Which teams have the most favourable fixtures throughout March? Dream Team gaffers take note…

MARCH brings a promise of spring and, more importantly, a fresh batch of Dream Team transfers.

Gaffers will be able to make changes to their XIs from Friday morning if they so wish and, as always, it’s best to consider the month ahead as a whole when determining a strategy.

With that in mind, let’s run through the fixtures for each of the top ten Premier League teams.

The schedule is subject to change, of course, but this exercise should paint a relatively clear picture of the coming weeks.

Please note we have not included fixtures taking place this evening (March 1st) as lock out currently applies to all players.

ARSENAL

• Bournemouth (h)
• Sporting CP (a)
• Fulham (a)
• Sporting CP (h)
• Crystal Palace (h)

The Gunners recommence their Europa League campaign this month and two legs against one of Portuguese football’s so-called ‘big three’ means they’re busier than most teams.

Craven Cottage isn’t an easy place to go this season but home fixtures against the Cherries and the Eagles look very friendly on current form.

Backers of Bukayo Saka (£4.8m), Martin Odegaard (£3.4m) and company will be hopeful of bountiful returns.

MANCHESTER CITY

• Newcastle (h)
• Crystal Palace (a)
• RB Leipzig (h)
• FA Cup quarter-final

Pep Guardiola’s side are likely to be favourites in their FA Cup quarter-final no matter who they draw but at one end of the scale there’s Man United and at the other there’s Blackburn.

Saturday’s early kick-off at the Etihad promises to be competitive but it’s worth noting that Newcastle’s otherwise sturdy defence conceded three to City at St James’ Park earlier in the season.

A shock elimination from the Champions League would change the outlook considerably but the smart money is on Erling Haaland (£8.9m) and his merry men to progress to the last eight.

MANCHESTER UNITED

• Liverpool (a)
• Real Betis (h)
• Southampton (h)
• Real Betis (a)

If the newly-crowned Carabao Cup champions get past West Ham in the FA Cup this evening then they’ll have five fixtures to fulfil before the end of March.

The Red Devils boast more Dream Team centurions (seven) than any other team at present so there’s every reason to back Erik ten Hag’s side right now, both in attack and defence.

Real Betis are currently fifth in La Liga but they’ve conceded a fair few goals of late so the in-form pair of Marcus Rashford (£6.5m) and Bruno Fernandes (£6.1m) may cash in.

TOTTENHAM

• Wolves (a)
• AC Milan (h)
• Nottingham Forest (h)
• Southampton (a)

The north Londoners can book themselves into the FA Cup quarter-finals with a win over Sheffield United tonight.

Elsewhere, their Premier League fixtures are relatively favourable – all three opponents have relegation concerns.

Spurs are 1-0 down on aggregate against Milan and the Italian giants have enjoyed an upturn in form recently so the second leg could be a tense affair.

NEWCASTLE

• Man City (a)
• Wolves (h)
• Nottingham Forest (a)

Just the three fixtures scheduled for the Magpies this month currently and given that one of those is a trip to the Etihad it could be a lean few weeks for their assets.

Kieran Trippier’s (£6.5m) owners are unlikely to ditch a player averaging 6.2 points-per-game, rightly so, but it may be the case that replacements are needed elsewhere.

Saying that, it wouldn’t be a massive surprise if Newcastle kept their sheets clean against Wolves and Forest.

FULHAM

• Brentford (a)
• Arsenal (h)
• FA Cup quarter-final

Marco Silva will be hoping for a favourable FA Cup draw to ease what could otherwise be a testing little run.

The Cottagers have performed above expectations this season but a trip to their west London rivals followed by a meeting with the league leaders looks rough on paper.

LIVERPOOL

• Man United (h)
• Bournemouth (a)
• Real Madrid (a)

It’s hard to know where the Reds are at right now.

In February they followed two solid wins against Everton and Newcastle with a spectacular capitulation at the hands of Real Madrid at Anfield – fans won’t be overly optimistic of getting anything from the Bernabeu having lost the first leg 5-2.

On current form, Man United will fancy their chances of registering a comfortable victory over their rivals on enemy soil this weekend.

BRIGHTON

• West Ham (h)
• Leeds (a)
• Crystal Palace (h)
• FA Cup quarter-final

It’s three bottom-half opponents for the Seagulls before their FA Cup quarter-final which has to be considered a favourable set.

It’s the midfielders who have generally bagged the points for Roberto De Zerbi’s side in recent months: Kaoru Mitoma (£3.5m), Solly March (£3.4m), Pascal Gross (£2.8m) and Alexis Mac Allister (£2.9m).

BRENTFORD

• Fulham (h)
• Everton (a)
• Southampton (a)
• Leicester (h)

The Bees are eleven games unbeaten in the Premier League and if they get past Fulham on Monday night they will fancy their chances of extending their streak until April.

It remains to be seen what punishment will be handed down to Ivan Toney (£5.8m) after the striker submitted a guilty plea for multiple betting charges.

The 26-year-old is by far and away Brentford’s top scorer this season both in terms of goals and Dream Team points.

CHELSEA

• Leeds (h)
• Borussia Dortmund (h)
• Leicester (a)
• Everton (h)

Graham Potter is under severe pressure having won just one of his last eleven fixtures.

And the English tactician will have to go without Thiago Silva (£6m), arguably the Blues’ best player this season, for approximately six weeks after an assessment of the Brazilian’s knee injury.

Failure to attain positive results against bottom-half opponents this month would surely prompt the club’s hierarchy to evaluate Potter’s viability.

Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk