Which teams have the most favourable fixtures in September? Gaffers to target European competitions

THE English summer is hanging on by a thread amid the first international break of the season.

Dream Team managers have until 11am on September 14th to confirm their set-up for Gameweek 4 so there’s plenty of time to reflect upon the campaign so far and plan for the weeks ahead.

One crucial factor to consider when devising a strategy for the upcoming Gameweeks is the fixtures, in relation to both difficulty and volume.

With that in mind, let’s analyse the September schedule (and beginning of October in some cases) for all 20 Premier League clubs, covering Gameweeks 4 to 6.

MANCHESTER CITY

• Brentford (h)
• Inter (h)
• Arsenal (h)
• Watford (h)
• Newcastle (a)
• Slovan Bratislava (a)

Pep Guardiola’s side are one of six teams facing three consecutive double Gameweeks after the international break.

And with the way the chips have fallen in the Champions League and Carabao Cup, Erling Haaland (£8.8m) and company have the luxury of four home games in a row.

Inter, Arsenal and a trip to St James’ Park have to be considered relatively difficult match-ups but most Dream Team bosses will know that points flow freely when City have to play every few days.

LIVERPOOL

• Nottingham Forest (h)
• Milan (a)
• Bournemouth (h)
• West Ham (h)
• Wolves (a)
• Bologna (h)

Like Man City, Arne Slot’s troops have four home fixtures across the next three Gameweeks.

Given the Reds have won all three of their games so far without conceding a goal, they won’t be overly concerned about their upcoming schedule at all.

The likes of Mohamed Salah (£7.3m), Luis Diaz (£4.7m) and Trent Alexander-Arnold (£5.8m) should continue to provide plentiful returns for their backers.

BRIGHTON

• Ipswich (h)
• Wolves (h)
• Nottingham Forest (h)
• Chelsea (a)

Without European commitments the Seagulls’ workload appears comparatively light but their double header in Gameweek 4 (Ipswich in the league followed by Wolves in the cup) looks ripe for points.

Fabian Hurzeler’s side are third in table having taken seven points from their opening three games and the young coach will be hopeful of positive results against the Tractor Boys and Forest on home soil to keep the ball rolling.

ARSENAL

• Tottenham (a)
• Atalanta (a)
• Manchester City (a)
• Bolton (h)
• Leicester (h)
• PSG (h)

September brings some tough tests for the Gunners with three tricky away days in succession after the break.

Bukayo Saka (£6.3m), Kai Havertz (£4.6m) and William Saliba (£5.4m) have started the season in fine form and their owners will be happy to see them in action so frequently cross the next few Gameweeks but a slight dip in returns is to be expected.

Arsenal have been the best defensive side in England across the last year or so but they’ll have to work seriously hard to keep their sheets clean this month.

NEWCASTLE

• Wolves (a)
• Fulham (a)
• AFC Wimbledon (a)
• Manchester City (h)

The Magpies’ home record is far superior to their away record under Eddie Howe so it’s not an ideal schedule for gaffers backing Alexander Isak (£5m), Anthony Gordon (£4.5m) and friends.

On the bright side, the quality of the opposition isn’t all that daunting… until City come to town.

BRENTFORD

• Manchester City (a)
• Leyton Orient (h)
• Tottenham (a)
• West Ham (h)

The Bees have started brightly with two victories from three outings but their league form will be severely tested against City and Spurs.

Bryan Mbeumo (£3.6m) has raced to 31 points but he didn’t feature at all in the Carabao Cup second round so he may not get much of a run out at home to the O’s, unless Thomas Frank changes tact.

ASTON VILLA

• Everton (h)
• Young Boys (a)
• Wolves (h)
• Wycombe (a)
• Ipswich (a)
• Bayern Munich (h)

German giants aside, it’s a friendly set of fixtures for the Villains this month.

Ollie Watkins (£5.6m) has only played roughly an hour of each game so far in 2024/25 and the striker’s withdrawal from the England squad means he’s a minor doubt for Gameweek 4.

However, a fully-fit striker would be licking his lips looking at Villa’s schedule – Watkins will be a popular recruit if he gets up to speed.

BOURNEMOUTH

• Chelsea (h)
• Liverpool (a)
• Southampton (h)

The Cherries have half as many fixtures as the busiest teams across the next three Gameweeks, with one being a trip to Anfield.

Antoine Semenyo’s (£2.8m) ownership has increased as a reflection of his impressive form but he’d have to transform into prime Messi to justify his selection with just three games at his disposal.

NOTTINGHAM FOREST

• Liverpool (a)
• Brighton (a)
• Fulham (h)

It’s a similar story for Nuno Espirito Santo’s mob; just three fixtures including Liverpool away.

Forest are unbeaten this season (their penalty shootout defeat to Newcastle in the cup technically goes down as a draw) with Chris Wood (£2.8m) having amassed 24 points but it seems as if their returns are about to dry up.

TOTTENHAM

• Arsenal (h)
• Coventry (a)
• Brentford (h)
• Qarabag (h)
• Manchester United (a)
• Ferencvaros (a)

It’s been a mixed bag for Spurs so far with one win, one draw and one defeat from their first three outings.

An emotionally-charge North London derby is a difficult match-up to predict but gaffers should be eyeing up the rest of September.

Their Europa League fixtures look particularly inviting.

CHELSEA

• Bournemouth (a)
• West Ham (a)
• Barrow (h)
• Brighton (h)
• Gent (h)

A home draw against League Two’s Barrow is a hugely favourable match-up on paper but it’s not all that easy for Dream Team bosses to predict the Blues’ line-up for that game.

The Conference League has historically been a reliable source of Dream Team points for the English teams so it’s all eyes on Gent’s visit to Stamford Bridge in early October.

FULHAM

• West Ham (h)
• Preston (a)
• Newcastle (h)
• Nottingham Forest (a)

A middling set of fixtures that will force backers of relatively popular assets Emile Smith Rowe (£2.8m) and Antonee Robinson (£3.4m) to either stick or twist.

Gaffers without pressing issues elsewhere should probably explore potential alternatives.

WEST HAM

• Fulham (a)
• Chelsea (h)
• Liverpool (a)
• Brentford (a)

It’s a similar story for the Hammers.

Max Kilman (£2.8m) and Jarrod Bowen (£5m) have started well enough but their viability drops without European commitments.

MANCHESTER UNITED

• Southampton (a)
• Barnsley (h)
• Crystal Palace (a)
• Twente (h)
• Tottenham (h)
• Porto (a)

The Red Devils are among the busiest teams from now until the end of Gameweek 6 but back-to-back defeats to Brighton and Liverpool have dampened the mood around Old Trafford.

None of their players have broken the 20-point barrier at this stage with Bruno Fernandes (£5.8m) among the most-disappointing performers so far – the Portuguese midfielder has mustered just 13 points.

LEICESTER

• Crystal Palace (a)
• Everton (h)
• Walsall (a)
• Arsenal (a)

The Foxes are without a win since promotion and so Dream Team managers are understandably hesitant to shop around the King Power.

Moving swiftly on…

CRYSTAL PALACE

• Leicester (h)
• Queens Park Rangers (a)
• Manchester United (h)
• Everton (a)

Only Luis Diaz has more points than Eberechi Eze (£4.6m) among midfielders right now and the latter’s backers will be hopeful of further returns in Gameweek 4.

The Eagles’ No10 played the full 90 minutes last time out in the Carabao Cup and therefore has a good chance of starting against his former club in the third round.

Eze is among a select group of talented individuals capable of keeping pace with players active in Europe – especially if Palace go deep in the domestic cups.

IPSWICH

• Brighton (a)
• Southampton (a)
• Aston Villa (h)

A newly-promoted team without a win, with just three fixtures across the next three Gameweeks.

It’s a black hole of Dream Team points.

WOLVES

• Newcastle (h)
• Brighton (a)
• Aston Villa (a)
• Liverpool (h)

All four of Wolves’ September opponents are currently in the top seven of the league table – a brutal run.

SOUTHAMPTON

• Manchester United (h)
• Everton (a)
• Ipswich (h)
• Bournemouth (a)

Saints fans will start to get very twitchy if they don’t see some positive results this month.

No Southampton player features in more than 0.9% of Dream Teams currently – that says it all.

EVERTON

• Aston Villa (a)
• Southampton (h)
• Leicester (a)
• Crystal Palace (h)

The Toffees are rooted to the bottom of the table after a disastrous start to the campaign, amplified by their traumatic loss to Bournemouth last weekend.

Against the odds, Dwight McNeil (£3.2m) is joint-fifth among all midfielders having racked up 31 points but most Dream Team bosses should be repelled by Everton until their form as a collective improves dramatically.

Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk