Fantasy Football Fixtures Gameweek 1

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

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