Fixtures Gameweek 13

Welcome to the fixtures article for GW13 as we attempt to decipher who should perform well over the next four game-weeks and which teams should be treated with some caution.

Favourable Fixtures

LIVERPOOL – Hull (A), Norwich (H), West Ham (H), Tottenham (A)

Despite their 3-3 draw in the weekend’s derby, Liverpool still look a potent force and with Suarez and Sturridge up front and Gerrard and Coutinho pulling the strings behind them, there appear to be plenty of goals in the side. Their upcoming run looks appetising, starting with a visit to Hull at the weekend. Two home matches vs Norwich & West Ham follow – bearing in mind the Reds have scored 11 goals in their last 3 home matches, it would be a brave manager to have no Liverpool coverage in their FPL sides. A visit to White Hart Lane in GW16 may also reap dividends, judging on Spurs performance at Man City last weekend. With Jose Enrique ruled out for 10 weeks and Jon Flanagan impressing in the derby, the young full back, priced at 4.5m could be a cheeky addition to your side, especially for the next three game-weeks.

CHELSEA – Southampton (H), Sunderland (A), Stoke (A), Crystal Palace (H)

Having dropped points against Newcastle & West Brom, Jose Mourinho called for his team to deliver points and they duly delivered with a clinical win at Upton Park in GW12. This weekend’s visit of Southampton should prove a test for the Blues, but the Saints, having just succumbed to defeat in the capital to Arsenal, will not relish another trip up to London and as we know, Chelsea can beat anyone on their day, especially at home. Mourinho’s men then face trips to Sunderland and Stoke before entertaining Crystal Palace at home – a run that we feel will not only establish Chelsea’s position in the top 4 but could also see them narrow the gap on Arsenal at the top. Hazard and Oscar look to have found some consistency now and remain the favourite picks for Chelsea attacking options.

WEST HAM – Fulham (H), Crystal Palace (A), Liverpool (A), Sunderland (H)

It may surprise you to see the Hammers name in the favourable fixtures section given their recent form, but one look at the fixture table suggests the next few weeks may see some relief for Big Sam’s men. In GW13 they host Fulham at Upton Park before travelling to Crystal Palace. A trip to Anfield follows in GW15 before the luxury of a home fixture with Sunderland. Clearly attacking options are limited with both Andy Carroll and Ricardo Vaz Te still on the treatment table, so it’s at the budget end of players that we look to. Ravel Morrison at 4.9m still offers the best attacking option and can be included easily as your cheap midfielder, while at the back James Collins has returned to the first team and, priced at just 4.3m, he could be a great bargain buy for your defence.

Best of the Rest

MAN CITY – Swansea (H), West Brom (A), Southampton (A), Arsenal (H)

Imperious at home, decidedly average away is the best way to describe City right now and they will need to improve their away form if they are to mount a serious challenge for the league. A home fixture this week against Swansea feels tasty for Aguero owners, especially as the Swans have a Europa tie on Thursday evening. City then embark on road trips to West Brom and Southampton, both games where their credentials will be tested to the full, but with confidence and creativity flowing through their side, we feel they should pick up at least 4 points out of 6. They then entertain Arsenal at the Etihad in GW16 in what could be the game of the season so far, but having already dispatched Man Utd, Everton & Spurs at home, they will be confident again of gaining ground on the Gunners. While the likes of Aguero & Yaya Toure need no mention, those looking for a bargain way into the City side may look at Negredo who is priced at 9.1m (five goals now this season and two in his last three) and Navas, who contributed 19pts in the destruction of Spurs at the weekend and is priced at 8.1m.

ASTON VILLA – Sunderland (H), Southampton (A), Fulham (A), Man Utd (H)

Paul Lambert’s men have a number of tasty-looking fixtures coming up, starting with Sunderland’s visit to Villa Park in GW13, followed by trips to Southampton and Fulham. The home fixture against Man Utd in GW16 is probably not as scary as it once was, especially when Benteke is leading the line. What should help the formidable striker is the return from injury of Weimann and more importantly Agbonlahor – the 3 feed off each other superbly and form an exciting forward trio who have proved they can score against anyone. There may be some opportunities for clean sheets too, which bring the likes of keeper Brad Guzan (5m) and cheap defenders Vlaar (4.5m) and Baker (3.9m) into the minds of FPL managers.

Difficult Fixtures

SUNDERLAND – Aston Villa (A), Chelsea (H), Tottenham (H), West Ham (A)

Saturday’s defeat at Stoke, coupled with Palace’s victory at Hull, has sent Gus Poyet’s men to the bottom of the league, albeit on goal difference. It will therefore be no surprise to see their name on this list- one look at the fixture list only compounds that. A tricky visit to Villa Park in GW13 precedes home games vs Chelsea and Tottenham and Poyet will have to lift his side in the same way he did when they beat Man City at home in GW11 if they are to successfully fight relegation this season. A trip to West Ham in GW16 may look like small respite on paper, but not for a team that has only gained one point on their travels this season. It’s not straightforward to find anyone in the Black Cats side who looks good value, but David Bardsley at 4.4m seems to have re-established his place in their back four and his winner vs Man City proves that he can step up, even if it’s only on an infrequent basis.

FULHAM – West Ham (A), Tottenham (H), Aston Villa (H), Everton (A)

Fulham look in dire trouble and have lost their last four PL matches, cementing their position in the bottom three. A London derby vs West Ham this coming weekend takes on epic proportions, especially with both teams level on points, but expect a reaction from Big Sam after his side were  beaten at home by Chelsea in front of the cameras in GW12. Martin Jol’s men (if he’s still there!) then host Spurs in another London derby, before Aston Villa are welcomed at Craven Cottage. A GW16 trip to Goodison also looks ominous for Fulham, who seem to have lost all confidence. They have kept only two clean sheets all season and are now relying on Parker to score their goals – times are hard! With Berbatov, Ruiz and Bent up front they should reek of goals, but the trio have only scored 4 goals between them all season and it’s budget midfielder Kasami (4.5m), who may offer  good value as a budget make weight for your squad.

SOUTHAMPTON – Chelsea (A), Aston Villa (H), Man City (H), Newcastle (A)

Having dropped out of the top four after losing at the Emirates in GW12, it’s these next few weeks that could have a strong say on how successful this season will ultimately turn out for the Saints. A daunting trip to Chelsea this weekend is followed by home matches vs Aston Villa and Man City before Pochettino’s side travels up to a resurgent Newcastle in GW16. With the talents of Lambert, Lallana and Rodriguez in the side, it is quite possible the Saints could get through this difficult period relatively unscathed, but they will need to erase the silly mistakes that were evident in the defeat to Arsenal and re-establish the defensive solidity that brought them five clean sheets in six matches in September and October and led many to “double up” with Saints defenders.

Also be aware of…

HULL – Liverpool (H), Arsenal (A), Swansea (A), Stoke City (H)

Four defeats in their last five matches has seen Hull’s season plunge into a mini-crisis and a look at what comes next won’t help Steve Bruce sleep at night. This week they entertain free-scoring Liverpool at the KC Stadium before they visit league leaders Arsenal at the Emirates three days later. Another tricky trip, this time to Swansea follows in GW15 before Hull host Stoke in a game that Sky have chosen to show live. The good news for Bruce is that first-choice keeper McGregor has returned from injury as has Brady in midfield, while it is hoped that defender Chester is soon to return, having missed the last seven games.

EVERTON – Stoke (H), Man Utd (A), Arsenal (A), Fulham (H)

While we would expect Everton to perform well vs Stoke this weekend, we feel it important to bring to your attention their fixtures in GW14 & 15, when they embark on trips to Man Utd & Arsenal, clearly two tough matches. It may well be that they perform better than expectations in these matches, but it may well be prudent for the many FPL managers with three Everton players in their squads to trim that slightly for these next few weeks, especially with Leighton Baines facing a lengthy spell on the side lines with a toe injury. We wouldn’t encourage selling Lukaku however after the on-loan striker rewarded those managers who kept hold of him with a man-of-the-match display vs Liverpool.

TOTTENHAM – Man Utd (H), Fulham (A), Sunderland (A), Liverpool (H)

Following their horrific display at the Etihad on Sunday, Tottenham now have to cope with the visit of the Champions in GW13, with the in-form Rooney looking forward to continuing his impressive spell of scoring which has seen him score or assist in nine out eleven matches this season. A London derby at struggling Fulham follows before AvB takes his team to Sunderland, who can be enigmatic at best, having beaten Man City at the Stadium of Light, but also lost to Fulham there too. GW16 then sees the visit of Liverpool to the Lane – a tricky run of games, by the end of which one feels AvB will be satisfied if his team is still in touch with the top 4.

Fixture Fun

Whilst all of the teams feature and there are no DGWs to consider it may be worth noting that there are Champions League and Europa League games this week leading up to GW13. With Man United, Man City, Chelsea, Arsenal, Spurs and Swansea all in action just be aware of any injury or rotation issues that may arise as a result.

Please also be aware that GW14 begins barely 48 hours after GW13 ends! Palace host West Ham on Tuesday 3^rd December to kick start a full midweek of fixtures next week.

Good luck everyone!

This article was written by inittowinit