EVERY Premier League club has a clean slate for the new season but Dream Team gaffers should be studying the fixtures from the get-go.
Proper form may not be established for a few weeks yet but even so there’s points to be had from favourable match-ups from the very first Gameweek.
With that in mind, take this whistle-stop tour of every Premier League team’s August fixtures and start plotting how you might use your first few transfers.
Remember, you’ll get TWO transfers per Gameweek this season!
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ARSENAL
- Nottingham Forest (h)
- Crystal Palace (a)
- Fulham (h)
Steve Cooper’s side had the worst away record last season so in that sense it’s the perfect start for the Gunners on paper.
Mikel Arteta’s troops burst out of the blocks this time last year and they could well do the same again looking at these match-ups.
ASTON VILLA
- Newcastle (a)
- Everton (h)
- Burnley (a)
Please be aware that the Villains’ Europa Conference League play-off legs will NOT count towards Dream Team.
Ollie Watkins (£4.5m) and company will only start scoring points in the competition if they make it through to the groups stages.
A trip to St James’ Park represents a tricky domestic opening but that’s offset by a couple of favourable match-ups against teams expected to finish in the bottom half.
BOURNEMOUTH
- West Ham (h)
- Liverpool (a)
- Tottenham (h)
Andoni Iraola promises ambitious, attacking football – good on him!
That being said, a mauling at Anfield early doors wouldn’t be great for morale.
BRENTFORD
- Tottenham (h)
- Fulham (a)
- Crystal Palace (h)
The Bees start with three London derbies.
It will be interesting to see how they adjust to life without the suspended Ivan Toney.
BRIGHTON
- Luton (h)
- Wolves (a)
- West Ham (h)
The Seagulls couldn’t have asked for a more friendly opening month, especially with Wolves having been destabilised by Julen Lopetegui’s dramatic exit – his signature move.
Kaoru Mitoma (£3.5m) and Pervis Estupinan (£3.5m) are among the most-popular assets in their respective positions ahead of Gameweek 1.
BURNLEY
- Manchester City (h)
- Aston Villa (h)
Vincent Kompany’s newly-promoted side will play just twice in August because Luton’s stadium is not ready to host Premier League football.
And it’s a tough pair of fixtures too!
CHELSEA
- Liverpool (h)
- West Ham (a)
- Luton (h)
It’s very difficult to predict how the Blues will perform out of the traps with Mauricio Pochettino at the helm.
The squad has been thinned out but star signing Christopher Nkunku (£4m) is expected to be sidelined until December with injury.
Liverpool’s visit to Stamford Bridge is the standout fixture of Gameweek 1 and that contest is likely to give Dream Team gaffers a better feel for Chelsea’s prospects.
CRYSTAL PALACE
- Sheffield United (a)
- Arsenal (h)
- Brentford (a)
A bit of everything for the Eagles this month – one favourable game, a challenging test, and a even match-up on paper.
Eberechi Eze (3m) has swaggered his way through pre-season and could well be a contender for Gameweek 1’s top performer.
EVERTON
- Fulham (h)
- Aston Villa (a)
- Wolves (h)
Jordan Pickford (£3m) is the Toffees’ most-selected player at the time of writing but even he appears in just 3.3% of teams created.
It’s fair to say Dream Team gaffers don’t have much faith in Sean Dyche’s troops at this stage.
FULHAM
- Everton (a)
- Brentford (h)
- Arsenal (a)
Even fewer managers are backing the west Londoners to make waves early on.
Aleksandar Mitrovic (£4m) is his club’s most-popular asset with an ownership of just 1.1% – and he doesn’t even want to play for them!
LIVERPOOL
- Chelsea (a)
- Bournemouth (h)
- Newcastle (a)
If Chelsea come out swinging then Jurgen Klopp’s side could face two tricky away days in the first month of the season.
All eyes on the revamped midfield and the pecking order among the front three – at least Mohamed Salah (£7m) is a given.
LUTON
- Brighton (a)
- Chelsea (h)
Like Burnley, the Hatters have just two fixtures in August and difficult ones at that.
The Championship play-off winners will embrace their reputation as underdogs but there’s no doubt they face a steep uphill task this season.
MANCHESTER CITY
- Burnley (a)
- Newcastle (h)
- Sheffield United (a)
There’ll be no points earned during the treble-winners’ meeting with Sevilla in the Super Cup but with two promoted teams in their first three domestic fixtures, Erling Haaland (£8.5m) and company could pick up where they left off.
With all due respect to the Blades, that match-up at Bramall Lane could be brutally one-sided.
MANCHESTER UNITED
- Wolves (h)
- Tottenham (a)
- Nottingham Forest (h)
Ange Postecoglou’s Spurs are almost as unpredictable as Pochettino’s Chelsea so let’s put a pin in that trip to the capital for now.
Erik ten Hag will feel confident of a positive start at Old Trafford though with a disjointed Wolves preceding a Forest team that earned just eight points on the road in 2022/23.
NEWCASTLE
- Aston Villa (h)
- Manchester City (a)
- Liverpool (h)
Arguably the most difficult set of August fixtures of the lot.
In the not too distant past, fans of the Magpies would be fearing the worst this month but Eddie Howe’s ever-improving side have proven to be ultra competitive regardless of the opposition.
Still, you fear for Nick Pope (£4.5m) and Kieran Trippier’s (£6m) early returns.
NOTTINGHAM FOREST
- Arsenal (a)
- Sheffield United (h)
- Manchester United (a)
Forest’s miserable away record really can’t be stressed enough and what a pair of fixtures to throw up early doors for the fans who follow their team everywhere.
In contrast, Steve Cooper will be targeting an emphatic win at the City Ground when the Blades come to town.
SHEFFIELD UNITED
- Crystal Palace (h)
- Nottingham Forest (a)
- Manchester City (h)
To be frank, the club’s transfer window activity has bred pessimism among the supporters, understandably so.
Two points would probably be seen as a decent outcome given the current circumstances but football is inherently unpredictable.
TOTTENHAM
- Brentford (a)
- Manchester United (h)
- Bournemouth (a)
It’s hard to know what to make of this set as most Dream Team gaffers are waiting for their first proper look at Spurs under Postecoglou.
It goes without saying that Harry Kane’s (£7m) presence or absence will make a huge difference to the north Londoners fortunes.
WEST HAM
- Bournemouth (a)
- Chelsea (h)
- Brighton (a)
Life without Declan Rice (£3.5m) begins with a relatively friendly trip to the Cherries but sterner questions are likely to be asked beyond the opening weekend.
Will last season’s Europa Conference League glory give the Hammers’ confidence heading into 2023/24?
WOLVES
- Manchester United (a)
- Brighton (h)
- Everton (a)
Lopetegui’s late exit has thrown a spanner in the works and those first two fixtures have the potential to compound the uneasy feelings around Molineux.
Not a single Wolves player has an ownership higher than 0.5% right now – that says it all.
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Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
