Fantasy Football Fixtures Game-week 17

Fantasy Football Fixtures Game-week 17

In the words of Sir Bob “It’s Christmas time, and there’s no need to be afraid”… Well, we can only assume Bob never played fantasy football as we can tell you that there certainly is! It’s time to plump up your squads as rotation bites at this time of year. The seasoned fantasy vets will be well aware of this but for anyone new then you may have been able to sail through September to now with a threadbare squad of 12 or so ‘playing players’ but the upcoming schedule will find you out if you aren’t prepared. Manuel Pellegrini went early with this theory and benched both KdB and Kolarov this week, almost like a warning shot to fantasy managers everywhere.

GW17 is, in theory, the last of the normal GW’s before we enter the Christmas schedule but by some stroke of luck this year two of the GW’s actually land on a Saturday for some sense of normality, the oddity being GW19 which is a Monday but please check ‘Fixture Fun’ at the end of the article for a fuller explanation on it and the all important deadlines. Christmas can be a dangerous time for FPL managers as some suddenly become drunk and forgetful! We don’t want you to not be drunk but we also don’t want you to be forgetful so please pay attention and set reminders accordingly.

Given all this we have something a little different for you this week courtesy of site regular and past ‘differential’ writer Pancho who was uber keen on relaying some Christmas rotation lessons to us all. So keen was he that we started to wonder if his day job was in fact one of those supermarket promotion planners who decide that Easter Egg displays should go up on the 1st Jan, as he initially sent this over in October! So without further ado we shall hand you over to the one and only Father Christmas you shall encounter this festive season who proudly sports a ginger beard in his grav…

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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Christmas is exactly 2 weeks from today as I write this! In our house that means a tree, lights, decorations, presents, stockings hung by the chimney with care in hopes that St. Nicholas soon will be there, and all of that. It also means a Thursday evening trip to the church down the street to sing with candles aglow. This is definitely my kids’ favorite time of the year.

I’m sure we each celebrate this holiday season differently, but we all look forward to the same thing: 4 full FPL game-weeks in 16 days!!! So, on to that which unites us: the quest for massive FPL scores and green arrows!

If you are new to FPL then you may not even know what is lurking from the 19th of December to the 3rd of January. Let me bring you up to speed: ROTATION, ROTATION, ROTATION! With that in mind I think it is important to begin taking this busy period into account now as we set out transfer plans. The key is that you will most likely need 15 starters in your squad, and even then you won’t be guaranteed of 11 scoring players every GW. Without further ado, let’s get down to the nitty gritty!

FAVOURABLE FIXTURES
On current form and looking ahead to fixtures there are 3 teams that have a good run through most of the busy holiday period.

Crystal Palace – STK (A), BOU (A), SWA (H), CHE (H)
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[/three_fourth]Palace start off with two away games against Stoke and Bournemouth. On current form these fixtures could at least be worthy of having a defender or goalie. Stoke has made a recent resurgence, particularly in defence but Palace are fairly tight at the back too and one of the few teams with favorable opponents through this busy run. With GK uncertainty my ideal from their back line is Scott Dann. Currently at 5.3 he is a mainstay at the back. He’s picked up 3 clean sheets and 3 goals this season, while also amassing 10 BPs. In recent weeks he’s popped up with important goals to win at Anfield and give them an away draw vs Everton.

They have not been overly potent in attack this season, but they have showed flashes of attacking brilliance in patches. They have tons of attacking potential in the form of Yohan Cabaye (6.6), Bolasie (6.2) and the newly returned Connor Wickham (5.5). None of them have been consistent this season, but that could all change over this busy period. One of these three might be worthy of a punt with their fixtures list.

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Manchester United – NOR (H), STK (A), CHE (H), SWA (H)
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[/three_fourth]Much has been made of boring boring United this season, and rightfully so. Their attack has been uncharacteristically poor, but their defence has seen them to fourth place at this point and despite Saturday’s defeat they are still just 6 points behind leaders Leicester. I was surprised as I glanced through every team’s fixture list for this period and found that most of them have a tough run. The way it works I would be surprised if anyone came away with 12 points from this run, but if I had to put my money on anyone it would be United. If you look at the fixtures for this busy period they are the only top team with at least 3 great games. Their fourth is home to stuttering Chelsea, who have to travel to the fortress Trafford on only 2 days rest. Players will be rested over this stretch so even this encounter has clean sheet potential.

At the back I would look at David de Gea. He is my prime keeper option from any team for this run of four fixtures. I wouldn’t blame you for doubling up on United and putting a defender in your squad as well. They’ve conceded a grand total of ONE goal at home this season. Mike Smalling (if healthy) would be ideal as he is unlikely to be rotated. Him and Darmian are currently injured at time of writing, but they are expected back for their match at home to Norwich on the 19th.

If you want to go for an attacking option I would look at Juan Mata. He has been the only mid or striker with consistent returns this season. Martial should be in the prime striker role where he has shone brilliantly at times, although without much FPL returns. With all of the affordable and producing striker options this would definitely be a punt.

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West Brom – BOU (H), SWA (A), NEW (H), STK (H)
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[/three_fourth]Take a look at that prime lineup of fixtures for WBA over the busy period! WBA don’t score a lot of goals, but a defender may be wise, surely? Well actually on first inspection possibly not as they’ve actually conceded the most of any team at home with 14 against but this doesn’t tell the full story, let me explain. They’ve actually had a fairly rough ride in terms of fixtures at home so far and in fact 12 of those 14 goals have come against Man City, Chelsea, Everton and Leicester. They’ve kept clean sheets against more similarly ranked opposition to the above fixtures in the likes of Southampton and Sunderland and kept Spurs and Arsenal down to just one apiece. It maybe wouldn’t be that crazy to double up with Myhill in goal and one of Dawson/McAuley/Evans for all four matches. If you want to save cash on DDG then Myhill is a great option.

As far as attacking options… well, it’s West Brom, sooooo… yeah, I would be content with only defensive coverage and judging by Sunday’s game they do chip in with attacking returns too! If you’re in need of a cheap 5th mid that will play then James McClean could be a good option though. He’s shown some endeavor recently with an assist in the win over Arsenal and a goal in the draw with Spurs. He could be a decent option at only 4.7m.

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Top 10 Rundown:

Arsenal
Tricky first two: MCI (H) & SOU (A). While Southampton haven’t been great recently I see this as a tricky one for Wenger’s boys. The boys from the south have 7 days rest between 2 home games, while Arsenal only have 5 days of rest and need to travel. Add to that their depleted ranks and this could be a tough trip for the Gunners. After that they play Bournemouth and Newcastle at home, which should both be comfortable wins. Don’t tell that to Chelsea though.

Man City
City have a mixed bag over this period. Like their first opponent, Arsenal, City play their second game with 2 days fewer rest than their opponents. The good news for them is that it’s Sunderland at home. After Sunderland they play two more away games to round out the busy period. Leicester and Watford have not been pushovers at home. City haven’t been great at the back and these four games don’t seem to be the time to invest in their defence.

Leicester
Tough run with EVE (A), LIV (A), MCI (H), BOU (H). This may be the time to move on one of Vardy/Mahrez (ed – really?!). Don’t hold me to it when they both hit double-digits twice over this period! Either way we will have a clearer idea come January whether they are genuine contenders.

Man United
See the above description and make sure you have Man United defensive coverage!

Spurs
The jury is out for my beloved Spurs, unfortunately. They play three away (SOU/WAT/EVE) with Norwich at home in between. I wouldn’t go adding any Spurs coverage going into this period, but I’d hold onto the likes of Toby and Kane if you have them as the other top teams have tough runs as well.

Crystal Palace
See above description and then get Scott Dann!

Watford
With 3 home games things looked promising at first glance. Then I looked at their opposition and realized that it’s exactly the opposite: LIV(H)/CHE(A)/TOT(H)/MCI(H). It is tough to see them taking maximum points from any of these matches. I would think they would be ecstatic with a couple of points from this bunch but I could easily see them taking none.

West Ham
Two away games at Swansea and Villa are a nice way to start, but Home games against Southampton and Liverpool could prove a tough way to ring in the new year. They’ve struggled since the injury to Payet and I don’t see that changing over this busy period.

Liverpool
Any team with 3 out of 4 away during this period will find it difficult to pick up many points. Liverpool are in this boat. Add to that that their lone home game sees them welcome Leicester. Watford away could be a tricky fixture as their defense has been buzzing, keeping 5 clean sheets at home thus far. They then host Leicester in a match that should provide goals. They then go to Sunderland followed by West Ham. Both should be winnable, but the further into this busy period the harder it is to predict what will happen.

Everton
Three home games is good news for the Toffees, but they play host to Leicester, Stoke, and Spurs. Their away game at Newcastle as the second of the four is maybe the most straight forward of this lot. Everton could arguably have been a fourth team in the favourable fixtures list, but Leicester and Spurs will both be tough to beat and Stoke can shut up shop against anyone on their day. They’re pretty solid at the back now that Shawcross is back, not to mention that they can score a few against good opposition as well (I’m looking at you Man City).

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Rest Days
With rotation being such an issue at this time of year I thought it may be handy to have a little guide to show how many rest days each team has between each of their games over this period.

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It still feels wrong to not talk about Chelsea amongst the league leaders. They are stuttering at 16th and just can’t seem to get it together. In spite of this, there are plenty of people with FPL interest in what Chelsea have coming. You never know; they may pull it together. They have the depth for this busy period like almost no one else. They start with Sunderland at home, so if they are going to get some momentum going then it could be GW17. After that they host Watford and then travel to Old Traford and Pardew’s Palace. The game against United would typically be the only one worth mentioning, but on current form you could see Watford and United both holding them scoreless, while Palace at Selhurst could go either way. All this to say that it’s still too early to invest in them unless you’re looking to be ahead of the curve when they come good.

It’s a tough run for most of the top clubs, so this is where the cream should rise to the top. So buckle up, because it’s going to be a fun couple of weeks. Happy Holidays and pass the Eggnog!

Pancho

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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 goals and therefore fantasy points on offer. There’s actually only one that jumps out this week and trust us we tried to make a case for others but we won’t lie, you’re in for nine 0-0’s and this one!

Everton vs Leicester
This should be a great game and probably the one we’d pick to go and see if we had to pick any this week. Everton are the second highest scorers at home, Leicester are the joint highest scorers away from home and neither fare particularly well in the defensive columns so we are going goals, goals and more goals here.

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Fixture Fun – Deadlines!
This is the bit where you need to pay attention, get your diaries or phones out, set some reminders, write them on post-it notes, whatever works for you… Here are the deadlines ahead.

We’ve added in GW21 there because despite it not really being part of the Christmas fixtures it is still worth noting as it’s an odd one being on a Tuesday evening and the first one back after the small break.

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Thanks for reading Fantasy Football Fixtures Game-week 17 – Fantasy Premier League 2015-16. This article was written a bit by Inittowinit and mainly Pancho!