Fantasy Football Fixtures Game-week 12

Fantasy Football Fixtures Game-week 12

Another week, another unexpected hat-trick! Last week we spoke of how some players are suddenly coming out from the shadows to shine. Well, this weeks one came out from the shadows of the deepest darkest cave. The deepest darkest cave on Mars. Presumably he gave Naismith a high 5 on his way out after the ginger ones treble against Chelsea. Lukaku got all the attention ahead of this week as Everton had the ‘fantasy gift that just keeps giving’ in the shape of Sunderland at home. And he did ok, but it wasn’t to be his day as this time it came from the boots of none other than Arouna Kone for a total of 20 points. 40 if you captained him. 60 for the apparently lucky 5 in nearly 4 million that somehow landed the triple cap chip on the Ivorian. How is that even possible?! What next? Rooney? Ok so things probably haven’t got that silly yet but it’s certainly hard to predict. In the meantime all we can do is keep pointing you in the right direction as to which teams have the best fixtures, which are worth avoiding and which are worth a one week punt…

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The Tracker…
We have rated each teams fixtures on a sliding scale. Remember that this is just our opinion and you may feel differently but if nothing else it gives you a nice easy visual aid as to each teams upcoming games…

We do have a comprehensive library of other useful trackers including the all singing, all dancing interactive one from Calvin Clyne and you can find them all here – Fixture Trackers

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FAVOURABLE FIXTURES
Arsenal – Tottenham (H), West Brom (A), Norwich (A)
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[/three_fourth]Another week and another handsome win for the Gunners. The 2-0 loss to the rapidly nosediving Chelsea in Gameweek six is but a distant memory as they are now on a run of five straight league victories. Last time out it was Swansea who were put to the sword on their own patch, in a 3-0 victory for the away side with goals from Laurent Koscielny (again), Olivier Giroud and Joel Campbell of all people doing the damage. Sitting pretty in second position in the league but level on points with leaders Manchester City, Arsenal have a great chance to extend this winning streak when we look at what lies in wait. A slew of winnable games that could, if all goes to plan, extend their win streak to ten games just what the doctor ordered and we fully expect Arsenal to scoop maximum points in most of them.

As one of the more entertaining games down the years, the North London Derby is a great way to start us off this week. Renowned for goal fests, high octane play and attack-attack-attack, it can sometimes be difficult to tell just which way it will go. Arsenal have been having the better of it recently though with four wins form the last six meetings and just one defeat and, judging by current form, it’s hard to look past the home side. The Gunners defence is working well, the midfield is simply a disaster for the opposition to deal with and whether it’s the speedy Theo Walcott or quiff-tastic Olivier Giroud up front, the goals continue to fly in on a regular basis. Can Spurs halt Arsenal’s attacking prowess? It’s unlikely and for that reason we’re going for a home win this time.

West Brom is the next destination for Arsenal. A usually tough away game for any side, Pulis’ pillars were smashed to the ground last week as Leicester City rocked into town and showed that even the sternest of defences can be run ragged, banging in three in the process. If Leicester can do it, why can’t Arsenal? Well, the writing is on the wall really as Arsenal have not been beaten by West Brom in ten meetings, stretching back to 2010. Just two draws in there too. Watch out Tony and Co, you lot have got one hell of a Sunday afternoon ahead.

This trio of games just gets tastier by the match! Fresh off the back of four straight defeats and winless since Gameweek six, Norwich find themselves hovering just above the relegation zone and they must really be dreading this match already, even though it a few weeks away yet. Alex Neil had better start working on his plan right away in an effort to save embarrassment in this one. Since his arrival in London, Chilean superstar Alexis Sanchez has been nothing short of sensational. His speed, vision and eye for goal has proved way too much for many teams like Norwich and for this reason he might well be worthy of a Captain Pick for this game.

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Crystal Palace – Liverpool (A), Sunderland (H), Newcastle (H)
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[/three_fourth]Okay, so Palace haven’t exactly been lighting it up recently. Nowhere near in fact. Snoozechester United were typically held to a scoreless draw last week in a game where Palace picked up just their seventh point from the last six games, a run that on the face of it is not what us Fantasy folk like to see. However, a look at their recent fixtures shows just why this slump has come about with Spurs, West Ham, Leicester and the aforementioned United making up the bulk of this run. The other two games were Watford and West Brom; games that were won by a combined 3-0, so not all bad really. As we know, Lord Pardew’s teams are very attack minded and there may well be a number of goals to be had over the coming weeks, especially Gameweeks 13 & 14. This weekend may not fall in with those two weeks but as a set, these games look very enticing.

As mentioned, we start off with a not so favourable fixture but, lets be honest; do we really know what to expect from Liverpool from week to week? Not really as after all they are a work in progress under new management but the signs of improvement are there for all to see. They’ll probably beat Palace but with question marks hanging over the Scouse defence we may be in for an exciting game and the likes of Bolasie, Puncheon, Cabaye and whoever else they lump in there are more than capable of ruffling a few feathers. Not exactly a game to attack via Palace players to be fair but a glance ahead should have any managers with some Eagles coverage smacking their chops.

Up until very recently, Sunderland were playing a level of football that astounded us all. And not in a good way! Jeremain Lens was just about all they had going for them and he still might be. Palace have the better of this fixture recently with three wins, two draws and just the solitary defeat from the last six encounters. Funnily enough, that one defeat was in this fixture last season when The Black Cats thumped the home side 3-1. Will there be a repeat of that result? Let’s just say that it would come as a huge, huge surprise. The attacking players mentioned in the last section should, should be more than enough to see Sunderland off this time.

Sunderland’s fierce rivals and former employers of the one they call “Lord”, Newcastle, make the long trip to London for our last featured game in this section. The destruction of Norwich and a couple of draws is all Toon have going for themselves recently with heavy defeats to City and Sunderland and a narrow loss to West Brom rounding out their last six. Not the best of reading, eh? On top of that, away form is woeful for the away side and we feel that is set to continue against Palace. Much like Sunderland before, the attacking threat that Palace possess should be enough to swarm Newcastle for the majority of the 90 and see the home side scoop the points.

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Manchester United – West Brom (H), Watford (A), Leicester (A).
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[/three_fourth]It’s hard to grasp just what is happening at United these days. Defence has been the order of the day all season up to this point. A solid backline backed up by a top drawer goalkeeper, plus two of Carrick, Schweinsteiger and Schneiderlin essentially guarantees a tight unit. The issues are at the other end and in truth it comes down to one man. Wayne Rooney. Is he good enough to be a striker anymore? Nope. Is he effective in the no10 position? Nope. Okay, we’re running out of ideas here. Out wide? Nope. Ah, yes, in the midfield! Sorry, but a big fat no again. Louis Van Gaal must be cursing himself for nominating him as captain as it’s now a big pressure decision to drop him from the side. The gamble of the summer, Anthony Martial came in and instantly showed how it’s done but since being shifted to a wider support role, United have become less of a threat and can barely muster an attempt on target. It’s time for Louis to put the foot down and get the kid back where he’s best, as a striker.

Luckily for Louis and all things United, the schedule ahead is very kind and we start off with a home game against West Brom. This game has all the signs of being one of the drabbest encounters of the season with both teams excelling in defence and struggling up front. Yawn. Despite this, the Red Devils will have to be on their guard as The Baggies have actually gotten a result from the opposition in three of the last four meetings with a pair of wins at Old Trafford, just for good measure. Still, United’s new found solidity should be enough to rule out a defeat but the goals have to start going in. Just the one would probably do the trick in this game and we expect United to get it, somehow.

Another game that will probably go the way we feel it will, but not by the margin it should. Watford away has been the downfall of a few teams so far, none less than in-form West Ham who fell 2-0 last week in a surprise result as Odion Ighalo once again did the business. Still, United are likely to eat up the Hornets midfield and stifle supply to Ighalo, rendering Watford mute for the most part. Again, just a solitary goal may do the trick but if the United system us as it should be then this could end up being a stroll in the park. Basically, don’t play Rooney as a striker and this becomes a banker result.

Now, this is where things get very, very interesting. Rock solid defence & poor attack vs woeful defence & white-hot attack. Leicester just keep on scoring every week – and not just the one. They’re blowing teams away with skill and pace and it will be very interesting to see how United handle them on their own patch. Manchester City’s mega-stars were kept quiet a few weeks back but it’s arguable that teams will loosen up a little bit more when facing the supposed “lesser” teams and go for the win from the off. Good luck to anyone (including us!) in predicting how this one will go but, at a push, a draw seems like a plausible result.

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Everton – West Ham (A), Aston Villa (H), Bournemouth (A)
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[/three_fourth]Having spent most of the season in the ‘rubbish fixtures’ section the Toffees finally clambered out of it last week and were promoted straight into the spotlight. And they wasted no time at all in displaying why with a thoroughly good 6-2 thrashing of Sunderland. Before anyone gets carried away though we should probably overemphasize one thing in that previous sentence – Sunderland! As the saying goes though you can only beat what’s in front of you and that they did. It was embarrassingly easy in fact and the only downside really was that they allowed a couple of goals in but in all honesty that was more down to apathy than anything else as one can only assume they had forgotten that there was in fact another team on the pitch at stages of this game. This was a perfect ‘Martinez’ performance really, pass, pass, pass (x20), goal (x6).

Up next is the hardest of their upcoming games in theory as they visit former player Slaven Bilic and his high flying Hammers. West Ham have been as inconsistent at home as Everton have been away so we aren’t really sure what to expect from this one. It promises to be entertaining though and we’d certainly hold onto any Everton assets if for no other reason than the next two games..

The first of which is Villa at home. If you had to pick any back to back home games you’d almost certainly pick Sunderland and then Villa which is exactly what Everton were presented with and exactly why many fantasy managers have been eyeing them up for a while now. If you missed part 1 then be sure not to miss part 2 as they passed the audition with flying colours and will probably repeat that here.

The final game in their mini sequence is potentially kind too as they travel to Bournemouth who haven’t won now since the middle of September (against Sunderland, does that even count?!), and have conceded 12 in their last 3 league games.

BE WARY OF…
Aston Villa – Man City (H), Everton (A), Watford (H)
‘Be wary of… Aston Villa’ is perhaps a phrase someone close to Remy* Garde probably should have whispered in his ear in the last few days. If he was unaware of the magnitude of the task beforehand then having witnessed them from the safety of the stands on Monday he surely will be now. No such safety come the weekend as he will be thrust into the spotlight and onto the touchline, presumably kicking and screaming, as his first job is to somehow stop Man City. Welcome to the Premier League, Remy! Just for good measure he then has to go to Goodison to attempt to avoid the same fate which befell fellow strugglers Sunderland. Watford at home is perhaps their best hope of points here and they probably better get them as after that it’s off to Southampton and then home to Arsenal. Good luck, Remy.

*We know, it’s Remi, not Remy. He shall forever be referred to as the former though after the official Villa twitter handle introduced their new manager as Remy Garde today, before quickly deleting it!!!

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Norwich – Swansea (H), Chelsea (A), Arsenal (H)
That 2-1 loss at Man City could actually be lauded as a triumph of sorts as many expected a cricket score and they very nearly snatched an unexpected point. The fact is though that they still lost and that’s now seven games since they last recorded a league victory, stretching all the way back to the 12th of September. Despite not even being in the relegation zone (yet), Norwich are now the proud owners of the worst defensive record in the league with 23 conceded. The fixtures aren’t kind either with Swansea at home next perhaps being their best opportunity to get something on the board ahead of facing Chelsea and Arsenal. We wouldn’t be rushing to include any Norwich players in your squad any time soon.

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Spurs – Arsenal (A), West Ham (H), Chelsea (H)
Monday evening’s stroll in the park sent Spurs up to 5th and they’re bobbing along nicely now. Their next three are much tougher assignments, at least on paper. Many will have invested in the likes of Kane or Eriksen ahead of Villa at home in anticipation of a drubbing that didn’t quite materialise but despite us putting them in this section we wouldn’t necessarily be rushing to ship them out. If you have them, keep them. If you don’t then perhaps there will be better value to be found elsewhere if you are shopping around. There should in theory still be goals on offer in these fixtures but there are no shoe-ins here.

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West Brom – Man Utd (A), Arsenal (H), West Ham (A)
The day of the clean-sheet darlings may be coming to an end. We warned of this last week with Leicester coming to town and they duly succumbed to the tune of three against. The next three look equally unappealing in that respect. Given that their attack is almost always a secondary consideration we think that the Baggies are a spent fantasy force for a good while now.

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One Week Wonders
Let’s chase goals! This is our weekly ‘punt’ where we attempt to pinpoint any games or teams where we feel there may be a high chance of fantasy points on offer…

1)Leicester v Watford
Leicester = goals, basically. At both ends. Will they score a few? Yes. Will they concede a few? Almost certainly! No other team in the top 14 has conceded more than Leicester and yet they sit 3rd in the league. That’s primarily because no team other than Man City has scored more than them. It may be gung-ho but it’s clearly effective. Watford, aka Ighalo, are the visitors this week and we fully expect that he and the dynamic duo of Mahrez and Vardy will probably serve up a goal fest.

2) Sunderland v Southampton
Sunderland = goals, basically. At their end! Will they score a few? Who cares. Will they concede a few? Almost certainly! No other team in the league has conceded more than Sunderland. Quite how they’re not bottom only Villa can explain. Gung-ho it aint, they’re just useless. Southampton, aka Pelle and Mane, are the visitors this week and we fully expect that they will help themselves to a goal fest.

3) Villa v Man City
Man City = goals, basically. At the opposition’s end. Will they score a few? Almost certainly! Will they concede a few? Probably not against Villa. No other team in the league has scored more than Man City. It’s not so much gung-ho as simply being better than most and hammering home the point. An early goal here could see the floodgates open up.

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Fixture Fun
To muddy the transfer waters further six of our beloved Premier League teams are in midweek European action.

On Tuesday Man City take a short trip to Spain to face Sevilla while neighbours United play host to CSKA Moscow.

Wednesday sees the latest Chelsea saga as Jose blames the ref, his wife, his wife’s doctor, his wife’s doctors cat and anyone else he can think of for another catastrophic defeat to Dynamo Kiev while Arsenal have the small matter of a trip to Pep’s Bayern.

The Europa returns on Thursday and it’s a gruelling trip to Russia for Liverpool to face Rubin Kazan while Spurs have home comforts and welcome Anderlecht to the Lane.

As ever be sure to check on your players health and availability once these games are over.

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Thanks for reading Fantasy Football Fixtures Game-week 12 – Fantasy Premier League 2015-16. This article was written by Inittowinit and NIN

Follow @AdamalcockFF247