Fantasy Football Fixtures Game-week 33

Fantasy Football Fixtures Game-week 33

Brace yourselves, it’s officially silly season! That time of year when all things fantasy centre on the precious double gameweeks that we have waited so long to fret over. Its now time to sort the men from the boys, the regular from the casual or indeed the wise from the foolish, whatever the case may be, but whichever way you dress it up it is certainly time to get excited about the potential of what lies ahead. This weekend’s action is nothing but a taster with just Crystal Palace and Everton playing twice before we move into the big one; GW34’s ten team extravaganza where the likes of Aguero, Sanchez, Payet and Coutinho will roll out twice, promising an end to our long-suffering fantasy woes from this beyond difficult season. Due to this fixture bottleneck we’re going to change the approach slightly this week but nothing too drastic; rather than the usual three week overview we’re going to drop it to two and focus on the teams we feel have the highest potential for these first two double gameweeks. We’ll also be shedding an iffy light on the two current best teams in the league before finishing with some outrageousness, so without further ado, lets get the ball rolling and see where it takes us…

FAVOURABLE FIXTURES…

Arsenal – West Ham (A), Crystal Palace (H) & West Brom (H)
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[/three_fourth]Why aren’t Arsenal top of the league? Why are a team like this not running away with it when the other elite clubs are floundering away, some barely even staying afloat? Why is it that no matter who ends up in first or second place in the Premier League, the Wengaboys will always manage to make a balls of it and finish in third or at best second? It’s anyones guess really but with the usual detrimental blip seemingly passed it’s probably time again for Arsenal to finish strong and annoy their fans further. Having squeaked a draw out of Spurs and put Everton and Watford away in recent weeks their confidence is beginning to show again, making the next two gameweeks as appealing a fantasy prospect as we can think of. A feisty derby derby gets us started and this one could be a barnstormer. A Payet inspired West Ham United welcome the Gooners to the Boleyn and the home side will be confident themselves, unbeaten in the last six games and fourth in the form table as they are. It’s also worth noting that the return fixture went the Hammers’ way in GW1 courtesy of a 2-0 win at the Emirates. Arsenal need to right that this weekend if they’re to have any hope of finishing second this season, and, with the Chilean looking close to his good old self again we wouldn’t be surprised if they got the win. Now, this is where the fun and games begin! Such a beautiful double gameweek, this. Another derby to start us off as Crystal Palace make the trip to the Emirates Stadium for what should really be a foregone conclusion now that the annual wobble is done with. West Brom are next up and they too must travel, making it back-to-back home games for a double which is aways a treat. So, can West Brom get anything from this game? Other than a beating, no, unfortunately. The strength of these fixtures does throw up the argument of whether using the Bench-Boost chip in gameweek thirty-four is wiser than, say, selecting Alexis Sanchez or Mesut Ozil as Triple-Captain. It’s a legitimate quandary but whatever route you choose, Arsenal should be one of the focal points of your squad for the coming weeks.

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Crystal Palace – Norwich (H) + Everton (H), Arsenal (A) + Manchester United (A)
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[/three_fourth]Now, with the Gooners out of the way lets take a look at neighbouring Palace. We do have to be honest here and say that if not for having four games in the space of two weeks the Lord’s minions would be absolutely nowhere near this here favourable section, nowhere bloody near it. The main reason for this is of course Pardew, we just don’t like him around here. It takes a special type of git to have the ability to be as smug in defeat as in victory, he’s some man. The second, and more legit reason is form, or the complete lack thereof in fact. Incredibly we have to go as far back as GW17 before we find Palace’s last league win. That’s fourteen matches without scooping all three points and we’re now beginning to question ourselves for picking them. To be fair, Crystal Palace have had some key injuries this season and haven’t really settled with what would be their suggested strongest eleven all that much which is difficult for any team to deal with. Of the two doubles in the next two weeks this first one is by far the most appealing to us. Every DGW is worth consideration and like Arsenal the Eagles have back-to-back home games for us and they’re not the worst fixtures either, even for Palace. First up is Norwich, a team who instil fear in no-one and we actually wouldn’t be all that surprised if Palace ended their bad run, less so if forward Connor Wickham and midfield orchestrator Yohan Cabaye are fit to play again. The follow up game isn’t the greatest but once we’re not banking on Eagles defence then we may still get some points from this game. Everton are by no means a mean defensive unit and Palace wouldn’t be the first team to score a couple against them yet still lose. Likely outcome here we feel. If those were okay fixtures, then what on earth is to be said for the next double? The fact it’s a double gameweek may be the only good thing to say about it. From a pair of home games to a pair of away, and at Arsenal and Manchester United too. Whether Palace can score a few goals over these two fixtures is anyones guess but one thing is for sure; we just never know with these double weeks so that sneaky Palace guy in your squad might just surprise you.

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Everton – Watford (A) + Crystal Palace (A), Southampton (H), + Liverpool (A)
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[/three_fourth]Palace aren’t the only team with back-to-back double gameweeks, no, and thankfully they aren’t the strongest of these teams either! Although, something tells us that a simple Wickham / Lukaku swap may well result in Everton being in a lower position than Palace currently find themselves in, which is shocking considering they’re hovering just two spots above the dreaded relegation zone. Just four points ahead of them in twelfth is where Everton find themselves and that just isn’t good enough for a team that has a lot of potential. Last weekend’s loss to Manchester United was the third on the spin for Everton and the fourth in the last five league outings. Not exactly form that fills us with joy in fairness but with such a condensed schedule we need to at the very least bring in one of their star players and maybe even double or treble up on them for this period. Two away days in the first double then but not exactly the worst of destinations for either. Watford have lost their buzz having started off this season so well, with Ighalo and Deeney causing all sorts of problems for whoever they faced. Not so much recently though, four defeats on the trot for the Hornets is only slightly worse than their opposition and doesn’t bode well for the rest of the season. Pretty safe bet that Everton at least get a couple of goals against this lot then and the same can be said, in fact it already was, about the second double fixture which is of course against Crystal Palace. There’s decent potential for both attacks in that one. Much like Palace, the second double for Everton gets a little meatier than the first. A visit of Southampton is never easy and the Saints have actually found a small bit of form in recent weeks despite falling to Champions elect Leicester last time out. Can / will Everton blow this lot away and produce huge hauls? Probably not, but we don’t fancy a clean sheet for the away side here and we certainly don’t expect any clean sheets in our last featured game for Everton; the derby vs arch rivals, Liverpool. What can we say about this one that hasn’t already been said.. expect goals, high octane play and maybe a red card or two! Having cover from both of these teams may well be a wise manoeuvre.

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Manchester United – Tottenham (A), Aston Villa (H) + Crystal Palace (H)
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[/three_fourth]It was a toss up for this spot between United, obviously, and fierce rivals Liverpool. And no, the decision to go with United this week was not a homer choice and we will in all likelihood cover Liverpool and their fixtures next week. Manchester United, for all their dodginess this season, have begun to show signs of life in recent weeks. Whether that has anything to do with the lack of a certain oaf and the inclusion of a kid or two who actually have the ability to run is up for discussion. A very short discussion at that. Five league games without Rooney and with four wins in that time; here’s to six games without Rooney, and seven, and eight, and… etc etc. United are one big question mark these days as the team never seems settled, never looks full of confidence but yet somehow is nestled in fifth place just a point behind Manchester City. Believe us when we say that that is an achievement this year, all things considered! Back to the single fixtures for the weekend ahead then and it is by no means a gimme for United. An away day at title chasing (however futile) Tottenham Hotspur is a tall task for most in this league. A 1-1 draw with Liverpool last weekend will have disappointed Pochettino and co but the same result would no doubt delight Louis Van Gaal and his kindergarten. A 1-1 does seem like a fair prediction. Now on to the fun part and the one and only DGW where our beloved and soon to be ousted Aston Villa are involved. The sorry Villans make the trip to Old Trafford in GW34 for what should be the usual battering. Oi!! cheeky buggers, we meant the usual battering for Villa! Smart-arses. Anyway, the next fixture. It’s not a bad one either as again United will have home field advantage, this time over a team that has had just about enough mentions in this write-up already! Crystal Palace again. Crikey, what else to say about them other than this is a favourable game for United but with it being the Premier League, and United, who knows. United will be favourites though.

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Manchester City – West Brom (H), Chelsea (A) + Newcastle (A)
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[/three_fourth]Last but by no means least we’ve got Manchester City. Yet another team floundering when they should be dominating, or at the very least challenging and running the eventual winners close, to the wire. Off the field problems aren’t helping matters you would think but still they have the talent to give any team in the Premier League nightmares. As the seasons go by there is the growing sense that City are one of these “nearly” teams. Always favoured but just never quite make it over the line as often as they should. Who, after a handful of games this season, would have thought that this seemingly unstoppable juggernaut would be fending off dirt (sssshhh, we’ve just tipped them… woops!) ahem, *teams like United while the Spuds chase the Foxes at the summit? Not us anyway, not in a gazillion years. That’s what we’ve got though and a recent diabolical run of results for City has all but ended their hopes of any sort of respectability. However, there is something to play for, and that’s European football next season. Would Pep even bother his arse coming over to fix their funk if there’s no European footie to attack? That remains to be seen but one thing is for sure and that’s if these players want to work under the revered Spaniard then busting a gut to get top four is must do. This weekend it’s all very straight forward; once the CL game against PSG is out of the way it’s home comforts for the arrival of West Brom. City should, especially with the return of Belgian waffle Kevin De Bruyne, muller this lot with ease and we expect them to. A fascinating encounter to start the City double week then, away day at Chelski. City annihilated the Blue filth earlier in the season and although we’d be surprised to see a repeat of the 3-0 scoreline we do feel like there will be goals in this one, possibly more than a few, too. We round off with a fixture that everyone associated with City would, and should look forward to immensely. Newcastle, home or away, just don’t like playing City as evident from recent 6-1 and 5-0 drubbings. Can Rafa stem the tide and halt City from notching seven? Toon faithful will hope so but where Kun and Newcastle defenders (plus the third choice ‘keeper) are involved, we cant rule anything out. Other than a Newcastle win of course.

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BE WARY OF…

Leicester City & Tottenham Hotspur
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[/three_fourth]Ugh, this just doesn’t feel right but it has to be done for a couple of reasons. The first, and most obvious reason is the total lack of double game-weeks for either of these teams. Having battled hard all season Leicester and Spurs find themselves entwined in an epic battle for the Premier League title between two previously un-fancied teams (understatement of the century there!) and neither have progressed in the domestic cups and so will focus on the title for the remainder. The second reason to be wary of these teams is the colossal ownership of the stars from each team. At time of writing Harry Kane, for example, is owned by a whopping great 46.6% of teams, with Dele Alli coming in at 32.2% and Toby Alderweireld at 43.6%. Huge numbers, yet not even close to the Leicester duo of Vardy and Mahrez who have been carrying 53.4 and 68.3% of teams in recent weeks. Huge, huge numbers. We do expect these figures to drop quite a bit this week as we lead up to DGW33 & DGW34 and feel it’s worth noting that no fear should be taken with selling one, two, or the whole lot of them, pronto. After all, they’ve been kicking ass for weeks but is it likely that our stalwarts will outscore all double gameweek personnel, three times in five weeks? Nope. Those with no WildCard may wind up with one or two still lurking about but in general if a double player can be gotten in, then it’s probably wise to do so. We reckon it’s unlikely that folk are snapping any of these up just now but we do need to be wary of holding the form players through doubles. Just be damn careful who comes in to replace them. No Jonjo’s, ya hear?!?

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ONE WEEK WONDER…

Crystal Palace attacker for Triple Captain (gulp!)
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[/three_fourth]Now, we did say we would finish this weeks rambling off with a bit of outrageousness, didn’t we? Right, lets get funky so. This is, by all accounts, not a straightforward play and one that may even be a complete bomb for some of you out there who happen to be doing well, but there may just be a looney or two among you or a few who are desperate to throw one last curve ball for the season and try and catch everyone off guard. For the ultimate one week wonder we give you the Yannick Bolasie / Connor Wickham (if fit)Triple Captain mega punt. Having waited patiently all season and kept this potential monster haul chip safe, why on earth splurge it on Palace attackers? Quite simple really – a serious urge to differentiate and a serious gap to close! A complete all or nothing play, there is actually a bit of logic to it. Just a bit, but it’s there. Somewhere. Firstly, the opposition. Norwich aren’t exactly water tight. Far from it in fact. Would it be all that much of a surprise to flick over to SkySports News at the weekend and see that Palace have scored two or three against the Canaries? If your answer to that is no, then we think you’ll agree that Bolasie and Wickham, if fit, are the most likely to go big. Then it’s Everton, at home again. These two sides have produced goal fest’s before and the last five meetings have actually produced thirteen goals so there is potential there again considering Everton have been very leaky, conceding eight times in their last five matches. Very few will even consider this punt, let alone actually go for it, which makes it that bit more appealing as if it were to work… wow, what a boost this weekend could be.

The Tracker…

FAVOURABLE FIXTURES

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BE WARY OF…

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Thanks for reading Fantasy Football Fixtures Game-week 33 – Fantasy Premier League 2015-16. This article was written by NIN

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