Fantasy Football Fixtures Gameweek 3
“You don’t have to see the whole staircase, just take the first step”.
A lovely sentiment, but Martin Luther King Jr. clearly hasn’t visited FF247 where we look at the FPL staircase six steps at a time. Welcome to the GW3 Fixtures article, in which we endeavour to segregate the teams that will be relishing a points feast over the next 6 games, from those that will be wanting to avoid their Twitter feed for a while.
If GW2 had one motto for FPL managers, it was ‘We told you so’. Delivering for the 2nd consecutive week, Ramsey and Costa scored, Sigurdsson assisted and Dier replicated his handsome CS/goal haul. 29 points in 2 games is mightily impressive, but for a defender? Come on now. Behave.
But it wasn’t all good news. Chester turned jester with an early red-card, scuppering the plans of his new admirers from GW1. Man United gave another unconvincing performance as they continued their reliance on local students from Stretford High School to populate their back three. Then there’s QPR and Harry’s personal crusade to prove Luis Van Gaal that 3-5-2 can still be criminally ineffective even if you invest heavily in central defenders.
Right. For those that don’t already have these bookmarked, printed and pinned above the fridge next to your dog-eared World Cup chart (you really should think about taking that down), and before we appraise the fixtures for GW3-GW8, have a gander at these essential Fantasy Football tools (no offense intended guys).
Mito produced some outstanding, detailed analysis on the best rotation pairs for the season.
Rotation Analysis Home and Away and Favourable fixtures
Calvin Clyne devised an ingenious interactive fixture tracker. Use it before he starts charging subscription fees.
Fixture Tracker – Fantasy Premier League 2014-15
[divider_1px]
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.
[divider_1px]
FAVOURABLE
Newcastle Crystal Palace (h), Southampton (a), Hull (h), Stoke (a), Swansea (a), Leicester (h)
In Saturday’s shut-out at Villa Park, Newcastle fulfilled the defensive promise that they showed in defeat against Man City in GW1. Gerard DePardew’s toon armée may not be everyone’s tasse de thé, but their defence offers more value than a tabloid’s £1 Eurostar trip to Paris. No more so than Fabricio Coloccini (4.5). As captain he’s a definite starter and his commitment to the cause always puts him in bonus point contention. New recruit Daryl Janmaat (5.0) will have piqued many managers’ interests with some promising forays into Villa’s defensive third. Dummett (4.0) and Williamson (4.5) are the other, though perhaps less fashionable, options.
At the other end, Cabella and Riviére have been somewhat underwhelming, but with an appealing run of games on the horizon, particularly at St. James’, there won’t be many better times to gamble on Gallic flair bringing a musketeer to the eyes of their opponents.
[divider_1px]
Southampton West Ham (a), Newcastle (h), Swansea (a), QPR (h), Spurs (a), Sunderland (h)
Similarly to Newcastle, their St. Mary’s stalemate hints at a surprising solidity this season, but with new signings as yet failing to deliver up front. Most accept they were unlucky to take nothing from Anfield, but Koeman has voiced concerns at their ‘lack of quality’ against Albion. Ronnie said, “I was disappointed by the level we had today in an offensive way”. For clarity, that’s not ‘offensive’ as in the contents of a Malky Mackay email, but offensive as in attack. The well documented exodus that many argue has significantly weakened their team may, aside from the obvious fiscal benefits, have several silver linings. James Ward-Prowse has seemingly become an integral cog in Koeman’s side and his performances to date suggest he is thriving on the extra responsibility. Nathaniel Clyne, no longer having to tag-team his place in the team with the departed Chambers, seems to have the right-back position all to himself, and provides real width to their attacking armoury. If Tadic can turn his tireless work into providing Pelle, and now Long with more service, the Saints could well conspire to prove their cynics wrong.
[divider_1px]
Manchester United Burnley (a), QPR (h), Leicester (a), West Ham (h), Everton (h), West Brom (a)
On the back of two tepid performances, it’s with great reluctance that LvG’s men are presented here. However, with some supreme Argentinian talent overworking Manchester’s international work permit department, they may just be able to capitalize on what is still a very kind run of fixtures. Pre-season fervour about their fantasy prospects has eroded substantially, and impressive wins against Roma, Real Madrid and Liverpool seem a long, long time ago.
Even expert pundits are struggling to ascertain how new imports Di Maria and Rojo will be implemented into Van Gaal’s wing back based system. It has been posited in some quarters that he’s using 3-5-2 to minimise the fallout of having such inexperienced defensive options at his disposal. The denouement may be that the system itself may change. Depending on work permits, there’s a chance Turf Moor could witness the debuts of both South Americans in a game that would have every Fantasy Football manager scouting intently. Throw in a returning RvP, a firing Rooney, and Mata who claimed 10 points at the Stadium of Light, and games against Burnley, QPR, Leicester, West Ham and West Brom are surely ones that LvG is targeting for maximum returns.
[divider_1px]
UNFAVOURABLE
West Brom Swansea (a), Everton (h), Spurs (a), Burnley (h), Liverpool (a), Man Utd (h)
The good news for Baggies boss Alan Irvine is that Saido Berahino looks to be a bright light, and his team remain undefeated. The bad news is they must visit Spurs and Liverpool, welcoming Everton and Man Utd. Yeah, um.. good luck with that lot, Alan. Even next weekend’s trip to the Liberty Stadium could offer little solace, and Burnley’s visit may already be earmarked as a must-win game. From a fantasy perspective, full-back Andre Wisdom seems to offer a solid 4.0 bench option, though Chris Baird doesn’t seem to be high in Irvine’s thoughts, despite heavy pre-season involvement.
[divider_1px]
Aston Villa Hull (h), Liverpool (a), Arsenal (h), Chelsea (a), Man City (h), Everton (a)
Kevin Costner’s “The Postman”, accounting, watching Aston Villa. Recent surveys have indicated that these are all credible cures for insomnia. Thankfully, with fans of Liverpool, Arsenal, Chelsea, Man City and Everton to entertain, that could all change. Unfortunately, it’s more than likely that it will be those teams doing the entertaining. It’s only GW3, yet the visit of Hull surely takes on magnified significance. For any masochists out their wanting in on Villa’s defence, Hutton and Vlaar are the standout candidates. But with uncertainty still persisting about new owners taking the club off Randy Lerner, one can’t help but worry for Paul Lambert come the end of this frightening fixture onslaught.
[divider_1px]
Arsenal Leicester (a), Man City (h), Aston Villa (a), Spurs (h), Chelsea (a), Hull (h)
It’s not often Arsenal find themselves at this end of the fixtures page, but it’s not often they have three of their biggest rivals to contend with in such a contracted period. One would assume (perhaps dangerously) that they can target three victories at the King Power Stadium, Villa Park, and at home to Hull, but coupled with demonstrating an uncharacteristic lack of authority at Goodison Park, more familiar frailties began to emerge. Wenger must address their lack of concentration at key moments, and somehow find a role that gets the best out of marquee signing Alexis Sanchez. Arsenal fans have lots to be optimistic about this season, but the Man City, Spurs and Chelsea duels will go a long way to showing everyone how serious their title credentials are. So in light of these stern tests, should people consider getting rid of Ramsay? Don’t even think about it. But the mercurial Welshman may well be enough coverage until after they visit Stamford Bridge.
[divider_1px]
Fixture Fun
With a whole myriad of Capital One Cup and European fixtures to muddy the waters this week, it will be a wise FPL manager that holds onto their transfer until Friday’s press conferences and Cookie’s subsequent low-down in the FF247 TeamTalk article.
Hey everyone…
Which 3 would you start this Gwk..?
Drummet (h) palace
O’Shea (a) QPR
Debuchy (a) Leic
Clyne (a) West Ham
I meant to reply to this…see post 74 below
I agree with ChelseaFTW. Debuchy and Clyne get up and down the flanks a lot, so they’re always an assist threat. Newcastle looked solid against Villa (not hard, mind you) and should keep out a floundering Palace, you’d think.
Cheers…Chelsea FTW & Bryan M…
Sound advice..
will do.
Got Begovic in goal away to City …think he’ll have to score to get any points..?
You could hope for a penalty save. 😉 Other than that, I think he’s very likely to come away with 0 points.
Yea that’s definitely going to be a big 0 I’m thinking…
Don’t forget he could get points for saves, though. (Lose a point for every 2 goals, but gain one for every 3 saves.) Krul managed 3 saves in Man C’s first game, but Mignolet only made 1 last night.
I’d go for Dummet, Debuchy and Clyne…gives you some scoring threat and still a decent chance for clean sheets with all three…if you have krul as keeper though then I’d play o’shea over dummet just to keep the risk down
Really unsure what to do with Luis. Thought he would be a starter but appears not, and I don’t see Jose giving him his debut away vs Everton. Should I downgrade him to someone in the 5mil region (Clyne) or upgrade him to someone like terry
Looks a good time to downgrade a CFC defender with Arsenal, Everton and Man City in the next 5, save some extra cash to pump into an Aguero fund.
What the hell do I do with this sorry lot? A bit to clean up, Chester can stay. Worries over bojan and chambers in particular. Lack of united cover may come against me…
please help!!!!
1 free transfer and no money!
Sledge 10..,
How about Sturidge to Rooney for some Utd cover…?
Or for a hit, how about downgrading Bojan to Zamora, then do Sterling to Mata…?
These two are the only Utd players worth concidering at the mo..!
Flingy’s quick stats update.
Lamela was the only player to assist in 2 goals this game-week, with a number of others managing 1. But it wasn’t Lamela who created the most, in fact, Eden Hazard was heads above the rest, with a whopping 7 chances created for Chelsea, with not one of those assisting in a goal. Fabregas was near the top again, creating 4 chances, and providing an assist. He also managed an extra shot on goal than Hazard did, with it being a significant one in that he managed to assist one of Chelsea’s 3.
You may have remembered that last week, Joey Barton managed to top the chances created chart, and he’s not far off this week either, creating the same amount as Fabregas! Silky.
Shurrle took the most shots of the weekend with 6, showing he’s a selfish prick (Costa owner, here) with a 0% shot accuracy and 2 of those coming from within the box. He also created 0 chances, had he passed to Costa however, well. Sturridge, Giroud, and Oxlade chamberlain all managed an impressive 5 shots this weekend, however, Ox followed in Schurrle’s footsteps with 0% accuracy, with the others managing 40%, and only the latter managing a goal.
Another impressive stat to keep all of you Caulker bandwagoner’s happy, is that Caulker managed 4 attempts at goal, all from within the box, one being deemed as a “big chance”, and 25% of those being on target. He’s up there with the big guns.
Great post, Flingy! Happy to see my bargain midfielder Barton is earning his place on my bench.
Shocked at Caulker’s stats. I’m watching MOTD now on iPlayer and am watching Ivanovic in awe. His offensive play is fantastic. Would be interesting to see how his numbers stack up against others in his position.
+1 we all thought Ivan would be dropped… how could he be with such a commanding presence up top? So dangerous.
Hey mate, great article by the way. Helps me with my plans a lot. I’ll dig up Ivanovic’s stuff for you soon, check back to this post.
Wow, nice one. Didn’t expect you to actually go and research it. haha
Ivanovic’s performances weren’t bad for the 2013/14 season. I’ll give top 5 for each, and where he sits amongst those.
Assists – Kolarov leads the line with 7, although playing just 2100 minutes of football. The next best is his teammate Zabaleta with 6, although he played 3250. Baines follows up with Clyne in join 3rd, both with 4, however, Clyne played just 1900 compared to Baines 3000. Evra, Lowton, and Debuchy all assisted 3 times, however Lowton also didn’t play much with just 1700 minutes on the field. Ivanovic managed just 1 assist last season.
Chances created – Baines and Coleman are up there in 1st and 2nd, with 48 and 45 chances created respectively. Evra follows up again with 38, and Kolarov makes another appearance with 34. Zabaleta and Luke Shaw join 5th with 33 chances created a piece. Ivanovic sits 7th with 29 chances created.
Goals – the highest scoring defender was Skrtel with 7, Coleman coming close with 6, and Caulker and Baines following both with 5. Chico and Kompany both netted 4, whilst Ivanovic joined Terry, Lovren, and Fonte with 3 goals to their names.
Attempts at goal – Kolarov, again, was up there, with 53 attempts at goal in the mere 2100 minutes he played. Ivanovic managed second with 38, closely followed by Debuchy with 35. Caulker makes an appearance again with 34, and Bardsley and Luiz following with 31.
So far this year, only Monreal, Rose, and Van Aandholt have managed an assist as a defender. However a number of players have managed to create 3 chances, those being Baines, Cresswell, Hutton, Ivanovic, O’Brien, and Schlupp.
Dier has managed 2 goals within the first 2 games, whilst Ivanovic, Shawcross, Chester, Clyne, Coleman, Hangeland, and Koscielny have managed 1 each.
In terms of attempts at goal, Caulker leads the line with 6, closely followed by Ivanovic with 5. Shawcross has managed 4, whilst Janmaat and Bardsley have took 3. A whole number have managed 2, being Dier, Chester, Koscielny, Schlupp, Pocognoli, Wilson, Cahill, and Glen Johnson.
Flingy…
Good stuff..
Never really dig that deep into stats, but you seem to have convinced me to take more notice…
Based on your info, was it you who pointed out that Jovitic was one to look out for based
on his week 1 stats…?
He certainly proved you right….I’ve already done Dzeko to Jov.
Feel sorry for Raz tho..
Jov to Pelle….ouch…!!
I did win this week’s Potty by captaining Jovetic.
Yeah that was my last weekend’s stats update, showed how Dzeko scored but didn’t do much else. Jovetic was really lively, and carried on this week, saving my points haul in the process!
And left me crying.
I’m pretty miffed by what’s happened to Giroud this week, I was sure he was on for a very good season up front for Arsenal and even though he wasn’t starting I was fully prepared to stick with him, gutted to see him injured but at least he scored one for me.
Brilliant stuff, thanks Flingy. Really great stats there pal.
flingy
Can I ask where you get your stats from? Would be very helpful if I could check any player’s stats on my own…
Or do you belong to some sort of super secret governmental investigation bureau..?
I get them from Uni Tekno. Football stats are a shady place since Opta took over the market and bullied public suppliers out the picture limiting the use for everybody. Squawka isn’t bad, though. Anything posted on a public site can be shared in any way, so you won’t have an issue with their stuff.
Thanks for the article Bry. Nice work mate.