Fixtures Game-week 36 and a look ahead to 37… – FPL Fantasy Football Premier League

Welcome to Game-week 36. Well sort of, as we guess most of you will have a firm eye on Game-week 37 by now as that one represents a double for six teams. Many, if indeed not most of your transfers this week will probably be done to bolster your ranks in preparation for DGW37. As such we are going to make sure you know who the lucky six for next week are and how their fixtures look for this week and for GW38 also so as to hopefully give you the best possible guide to ensuring you maximise your returns on your double game-week investments. The sparkling form of some players such as Ramsay and Eriksen though, who are without a double ahead, has muddied the waters somewhat so be sure to check out the tracker as to how the fixtures look for all the teams but we will focus solely on those with a double in GW37 .

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It is with a heavy heart that we present to you a diminished fixture tracker this week as it is down to the last three weeks and counting now…

Green are those we feel have favourable fixtures

Red are those we feel have less than favourable fixtures

Yellow are those that we are sitting on the fence for

Blue are the magic 6 who have a DGW37…

The two obvious standouts here in terms of Green and Red are –

Arsenal. The Gunners have three great fixtures to finish the season with. #Ramsaytime? If you haven’t already then he put up a great case for his inclusion in GW35 with a goal, two assists and two bonus points for a grand total of a mightily impressive 16 points. Even Jason Puncheon would be proud of that! Perhaps there is a case for ‘one goal at a time’ Giroud or even the odd Arsenal defender or if you fancy a punt then do a full 360 and get Ozil back in.

Norwich. We rather suspect that the guy in charge of the fixtures computer either has a sense of humour or is actually an Ipswich fan as the Canaries have an absolute nightmare end to the season – having played Champions-elect Liverpool in GW35 they now finish with trips to Man Utd and Chelsea and then host 4th place chasing Arsenal. Stay away. Far away!

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The Doubles!

The other standout’s are of course those six teams in blue who have a DGW37 to contend with. Let’s talk through their merits or otherwise over the full fixture list that remains –

Aston Villa GW36 Swansea (a), GW37 Hull (h), Man City (a), GW38 Spurs (a)

The unfortunate injury to Christian Benteke cut short a mini bandwagon that was promising to pick up pace and since then we doubt many of you will have looked in the direction of Villa from a fantasy point of view. They travel to Swansea this week in a game that would surely see the winners safe and sound from any further threat of relegation. The double could not be more contrasting for Villa as they have a relatively nice home game against Hull who it appears may already have their minds on the FA Cup final. The second game sees them go to the Etihad to face City who at that stage may or may not still be involved in the title race but regardless we wouldn’t be putting too much on Villa getting anything from that one. Villa then see the season out with another away trip, this time to Spurs to probably wave goodbye to Mr Sherwood’s tenure at the helm but this may also be the catalyst for Spurs putting in that little bit more effort on the day. Not Adebayor though, obviously.

Hull GW36 Fulham (a), GW37 Villa (a), Man Utd (a),  GW38 Everton (h)

Hull need to be a little bit careful here. They are only six points above the relegation zone but that could be cut to three should they fall to defeat at Fulham this week. They really need to win this one and then and only then can they begin to think about that big day out at Wembley that is looming for them. The double week for them includes two away games, the above mentioned trip to Villa Park and then they go to Man Utd which as we know could produce anything from a hammering to a surprisingly easy away victory. Their final game then sees them host Everton who may still at that stage need a victory to try and secure 4th spot. If they do then that one won’t be easy either. A lot of managers will have a Hull defender in their squads already and we would recommend leaving it at that for them.

Man City GW36 Crystal Palace (a), GW37 Everton (a), Aston Villa (h), GW38 West Ham (h)

So it looks like Aguero is back with a bang again. Well it did anyway, until he went off ‘injured’ again. This one looked more like a precaution and certainly a lot less serious than the David Silva one though. City kick off this end of season run with a trip to Palace which is certainly a more difficult trip than it once was, given Palace’s massive turnaround under the Pulis regime. City laboured to a 1-0 home victory in the corresponding fixture so this may not be as straight forward as it first appears. They then begin their double with an equally testing trip to Goodison. The plus side on that one is that Everton will be without their midfield lynchpin Gareth Barry due to the loan rule and that could really hurt them in this one. City then face Villa at home in the second game of their double which they should win comfortably. They close the season out by hosting West Ham in what is another banker on paper. Much will depend on the City injury news as to how you approach this one we would imagine. There are suggestions that Yaya Toure may be fit again already for the Palace game so that may be a good place to start!

Man Utd GW36 Norwich (h), GW37  Sunderland (h), Hull (h), GW38 Southampton (a)

If the rumours are to be believed then you do have to feel a little bit sorry for David Moyes when you consider that the next three fixtures are all at home and all eminently winnable for Utd. Perhaps therein lies the problem though. They look much more winnable when you consider Utd without him and much less winnable if he is still there to make stupid decisions like playing Mata in every conceivable position other than the one he is actually brilliant at. Whether he is around or not Utd have one of, if not the best of the double game weeks on offer. They begin by hosting Sunderland who looked dead and buried but have pulled a couple of rabbits out the hat in last two so perhaps this one could be more difficult than it looks on paper. Prior to that they host Norwich so there’s no issue getting their players in early this week and then for the double itself it is Sunderland and then Hull. Utd then finish the season with a more difficult trip to Southampton. Many were considering a double swoop for Rooney and Mata but after this weekend showing at Goodison that list may have been whittled down to just Rooney for many. The Mata one will largely depend on the Silva / Yaya news we imagine and his appeal will be bolstered should Moyes exit stage left and someone with half a brain enter it.

Sunderland GW36 Cardiff (h), GW37 Man Utd (a), West Brom (h), GW38 Swansea (h)

Sunderland had looked like they have given up the ghost as of late but the recent showings at Man City for a hard fought draw and a fantastic victory at Chelsea may suggest that there is life in the old dog…or black cat, yet. They stay rooted to the bottom and on a pitiful 29 points but the reality is that they have a game in hand on all of their main rivals and are actually only three points away from 17th placed Norwich. Whisper it quietly but they could yet pull this one off! Three of the last four are at home which will help and they begin with a massive game against relegation rivals Cardiff this weekend. The double itself involves that trip to Old Trafford, a game in which they will actually back themselves to get something from now we imagine and then they host West Brom in what could be a genuine ‘6 pointer’. The Black Cats finish their campaign at home to Swansea. Many will still have Adam Johnson and perhaps the odd Phil Bardsley floating around from the last double game-week. If so keep them for this one but perhaps the surprise differential here could be a punt on Connor Wickham which is a phrase we never thought we would be uttering this season!

West Brom GW36 West Ham (h), GW37 Arsenal (a), Sunderland (a), GW38 Stoke (h)

We won’t waste too much breath on this one as we know you will not give them a second glance even with a double on the horizon. We imagine you would be hard pushed to name who their top scoring midfielder and strikers are for fantasy points this season which just about says it all. They have two home fixtures either side of the double which is something but the double itself could not be less attractive as they have to go to Arsenal and Sunderland. Enough said, stay away.

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Fixture Fun

Chelsea are the only English side left in Europe and as such they face Atletico Madrid tonight in the first leg of their Champions League semi-final. Be sure to check out any team news on injuries after this one.

Good luck as ever to one and all for GW36 and happy planning ahead!

Thanks for reading Fixtures Game-week 36 and a look ahead to 37… this article was written by Inittowinit