THE international break rumbles on but Dream Team managers should already be thinking about the next step in their quest for Mini League glory.
Following the European draws and alterations to Gameweek 32 over the weekend, the upcoming schedule has taken on a new look.
Gaffers should always be aware of the fixture list so that they can set long-term strategies in motion for maximum returns – at least that’s the hope.
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With that in mind, Dream Team bosses intent on squeezing the schedule for all it’s worth in the coming weeks should focus on the Premier League title race.
Arsenal, Liverpool and Manchester City are the only three teams facing FOUR consecutive double Gameweeks.
To be clear, this means each of the title contenders will fulfil eight fixtures between now and the end of Gameweek 32.
By way of a comparison, Tottenham will play just four games in the same time frame.
Gaffers currently stocked up on Spurs assets shouldn’t panic just yet as there’s plenty of time (and transfers) to pivot away from Son Heung-min (£4.8m) and company before they’re left twiddling their thumbs.
Every single top-flight club has two fixtures to fulfil in Gameweek 29 with a full round of Premier League fixtures in midweek to follow the weekend’s usual allotment.
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Spurs host Luton before travelling to West Ham and a home game against Nottingham Forest in Gameweek 30 has to be considered a favourable match-up that is likely to yield plentiful points.
However, the North Londoners have just one fixture across Gameweeks 31 and 32 at a time when the aforementioned title challengers will be action four times each.
Not accounting for rollovers, gaffers will have six transfers at their disposal between now and the start of Gameweek 31 so those who need to find replacements for their Spurs assets should have more than enough wiggle room.
Let’s take a closer look at Arsenal, Liverpool and Man City’s fixture over the next four Gameweeks.
ARSENAL: Man City (a), Luton (h), Brighton (a), Bayern Munich (h), Aston Villa (h), Bayern Munich (a), Wolves (a), Chelsea (h)
LIVERPOOL: Brighton (h), Sheffield United (h), Man United (a), Atalanta (h), Crystal Palace (h), Atalanta (a), Fulham (a), Everton (a)
MAN CITY: Arsenal (h), Aston Villa (h), Crystal Palace (a), Real Madrid (a), Luton (h), Real Madrid (h), Chelsea (n), Brighton (a)
The first thing to note is that while Pep Guardiola’s troops will have a lot of point-scoring opportunities in the coming weeks, they face some tricky opponents.
Straight up after the international break, they take on league-leaders Arsenal and fourth-placed Villa in an ultra competitive double header – albeit with the benefit of both fixtures taking place at the Etihad.
Elsewhere, two legs against the La Liga leaders will provide a stern test in the Champions League quarter-finals while Mauricio Pochettino’s side will fancy their chances of an upset in the FA Cup semi-finals given how they performed against City in the league this season.
It’s a similar story for the Gunners with City, Bayern (twice), Villa and Chelsea to come across the next four Gameweeks.
All things considered, it looks to be an opportune time to stock up on Liverpool assets, despite the Reds’ 4-3 defeat at Old Trafford last time out.
Their league fixtures are considerably more friendly on paper and, with all due respect to Atalanta, their Europa League quarter-final is a simple task compared to Arsenal and City’s Champions League draws.
The other teams to mention in regards to the immediate schedule are Aston Villa and West Ham.
Both sides face three consecutive double Gameweeks before relatively favourable league match-ups in Gameweek 32, giving each of them seven fixtures in total in the given time frame.
ASTON VILLA: Wolves (h), Man City (a), Brentford (h), Lille (h), Arsenal (a), Lille (a), Bournemouth (h)
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WEST HAM: Newcastle (a), Tottenham (h), Wolves (a), Bayer Leverkusen (a), Fulham (h), Bayer Leverkusen (h), Crystal Palace (a)
The most-successful Dream Team bosses are likely to have teams made up almost exclusively of players from Arsenal, Liverpool, Man City, Villa and West Ham across the next few Gameweeks.
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Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk