Fantasy Football Fixture Analysis Gameweek 7
Welcome to Fantasy Football Fixture Analysis Gameweek 7. Last time, I wrote about how much I hate international breaks, especially now that friendlies are dressed up as competitive matches. This time I will backtrack. International friendlies are great. Rather than having to face red arrows week-in-week-out, international friendlies let you get on with your normal life. You aren’t in a mood because England lose to Spain, but you are when your team gets its third consecutive red arrow. I knew my good start would only come back to bite me at some point, but I didn’t expect it to last just three gameweeks! Anyway, that’s enough about how my team is falling off a cliff to keep Init amused for the week, so let’s look ahead to next weekend’s fixtures.
The fixtures are starting to pile up for the ‘big’ teams now. Not only is the next round of the Carabao Cup mid-week, the following week sees the second set of European fixtures. It might be prudent to have a bench player or two over the coming weeks.
*Looks at bench* Injured Mendy. Injured Peltier. Non-starting Kamara. Meh, looks okay to me.
The all important FPL FIXTURE TRACKER itself…
Favourable Fixtures
Spurs – Huddersfield (A), Cardiff (H), West Ham (A)
The away games continue for Spurs as their rehousing appears to be being carried out by the local authority, although their next string of fixtures is particularly favourable. Huddersfield and Cardiff are joint-bottom of the league having both only managed to score three goals whilst shipping 14 in the process. And who are Tottenham’s next two opponents? Huddersfield and Cardiff. More embarrassingly for the two sides, their stats include a 0-0 draw against each other. Even more embarrassingly for Cardiff, their stats include a 0-0 draw against Newcastle, who occupy the final relegation spot (although in fairness to Newcastle, their fixtures have been rough)! Huddersfield have not scored at home yet and Cardiff have only managed one away from home (a headed goal which put them 1-0 up against Chelsea before going on to get pumped 4-1). Cardiff have lost their last three matches 5-0 to City, 4-1 to Chelsea and 3-2 to Arsenal. Harry Kane has probably already tied his boots in anticipation for this one, or, more likely, had to get someone else to do it for him.
The only caveat, and it is a fairly large one, is that Spurs face Barcelona on the Wednesday that lies in between these two matches. The game is at home, so that is a plus, but having lost to Inter in their opening group stage tie, I would not be surprised to see Pochettino exploit the relative kindness of their upcoming Premier League fixtures to try and progress to the Round of 16 by utilising his bench players more in the league. The same goes for the West Ham game with a must-win game away to PSV the following Tuesday followed by Manchester City the weekend after, although the fact it is a derby probably reduces the risk of rotation. As such, if you are looking for a midfielder from Spurs, I would only feel comfortable with Alli or Eriksen, who were ever-presents last season (bar the odd game explicable by injury or illness).
Anthony Knockaert’s late consolation goal scuppered Spurs’ chances of registering just their second clean sheet of the season, although with Huddersfield and Cardiff only managing a combined six goals for the season and West Ham so far only managing one goal at home, which was a penalty, Spurs should be disappointed with anything less than two clean sheets over the coming period. Who do you bring in though? The centre-backs feel too expensive for their relatively low attacking threat in comparison to the abundance of wingbacks-cum-strikers this season and accurately predicting which of Trippier and Aurier and Davies and Rose will start is about as easy as Theresa May is good at hiding the fact she has absolutely no idea what to do next (uh oh, let’s not start a political debate in the comments). Since coming back from injury, Trippier has started every Premier League game with Aurier starting against Inter. Whilst this suggests Trippier is Pochettino’s favourite, my concern is that this would mean starting him against Barcelona. I told you she has no idea what she is doing!
Arsenal – Watford (H), Fulham (A), Leicester (H)
Away from home Arsenal are still unpredictable. Yes, they have won two in three but conceding six in the process is worrying, as is the fact that two wins is already half the number they chalked up last season. Luckily, their next away tie is against Fulham, who have already shipped five to Palace (2), an in-Europe Burnley (2) and Watford (1) at home.
At home Arsenal seemingly remain superb, which bodes well with their kind home fixtures. Watford’s away form from last season, where they failed to win a game after November, would suggest that their victory against Burnley in GW2 was an anomaly and Leicester still haven’t remembered how to defend since lifting the title what seems like ages ago now. They conceded four to Bournemouth for crying out loud. Watford have scored four in their first two away games, although their dry spell last year is too fresh in the memory to deter me from considering Arsenal defenders. Leicester are always good for a goal though, so I wouldn’t expect a clean sheet there. That was possibly my most half-arsed sentence ever, although I did research it. I promise.
Despite blanking against Manchester City on the opening day, Arsenal have gone on to put three past West Ham and two past Everton at home so far. They scored 2+ in an impressive 16/19 home games last season; three against Watford and four against Leicester. What is more, they play Brentford in the Carabao Cup this week. I am now looking at my Arsenal-less side with considerably more angst than my-ignorant-self was about two hours ago.
Does the fact they have to make the long journey to Qarabag on the Thursday before Fulham ease my concern? Does it for you? Didn’t think so.
Wolves – Southampton (H), Crystal Palace (A), Watford (H)
With just one loss so far and draws against both the Manchester clubs, Wolves are doing exactly what we thought they would do; thriving. Their next three fixtures give them the opportunity to push on now, although they do have a fairly tough Carabao Cup tie against Leicester to negotiate first (or don’t because, you know, even fewer people care about that cup now than they did when it was just called the League Cup). ‘Define: Carabao’; ‘a swamp-type domestic water buffalo native to the Philippines’. ‘Define: swamp’; ‘uncultivated ground where water collects; a bog’. Apt name for it then.
First up is a visit from relegation-dodgers Southampton. After Liverpool taking the p*ss out of them for many years in the transfer window, the signing of Danny Ings was an excellent piece of business for all involved; Southampton got a clinical finisher and Liverpool ensured that they hadn’t pissed off their most reliable wholesaler. Whilst also somehow ensuring it wouldn’t come back to bite them on the arse.
Southampton only scored 2+ goals away from home on four occasions last season, blanking seven times. Wolves, who have conceded just two goals in their last four matches despite matches against both Manchester clubs, have a really good opportunity to get their third clean sheet of the season against Southampton. As for attacking prospects, Wolves, and Diogo Jota in particular, have hardly set the league on fire. Six in six is fair if not spectacular, although Southampton’s defence has already conceded five in their first three away games (three against Liverpool and two against Everton) and Watford conceding in both their away games is reminiscent of their failings away from home last season.
As for the trip to Crystal Palace, the Eagles haven’t scored at home yet and with Mamadou Sakho missing an open net Christian Benteke would have been embarrassed by at the weekend, Wolves could be good for another clean sheet (at least until Hodgson realises that Zaha should play up front).
Unfavourable Fixtures
Liverpool – Chelsea (A), Manchester City (H), Huddersfield (A)
No, I don’t think ‘David Wagner’s magic’ again all of a sudden. Before the respite in the form of Huddersfield, Liverpool must face the only other two sides in the league to remain unbeaten. You have to go back to 2011 to find a Premier League game where Liverpool managed to stop Chelsea from scoring at Stamford Bridge, and with just one clean sheet on the road so far they might struggle to keep out a free-flowing Chelsea side that has managed nine goals in their first three home games. As if it wasn’t bad enough playing Chelsea away from home next weekend, they also play the Blues in the Carabao Cup this coming Wednesday. Liverpool have managed to score two in each away game so far though, so don’t expect your Liverpool attacking assets to come home empty-handed (unless you have Salah – he’ll probably blaze three one-on-ones over the bar or wide!).
Next up it is Manchester City; the clash of the Titans. The sides boast the best defensive records in the league as well as topping the scoring charts. The last four encounters have gone Liverpool’s way with the Mersey club scoring an impressive 11 goals in those matches. Last year in the league, City beat Liverpool 5-0 at home before Liverpool got revenge in an entertaining 4-3 victory at Anfield. We should probably expect goals, but beyond that I would not like to predict the score. Of perhaps key significance is that in the next fortnight Liverpool will play Chelsea twice and Napoli away before facing Manchester City whereas City will play Oxford United away, Brighton at home and Hoffenheim away. Sure, there are similar road miles, but Liverpool won’t get much chance to rest their key players.
Huddersfield – Tottenham (H), Burnley (A), Liverpool (H)
The Terriers’ next three games are against three of last year’s top seven. With just three goals to their name so far (two by centre-halves, one by a holding midfielder), Huddersfield are doing exactly what most people thought they would do; failing. I was shocked to see that they didn’t try to buy an experienced striker this summer and it seems to be costing them. Perhaps the new transfer window confused Wagner. Spurs and Liverpool are averaging two goals a game away from home and Burnley’s four-nil stuffing of Bournemouth this weekend was probably the last thing Wagner wanted to see with a trip to Turf Moor sandwiched in between the two home games which are unlikely to do anything other than a test the resilience of the Town fans. Without Europa League fixtures to worry about now, Burnley’s threadbare side can concentrate on the league again, unfortunately for Huddersfield.
West Ham – Manchester United (H), Brighton (A), Tottenham (H)
Last season, West Ham conceded the joint-most goals in the league (68) and their summer defensive signings do not appear to have done much to change that, at least until they (read: ‘Fabianski’) managed to keep Chelsea out at the weekend.
West Ham’s fixtures have been cruel so far this season, but the storm is not letting up any time soon. First up is a visit from Manchester United, who had the second tightest defence last season. Although United have only managed to keep a solitary clean sheet so far (against Burnley), West Ham could well be added to that list having only managed to score one (penalty) at the Olympic Stadium so far this season and registering just one shot on target against Chelsea at the weekend, albeit without the injured Marko Arnautovic. Things don’t really get any better for the home fans as their next visitors are Spurs. Pochettino’s outfit have had a similarly modest start to the season to Manchester United, in comparison to the trio leading the way so far, although Spurs did have the third-best defence in the league last season and I would expect Hugo Lloris, who managed to keep Spurs’ only clean sheet so far (against Manchester United), to be back in between the sticks by the time they face West Ham.
Thanks for reading Fantasy Football Fixture Analysis Gameweek 7. This article was written by AT
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What’s the latest news on Mendy’s injury? Is it worth waiting for him to recover or is it time to sell him?
No one knows. See previous page though think you have both sides of the argument
Wonder if Pep will treat Mendy like Klopp treated Sakho. Also Pep dropped Sane when he didn’t have the right attitude in training. Rumours of drinking by Mendy celebrating good wins seem to be coming out although the celebration for the WC win shouldn’t be a problem,but you never know with Pep.
That’s a hell of a bender if he’s still on that one
Ain’t no party like Bendy’s party coz Bendy’s party don’t stop!
I think if no one knows then I wanna sell to be honest… If there are no assessments on when he will likely be back then the worst case scenario could happen: we never know how long he will be out, he could be close to returning for weeks… Whereas you could have a certain starter with just 1 FT…
Could be wrong Zed but I’m not buying the injury. Been uber convenient that Sane hit a bit of form and needed game time given Pep’s concerns that they will struggle to play together given that they both basically occupy the same position on the pitch, despite them playing different positions. But that’s one for him to figure out on the training ground. I’d certainly wait it out to hear what this weeks ‘news’ is.
I agree with you Zed. If you haven’t more pressing issues, then selling him looks a good strategy to me. With keeping an eye on how to buy him back.
Basically the complete lack of communication makes him too uncertain to me.
I don’t buy this injury nonsense either. It is strange though
In both the Mendy and Richarlison situations (though R was more certain in that we knew exactly how long he’d be out for) I have dropped the missing player and brought in cover (though left sufficient money to buy them back). Other managers have been content to sit and wait it out. It didn’t work out for me with Richarlison (Walcott came in); Trips came close but didn’t quite pull it off at the weekend for me. But I’m hoping for more Trips’ points, though I know that could be risky.
Mendy has now missed two games. My philosophy, flawed no doubt, is that he can come back after the Liverpool game. If he turns out against B&HA, which will I’m sure be a routine stomping, then I have to accept that and hope Trips can keep a CS at least.
Yeah no right or wrong with the situation really
If he’s not injured then even more reason to sell as he’s not nailed/something strange is going on… I don’t really care why he’s not playing, just care whether he plays or not… He’s now missed two games, might as well sell to a more certain starter and perhaps someone who’s cheaper, pump up some cash to midfield instead. W-B can play every week now anyway (it seems)!
And of course each to their own in terms of their squad situation. It’s suited mine to bench Richarlison for his games and fortunately likewise with Mendy, so far. May have fell differently in terms of being able to cover for them depending on the luck will of the draw with the fixtures for the rest.
Of course. What I was trying to say, not too well looking back at it, was my strategy of short-term replacements hasn’t worked particularly well this season.
I also benched Richarlison for 2 weeks but then you could exactly know when you would get him back.
Situation here is different, as Zed said, the injury might be suspicious, but then it’s even worse because we have no clue when he comes back, even less so if he’s fallen out of Pep’s favour.
Let’s see if we have some news this week, but for me it has already been too long.
Yep, this exactly, the situation with Richarlison was very different, we knew when he would come back and he’d still be manager’s favorite, nailed on and looks dangerous! Easy to keep on the bench for two games… But Mendy we don’t know when he will come back and when he does how nailed he will be under Pep… So makes a lot more sense to sell him! You can always buy him back down the line if he becomes nailed again/fit!
Evening gang. Just wanted your thoughts on my squad. Have two Fts and nothing in the bank. Want Maddison in. Pereyra hasn’t done anything in the last few, although has a good run coming soon. Thinking of a mad one and maybe turning Aguero to Kane for a few games. Am open to suggestions peeps
If we get news on Mendy later in the week and IF he’s out for long then you could downgrade Mendy in order to upgrade Pereyra to Maddison… Even if we don’t get any information on Mendy, you could do that! If Mendy is fine, then I would downgrade Neves to a 4.4m or 4.5m mid and do Pereyra to Maddison!
Or actually I’d prefer Richarlison over Maddison!
Cheers Zed. Am looking at options. Maddison’s form is hard to ignore !
hey neilos. mendy is tough to call. I understand it will be easier for you to do the maddison trade if you downgrade to some1 like laporte/shaw. other than david silva, you can downgrade mccarthy to hamer in case you keep mendy in ur squad.
Hey Eresh. The lack of spurs is also worrying me. I’ve thought about Aguero and Mendy to Holebas and Kane too. What do you think of that? Kane hasn’t been great, but I have a feeling with 3 relatively easy games, he could do some damage
theres lamela on the rise too. him/son/kane and moura can do damage. keep an eye on the league cup lineups,
cant u get kane if u did mendy to shaw and aguero to kane
0.1 short Eresh. Holebas or Doherty appeal for 5 million and under
no need fr double wolves. i rather go fr a spurs mid than kane. he hasnt impressed me so far fr that price tag
Eriksen?
eriksen or Son.
i also like what zed said. neves to some1 like hojnerg (4.5), pereyra to maddi/rich
Maddison has been smashing it
Evening all, who should I be targeting this week/ should I make an early move?
2 FT £0.1 ITB
Cheers!
5 at the back. Think I’d downgrade Cairney and upgrade Pererya to Richarlson or Maddison. Though there is a strong argument to hold Pererya. Clutching a bit as squad looks good
Maybe spread the love a little further than 3 teams 😀
Very good observation
Are you planning on keeping that structure?
I would have thought Ings will come in – but one can never be sure.
Not sure about double Liverpool mf with their fixtures and Europe maybe Eriksen for Mane ?
Cheers for the thoughts guys. I was thinking of ditching Mane but I’ll probably wait till after the mid week games before making any decisions. Loading up on a few teams has been a really good calculated risk for me so far, ranked 37k, but I understand I’ll need to WC to fix it soon!
If you go Mane to a cheapo can you then get Kane? May be worth a thought.
But probably not possible, thinking about it, unless you jettison Salah and do it that way.
The looming presence of Shaq may start having an effect on Liverpool mids’ playing time.
Does Salah+Wilson —–> Kane+Richarlison seem a decent move for the next few games? I believe Kane is up for a good haul soon. Also, I have Maddison as well in the team. Isn’t having both Mad+Rich a good option (not literally though
) ?
Richarlison did look good and I’d expect returns from him again pretty soon. Kane looked less good. Salah I’d stick in the same ‘hide behind the sofa’ bracket as Hazard right now. Always on the cusp of a hurtful haul if you don’t own them. Any other way for Richarlison to come in?
Agreed on the form part if Kane Initt. But Spurs’ next 3 fixtures are hard to ignore. Can do Vardy+ Neves to Rich+ Mitro as well, but again I think Vardy is crucial for Leicester. Also, Salah can be back after 3 weeks or so
Might be worth a short term punt then. I’d be keeping Vardy.
Getting Kane in isn’t a bad idea, though I’ll leave it to you to work out how to enable him. I wouldn’t break your team up too much to do it though. It’s not as if Salah and Wilson are dud assets. However the fact he (Kane) always seems to play, the fixtures, maybe Moura not being around as much etc means it’s not a bad time at all to own.
Cheers Kralin. It’s just that I think Kane and Rich would give more points than Salah and Wilson in next few GWs. I might be proved otherwise though. Time will only tell. I’ll finish the move by Friday for any sudden injuries..
I do agree, although I think Salah will be better pick than Kane (but maybe not in the immediate fixtures), but Richarlison is also better than Wilson, who seems to have ascended down to his average self (which is an FPL troll who only scores when he’s in my ML rival’s team)!
Is it better to keep Pereyra or Walcott considering both fixtures and form?
I’d keep Pereyra out of the pair. Who’s incoming though?
Fraser, I need funds to get Mitrovic in for King
Go for it then. I’d bin Wally having seen them both recently in full games.
What should i do?
Buy wan b or tripp?
Save 1Ft with 0.6 in bank
Roll it
W-B. Gives you a few pence to play with. And not a bad player to own. Though maybe it’s Shaw, apparently under threat from Young, who you should be thinking of replacing. Unless we hear Mendy is going to be out for a while yet.
Maybe shaw to Wan..
Iam holding Mendy.
Thanks mate