Fantasy Football Fixture Analysis Gameweek 38

Welcome to Fantasy Football 247 Fixtures Gameweek 38. It can’t be GW38 already? It only seems like yesterday when we were all toiling over our GW1 selection! Some of us will have had a successful season while others will be glad the season is all but over. No matter how well you did I hope everyone has enjoyed the season, as after all, it’s only a game. I moan every week, mainly to Cookie, about how I no longer enjoy FPL but every week I make my transfers. I’m sure I’ll state at some stage over the summer that I’m not going to play next season but, I will. It’s like a drug!

Over the course of the season I’ve included a verse from a particular song. The reason for doing so was that I felt it best described my mood at the time or the mood of our own community. As it’s my final article of the season I’ve decided to once again include a couple of verses. Now, I could tell you all at this stage that I’ve thought long and hard about what song to use but to be honest it took all of 30 seconds. I would like to include every verse of the song but it’s a tad on the long side so I’ve just chosen the verses I feel work best. So, without further ado I give you ‘Ol Blue Eyes himself…

And now, the end is near
And so I face the final curtain
My friend, I’ll say it clear
I’ll state my case, of which I’m certain

Regrets, I’ve had a few
But then again, too few to mention
I did what I had to do
And saw it through without exemption

I planned each charted course
Each careful step along the byway
And more, much more than this
I did it my way

When I signed up for GW38 Fixtures my initial reaction was, ‘yeah, that’ll be easy!’. Now I’m not so sure. Our typical Fixtures article groups teams into categories and looks at those teams next 3 Fixtures. That’s obviously not going to work this week. Instead, I’m going to examine each individual fixture and attempt to bamboozle you with some stats. So, in the words of Joey Tribbiani, ‘Let’s play Bamboozled!’

Brighton v Manchester City

Previous fixtures at The Amex – Just the solitary PL meeting at The Amex between these two with City winning 2-0 in August ’17 thanks to goals from Sergio Aguero and a Lewis Dunk og.

Brighton home form (last four games) – Lost three and drew one. Scored one, conceded nine and kept no clean sheets. They’ve had six shots on target over the four games with their opponents hitting the target on 13 occasions. They’ve had 55% possession.

City away form (last four games) – Won four, scored eight, conceded one and kept three clean sheets. They’ve had 24 shots on target over the four games with their opponents hitting the target on four occasions. They’ve had 67.5% possession.

Prediction – After beating Leicester tonight City know that a win on Sunday will see them defend their title. And defend their title they will. I fully expect City to win this and they will probably win it quite comfortably. My prediction would be 4-0 to City.

Burnley v Arsenal

Previous fixtures at Turf Moor – Arsenal have won the last three fixtures at Turf Moor by a goal to nil. Aaron Ramsey scored the winner in April ’15, Laurent Koscielny scored in October ’16 and Alexis Sanchez hit the winner in November ’17. The only other PL meeting between the sides at Turf Moor resulted in a 1-1 draw in December ’09.

Burnley home form – Won two and lost two. Scored five, conceded three and kept two clean sheets. They’ve had 10 shots on target over the four games with their opponents hitting the target on 13 occasions. They’ve had 40.6% possession.

Arsenal away form – Drew one and lost three. Scored two, conceded seven and kept one clean sheet. They’ve had nine shots on target over the four games with their opponents hitting the target on 23 occasions. They’ve had 57.4% possession.

Prediction – Had Arsenal’s away form over the course of the season been just a fraction better they’d have secured a top 4 spot weeks ago. Instead they must now win big and hope Spurs lose big. Don’t get your hopes up Gooners, I expect Burnley to turn recent form in this fixture on it’s head and take the points.

Crystal Palace v Bournemouth

Previous fixtures at Selhurst Park – Just the three PL meetings between the sides at Selhurst Park. Bournemouth won 2-1 in February ’16; it was a 1-1 draw in August ’16 and a 2-2 draw in December ’17. Interestingly, Scott Dann found the back of the net in the three games.

Palace home form – Won one, drew one and lost two. Scored four, conceded five and kept two clean sheets. They’ve had 11 shots on target over the four games with their opponents hitting the target on 17 occasions. They’ve had 43.4% possession.

Bournemouth away form – won two, drew one and lost one. Scored 10, conceded five and kept two clean sheets. They’ve had 18 shots on target over the four games with their opponents hitting the target on 13 occasions. They’ve had 47.9% possession.

Prediction – The stats suggest Bournemouth are probably slight favourites but to be honest it could go either way. One way or the other I expect plenty of goals.

Fulham v Newcastle

Previous fixtures at Craven Cottage – Fulham have won the last six games between these two at Craven Cottage. The most recent of these was a 1-0 win in August ’16 but this was in The Championship. None of the goal scorers from these six games are of any relevance to Sunday’s game!

Fulham home form – Won two and lost two. Scored four, conceded four and kept two clean sheets. They’ve had nine shots on target over the four games with their opponents hitting the target on 12 occasions. They’ve had 55% possession.

Newcastle away form – Won one, drew two and lost one. Scored four, conceded five and kept one clean sheet. They’ve had 11 shots on target over the four games with their opponents hitting the target on 13 occasions. They’ve had 39.1% possession.

Prediction – Since they were relegated Fulham have played as if a weight has been lifted from their shoulders, which is hardly surprising. I expect that to continue on Sunday with a 2-1 victory over the Geordies.

Leicester v Chelsea

Previous fixtures at The King Power Stadium – Chelsea have won three of the last four PL games between the sides at The King Power. 2-1 in April ’17 (Morata, Kante; Vardy), 3-0 in Jan ’17 (Alonso*2, Pedro) and 3-1 in April ’15. Leicester won 2-1 in December ’15 thanks to goals from Vardy & Mahrez. It’s also worth noting that Chelsea have also won a League Cup game and FA Cup game at The King Power over the past three seasons.

Leicester home form – Won three and lost one. Scored eight, conceded two and kept two clean sheets. They’ve had six shots on target over the four games with their opponents hitting the target on 22 occasions. They’ve had 45.9% possession.

Chelsea away form – Won one, drew one and lost two. Scored three, conceded six and kept no clean sheets. They’ve had 14 shots on target over the four games with their opponents hitting the target on 22 occasions. They’ve had 55.5% possession.

Prediction – Chelsea have secured CL football for next season and should they progress past Eintracht Frankfurt on Thursday night they will have one eye on the Europa League final. The final is not until May 29th so it seems unlikely they will rest players but the players won’t want to pick up any injuries. Having lost to City tonight Leicester can no longer finish in 7th spot. Despite this, I expect them to want to finish the season on a high and don’t be surprised should there be a Vardy party. 3-2 to Leicester.

Liverpool v Wolves

Previous fixtures at Anfield – Just the four PL meetings between these two sides at Anfield. These games hold very little relevance though as the most recent was played in September ’11. Wolves did beat Liverpool in an FA Cup game at Anfield in January ’17 but again this holds little relevance as maybe 3/4 players from that game will feature on Sunday.

Liverpool home form – Won four. Scored 13, conceded three and kept two clean sheets. They’ve had 22 shots on target over the four games with their opponents hitting the target on eight occasions. They’ve had 62.4% possession.

Wolves away form – Won one, drew one and lost two. Scored four, conceded seven and kept no clean sheets. They’ve had seven shots on target over the four games with their opponents hitting the target on 14 occasions. They’ve had 43% possession.

Prediction – This will be a cagey affair. Liverpool know that they must win to have any chance of ending that long wait for a 19th league title. Wolves have a great season and with 7th place secured there is no pressure on them which is probably not good news for Liverpool. As a Liverpool fan I’m going to let my pessimism rule the day as I predict a 2-2 draw.

Manchester United v Cardiff

Previous fixtures at Old Trafford – Just the one PL fixture at Old Trafford between these two with United winning 2-0 back in January ’14 with van Persie and Young the scorers. The reverse fixture back in December saw United triumph 5-1. That was Ole’s first game at ‘the wheel’!!

United home form – Won two, drew one and lost one. Scored five, conceded five and kept no clean sheets. They’ve had 14 shots on target over the four games with their opponents hitting the target on 20 occasions. They’ve had 45.1% possession.

Cardiff away form – Won one and lost three. Scored two, conceded five and kept one clean sheet. They’ve had 14 shots on target over the four games with their opponents hitting the target on 22 occasions. They’ve had 33.5% possession.

Prediction – United v an already relegated Cardiff… this should in theory be a comfortable win for United. But, it won’t. United have nothing left to play for but pride. OGS has already stated that a number of players will leave in the summer so don’t be surprised should he make a raft of changes and play a few kids. Cardiff and Colin will be keen to go out with a bang and they quite easily claim the three points but I reckon United take this one 2-1.

Southampton v Huddersfield

Previous fixtures at St Mary’s – Just the one PL fixture between these two sides at St Mary’s, a 1-1 draw back in Dec ’17 with the goals coming from Charlie Austin and Laurent Depoitre.

Southampton home form – Won two, drew one and lost one. Scored nine, conceded eight and kept no clean sheets. They’ve had 18 shots on target over the four games with their opponents hitting the target on 17 occasions. They’ve had 35.6% possession.

Huddersfield away form – Lost four. Scored three, conceded 15 and kept no clean sheets. They’ve had 12 shots on target over the four games with their opponents hitting the target on 22 occasions. They’ve had 35.8% possession.

Prediction – You’ll probably want to get a couple of Southampton’s attacking options into your starting XI for the weekend as I fancy Southampton to take this one 4-2.

Spurs v Everton

Previous fixtures at the old White Hart Lane – Spurs have won three of the last four at WHL. 4-0 in January ’18 (Kane*2, Son & Eriksen), 3-2 in March ’17 (Kane*2, Ali; Lukaku, Valencia), 2-1 November ’14 with Eriksen again on the scoresheet. There was also a scoreless draw in August ’15.

Spurs home form – Won three and lost one. Scored seven, conceded one and kept three clean sheets. They’ve had 27 shots on target over the four games with their opponents hitting the target on 10 occassions. They’ve had 69.4% possession.

Everton away form – Won one, drew one and lost two. Scored four, conceded five and kept two clean sheets. They’ve had 16 shots on target over the four games with their opponents hitting the target on 13 occassions. They’ve had 57.1% possession.

Prediction – Spurs know that a point will guarantee CL football for next season. Their form has been patchy of late and I don’t expect that to change this weekend. Obviously a win over Ajax on Wednesday night will put a spring in their step. Whether they’re capable of that remains to be seen. Either way I expect Everton to take the points in this one in what is likely to be a high scoring game.

Watford v West Ham

Previous fixtures at Vicarage Road – Just three PL fixtures of relevance between these two at Vicarage Road. Watford won 2-0 in November ’17 with Will Hughes on the scoresheet, there was a 1-1 draw in February ’17 with Deeney on the scoresheet and Watford won 2-0 back in October ’15.

Watford home form – Won one, drew one and lost two. Scored six, conceded five and kept no clean sheets. They’ve had 14 shots on target over the four games with their opponents hitting the target on 19 occassions. They’ve had 49.3% possession.

West Ham away form – Won one and lost three. Scored two, conceded six and kept one clean sheet. They’ve had 15 shots on target over the four games with their opponents hitting the target on 22 occassions. They’ve had 52% possession.

Prediction – Watford have nothing left to play for in the league and have the Cup final next weekend. Therefore I expect a significant number of changes from Garcia. West Ham know that a win will see them finish in the top half and I expect them to do just that.

Thanks for reading Fantasy Football Fixture Analysis Gameweek 38

Follow @Ken Lyons

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Bonus Section – Champions League Fantasy Football

As if you didn’t have enough to contend with the Champions League returns again tomorrow.

This section is simply a reminder that you need to make your changes and of a few key points;

• The deadline is Tuesday 7th May at 8pm
• You have 3 free transfers ahead of the deadline.

The fixtures this week are as follows;