong possibilities for clean sheets. Match-ups against Norwich and Liverpool could also yield defensive returns if City can return to the form which saw them rack up five shut-outs at the start of the season, with the fitness of skipper Vincent Kompany (6.3) likely to have a significant impact on their prospects. Aleksandar Kolarov (6.1) still looks the best route into the backline, although providing he’s shaken off his back injury, Joe Hart (5.7) is the cheapest option, with Bacary Sagna (5.3) and Pablo Zabaleta (5.8) now set to battle it out for the right-back position.
Only Arsenal have registered more goal attempts than City, so backing the likes of Sergio Aguero (13.2) and Kevin de Bruyne (10.1) looks a wise tactic for the upcoming period, given that the Citizens face just one strong defence over the next six Gameweeks in the form of neighbours Man United. Aguero and De Bruyne look the safest options, with injury concerns surrounding David Silva (10.1) and Yaya Toure (8.9), while Raheem Sterling (8.9) has only notched a goal and an assist so far this season. Both Silva and Toure have returned to training ahead of midweek Champions League football, though, and look strong options should they prove their fitness in time.
The Black Cats have a relatively favourable run over the coming weeks (WHM, wba, NEW, eve, SOT, cpl), so their budget options should hold some appeal to Fantasy managers. The match-ups against Newcastle and Palace probably offer the best hope for attacking returns for the likes of Fabio Borini (5.4) and Jermain Defoe (5.5), but with Dick Advocaat still searching for his best attacking line-up, and with several options available to the Dutchman, the concern over rotation may limit any potential investment. Defoe was dropped last weekend but with Advocaat mulling over a switch to 4-4-2 after his side blanked in each of the last three, there’s every chance the former Spurs man will return to the fold.
Elsewhere, midfielders Ola Toivonen and Jeremain Lens (both 6.5) look a little expensive given Sunderland lie second behind only Newcastle for total goal attempts with 64. Toivonen certainly looks the most at risk should the Advocaat roll out a two-man frontline. At the back, Sunderland have conceded 16 goals over the first seven Gameweeks, more than any other side, so while they have a reasonable slate of fixtures coming up, it’s hard to pick out any fixture for a possible clean sheet with any level of confidence.
CHELSEA
According to our Season Ticker, the champions have the most favourable upcoming schedule over the next six Gameweeks. The Blues have four home encounters, which includes clashes against two of the leakiest defences in Aston Villa and Norwich, while their other four opponents all feature around “mid table” in terms of goals conceded in the top flight.
The prospects look bright for the likes of Eden Hazard (11.3) and Pedro (9.5), then, with the Belgian, in particular, starting to show some form of late, bagging a goal and an assist in his last two outings. With Diego Costa set to return from suspension in Gameweek 9, the short-term appeal of Radamel Falcao and Loic Remy is negligible. Oscar (8.3) could be worth a look as a differential, with a current ownership of 1.2% in FPL, although the Brazilian will primarily be competing with Willian for a place alongside Hazard and Pedro in the three advanced midfield positions.
In terms of the backline, defensive returns may be slightly harder to come by, given Chelsea have only managed one shut-out so far. West Ham are the joint-highest scorers in the league with 15, while Southampton lie third for total goal attempts with 116. Norwich have found the back of the net in six of their seven matches so far, and Aston Villa registered two goals at Anfield on Saturday. There’s no doubt Asmir Begovic (5.0) and Kurt Zouma (5.4) offer great value, but unless we see a return to the stingy defence which helped Chelsea to the title last year, clean sheets could still be pretty scarce at Stamford Bridge.
MAN CITY
While City’s form has dipped over the last two weeks, Manuel Pellegrini’s men should still provide us with strong Fantasy options over the coming period, with four home matches on the horizon.
Newcastle, Aston Villa and Bournemouth all feature towards the bottom of the charts for total goal attempts, and could represent strong possibilities for clean sheets. Match-ups against Norwich and Liverpool could also yield defensive returns if City can return to the form which saw them rack up five shut-outs at the start of the season, with the fitness of skipper Vincent Kompany (6.3) likely to have a significant impact on their prospects. Aleksandar Kolarov (6.1) still looks the best route into the backline, although providing he’s shaken off his back injury, Joe Hart (5.7) is the cheapest option, with Bacary Sagna (5.3) and Pablo Zabaleta (5.8) now set to battle it out for the right-back position.
Only Arsenal have registered more goal attempts than City, so backing the likes of Sergio Aguero (13.2) and Kevin de Bruyne (10.1) looks a wise tactic for the upcoming period, given that the Citizens face just one strong defence over the next six Gameweeks in the form of neighbours Man United. Aguero and De Bruyne look the safest options, with injury concerns surrounding David Silva (10.1) and Yaya Toure (8.9), while Raheem Sterling (8.9) has only notched a goal and an assist so far this season. Both Silva and Toure have returned to training ahead of midweek Champions League football, though, and look strong options should they prove their fitness in time.
Sunderland
The Black Cats have a relatively favourable run over the coming weeks (WHM, wba, NEW, eve, SOT, cpl), so their budget options should hold some appeal to Fantasy managers. The match-ups against Newcastle and Palace probably offer the best hope for attacking returns for the likes of Fabio Borini (5.4) and Jermain Defoe (5.5), but with Dick Advocaat still searching for his best attacking line-up, and with several options available to the Dutchman, the concern over rotation may limit any potential investment. Defoe was dropped last weekend but with Advocaat mulling over a switch to 4-4-2 after his side blanked in each of the last three, there’s every chance the former Spurs man will return to the fold.
Elsewhere, midfielders Ola Toivonen and Jeremain Lens (both 6.5) look a little expensive given Sunderland lie second behind only Newcastle for total goal attempts with 64. Toivonen certainly looks the most at risk should the Advocaat roll out a two-man frontline. At the back, Sunderland have conceded 16 goals over the first seven Gameweeks, more than any other side, so while they have a reasonable slate of fixtures coming up, it’s hard to pick out any fixture for a possible clean sheet with any level of confidence.
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