Fantasy Football Fixtures Game-week 21
Welcome to 2016 and we hope it treats you a bit better in fantasy terms than the latter half of 2015 probably did! Wow, what a strange one that was and here’s hoping some normality returns soon but we wouldn’t hold your breath. Maybe with the likes of Aguero, Silva and Payet back and hopefully Sanchez returning sometime soon then it may do but that still won’t compensate for the likes of, well let’s say anybody, being able to beat anybody else on their day which has pretty much been the case so far. Apart from Aston Villa of course. They’re gone but the rest is open in terms of relegation places, European places and of course the title itself. Well, we all moaned when Ronaldo and Suarez were here for making fantasy football boring and predictable. Careful what you wish for sometimes, eh?!
Game-week 21 is slightly delayed as we have the FA Cup this weekend and it subsequently begins next Tuesday (the 12th) and is followed swiftly by game-week 22 on the Saturday but we will cover the times and dates in more detail below in ‘Fixture Fun’.
With the ‘VARDY OUT’ news causing such a stir it’s perhaps pertinent to go and take a look at which teams we feel have favourable runs ahead (and those that don’t) as you seek his replacement and perhaps which other players to consider in any makeweight deal!
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
Chelsea – West Brom (H), Everton (H), Arsenal (A)
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[/three_fourth]We thought it might be a while longer before we would once again be able to include the Champions in this section and in all honesty two of those fixtures don’t look overwhelmingly great but at least one does and that’s a huge improvement! After that pitiful defeat at the beginning of December to Bournemouth at home then even West Brom at home would have looked a stretch but actually since that there have been signs of life with just one defeat in six and they are unbeaten in their last four in the league now having scored eight in the process, including three away at Palace this past weekend which is no mean feat in itself.
West Brom are no mugs but they are without a win in their last their last four away games and if the likes of Costa, Oscar and Fabregas have been revived by Gus and Willian can continue as he has all season then we can see them winning this one and if you have a Chelsea defender then play them in this one as the Baggies have only scored six away from home all season.
As we say the next two after that aren’t easy to call but then we just don’t know quite yet which Chelsea will be turning up for them but the signs are looking up for them. It’s Everton first who have been inconsistent at best all season and we could see this going either way with probably goals at both ends. Then a potential cracker of a derby at The Emirates but you have a couple of weeks before that to see if the new dawn is real or just a false awakening.
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Spurs – Leicester (H), Sunderland (H), Crystal Palace (A)
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[/three_fourth]Spurs are right up there in the mix in all respects. Talk of the title may be premature but the way this season has gone then who knows? More likely is that they will finish in the top four and be very satisfied with doing so too. Their stats are right up there also as they are ranked 2nd in the form table (last 6 games), 4th for goals scored, 1st for goals against and 1st for goal difference. Key to this is that Kane is firing again after having scored just once in the first 9 games, he’s now got 10 in 11 and could have had 100% but for the woodwork at Goodison. We like their fixtures too as they have four home games in the next five and all are decent!
They begin with Leicester who look like being without Vardy of course and time will tell how that will affect them as he’s crucial to their zippy counter attacking style. With him we’d have have fancied a high scoring affair, without him it may still be one but more so from Spurs! Sunderland are next and despite their mini resurgence you’d expect Spurs to do them. Palace away isn’t easy but Chelsea showed that it can be and in truth the Eagles have been dodgy at home all season are in fact ranked 14th on home points alone despite being 7th overall which says it all.
Beyond the above featured games Spurs then have another two home games which is worth pointing out as again they will see both as being winnable in the form of Norwich and Watford.
And oh yeah, don’t forget Bamidele Alli! He may be still just £5.4m or so but he’s a 4th choice mid now not a 5th so stop benching him and crying about it every Saturday night!
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Watford – Southampton (A), Swansea (H), Newcastle (H)
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[/three_fourth]Watford have scored 25 goals so far and we aren’t for a second suggesting this is a one man show but Ighalo has had a hand in 19 of those with 14 goals and 5 assists. It is of course a two man show – look at the top 5 forwards in FPL and you may be surprised to find that Watford actually has 2 of them! Troy Deeney has pitched in with a hand in 13 of those 25 goals also. So anyway what does this dynamic duo have ahead of them?
Three good games actually. Followed by two less so ones but we shall come onto that. They begin with a trip to faltering Southampton who have now lost 7 of their last 9 games in all competitions conceding 17 goals in the process. Happy days for goal happy strikers! Speaking of faltering we give you Swansea and the Hornets will be pleased to see them lingering in 19th in the form table based on home games with 9 conceded in the last 6 on their own ground. Happy days for goal happy strikers! Last but not least it’s Newcastle at home whose defence ranks 19th for away teams overall and have conceded 11 in their last 6 away. Yep you guessed it… Happy days for goal happy strikers!
Not convinced Ighalo is the way to go yet?!
Good, because this next bit may put you off! They then face those two more difficult games as it’s Chelsea followed by Spurs. The ever improving champions and the best defence in the league. The good news is that are a way off though and anything can happen in the meantime so if you need a mid-term solution then Watford may just fill the gap.
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West Ham – Bournemouth (A), Newcastle (A), Man City (H)
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[/three_fourth]On the face of it West Ham are still riding high, sitting pretty in 6th and just four points off the unthinkable and those hallowed Champions League places. The last two games have produced two wins and pushed them back up the table but in fact things could have been so much better had they not gone on a draw fest for the last two months of 2015 with 6 draws in 7 games. That little sequence began in the Everton game which was coincidentally or not the one in which Payet suffered his injury. If you track his absences and their results you will see that they only managed to score five goals over those games with three nil-nils and two one-alls in there. Now we aren’t saying he contributed massively to their sudden upturn but his presence alone may have inspired something and it has certainly piqued the interest of fantasy managers once more. So what lies ahead for the Hammers and Dimitri’s potential suitors?
Well it’s not too bad at all as they begin with away trips to Bournemouth and Newcastle and they’re not too shabby on the road being ranked both 6th overall for away teams and 6th for goals scored on the road. The third game is the tricky one as they host a Man City team who may be starting to go through the gears finally but again the Hammers have done ok at home with the 5th most goals scored and let’s not forget that they aren’t shy of taking a big scalp this season having already beaten Arsenal, Liverpool, Chelsea and of course City themselves away at the Etihad.
After City it’s Aston Villa at home and in fact their favourable run then conceivably goes on all the way through to the end of February taking in the likes of Southampton, Norwich and Sunderland. So yes, assuming they have now come out of their well drawn shells again you can safely buy a Hammer and have a go at cracking the template team.
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BE WARY OF…
Aston Villa – Crystal Palace (H), Leicester (H), West Brom (A)
We don’t need to tell you how bad Villa are, we don’t really even need to put them in here or indeed look at who they are playing, it doesn’t matter.
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Everton – Man City (A), Chelsea (A), Swansea (H)
Everton continue to play delightful football and continue to not quite get the results to show for it. We highlight them here then as trips to Man City and Chelsea are not ideal on the face of it but then perhaps all is not lost as the Toffees are in fact still ranked 5th away from home for both goals scored and conceded. So basically you can stick with any Everton players you have just don’t go buying more! Sticking with them may be shrewd though as once they get through these more tricky games it’s then both Swansea and Newcastle at home.
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Liverpool – Arsenal (H), Man United (H), Norwich (A)
Fantasy managers can certainly empathise with Reds boss Klopp as neither quite knows what to make of Liverpool at the moment! The highs of thrashing Man City and Southampton and of course the famous draw with West Brom followed by the lows of defeats by Newcastle and Watford and of course the famous West Brom draw. Given the Jekyll and Hyde nature and that three of the next four are against Arsenal, Man United and Leicester we would give them a wide berth for now.
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Stoke City – Norwich (H), Arsenal (H), Leicester (A)
Stoke owners are on notice as you have one weeks reprieve! Norwich at home looks tasty enough this week but just be warned that the subsequent four games are against Arsenal, Leicester, Man United and Everton.
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Fixture Fun – Deadlines!
The all important deadlines are as follows and pay attention because there are no games this weekend but the next game-week begins on the Tuesday immediately following it, ends on the Wednesday and then we have a very quick turnaround before going again on the Saturday –
Game-week 21 DEADLINE is 12th Jan 6.45pm GMT
Game-week 22 DEADLINE is 16th Jan 11.45pm GMT
The Capital One Cup takes place this midweek with Stoke and Liverpool playing on Tuesday (5th Jan) and Everton and Man City playing on Wednesday (6th Jan).
The weekend itself is made up of the FA Cup games and all 20 Premier League teams will be in action. This doesn’t mean all your players will feature as there will be rest and rotation aplenty depending on the opposition but keep a close on it all anyway and be sure to check that your players come through unscathed and beware that any yellow or red cards in either this or the Capital One Cup do count towards the league games.
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@Mito thanks for the like on twitter mate. I went mad and brought in Kun and Payet for KDB and Vardy this week. Just hope they both stay healthy now. :thumbup:
I have Kun and are looking to get Payet with my FT assuming he makes it through and I have no injuries or suspensions I have to deal with first. It be helpful if people stop buying him though, it might force my hand. :rant:
Taffy, welcome onboard mate. I apologise in advance if my anti-Welsh comments in TeamTalk are offensive. I’m not that sorry, but it’s polite to pretend to be. Welcome anyway boyo, good to have you onboard.
@Cookie No problem mate, have only lived here since I was 12. From Suffolk originally. ITFC fan, hence the tractor boy tag :thumbup:
Glorious news, just found out that Ighalo went up last night :goombah:
I have no interest in him, I am stubborn like that.
Did you miss the boat on him too Mito and now think that ship has sailed?
@Photek, of course I didn’t….yeah I did.
It can only mean one thing. The world is ending.
How’s the wildcard looking boys and girls?
Thank you.
Looks good to me GP, especially the front 8 😉
Defence looks solid – do you need to pay up for Dann when you can have Ward for a 1mln less? And presumably Dann would be your 4th defender? Just a thought.
GP..Smith Playtime in doubt after Elphick returns..LLoris to Butland?Would like to put a chelsea attack there if possible. Willian for KDB or Kane to Costa may be..Cant see zouma getting clean sheet for next few GWs.
Home to WBA this week Constantine?
cookie, utd,arsenal,everton and ighalo for the next 4 weeks..wouldnt get him for just one week..
I would disgaree with you there Constantine on this one – I’d have no prob getting a Chelsea defender for a week given it’s West Brom at home. Especially for those on a wildcard as changes can be planned for. I know things don’t always turn out as expected, but I’d give it a go personally.
Cookie, I believe that Wildcards should be played with keeping the next few games in mind and not only the immediate matches. But, that just what i think. the game is to earn max however you can.
I completely agree with that Constantine. I just think in this case it could pay off.
Kane to Costa…are you drunk?
Hi GP.
Defence has quite a bit of dosh tied up so i’d drop some of that. Dann –> Ward for a start. Adrian could cover WHU defence at 0.5m cheaper than Cresswell, too. Get Toby in there and see what more it will take to get Costa.
Who would you lose for Costa NIN?
Ighalo for sure mate. Beast front three and a dead handy drop down to Lukaku in a few weeks if needs be.
I’m finding it tough to ignore Ighalo if I’m honest – costs 4 and a bit mln less than Costa, has scored vs Chelsea, Spurs and Liverpool and fixtures are as good as Chelsea’s if not better.
i wouldnt lose ighalo if I own him. haveissues with the inconsistency of kane though
All good valid points mate, no doubt. I’m just going against the grain a bit with my WC squad. I don’t want to use it this early and bring in a heap of 30% + owned players and have to rely on perfect capo selection to move up. Toby, Ozil and Kane are the only high owned players i’ve got. Next highest is Yaya and he’s even a differential to most teams.
That’s also a fair argument NIN – wish there was a right and wrong answer here, it’s doing my head in !!!
Kane has scored 10 goals in his last 11 league games. That’s pretty damn consistent! Early season form is still fresh in our minds but since the hatty against B’mouth Kane has been delivering the goods, big-time.
Indeed, who knows how things will pan out. I made my mind up to mix it up and i’m sticking to it! If it goes belly-up then there’s a whole host of people on here to blame
NIN, he’s scored in 6 matches out of 11 with a lucky hattrick against Bournemouth. Believe or not, i got him for the first time on the same day as I felt that his work rate was good and shots on target too. I know that he’s going to score in one match or the other, but given the fixtures and current form, Costa seems to be a much potential return maker.
It’s still 10 goals, 1 assists and 15 BP’s in 11 games. That’s very high output, to be fair. The fixtures ahead for Spurs are beautiful, too. Great run for a long while yet. I like the Costa pick too. I’ve got both of them but if it had to be one or the other then i would opt for Kane.
This is all brilliant feedback. Thanks everyone.
Do we think Chelsea will now be on it? I never looked at Costa to be honest and I was pretty happy with my attack with Kane to Lukaku an easy move to do if/when.
I agree that there is a big price difference in the Place boys at the back. Dann serves me very well though and has got me a goal and could be more to come. I’ll try to take a look at it with Delaney/Ward or Souare in there.
Double Spurs at the back maybe? Lloris and Toby?
And Butland has just left this squad – not that I don’t trust him it’s just that I really wanted Lloris.
I reckon Oscar may go well now so that’s one I’m thinking about but the midfield is very busy.
GP, we could have a DGW in 25. The teams could include LFC, Everton, City and Newcastle if Liverpool hold serve and City advance to the finals in the Capital one cup. Problem is we probably would not find out until the 2nd leg of the semis is done and we would only have 2 free transfers before this possible DGW.
I know it be hard to take this into account or include players based on a long shot, but maybe a plan in place to pivot or save a transfer just in case would be ideal.
Team looks great, agree with Blue on Ward.
+1
Thank you Mito. I’ll deal with DGWs as they come along. For now, I think I need to exploit some fixtures and some low-ownership players to kick-start this season.
I might, probably will, call it wrong but I won’t be bored until Tuesday! 😉
Who is bored? Twiddling thumbs is fun, it really is.
Judging by your fantasy team names, thumbs ain’t the only thing being twiddled in the Mito household
Dann > Ward
Smith > WB defender?
Hey guys missed out on some good chat Bloody work trying to catch up now 😉
You missed out on a lot of important things.
I probably did the B but I’m still not Wcarding how about you
There is no way I am pushing that button. Cookie has pushed it, so makes the decision straightforward.
Best combo?
A. Ramsey + Vardy > Alli + Aguero
B. Ramsey + Van Djik > Payet + Cresswell
A puzzle cant get any more difficult than this. Tough decision ahead (if Vardy is confirmed out).
A.
Love it. Simplicity.
He meant Eh 😉
A for me too
none.
Hate it. Madness.
how about Ramsey+Taylor > Willian+Cresswell?
Are you kidding me?
I brought in Taylor last GW only, so I could play him against Sunderland.
B – Alli and Kun for me!
WC.
C
Or better, what NiN said. ^_^
Hi all, my current squad is Cech, Schwarzer, Pieters, Smalling, Dann, Alderweirald, Cathcart, Alli, Ozil, Mahrez, Payet, Barkley, Lukaku, Ighalo, Kun. Rip it to shreds. 😉
DONT TELL ME WHAT TO DO!
Taffy
Ignore B – he’s a bit touchy at times but we ignore it when it happens 😉
I couldn’t rip that to shreds at all. Looks a very strong squad to me mate. Is this a wildcard squad?
@The B Ripping is optional 😉
:thumbup:
@Gallant Pioneer Thanks. No that is my squad after 2FTs. I brought in Kun and Payet in for Vardy and KDB have still got 1.5m itb. Most of the top performing players this season have been the mid price ones so Kun is a bit of a punt. Will probably bring in Sanchez for Ozil GW22.
Taffy..You’re good to go already..
@Constantine Thanks, just hoping all my players get through the cup injury free now. Saving my WC until DGW probably. :thumbup: