FEBRUARY is almost at an end which means the March international break is coming into view.
Dream Team will pause for World Cup qualifiers at the end of March but managers have three Gameweeks to navigate before then and they should take note of which teams have the most favourable fixtures in this time.
The first thing to note is that Crystal Palace, West Ham, Everton, Southampton, Brentford and Leicester have just two fixtures each across the next three Gameweeks – a light workload.
The Eagles’ two games are relatively favourable – Millwall and Ipswich – but backers of Daniel Munoz (£5.1m), Eberechi Eze (£4.5m) and friends should be wary of their blank in Gameweek 28.
Now let’s take a closer look at the teams with three fixtures to fulfil until the international break.
- MANCHESTER CITY: Plymouth (h), Nottingham Forest (a), Brighton (h)
- NEWCASTLE: Brighton (h), West Ham (a), Liverpool (n)
- NOTTINGHAM FOREST: Ipswich (h), Manchester City (a), Ipswich (h)
- BOURNEMOUTH: Wolves (h), Tottenham (a), Brentford (h)
- WOLVES: Bournemouth (a), Everton (h), Southampton (a)
- FULHAM: Manchester United (a), Brighton (a), Tottenham (h)
- BRIGHTON: Newcastle (a), Fulham (h), Manchester City (a)
- IPSWICH: Nottingham Forest (a), Crystal Palace (h), Nottingham Forest (a)
In previous seasons, Pep Guardiola’s side have nearly always been on the right side of any fixture imbalances but their elimination from the Champions League at the hands of Real Madrid means the likes of Erling Haaland (£8.1m), Josko Gvardiol (£4.3m) and Phil Foden (£6.3m) won’t have as many point-scoring opportunities as usual.
This will never be more apparent than in Gameweek 27 when six English clubs will have a European round of 16 second leg as an additional midweek fixture while Man City’s stars twiddle their thumbs.
A quick glance at those match-ups suggests there could be more points to come from in-form players such as Chris Wood (£4.2m), Alexander Isak (£6m) and Matheus Cunha (£5.2m) but gaffers shouldn’t accommodate too many players with just three games in the diary from now until the end of Gameweek 28.
The focus should be on individuals with a busy schedule, which brings us neatly onto the clubs with FOUR fixtures…
- LIVERPOOL: PSG (a), Southampton (h), PSG (h), Newcastle (n)
- ARSENAL: PSV (a), Manchester United (a), PSV (h), Chelsea (h)
- ASTON VILLA: Cardiff (h), Club Brugge (a), Brentford (a), Club Brugge (h)
- TOTTENHAM: AZ Alkmaar (a), Bournemouth (h), AZ Alkmaar (h), Fulham (a)
- CHELSEA: Copenhagen (a), Leicester (h), Copenhagen (h), Arsenal (a)
The Reds’ double header at Anfield in Gameweek 27 against Saints and PSG looks particularly appealing – Mohamed Salah (£8.3m) could go stratospheric – and it will be interesting to see what Cole Palmer (£5.8m) can achieve in the Conference League now he’s been added to Chelsea’s squad for the knockout stage.
Gaffers keen on Morgan Rogers (£3.8m), Ollie Watkins (£5.2m) and other Villa assets should bear in mind that Unai Emery’s troops will blank in Gameweek 28 – their four games are crammed into Gameweeks 26 and 27.
Spurs remain 13th in the Premier League but several of their players have excelled in Dream Team this season.
Son Heung-min (£4.8m), Dejan Kulusevski (£4.4m), Pedro Porro (£4.8m), James Maddison (£4.3m) and Brennan Johnson (£3.5m) are all among the elite group of 26 assets on 200+ points at this stage of the campaign.
An emphatic performance over two legs against Eredivisie opposition in the Europa League last 16 would be very useful indeed.
Last but by no means least, it’s Manchester United, the only team with FIVE fixtures across the next three Gameweeks.
- MANCHESTER UNITED: Fulham (h), Real Sociedad (a), Arsenal (h), Real Sociedad (h), Leicester (a)
This quirk in the schedule would usually encourage Dream Team managers to stock up on Red Devils but such a strategy feels counterintuitive given the unconvincing nature of their performances.
Bruno Fernandes (£6.2m) is the blindingly obvious exception.
The Portuguese playmaker is a one-man army who has amassed 271 points to date, a tally only bettered by Salah and Haaland.
Fernandes’ form combined with his fixtures essentially makes him a must-have lock for March.
Among available players, Alejandro Garnacho (£3.1m), Noussair Mazraoui (£3.1m) and Diogo Dalot (£2.7m) are Man United’s next best performers in terms of total points but many gaffers will be understandably hesitant to put their trust in any Old Trafford resident other than Fernandes.
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