Fantasy Football Fixture Analysis Gameweek 4
Welcome to Fantasy Football Fixture Analysis Gameweek 4. Before the season kicked off, we posed the question on Twitter if you were ready for the rollercoaster that is FPL. Well, as I write my first fixtures article for this season, the ups and downs of the season are already in full flow as early as Gameweek 3, with the relative straightforward nature of the first two rounds suddenly in freefall. Fantasy favourite Richarlison was among a good number of players to be sent off, while only Huddersfield, Cardiff and Liverpool managed to keep a clean sheet and just a few of the most-owned footballers scored highly. No surprise the average was just 38 at the time of writing, before Man United and Spurs kicked off.
It may be early days, but here are some teams to bear in mind when you’re looking at your transfers, as you look to up the pace and beat your Nemesis – or need to rebuild from the complete derailment that has made you feel like your team has a Hex on it, falling into Oblivion. Enough rollercoaster puns, I could go on like a runaway train!
Favourable Fixtures
Manchester City – Newcastle (H), Fulham (H), Cardiff (A)
It’s no surprise the team tipped to win the Premier League for a second consecutive season is the first pick, especially when you look at the games they have ahead of them following the test at Molineux.
To start with, the Magpies’ trips to the Etihad have been very forgettable affairs for their fans in recent years, with Aguero and co. putting a massive 14 goals past them in the last three meetings there. In fact, it’s funny I should mention the Argentinian, as he particularly likes to play Rafa Benitez’s men, having scored 14 and assisted three in 11 Premier League games – of which nine were in the last four meetings. Don’t be surprised to see a good few FPL Managers triple captaining him this week.
Whilst Pep keeps us guessing on who his midfield will be, even in Kevin de Bruyne’s absence, we can look ahead to Fulham and then Cardiff also being put through their paces against the Cityzens. Like Newcastle, the team from West London don’t exactly have the best record when it comes to facing the boys in blue, with the last three games comprising 5-0, 4-2 and 2-0 losses and their last victory being on 12 April 2009. As for Cardiff, well, the teams have played each other 50 times – and Neil Warnock’s team has only won nine of those – however the last time they met in the Welsh capital resulted in a 3-2 triumph for the hosts, so you never know, though the odds will be in the travelling team’s favour.
Chelsea – Bournemouth (H), Cardiff (H), West Ham (A)
Unlike Man City, Chelsea have won three out of three games, having put three past Huddersfield and Arsenal and two past Newcastle (ish – one of the two against the Toon was admittedly an own goal). Also like Pep’s men, there is also the spectre of rotation looming, especially with Hazard making his first start in the fixture just gone. As the Harry J Allstars’ Liquidator rings out around Stamford Bridge with FPL favourites like Pedro and Alonso hopefully ready to go, we can look forward to another straightforward home win and, therefore, the points piling in. Right? Well, that may not have been the case the last time the two sides met, as the Cherries headed back to the south coast with a 3-0 win, but the Blues have been triumphant five consecutive times before that, scoring 13 and conceding just three in that period. On their current form – and the presumption their high profile players won’t start having another strop – you wouldn’t be surprised to see another win for Sarri’s team, even with Bournemouth’s impressive start that has seen them pick up seven points out of a possible nine, albeit against easier opposition.
Once the international break is out of the way, Cardiff City come to Stamford Bridge which will be on the back of playing Arsenal, who have the potential to give their own brand of welcome to the Premier League. Following that, it’s a trip to West Ham which does show a mixed affair when it comes to previous meetings as Chelsea have had a draw, two losses and two wins to make up the last five times they have faced the Hammers though, again, the form they should be bringing to this match should mean the west of London has the share of the spoils over the east.
Arsenal – Cardiff (A), Newcastle (A), Everton (H)
Now with their first points on the board, Arsenal have shown themselves to be not as good as Man City or Chelsea, but better than West Ham – something I’m sure the fans would be delighted with as a status. Whilst Mkhitaryan and Iwobi have rewarded fantasy managers, Monreal joined the party in the last fixture whilst Lacazette, Aubameyang and Ramsey have sat on the sides of the dancefloor looking sheepish and Ozil couldn’t even find his way there, storming out before the latest song played.
Suffice to say, the next three games are a great opportunity for the squad to perform for Unai Emery – if they want to, of course – with a trip to Cardiff first on the cards. Whilst the two teams have only met 44 times, the Gunners have won 20 of those – with eight victories and two draws between 5 January 1980 and today. To keep supporters and the media off his back, the manager will be hoping for a tour de force, rather than a tour de farce, in this one. After that, a trip to St James’ Park beckons which, last time, saw a run of 10 wins and 23 goals scored ended with a 2-1 loss – though lightning couldn’t strike twice, right?! Richarlison and Everton then make a trip to the Emirates.
Best of the Rest
Crystal Palace – Southampton (H), Huddersfield (A), Newcastle (H)
It may seem a bit of a surprise to include Crystal Palace as, unlike Chelsea, Arsenal and Man City, they haven’t won since Gameweek 1 with losses against Liverpool and Watford on record already. In their defence, however, both the Reds and Hornets have shown themselves to hit the ground running with a contrasting three wins out of three.
So, looking ahead to Gameweeks 4 to 6, the fixtures for Roy Hodgson’s men do get quite a bit easier. First up is Southampton who have one point to their name following the 0-0 draw with Burnley and four goals conceded after the games against Everton and Leicester City. The next team, Huddersfield, is finding its second season in the Premier League more difficult so far, having picked the ball up from the back of the net nine times already. Newcastle, meanwhile, haven’t won at Selhurst Park since 24 September 2014.
Manchester United – Burnley (A), Watford (A), Wolves (H)
It may be another surprise to have a team widely reported as struggling here, however this article has been written before the Man U v Spurs fixture and so, with how fickle the media can be, I’ll leave it to your judgement when it comes to the Red Devils and, in particular, Jose Mourinho and his third season.
A winning mentality can be initiated as they face Burnley, a team that has been distracted by European football to only pick up a point in their league campaign so far, leaving them languishing in a relegation place. After that, a more difficult trip to Vicarage Road is on the cards if the home team’s recent form is anything to go by, though the Hornets have only won once in the last 15 meetings against Man United across all competitions – a 3-1 victory in the 2016-17 season. Wolves have also had a very respectable start to their Premier League return, with the 1-1 draw against Man City a particular highlight – though that was at home and a trip to Old Trafford may not be so straightforward.
Unfavourable Fixtures
Cardiff – Arsenal (H), Chelsea (A), Manchester City (H)
Whilst they may have two points – more than Newcastle, Burnley, Southampton, Huddersfield and definitely West Ham – Cardiff, I fear, will be the team that finds itself in the relegation area for most of the season and will be the one that a lot of other squads will eye picking up three points against. Life for them will be very difficult over the next three Gameweeks as they face three of the teams that will most likely finish within the top six and there is little to no FPL points potential.
Watford – Spurs (H), Manchester United (H), Fulham (A)
Even with Watford sitting pretty in third place with nine points and seven goals scored and the likes of Pereyra proving popular in the FPL transfer market, the next three games could prove to be mighty tests for them. No matter how Spurs perform against Man United, they will still be looking to continue their run against the Hornets that hasn’t seen them lose since 1994. Man United come to town afterwards, before a trip down the M25 to a team that could just be properly launching its Premier League campaign after dispatching Burnley 4-2.
Thanks for reading Fantasy Football Fixture Analysis Gameweek 4. This article was written by The Swirly
FPL FIXTURE TRACKER
FIXTURE TRACKER LINK
Vote on our Captain Poll Now
Welcome to our Fantasy Football leagues section.
The League Codes for FF247 for the 2018/19 season are as follows –
The main public FF247 League is sponsored by Starting 11, which anyone is welcome to join, can be accessed using the following code 1581-751 (auto-link below).
The prize pool for this is £250.
Join Our League – Quick Link
League Code: 1581-751
View league standings
Our Regulars League* for 2018/19 is now open and has a cash prize pool of £300 paid directly to the winners from the FF247 management team. The first 5 places are paid out in a tiered system.
To enter this one you need to be an active and recognised site member and you need to e-mail us for the league code – elleffcee@gmail.com
*terms and conditions apply and are available upon request. Management reserve the right to review membership of this league on an ongoing basis. If you enter and win a prize you have to have commented on the site at least 5 times for 8 consecutive months between August 2018 and March 2019 or you will not be considered for a prize. That’s basically 1 comment a week all season, we think that’s a reasonable ask to be considered a ‘regular’.
In your e-mail could you please supply:-
Your name.
Your site user name.
Your team name from last season and your new team name if it has changed,
Thanks to our friends Follow @ff_surgery and please give them a follow.
Well guys. Think I look pretty much ok for gw4 hopefully. What’s people’s opinions on Liverpool’s run of fixtures. They have a few tough games up to gw9. Is triple cover to much or not.
@offalymartin
Liverpool’s fixtures are getting somewhat more difficult.
I have been toying with the Idea of bringing Hazard in.
Then can score big against everyone, as they showed last year, but yeah, not necessarily in back to back games. Triple is not needed, but I’m not sure I’d sell any of the ones you have. I have Firmino and may sell him if it feels right for gw5 (Spurs, away) and onwards.
Don’t forget that liverpool often score alot of goals on the big attacking teams.
I’m not too worried about triple Liverpool coverage. Them and man city are easily the best 2 teams this season.
Thanks for all the replies guys.
I wouldn’t bring them in at the moment but they’re not exactly priorities to get out either.
Will probably get rid of 1 or 2 if I need cash for premium players.
Help me pick one fine folks – Richarlson >
1- Lucas
2- Mikhi
3- Bilva
4- Walcott
(Kun is my only attacking cover from those teams)
@colriles
Walcott (great Captain choice too)
Just to be a pain you can throw in Pedro as well. Bou (h) car (h) and whu (a) next 3 and is in an attacking Chelsea side. Game time could be an issue though.
Cheers fellas. Aready have Pedro. (Salah, Mane, Pedro, ? ,Stephens)
Any other votes?
Bench him?
But that doesn’t satisfy my rage DMC! 😉
I would bench him too by the way, or anyway I am thinking of just benching him! The transfers saved are more precious to me than the potential upside of you being able to pick the correct one of those imo…
Damn you level-headed people!
Oh! Sorry Corliles, I wasn’t aware it was a rage transfer. Sell the bastard then. In fact, why haven’t you while he was 6.8 and his buddy Wally was 6.5? Oh wait, that ship (the rage transfer one) has sailed, so you are now stuck with being sensible! :))
I have had Lucas since GW1 and am I glad I did! I would go with him as nailed to start whilst Son is away – form over fixtures as they say! Mikhi has nice fixtures but not convinced with Arsenal yet. The others are a risk with rotation and in the case of Walcott, may not score as much with Richi not in the squad
1 or 2 for me, Mkhi is still a good bet even if he didn’t get any points last week… Moura looked great! Not much in it though, Wally and Bilva certainly are not bad options either! You need to get lucky, I reckon!
Nice one Nick.
I think you’ve helped me make up my mind as to what I do with Richy!!
Benching him then, yeah?
I am benching him I think! Would be -4 to sell, can’t be worth a hit if I want him back too (and I think I want him back)
Hi all, hope your scores were high! Need to rid myself of Richarlison. Would you move mountains to get Alonso in for a point hit? Unfortunately would only have £5.4m to replace Rich with if so. I’ll attach my team later, just want to get some early thoughts!
Cheers
A general thought: hits are always risky unless you make ‘em for long-term objectives!
Alonso would definitely be long term.
In that case I would move mountains mate! 😉
i would go for the hit AT to bring in Alonso
Who would you have at £5.4m or less in mid, eresh? That’s the major stumbling block for me.
hi AT. I take it you are replacing lowton and richie here?
neves/jorginho/kante comes to mind AT
And that’s why it can’t be for Rich imo. You need to find another way to get Alonso. There are no mids under 5.5 worth that move, especially with a hit involved and especially since you have already used all your bench fodder places (1 GK, 2 Def, 1 F). It needs to be for Mhki or Moura and even so it means you buy someone like Frasier.
Yep, which is why I’m hesitant. Perhaps Robertson out due to fixtures, but seems needlessly risky.
Gross could be a good pint over the next few, just worried Alonso will become too costly to grab soon.
Yeah, fixture wise Alonso over Robbo for the next few but I still prefer both and ditch one of said mids than both with two under 5.5 mids.
Hi guys,
This one good?
1ft & 2mil to spend.
Obvious 1 is Rich to Wally and bench Fraser.
I’d stick and reassess after the IB. 2FT and 2mil by then will help immensely.
Would tend to agree
Broncos, I’d be tempted by Richy -> Pogba or Tompkins -> Trippier. Nothing wrong with saving the ft, but I don’t like leavin £2m itb when you could have a significantly better player with a high potential points scored.
Son’s still hopeful: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-6102567/South-Korea-seal-extra-time-win-Uzkbekistan-alive-Son-Heung-mins-hopes-gold.html
Haha! What do you reckon, he still has over a year left, so could finish this season even if they don’t win… Then next season it’s Moura time? Or you think Moura is the main man over Son now? Surely they’ll rotate?
They’ll inevitably rotate , but on current form it’s Moura’s place to lose. There’s also Lamela looming and we know Poch likes him. Get Kane from that bunch is my take atm.
Kane is expensive, but yeah, he’s the best of the bunch obviously! Kane and Aguero though, can’t have both… Or Salah…
Inevitably, Kane will mean no Kun, I think.
Zed and DMC, joining the conversation late but I think you are right on it bein Noura’s place to lose. I think Son will end up playing a lot of cup games up top as a lone striker, while Kane and Moira have played as a front 2 in the last few matches.
Also, I think a balanced team means having only 2 of Kane/Kun/Salah. I’ve chosen Kane/Kun/Mane and it’s worked out so far.
Nice combo that Pancho. Not sure it’s the best one looking at last year, when Kun faired some 50-ish less points that’s Kane and 130-ish less than Salah. Kane is essential to this game imo as is Salah whereas Kun is that brutal goalscorer that will have 4 vs Newcastle and then be rotated when the time comes. The good news is Newcastle is up next! We can cope without Kane unti the IB but he then will soon be causing avoc in our teams. Not yours, you already own him, but I don’t think Mane is sustainable when compared to Salah in the long run so you’ll probably end up Wcarding anyway, to get Salah!
Difficult to say if it has, depends who your Kane replacement would have been had you gone Salah over Mane. It’s all probably marginal. Personally I wouldn’t be comfortable with no Salah in the long term. Isolates you from the most popular captain pick on many weeks too. Whether that’s a good or bad thing depends on how he fares of course but I’d be having palpitations every time he played!
Yeah the Salah palpitations are indeed the strongest. Between Kun and Kane though I say Kane’s are stronger once the season gets going.