Worst fixture runs

Some of the teams that have been most heavily invested in this season now find themselves at the bottom of the fixture ticker. Here we look at the teams with the worst fixture runs and whether this means we should de-invest.

The Fixture difficulty rating produced by our friends at Fantasy Football Scout, is one of the best tools available to FPL managers. Being able to target good fixture runs can be one of the best ways to ensure that managers are able to achieve maximum returns. However, alongside highlighting the good runs of fixtures, the ticker also shows when the fixtures swing for the worst.

This season teams like Aston Villa, Spurs and Man City have been popular owns for FPL managers. However, they now find themselves low down on the ticker. Does this mean managers should sell their assets?

Fixture Ticker

The Fantasy Football Scout fixture ticker has been sorted by difficulty here. Aston Villa find themselves with the hardest run of fixtures over the next five gameweeks.

Defensive players

Defensive clean sheets don’t look likely for Aston Villa over the coming weeks. This could make Matty Cash (£5.2m) a sell. Cash is top for attempts on goal by defenders this season with 19. However, 14 of those had come by Gameweek 6, with only five attempts on goal since.

Likewise, the Spurs defence looks a hard investment with Cristian Romero (£5.0m) having two matches left of his three match ban and Micky Van de Ven (£4.6m) out injured until 2024.

The Crystal Palace defence has also been a popular investment for managers with the likes of Marc Guehi (£4.6m) and Joachim Andersen (£5.1m). They have Luton, West Ham and Bournemouth in the next three ahead of games against Liverpool and Man City. They therefore could be sells ahead of Gameweek 16.

When teams are at the bottom of the fixture ticker de-investing in the defence makes sense, unless they have outstaning attacking threat.

Attacking players

The lines are less clear cut with the attacking assets.

FPL managers would obviously like to have the perfect fixture runs for their assets. However, throughout the season there will be difficult patches. If players go in to these runs with poor form then they are easier to sell. For example, Marcus Rashford (£8.6m) has now failed to return in the last eight gameweeks. His last goal was a consolation in a 3-1 defeat to Arsenal in Gameweek 4. With poor fixtures and form he is an easy sell.

However, players like Ollie Watkins and Moussa Diaby offer a different problem. Watkins has returned in six of the last eight gameweeks returning 63 points in that time. He is also the second highest scoring forward in the game and the fourth highest scoring over all. Likewise Diaby has 21 points in the last three matches and heads into the difficult fixture run with good form.

When players have good form, but hard fixtures, they need to be considered much more carefully. For example in Gameweek 13 Aston Villa face a Spurs’ side who are struggling with injuries and suspensions defensively. Therefore they could be a hold regardless of the ticker.

Overall

The fixture ticker is a brilliant tool for FPL managers. But it should be used in conjunction with the form of the players. When players are in good form, managers shouldn’t automatically sell them as a result of the fixtures turning. However, if they are already in poor form then the ticker can help to make them an even easier sell.