Fantasy Football Fixtures Gameweek 1
First and foremost, welcome back officially to the 2015/16 FPL season and FF247. This is the first of our regular articles after all the summer fun of the Euro U21’s and the pre-season prep that we have brought you. We hope you found it all to be useful and somewhat helpful and in the case of the U21’s just enjoyable. We’d congratulate the FF247 U21’s winner but we think he has a big enough head as it is!… And so onto the serious stuff. FPL GW1 is looming this Saturday and you need to know who to pick. Well this article, for those new to it, is simply a first part of that jigsaw. We look at the next 3 fixtures ahead in detail and give you a selection of teams who we feel will do well in those games and also highlight briefly those teams who we feel are best avoided. We present you with a fixture tracker that covers the next 6 games so that you can make some slightly longer term judgments for yourselves. We consider something between 3 – 6 game planning to be adequate given the nature of FPL and the possible injuries and suspensions that can derail the best laid plans.
For those new to the site we typically follow up the Fixtures article with –
– Captains Picks – our take on the best options for the week.
– Tips for the forthcoming GW from Kop – resident tips expert Kop runs you through the options at length. Great length!
– Team Talk on a Friday, which is a round up of the team news from the press conferences with all important injury updates. And usually Cookie’s outlet to wax lyrical about whatever has annoyed him that week. (usually some combo of Arsenal and Scousers!)
– In-between all of the main FPL articles we will also have our weekly MLS article from Guy, the ever popular Potty’s Predictions, and once the season is under way – Beka’s ‘Tips from the top’ which will analyse what the top 10 FPL players did the previous game-week.
As an addition this season we do of course have the experiment of all experiments which is the ‘Community Team’. If you haven’t yet experienced this phenomenon then just click the Community Team tab from the menu at the top and you will see for yourself what a mess they can all get in given a free vote!
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And so swiftly onto the fixtures themselves. At this time of the year it’s difficult to judge the teams properly. Pre-season form only says so much and often isn’t translated into actual season form, either for good or bad. Many teams also have new players who are settling in and we don’t know yet who will be a Sanchez or a Balotelli. We can’t tell you if some random team will emerge from the shadows and do a ‘Southampton’ and we can’t tell you if another will do an ‘Everton’ and not start playing until March. We have no idea how well the promoted teams will adapt as quite frankly neither do they. What we can do is point you in what we feel is the right direction for now and we, like you, will steer that ship accordingly over the coming weeks and months as the trends begin to unfold.
Welcome back to Fixtures!…
The Tracker…
As best as we can 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…
And so onto the teams themselves…
FAVOURABLE FIXTURES
ARSENAL – West Ham (H), Crystal Palace (A), Liverpool (H)
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[/three_fourth]Arsenal are an odd one. They seem to have been elevated to title contenders yet they’ve made only one major signing so far – Petr ‘seriously, let the head guard thing go’ Cech. OK, granted, it could be a key one as his presence alone will settle that defence but elsewhere it’s pretty much as you were. Perhaps the fact that Walcott and Ramsey are now finally fully fit and back in contention (for a few weeks at least) seems to perceptually boost their ranks. The trouble there for FPL managers is that it may actually just cloud the waters as those two will be fighting for starting spots along with a plethora of other similar attacking midfielders. Sanchez’s delayed introduction may be a blessing in that respect but also a curse as once he’s back he not only will rob one of those spots automatically but he’ll suddenly become a ‘must-have’ and he’s a couple of million more expensive than the rest. With good reason.
As for the fixtures themselves they begin with a very winnable game at home to West Ham followed by a slightly tougher trip to the home of Pardew. Liverpool is next and anything can happen in that one. They’ve hammered each other in the past few seasons so either way there should be goals. Beyond that it’s Newcastle and Stoke so not too bad before they face Chelsea in GW6.
We would have no issue in including two or three Arsenal players from the off. They’ve looked great in pre-season so far. The only problem is exactly who to have as they have so many talented players but that answer is one that will probably change from week to week in all honesty. Walcott started up top in place of Giroud in the Charity Shield thing but then Giroud never ever gets a start in any ‘important’ game. He plays pretty much 95% of the others though. So don’t be surprised to see him start on Saturday.
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CHELSEA – Swansea (H), Man City (A), West Brom (A)
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[/three_fourth]The champions begin with a relatively benign home fixture against Swansea which should in theory see them to their first three points on the board with little trouble. They follow this with a trip to Man City which is an early test and potential title decider. We jest of course, but you just never know! West Brom away and Palace at home follow this and neither are easy for any normal side but Chelsea aren’t any normal side and these should represent another six points on the board really.
To Hazard or not to Hazard has been an early debate and it’s purely centered around budget as we all know he’s a machine and will be one of the top scorers in FPL terms this season. And really that last statement should probably stop that debate in it’s tracks. Costa on the other hand is a different matter. He’s arguably as important to Chelsea as a team, but probably far less so to us in fantasy terms. He’s an oddity in this respect. He’ll score more goals than Hazard but his points tally won’t match up simply because he doesn’t assist as much or attract bonus points as much. Costa can get a single goal and see a 6 point game. Hazard can get a single goal and see a 10 point game.
Having not started in the Community Shield yesterday Costa’s ownership and interest probably plummeted. Those that thought they were being smart by selecting Falcao probably groaned too as it was in fact Remy who deputised. Miserably. Hopefully Jose is holding him back with a view to being fully fit next week but in all honesty this is just deja-vu from last season and if you want a stress free FPL life then maybe Costa isn’t for you.
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MANCHESTER UNITED – Tottenham (H), Aston Villa (A), Newcastle (H)
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[/three_fourth]As far as historical form goes then Man United couldn’t really have landed on a better start. They, and Rooney in particular, pretty much love playing the three teams above. They generally beat all three and Rooney generally scores a hat-full in the process. History plays no part in the present of course, but Man United should in theory have it ‘more together’ now having been under the tutelage of LVG for a full season. We’d expect a strong start from them and they follow those three up with a trip to Swansea that they should win. It’s then Liverpool and Southampton after that in games that could go either way, but also games that should produce goals at either end. Memphis Depay arrives with the expectations of many – both in terms of fantasy and reality – weighing on his slender shoulders. He’s got a reputation for being a bit greedy, which may suit his fantasy owners, but his link up with Rooney will be an important factor for United this season. If Pedro arrives from Barca then some combo of him, Mata and Depay in behind Rooney looks very tasty indeed!
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SOUTHAMPTON – Newcastle (A), Everton (H), Watford (A)
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[/one_half]The surprise package of last season and pre-season would suggest that they have only got better. As ever they’ve farmed out their prime asset at a great cost to Liverpool and as ever they are stifling their laughs as they prepare to carry on and not skip a beat as a result. We fully expect Southamptan under the tutelage of Koeman to continue as they left off. They made some shrewd signings in January with the likes of Mane and they will only be better now having had time to settle in.
Their opening games above are all winnable and they follow those up with Norwich and West Brom so don’t be surprised to see the Saints riding high once more. With one of the shrewdest defences last season, we would highly recommend covering that again and the likes of new boy Cedric Soares could thrive in one of those coveted attacking full-back spots. Matt Targett at just £4.0m could float your boat if you are looking for short term cover as he will fill in for the injured Bertrand for now. Further up Tadic comes into consideration with most set-pieces in his locker but Mane may be the stand out pick here given his propensity for attacking. Mr Pelle has had a decent pre-season and will be a popular pick but just remember to off-load him around November as he went into hibernation around about then last season having started on fire.
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SUNDERLAND – Leicester (A), Norwich (H), Swansea (H)
The dark horses and as such we really don’t know what to expect here from a side who were on the brink of relegation last season, but the fact is that they begin with some favourable fixtures this time round. They’ve strengthened, with the likes of Lens looking an exciting addition to their ranks. Much will depend on Defoe’s ability to find the net and the good news here is that he’s good at only one thing…
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BE WARY OF…
Crystal Palace – Norwich (A), Arsenal (H), Aston Villa (H)
In theory this isn’t actually a bad opening lot for Palace and you could certainly make a case for them winning two of the above games and maybe even giving Arsenal a good run for their money. The ‘be wary’ tag is applicable here though because their next three include two away trips to Chelsea and Spurs as well as hosting Man City so essentially they are facing four of last seasons top five teams within their first six games. Now we know Pardew’s good (he said so himself), but….
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Everton – Watford (H), Southampton (A), Man City (H)
Everton have a very similar start to Palace actually – replace Arsenal with a trip to Southampton (where they lost heavily 3-0 last season) and it’s more or less the same with only Watford in GW1 and Swansea in GW6 where they will probably go in as favourites. A sneaky punt on Lukaku in the opener is about all we would even consider here and even then it’d be backed up with a swift exit strategy.
Everton should be a different beast this season, purely because of the lack of Europa League distractions but the fixture Gods have deserted them and it’s difficult to see them being a valid fantasy attraction until about GW11 as even between GW7 and 10 they face Liverpool, Man United and Arsenal.
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Newcastle – Southampton (H), Swansea (A), Man United (A)
Newcastle will be a bit of an unknown quantity at the beginning. A new manager. An actual real-life proper manager this time too and a few new signings, some of whom come with a fair degree of pedigree such as Wijnaldum and Mitrovic. They may surprise a few in the long term but they are in this section simply because they have to face Southampton, Man United and Arsenal in three of their opening four games.
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West Brom – Man City (H), Watford (A), Chelsea (H)
Pulis will do what Pulis does and he’ll make West Brom hard to beat. He’s added wisely to their attack with the purchases of Lambert and McClean. Lambert in particular should thrive here as it’s more ‘his level’ and at just £6.0m he could be a great 3rd striker once these fixtures clear up a bit. For now though they aren’t rosy as they have Man City and Chelsea in the first three and then follow those up with Stoke away and then Southampton. One to monitor.
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West Ham – Arsenal (A), Leicester (H), Bournemouth (H)
West Ham actually have two very enticing looking games there against Leicester and Bournemouth. The problem isn’t only that they have Arsenal first and then Liverpool and Man City soon after those, it’s more the losses to the likes of Colchester and Birkirkara FC and last weeks Europa collapse to Astra Giurgiu that are setting alarm bells ringing. Bilic is a loose cannon and this adventure could go either way – he’s as likely to get them in the top 6 by Christmas as he is to be gone and probably arrested along the way by October. He’ll be fine in that respect though as he’s a qualified lawyer.
Thanks for reading Fantasy Football Fixtures Gameweek 1 – Fantasy Premier League 2015-16. This article was written by Inittowinit
Hi folks,
Followed your advice and got in Sterling for Cabaye which meant changing Walcott to Caz, Butland to Mccarthy (will it be him in goal instead of Peroni, or could it be Hennessey? Have looked at news stories and am getting conflicting reports) and altered my defence.
Your thoughts would be much appreciated! Just not sure about the Pound shop defenders I have bar Azpil. Which of the £4m defenders will actually play, do you reckon?!
Swirly
teams looks good, similar situation with the defenders, not really looked into it but i imagine the best bet is with one of the three teams coming up, unless there is someone from the likes of villa or stoke that may play
Cheers, duthers! I notice lots of people have got Baker – not sure why other than filling a space. Villa have a pretty bad start to the season, fixtures wise, and there’ll be competition for places now Sherwood has been on his spending spree. Shall do some more research! Cheers again!
Swirly,
A short term punt on the Target (sp?) chap from Southampton will give you a guaranteed 4.0m defender for a few weeks at least.
There was rumblings about Morgan not starting the season a week or so ago, so you might want to check on that one.
I love Cazorla as a player. I’m just not sure i get all the excitement about him from a fantasy perspective. Loads of teams have him, but i definitely prefer Ozil over him.
Nice team though.
Cheers, chins! Apparently Morgan did a full training session today and said he’s raring to go now after a week off. I know exactly what you mean about Caz – I’m disappointed I’ve had to drop Wally as I think he’ll also do well with no Sanchez. Great shout on Targett – I’d rather have him in there than Turner.
Ah ok. I hadn’t heard that about Morgan.
Good luck to you sir.
Swirly
I’d expect Morgan to say that. Just note that Leicester signed another centre back today in Tunisia international Benalouane.
Cheers, chins! And to you too
Fair point, GP. Would you see Huth as a safer option?
Swirly
It’s a new manager so you can never be 100% sure but yeah surely Huth will be a regular.
Thanks, GP! Changed Morgan to Huth.
The team look decent
Turner is the only concern
If he doesnt play, either downgrade cech to 5mill keeper or alderwild to 4.5mill
U will get some good defender in 4.5mill prices
Im also having mccarthy as my backup keeper
Hopefully he will play ahead hennessey
Cheers, labyrinth! Fingers crossed
Morgan still Leicester defender? They signed 2 new CB’s that could kick him out of the first team. Huth and the Italian guy.
Cheers, Raz – have put in Huth instead
What’s everyone’s thoughts on Lambert? proven striker and if Berahino leaves will be nailed on. Currently between Lambert, Deeney and Defoe as my third striker :dance:
Their opening fixtures look terrible.
But he is worth for punt
I’m going with Deeney, just on the back of how well he did in the Championship, however I will be keeping an eye on other 5.5m forwards if needs be (as that’s all I’d be able to afford anyway!)
Really considering having either Defoe or Lens.
Lens could be great differential and is cheap, i know nothing about him though, he could be the next jose altidore for all i know.
Hell no. He’s way better than that. Plus he can play in more roles. Winger and striker.
It would be hard to be much worse thinking about it 😉 Think i might get Defoe due to low ownership, reading different FPl stuff from players who finish really high each year it seems differential is really important, one guy said you want about 7 normal, popular picks and four differentials in your starting team if you really want to stand out from everyone else.
I have Defoe instead of Lens. It’s part of my plan though. Already got 4 premium mids. I will downgrade Sterling in GW3 to Lens or another cheaper mid and use the cash to upgrade Rooney to Kun.
Thoughts anyone.
Little tweak on today’s earlier effort. Could go either way on Courtois & Koscielny or Cech & Azpilicueta.
Thanks.
Love that team GP!
Super balance. Scottyboy, a playing 4.0 and Jenko all on the bench waiting to pounce.
The only downside is that you’re relying on Bournemouth. (I know it’s only Villa, but come on… it’s frikkin Bournemouth).
Oh, and i see you’re one of the masses buying into Super Caz. I hope he does the business for you. I’ll be sticking with Ozil.
Chins
Thanks mate.
I’m considering keeping the attack Bournemouth/West Ham rotation but ditching the defensive one. Crystal palace and Sunderland offer good rotation cover at the back so I may change to Dann and Matthews still.
GP
Look’s good to me, well balanced team. Out of the two options i prefer Cech and Azpi, i see Arsenal going on a crazy clean sheet run at the start of the season because of Cech, meaning he will get a load of bonus points in the process( maybe). Only problem with this is you have two West ham players, the most unreliable team in the world 😉
Thanks duthers
May be ditching Jenks but Payet is looking very tasty just now.
GP
He was really good for Marseille last season, very promising. West ham have also singed some Barca youngster tonight apparently so they could actually be alright next season. For my fourth starting mid I’m between Payet, Mane and Tadic right now, need to decide if that extra .5 or million is worth it.
I like the differentials in here Gallant- he who dares and all that. Probably not too much in the keeper/defender dilemma, but I’d say Koscielny has more offensive potential so I like how you have it set-up in this draft.
I watched some youtube clips of Payet after seeing you talking about him recently and the guys looks awesome. I’m going with a ‘safe’ strategy to start though and don’t have the guts to roll the dice with him- on the watch list for sure though!
Will you keep Sterling when it’s time to bring in Aguero, or will he help fund the move?
Red
Exactly why I am on Kos just now. I see little between the keepers come the end of the season. I can see Kos getting four goals with a bit of luck but can’t see Azpi matching that.
Sterling would likely leave for Aguero.
Shit, you can put Messi in WHU and they will still suck. :p
That’s swell Gallant. Are you planning on WCing early by having Targett? Not ideal having to use a FT on a bench player..
Otherwise love it.
Calvin
No immediate plans for WC. Targett is there incase Bertrand is out longer but really in essence, he is only a place holder until a 4.0M becomes apparent.
Thanks mate.
Ur team is good. I love this team
I will sticking with cortouis n kos as kos will provide attacking stat compare to azpi
Love payet. But with harder openig fixture mix with euro campaign, im avoiding west ham player per now. But yes, payet is the one that can lift west ham
Sinclair is worth for punt.
So u go wilson over deeney due to fixture right?
I will assume u will do an early wildcard as u have targett in ur team.
Heard from ben dinnery that bertrand has speed up his recovery.
Btw, good luck mate
LaB
Good luck to you too
I found it hard to pick between Wilson and Deeney. I like the first fixture yeah so gone with Wilson.
Won’t WC just because of Targett.
Hi all, hope you had a great summer. Charity Shield has got me itching to start the new season. What do y’all think of my team?
Am considering 2 options:
Hendo & Giroud & Chadli
Ozil & Ritchie & Benteke
Here is my team
Im also go for the second one
Tough choice, i would lean toward the second one as giroud may not be a nailed on starter due to Walcott, and i’d fancy ozil to get more points than hendo or chadli
My only issue with this is having 2 Bournemouth players that admittedly I’d never heard of until half an hour ago
Hey guys, how goes the tinkering?
I was on earlier today but am looking for more feedback if anyone is still about. What the heck can I do with this defense?? Bricking it with 2 newly promoted guys in there and Huth! Would prefer 4.5 players but could spend a little more if I had to! Any ideas? Any other glaring problems you see?
Pants Hennessey
Azpi Cedric Huth Francis Prodl
Hazard Mane Milner Ramsey Fletcher
Rooney Kane Wilson
1.5 in the Aguero kitty
When do you plan on upgrading to Aguero and who else will you drop to get him? I’ve decided to just spend the Aguero money rather than have it sit around doing nothing, betters players means i *should* get more points.
Hey duthers, thanks. Not really sure on Aguero, will probably wait and see. Could sell either Rooney, Kane, or Ramsey to fund it. That’s my favorite part of this squad, I’ve got lots of options and can adjust as needed. Nothing too risky, ya know? Just a shit defense!
Haha, that’s partly my reasoning for my defence too – just a case of guessing when Aguero will be back.
Hey Red, what I’m doing with defence is playing Azpil every game and rotating between two pairs of NOR/STK and WHU/BOU as both pairs have great fixtures until GW8. Won’t work if you want to keep Cedric mind.
Rest looks great apart from Fletcher, would ideally get a 5.0 in there.
Thanks Calvin, much appreciated! Which defenders did you go with from Stoke and West Ham? Is Muniesa nailed at 4.5? Any budget guys from WH that are likely to start? I do like the jump in quality at 5.0 for the 5th mid spot, there are quite a few decent punts in there that could do well when called on.
From what I’ve looked into Muniesa is supposed to be the best option there yeah, though if anyone wants to correct me do speak up. As for West Ham I’ve actually plugged for the expensive Cresswell after seeing his impressive stats for last season. The amount of crosses he put in was staggering. If 5.5 is too much then Jenkinson isn’t bad at 5.0. He misses the first game but you wouldn’t play him at the Emirates anyway.
One option is to switch Cedric to Targett and Prodl to someone 0.5m more expensive / better. That’ll keep your bank account intact and give you more options for covering that third defender spot.
Or.. you spend the Aguero money and worry about it later.
I like Ramsey – Not seen many going for him.
Is that Darren Fletcher in your team?! Wow. That’s a first. 😉
Hey Chins, thanks man. Gotta keep tinkering with the defense I think- it’s embarrassing me to post it online.
Not many options at 4.5, I just know that Wanyama will have a massively high ownership and will drop in price fairly soon once a decent 4.5/5.0 mid shows up and people play their WC’s early. That, and I may want to use my 3rd Southampton spot for Pelle/Tadic if they keep playing well.
Why
kane over benteke?
Wilson over deeney?
Ramsey over ozil?
Ur team is okay for me and fletcher pick is quite obvious to avoid wanyama bandwagon. Lol
Because he needs differentials to beat me. 😉
Hey LaByRiNtH,
Kane can go to Benteke to fund Aguero if need be. Went with Kane because he’s certain to start gw1 and I grabbed Milner already. It was basically Chadli and Benteke or Milner and Kane, went with the latter.
Wilson has better fixtures than Deeney and lower ownership. And he’s fast as hell. Everyone is raving about Ritchie, so I’d like the guy playing in front of him. Could always switch if need be depending on how they do, same goes for Defoe.
Arsenal midfield is a crap shoot. I don’t think anyone can guess who is best to start. I liked how Ramsey was making runs in the Community Shield and his positions in the box.
Would you be tempted to do Wanyama instead of Fletcher? Noticed you’ve got Hennessey too – do you reckon he’ll start ahead of Mccarthy?
Hey Swirly, how’s it going? I could put anyone in goal behind Pants. Doesn’t much matter, Pants will start every match and hopefully get peppered with shots. Gotta love a keeper who can let a couple goals in and still score you 4 or 5 points. Not interested in Wanyama really, but I might try to scrape together another .5 to get one of the 5 mil options. Who do you have for your 5th mid?
Hey RedVT, I’m good thanks – it’s great to properly be back on here in amongst the FPL chat and banter. Funnily enough I’ve gone for Wanyama simply because he’s cheap and should start. I had him for a brief period last season and reaped the rewards. Not saying that’ll definitely happen again though, mind! GK wise, yeah I can definitely see the logic with Pants. I’ve only got 4m for a second keeper and so if I could pick one that’ll play too, that’d be ace! Think it’s a 50-50 guess between Mccarthy and Hennessey :/
Sorry, where are my manners?! How are you?
I’m doing well Swirly, thanks! Just trying to get my team together before Saturday. TBH, it’s going to be great once the deadline gets here so I can STOP TINKERING already!! lol
So happy the season’s starting back up though, really missed it and all the regulars who post here. Best of luck to you this year, hope you have a good season.
Azpil and Milner
Or 4.5 defender and Depay.
Have too much Liverpool
If you’ve got too much Liverpool, perhaps consider Depay and a 4.5m defender.
post a photo of your team, makes it much easier
Here it is
Looking at your team I’d be tempted to just change Gomez
+1 you could also get someone like Payet over Milner if you think you have too much pool