Fantasy Football Fixtures Gameweek 1
Welcome back to the first of our regular season-long articles. The aim of this one every week is to present to you the teams that we feel have both the best and worst run of fixtures ahead of them so that you can plan your team, squad and transfers accordingly. Before we continue it is worth noting that since the FPL was relaunched a few weeks back we have had all manor of articles, almost daily, addressing many key issues ahead of the season so it is worth checking back over them all, although we make no apologies if it is overwhelming as the amount of info, stats, charts and advice may be enough to make the average fantasy manager burst at the seams…
It seems like only yesterday that we bid you all farewell and a happy fantasy free summer back in GW38 but alas it is upon us already and this Saturday sees the start of the circus again. Truth is we haven’t stopped all summer as many of you will know having taken part in the World Cup shenanigans and we all had some great fun along the way, so a massive thanks to all those who participated in that. For those that didn’t and decided to take a break, then all the more respect to you for your willpower in doing so, but also welcome back regardless and it’s great to see so many familiar faces now coming out of the summer woodwork ahead of the serious stuff again.
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Before we embark on the Fixtures GW1 article it is worth pointing you in the direction of two relevant articles that we have featured already. Both were massive hits both on here and on twitter and go hand in hand in with this one –
Mito21 produced a seriously good article that talked us through, at great length, the best rotation pairs for the season ahead…
Rotation Analysis Home and Away and Favourable fixtures
Calvin Clyne provided us with an interactive fixture tracker of epic proportions that was a massive hit on both here and social media alike. Take the time to save your own copy and use it as you wish as we expect from the reaction it got he may be copyrighting it as we speak!
Fixture Tracker – Fantasy Premier League 2014-15
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And so onto the teams and fixture themselves. Let’s begin with a very straightforward fixture tracker…
We have colour coded the fixtures in a simple fashion to allow you to judge your transfer and team selection plans accordingly:
[highlight_green]Green[/highlight_green] – We deem these to be winnable fixtures for the given team and should, in theory at least (!), harvest good fantasy points for you in the opening games. Aim to have a good nucleus of these players in your initial squad.
[highlight_yellow]Yellow[/highlight_yellow] – These are the fixtures that could go either way and do not stand out as being either particularly good or poor. If you have a player from a team in this category then do not be afraid to play them but take a considered view that it may not be an explosive week for them.
[highlight_red]Red[/highlight_red]- These are the teams that we consider to have a difficult fixture and as such may be best avoided from a fantasy perspective. Aim to minimise any players that have a run of reds in the opening games.
It’s always difficult to predict who will start well and who won’t in a new season but based on what we know – last season’s performance, summer signings, pre-season form and expectations here is our take on who to possibly jump on and who to give a wide berth to for the opening fixtures…
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FAVOURABLE
Chelsea Burnley (a), Leicester (h), Everton (a), Swansea (h), Man City (a),Aston Villa (h)
Any serious title contender that starts the campaign against two newly promoted teams has to be deemed to have a good chance of getting off the mark well and given Chelsea’s pedigree, allied to some fantastic summer business with the purchase’s of Costa, Fabregras and Luis Filipe we feel that some Chelsea investment will be near vital given their opening fixtures. They face a couple of toughies in GW’s 3 and 5 with trips to Everton and City but the other four are definitely winnable as they face Burnley, Leicester, Swansea and Villa. We suggest you be wary of their defence but only in so much as there are five players vying for four positions and Jose has the luxury that at least three of those can play in different positions across the back. The odd injury or two to John Terry in the next few days, whilst unfortunate, wouldn’t go amiss. In more ways than one.
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Manchester United Swansea (h),Sunderland (a),Burnley (a), QPR (h), Leicester (a),West Ham (h)
Manchester United couldn’t really have asked for a kinder opening schedule to the season. They begin with Swansea at home and then travel to Sunderland and that’s about as tough as it gets in the first six as they then face all three newly promoted sides back to back and end the sequence with a home game against West Ham. If LVG had hand picked this start to the campaign he couldn’t have done it any better himself. Whether clean-sheets are part of the equation we will have to wait and see but certainly the likes of Mata and Rooney should flourish here and maybe Ashley Young at a mere £5.5m and his new wing-back role may combine to be the early steal you need.
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Southampton Liverpool (a), WBA (h), West Ham (a), Newcastle (h), Swansea (a), QPR (a)
LVG isn’t the only new Dutch manager to be welcomed to the Premier League this season as fellow countryman Ronald Koeman has taken the reigns at Saints. He’s had to rebuild the squad from the summer wreckage and he seems to be doing a very tidy job of it with the acquisition of the likes of Tadic and Pelle. His new team begin with a very apt trip to Anfield to face the Southampton class of 2013 who have all swapped life of the glorious South coast for a slum on the River Mersey. Don’t worry about them though, they’ll all survive on that extra £50k a week. Whilst that looks difficult on paper don’t forget that Liverpool’s laser like attack is built on a bed of quick sand so don’t be afraid to throw in any Saints attacking players you may have picked up. After that their schedule is actually one of the best around. In fact they don’t actually run into a top side and a game that isn’t winnable all the way through until GW13. At which point they get Man City, Arsenal and Man Utd in a row but hey let’s worry about that later.
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Stoke Aston Villa (h), Hull (a), Man City (a), Leicester (h), QPR (a), Newcastle (h)
We honestly never thought Stoke would feature in one of these but they are and for good reason. Not only have they had a decent pre-season they have managed to capture one of Barcelona’s, once upon a time, ‘bright young thing’s’ in Bojan. Let’s not forget that this is a player who ousted Thierry Henry in his prime from the line-up at one of the biggest clubs in the world at one point. He’s hit the ground running as well with three goals in pre-season and started tongues wagging with his price tag. He also rotates exceptionally well with Sigurdsson should you wish to give yourself an option of switching between 3-4-3 and 3-5-2. Bojan aside Stoke’s fixtures see them face Man City in GW3 which is actually their only encounter with a ‘Top 4’ side until GW13. If you can figure out which defenders are nailed on for them then you may have a nice cheap route into a traditionally miserly defence with great fixtures.
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UNFAVOURABLE
Aston Villa Stoke (a), Newcastle (h), Hull (h), Liverpool (a), Arsenal (h), Chelsea (a)
Villa have a new manager too in Roy Keane. Well ok, he’s not actually the manager yet, he’s ‘assisting’ the current manager Paul Lambert. Probably to the exit door. It all looks rosy now but trust us this is a story in the making and smacks of Roy Evans / Gerard Houllier all over. Fixtures wise, to be fair Villa’s first three games aren’t all that bad facing Stoke, Newcastle and Hull and it would be hard to pick a winner from all of those but it is GW’s 4 to 6 that worry us. Liverpool, Arsenal and Chelsea on the bounce points to zero points in that period and probably no clean sheets. Maybe grab a Villa defender for the first three if you must, but be prepared to transfer or bench them for that horrendous run ahead.
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Leicester Everton (h), Chelsea (a), Arsenal (h), Stoke (a), Man Utd (h), Crystal Palace (a)
New boys Leicester come up as the champions from the Championship and so whilst they certainly know how to win they may find the top division a completely different kettle of fish. Despite being champions they are in fact many bookies favourites to go straight back down and their opening schedule will do nothing to help them in that respect. Everton, Chelsea, Arsenal and Man Utd in the first six will probably see them languishing at the foot of the table come the end of August we feel. Tread with caution here.
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Everton Leicester (a), Arsenal (h), Chelsea (h), WBA (a), Crystal Palace (h),Liverpool (a)
This is a right mixed bag for the Toffees and may explain tentative investment in them thus far. They begin with a newly promoted side in Leicester which on paper should be their’s for the taking but it’s away and these new teams can put up a fight especially in their first PL game and at home to boot. They follow that with two real toughies with Arsenal at home then a trip to Chelsea. It eases for two in theory with West Brom away and Palace at home before they run into Liverpool away. They got battered in that one last season. We suggest if you fancy an Everton player then maybe be prepared to rotate them given the schedule.
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Hi guys thanks for all the articles I have read through all if them, my team is now looking like this any advice would be much appreciated!!
Hi Hacko, you read them all?! Bloody hell mate that’s some dedication, I’m still only up to Chelsea on GP’s one! As for your team I really like it, nicely balanced with a couple of differentials. I’d say you’re good to go if you are happy with it?
Grade A team there Hacko, quality core with just enough decent different choices to make your own mark early on.
Thanks gentleman, yes innit pretty much all of them. I haven’t come across any other website who is so regularly putting out articles and for free to boot. Keep up the good work, us addicts need our daily fix!!!
Like ya team. Only real doubt for me is Panti.
Yeah, him or Mannone I guess. What about green? Could be a safer option. I think we will obv no ore after gw1
Hacko,
Nice team.
Just a thought… I wonder how well Ward will rotate with Van A of Sunderland? (I haven’t checked). For the sake of a slightly reduced chance of the odd assist, but mabye a better chance of clean sheets through better rotation, would Ferdinand of QPR be a better option instead of Van A? (NB, i’ve not checked this rotation either, but it might be worth a look!)
Cesc or Haz?
which one do you prefer and why?
Haz, should be playing considerably further forward and in a freer role. On pens too I believe.
Thanks CC.
I have Cesc atm maybe i’m just looking for a reason for the extra 1m
Hey gang, how goes the tinkering? Are you almost there? I think I’m about 95% done, just one or two more tweaks and I’m ready. I was wondering what your thoughts were on Siggy vs Eriksen as far as long term points potential. I’m .5 mil away from swapping out Siggy and putting Eriksen in, and I’m wondering if I should keeping playing around to make the change or just leave things as is.
De Gea Gilks
Terry Van Aanholt Debuchy Hutton Ward
Ramsey Sterling Barton Mata Siggy
Rooney Costa Bojangles
Hehe, I just took Eriksen out for Ramsey. Team looks great. Don’t like Bojan and Barton though. Hmmm, would def not take SIggy out. No way.
Razman, you got Ramsey? How about Yaya too? :hippo:
You just said the same thing twice….
you just said the same thing twice….
Two wrongs make a right!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :finger:
:whatever:
Thanks Raz. I think Eriksen and Lamela could have great seasons at Spurs this year, but Siggy is definitely a good value. Not too sure on Bojan either, but a lot of people here have them in their sides to start and we’ve got some smart cookies (see what I did there??) on these boards.
If I keep Siggy that’ll leave me with some $ in the bank, so I can always get rid of Bojangles for Jelavic, Long, Fletcher, etc. if he fails to impress after a few matches.
Barton is my secret weapon if he can stay out of prison for the season. On set pieces and has a great goal and assist record in the league, what more do you want for a 5 mil sub??
Yeah, I really want Eriksen. But dude did nothing in pre-season. Lamela was awesome in pre-season I think. ANyway, just brought in Ramsey for Eriksen (does feel like a risk).
Bojan is great value for money and if scores just 1 goal billions of FPL managers will get him.
Personally, I just don’t like Barton. He’s not a bad player just an enormous asshole.
Red, I think you need Siggy in there to make sure of the Bojan rotation mate
Thanks Cookie. Although with Barton as my 5th mid there will be plenty of times when Bojan and Siggy will both be playing. Do you think most people doing the Bojan/Siggy rotation have a beefed up midfield and will have Siggy as their 5th guy?
One of the reasons I like Barton is I actually won’t be afraid to play him now and then as compared to most of the players at 4.5. He’s on set-pieces and has Remy and Austin to get on the end of them.
Razman, you got Ramsey lol ? You’ll be getting Yaya next as well :hippo:
Ok, here comes. My team (with a bit more Arsenal coverage in it):
DDG – Myhill
Pieters – Chambers – Chester – van Aanholt – Clyne
Hazard – Ramsey – Mata – Siggy – Albrighton
Pelle – Rooney – Costa
0 in bank…
Chambers will be for the first game only. Will doublecheck friday if he starts though.
Razman, if you sold Ramsey for Eriksen you could get a Chelsea defender in there old boy
Hmmm, don’t trust Mourinho. He might f… over Azpi, Iva or Luis. Uncertain which one. And will Terry Cahill be the 2 central defenders this season? Shrugs. So many things can happen.
I’ll admit that is an issue mate, you either pick one and accept the odd rotation or leave well alone. Not sure where I stand on it really, changes by the day.
He could also upgrade Hazard to Yaya (which is rich coming from me)
I feel sort of shite for letting go of Eriksen and now you want me to let go of Hazard? Hmmm, from what I’ve seen from Costa he’ll get plenty of assists this season. And who will be the fast player running in the box? 😉
I was originally going to have him myself Raz… but yeah, definitely keep hold of that midget, for now 😉
As solid-a-team as I’ve seen.
I’d avoid Myhill as his value may drop once random people realise he doesn’t start games and begin to sell him out (20% ownership).
Oooh, that’s true. Haven’t even considered that. I’ll just take some random 4.0 goalie.
Thumbs up.
Raz, tell us about pelle, I have currently have him. His stats have been beastly the last two seasons at 6″4 looks like he could be made for the Prem league…
Think this will be my team for GW1 unless I can be persuaded otherwise:
De Gea / Gilks
Filipe Luis – Ferdinand – Van Aanholt – Coloccini – Hutton
Ramsey – Mata – Sterling – Eriksen – Sigurdsson
Rooney – Diego Costa – Bojan
Not sure about Luis. People said Ferdinand might not start all games this season? Keep that in mind. Only problem is your defense. Rest looks solid. Well, I don’t like Bojan but I understand why you have him.
Raziel
How would you change my defence?
What I did is downgrade Luis (whom is a rare rotation risk and that at 6m) and swap him to a 5m defender. Leaves you 1 million to upgrade Ferdinand to lets say Debuchy, or another 5m defender. If you choose the latter you have another 0.5m to upgrade Hutton or Colo.
That’s just me though. Don’t be hating on me if Luis scores a hattrick in his first game and none of your 5m choices pick points. 😛
Thanks. You not think a Chelsea defender is a must?
I sort of do. I just don’t know what to do with the whole Azpi/Iva/Luis situation. Terry and Cahill should both be starters but they’re at 6.5m and who knows what Mourinho is thinking.
My thinking is he spent near enough £2o million for Luis and he’s their only natural LB so surely he start. I then think he’ll either play Azpi or Ivanovic or from time to time put Ivanovic in CB in place of Terry.