Which clubs have the most favourable fixtures this October? Dream Team bosses be aware…

THE international break is over and it’s time for Dream Team bosses to refocus on the task at hand.

Transfers won’t be refreshed until October 7th because of how the Game Weeks fall but you should still be aware of the upcoming month’s fixtures.

October is an incredibly busy month, particularly for clubs participating in Europe, so your XI needs to be in tip-top shape.

Let’s take a closer look at the imminent fixtures for the current top eight teams…

ARSENAL

• Tottenham (h)
• Bodo/Glimt (h)
• Liverpool (h)
• Bodo/Glimt (a)
• Leeds (a)
• PSV (h)
• Southampton (a)
• PSV (a)
• Nottingham Forest (h)

The Gunners have a whopping nine fixtures to fulfil before the start of November!

Naturally, the north London derby will be fiercely contested and even an out-of-sorts Liverpool pose a considerable threat but Mikel Arteta’s side have the luxury of home advantage for both crunch match-ups.

As the Premier League’s leaders, trips to Leeds and Southampton shouldn’t be too problematic and Forest’s visit to the Emirates looks ripe for points at the end of the month.

Keep an eye on the team selections on Thursday nights – those four Europa League fixtures shouldn’t be totally ignored.

MANCHESTER CITY

• Manchester United (h)
• Copenhagen (h)
• Southampton (h)
• Copenhagen (a)
• Liverpool (a)
• Brighton (h)
• Borussia Dortmund (a)
• Leicester (a)

Like Arsenal, City start the month with three consecutive home games, giving Erling Haaland (£8.7m) and Kevin De Bruyne (£7.5m) significant opportunities to strengthen their positions at the top of their respective position rankings.

Trips to Anfield and Signal Iduna Park will test the character of Pep Guardiola’s side but there’s rarely a bad month to back Etihad assets.

Graham Potter’s departure makes Brighton a more appealing match-up while Leicester are in serious danger of shipping seven or eight goals to City given their current defensive woes.

TOTTENHAM

• Arsenal (a)
• Frankfurt (a)
• Brighton (a)
• Frankfurt (h)
• Everton (h)
• Manchester United (a)
• Newcastle (h)
• Sporting CP (h)
• Bournemouth (a)

Five of Spurs’ nine October fixtures come on the road, including three away days back-to-back at the start of the month.

Antonio Conte’s side were gifted a relatively favourable Champions League group but they suffered a disappointing defeat to Sporting CP in Lisbon prior to the international break so perhaps we need to re-evaluate our expectations on that front.

There are a few potential speed bumps on the horizon but Harry Kane (£7.5m) will feel confident of extending his fine start to the campaign while Son Heung-min (£5.8m) will be hopeful of building upon his much-needed hat-trick in Game Week 7.

BRIGHTON

• Liverpool (a)
• Tottenham (h)
• Brentford (a)
• Nottingham Forest (h)
• Manchester City (a)
• Chelsea (h)

The first thing to note is that the Seagulls have just six fixtures to fulfil whereas some other clubs will be in action nine times – that’s a big difference.

Not only that, four of Brighton’s games come against members of the so-called ‘big six’.

Factor in a change of personnel in the dugout and all signs seem to suggest Dream Team managers should stay clear of Amex assets in the coming weeks.

MANCHESTER UNITED

• Manchester City (a)
• Omonia Nicosia (a)
• Everton (a)
• Omonia Nicosia (h)
• Newcastle (h)
• Tottenham (h)
• Chelsea (a)
• Sheriff Tiraspol (h)
• West Ham (h)

The Red Devils face a tricky run of domestic fixtures that’s offset by some favourable match-ups in the Europa League that could be fruitful.

After a rocky start, Erik ten Hag has guided his side to four straight wins in the league, a run that has propelled Marcus Rashford (£4m), Jadon Sancho (£3.5m) and Diogo Dalot (£2.6m) up the Dream Team rankings.

The jury is still out on Man United this term but this coming month will go a long way to answering some pressing questions.

FULHAM

• Newcastle (h)
• West Ham (a)
• Bournemouth (h)
• Aston Villa (h)
• Leeds (a)
• Everton (h)

Just the six fixtures for the Cottagers but it’s a relatively friendly batch so Aleksandar Mitrovic (£4.7m) owners may reap more substantial rewards in the near future.

CHELSEA

• Crystal Palace (a)
• Milan (h)
• Wolves (h)
• Milan (a)
• Aston Villa (a)
• Brentford (a)
• Manchester United (h)
• Red Bull Salzburg (a)
• Brighton (a)

The Blues are on the road for six fixtures out of nine this coming month.

And having mustered just one point from their first two Champions League games, a double header against the reigning Serie A champions appears a daunting task.

Still, a busy schedule should mean plenty more points for Raheem Sterling (£5m) and if Potter can work some of the magic he performed at Brighton then this could be something of a transformative month for Chelsea.

Surely we’ll see improved returns from Reece James (£5.3m) sooner rather than later?

LIVERPOOL

• Brighton (h)
• Rangers (h)
• Arsenal (a)
• Rangers (a)
• Manchester City (h)
• West Ham (h)
• Nottingham Forest (a)
• Ajax (a)
• Leeds (h)

Three stern tests against Arsenal, City and Ajax await but Jurgen Klopp will be privately confident about his side’s chances elsewhere in October.

Rangers suffered three consecutive heavy defeats before the international break and appear diminished from the force they were last season when they made it to the Europa League final.

The Hammers and Forest are both currently among the bottom three and while Leeds have offered a bit of everything this season, the Reds have scored freely against them in recent meetings so the back end of the month could be very profitable for the likes of Luis Diaz (£5.3m) and Mohamed Salah (£7.7m).

WEST HAM

• Wolves (h)
• Anderlecht (a)
• Fulham (h)
• Anderlecht (h)
• Southampton (a)
• Liverpool (a)
• Bournemouth (h)
• Silkeborg (h)
• Manchester United (a)

As just mentioned, the Irons are languishing near the foot of the Premier League table but since their Europa Conference League commitments mean they also have nine fixtures in October we thought it best to include them as well.

It’s worth keeping track of the distribution of minutes between Michail Antonio (£4.1m) and Gianluca Scamacca (£2.9m), both have kept Dream Team gaffers interested so far in 2022/23.

Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk