Fixtures and Tips Gameweek 15

And just like that GW15 is upon…there’s a Tommy Cooper joke in there somewhere! But now is not the time for joking around as we move towards that part of the season that can make or break a fantasy manager. With six game-weeks scheduled for the next four weeks it is imperative that you plan accordingly and with this in mind we will now take a look at the next four game-weeks, highlighting which teams we feel will could flourish and who could struggle. We will also endeavour to identify which players we feel could prosper over the coming weeks. Favourable Fixtures CHELSEA – Stoke (A), Crystal Palace (H), Arsenal (A), Swansea (H) Having won their last three league games Chelsea are slowly but surely starting to look like potential champions. During Mourinho’s first spell in charge at the Bridge Chelsea were very much a safety first side, if they went a couple of goals ahead they would take their foot off the gas and concentrate on not conceding, but with Roman Abramovich wanting sexy football things are different second time around. In their first fourteen games they have conceded fourteen goals and kept only four clean sheets, of course they sit second in the table, thanks largely to the twenty eight goals they have scored. We could however possibly expect a couple of clean sheets against Stoke and Palace, Stoke haven’t scored in three, while Palace have only scored eight all season. Chelsea then travel to current table toppers Arsenal but with Jose having never lost to Wenger, the Pensioners will be confident of getting a result.  They then face a Swansea side at home who have been unable to recapture the form of last season and we suspect that Chelsea will have too much for them. Tips With Chelsea more than capable of picking up three clean sheets from these four games Petr Cech is worth consideration but it’s John Terry who is the stand-out performer for Chelsea at the back. JT as he is known to his few friends has rolled back the years and has turned in a number of commanding displays, claiming two goals, an assist & an impressive thirteen bonus points and at £6.6m he appears to be good value. Further up the pitch and it really is all about the Chelsea midfield. As we have already noted, Chelsea have to date scored twenty eight goals and seventeen of them have come from midfield! Eden Hazard is very much the man of the moment for Chelsea, having scored six and laid on another five in his last eight games. At £9.6m he doesn’t come cheap but he is scoring consistently at present, something which can’t be said for a lot of midfielders. With three goals and an assist in his last three games Frank Lampard also warrants some consideration and at just £7.6m he won’t break the bank. MAN UNITED – Newcastle (H), Aston Villa (A), West Ham (H), Hull City (A) It must be a frustrating time to be a United supporter! They started off the season rather indifferently but then managed three wins on the bounce between game-weeks 9 & 11 and most folk assumed they would kick on from there, however, since then they have drawn two and lost one. A look at their next four fixtures would suggest they have the opportunity to once again turn things around and let’s face it if they don’t turn things around soon they will be out of the title race before Christmas! First up is the visit of Newcastle and this is a fixture United tend to do quite well in, in fact Newcastle haven’t won at Old Trafford since 1972. They then travel to Villa, a side who blow hot & cold, before West Ham arrive at Old Trafford and with just one win in their last seven games the Hammers are unlikely to cause them many problems. They then travel to a Hull side who recently beat Liverpool quite comfortably at the KC Stadium, but Liverpool made them look good and United should have too much for them. Tips United have to date conceded nineteen goals and have only kept three clean sheets which makes it rather difficult to tip a defender. However, with both West Ham and Hull both struggling to score regularly we could expect United to pick up at least two clean sheets from the four games and Patrice Evra is certainly the best option at present from the United defence. The Frenchman would appear to be the only member of the back four who is nailed on and has already chipped in with a goal and two assists. Unfortunately for United, their midfield has been non-existent this season and as a result there really isn’t anyone worth considering from an FPL point of view. Up front it has been Wayne Rooney with his eight goals and seven assists who has been grabbing all of the headlines this season. Unfortunately the yellow cards caught up with him against Everton and he will be forced to sit out the Newcastle game. For those of you with Rooney in your squad, our advice to you is to simply bench him and for those of you who have not yet brought him in, he will warrant some serious consideration following the Newcastle game. Rooney’s absence against Newcastle may see a return to the fray for Robin van Persie who was starting to show some decent form before his injury and we’re tipping him to be amongst the points over the coming weeks should he be fit to play a part. If he isn’t then a cheeky punt on Hernandez at 7.2m may tempt some of you. NORWICH – West Brom (A), Swansea (H), Sunderland (A), Fulham (H) Considering Norwich currently sit just four points above the relegation zone, it might come as quite a surprise to you to see them in the favourable fixtures category. However, their next four fixtures will certainly provide them with the opportunity to move away from the relegation zone as they face four teams also in the bottom half of the table. Their form against teams from the lower half of the table this season has been quite good, in five matches they have three wins and a draw. Clearly the games against West Brom and Swansea will be the toughest of the four but the Canaries will be hopeful of getting something from these games and they will be confident of claiming victories against both Sunderland and Fulham. Norwich have struggled at the back this season as was evident against Liverpool on Wednesday night, but they won’t face the quality of Luis Suarez over the next four weeks. Tips It’s in midfield that Norwich provide us with the best fantasy options. With many managers possibly looking to replace the likes of Ravel Morrison and Adnan Januzaj we feel that Nathan Redmond deserves some consideration. At just £4.6m the youngster is ideally priced to be your fifth midfielder and with a couple of assists in his last three games he has shown some glimpses of form as Norwich embark on this run of fixtures. For those of you looking for a differential and are willing to take quite a gamble well then look no further than Gary Hooper. The former Celtic man has endured a tough time since his move south of the border but with two goals in his last four games he is beginning to show glimpses of the form which prompted Chris Hughton to bring him to Carrow Road. Best of the rest Everton travel to The Emirates in GW15 but then have a number of relatively easy fixtures against Fulham (H), Swansea (A) and Sunderland (H). Given their current form the Toffees will travel to The Emirates full of confidence and we will be quite surprised if they pick up anything less than nine points from these four games. In view of these fixtures, Seamus Coleman, who has garnered thirty six points from his last five games warrants some serious consideration as does Romelu Lukaku who has three goals and an assist in his last three games. Without a win in four games West Brom will be hopeful that their next four games will provide them with the points necessary to move themselves away from the relegation zone, they face Norwich (H), Cardiff (A), Hull City (H) and Tottenham (A). For those of you looking for a midfield bargain you might want to take a look at Chris Brunt who has a goal and an assist in his last three games and is priced at just £5.0m. Unfavourable Fixtures ARSENAL – Everton (H), Man City (A), Chelsea (H), West Ham (A) Four points clear at the top of the table and top of the form table with six wins & a draw in their last eight games, Arsenal are certainly showing the form of potential league champions. It might then come as a surprise to some to see us place them into the unfavourable fixtures category, however, if you take a look at their next four fixtures, we’re pretty sure you’ll agree with us. First up is the visit of Everton who are unbeaten in seven and will be full of confidence following their win at Old Trafford. Arsenal then travel to City who have been scoring goals for fun at home and the Gunners will find it tough to keep Aguero and co quiet. They then host Chelsea who as we pointed out above have never been defeated by Arsenal while Mourinho has been in charge. They then travel to Upton Park for a fixture they will be quite confident of winning. With the form Arsenal have demonstrated of late we’re sure most fantasy managers will happily field the likes of Ramsey & Ozil, but we suspect that their returns may dip a little. WEST HAM – Liverpool (A), Sunderland (H), Man Utd (A), Arsenal (H) With just one win in their last seven matches, times are bleak down at Upton Park and one look at their next four fixtures will be enough to give their fans and FPL managers’ nightmares. When they comfortably disposed of Spurs in GW7 many assumed that this would be the spark they needed but since then they scored just five goals in seven games and have conceded ten in that period. Ravel Morrison has proved a popular choice this season, but having picked up a 5^th yellow against Palace he will now miss the Liverpool game and this suspension coupled with West Hams fixtures could very well see fantasy managers looking elsewhere for a budget midfielder. FULHAM – Aston Villa (H), Everton (A), Man City (H), Norwich (A) Fulham fans will be hoping that the sacking of Martin Jol will lead to a reversal of their fortunes, but new manager Rene Meulensteen has some tough fixtures to deal with as he settles into the role. First up is the visit of Aston Villa, who with three wins & three draws on the road have the third best away record in the league. Fulham then travel to face an Everton side who have scored eight goals in their last three games and then host a Manchester City who admittedly struggle on the road, but they should still have enough for the Cottagers. Fulham then travel to Norwich in what is already a relegation six pointer. The Fulham squad has not been popular with fantasy managers this season and with these fixtures, we don’t see their popularity going up any time soon. Be wary of Southampton have certainly been this season’s surprise package, but having lost their last three games they have now slipped to eighth spot. Admittedly two of these defeats were against Arsenal and Chelsea but things don’t get any easier for them over the coming weeks as they face Man City (H), Newcastle (A), Tottenham (H) and Cardiff (A). The Saints defence has proved quite strong this season with the likes of Fonte and Lovren, Clyne and Shaw all proving very popular but with first choice keeper Artur Boruc side-lined for a number of weeks many fantasy managers will be reconsidering the Saints defence. Fixture Fun Whilst all teams feature in GW15 and there are no DGW’s to consider it is worth noting that both Manchester clubs as well as Arsenal and Chelsea feature in the Champions League on the following Tuesday and Wednesday. With neither Chelsea nor Arsenal having guaranteed their place in the next round and United & City battling for top spot in their respective groups all four of them have something to play for and as such Messrs Moyes, Mourinho, Wenger & Pellegrini could all rest players ahead of their key European games so we would advise you to have a strong bench in place! Swansea and Spurs both play in the Europa League, with the Swans needing a point to confirm qualification to the next round, Spurs however have already sealed top spot in their group. This article was written by Kop.