Which teams have the best and worst fixtures for the 2021/22 season?

The Premier League fixture schedule for 2021-2022 was released on Wednesday morning, so we take an early look at which teams have the best and worst fixtures to start the Fantasy Premier League season.

Once you have finished reading this, don’t forget to check out our Ultimate FPL 2021/22 Guide which has everything you could ever need be a successful FPL manager including guides, team previews, player picks, strategy articles, tools, stats, expert team reveals and much much more…

The Hot

Liverpool

mo salah sadio mane fpl fixtures released liverpool

Jurgen Klopp’s team take on Norwich (a), Burnley (H), Chelsea (H), Leeds (a), Crystal Palace (H) and Brentford (a) over the first six gameweeks.

Here are the 2021/22 PL fixtures formatted using my fixture difficulty ratings:

KEY
green = easy
blue = difficult pic.twitter.com/ZAxiKd8Ubt

— Ben Crellin (@BenCrellin) June 16, 2021

That pits the Reds against two promoted sides and last season’s 17th-placed side Burnley. A home clash with Chelsea will be difficult, with Thomas Tuchel’s team neck-and-neck with Manchester City across the defensive statistics over the second half of the season.

Leeds only conceded eight times in their last 11 games, though their ‘expected goals conceded’ figure was just over twice that. Interestingly, Crystal Palace had a very similar xGC to the Whites but Roy Hodgson’s team shipped 19 goals over their final 10 fixtures. The Eagles will be led by a new manager this season, though no appointment has been made to date.

Regardless of price, Mohamed Salah is once again set to be one of Fantasy Premier League’s standout picks. However, FPL bosses should monitor the ongoing situation regarding the Egypt star’s potential participation in the Olympics for his country. Salah was named in the preliminary Egypt squad back in April, though Liverpool are yet to sanction his involvement. According to the Mirror, Egypt will make a final attempt to convince the Anfield outfit to let Salah participate in Tokyo.

Liverpool do face champions Manchester City in Gameweek 7, though follow that up with a trip to promoted Watford in Gameweek 8. Trent Alexander-Arnold, Andy Robertson and Sadio Mane are all set to come under the Fantasy microscope once more, considering that opening run of games.

Manchester United

premier league fixtures released man utd bruno fernandes

Man Utd face Leeds (H), Southampton (a), Wolves (a), Newcastle (H), West Ham (a) and Aston Villa (H) in the first six weeks of the new season.

FIRST 5 FIXTURE DIFFICULTY RANKING #FPLCommunity #FPL
RTs and Likes Appreciated! More coming of course later pic.twitter.com/deQNmpBqYs

— FPLTIPZ (Harry) (@FPLTIPZ) June 16, 2021

As with Salah, that schedule immediately sounds the Bruno Fernandes klaxon for FPL managers. Aside from Leeds, none of the other five teams above kept more than two clean sheets over the final 11 gameweeks of the previous campaign.

On the defensive side of things, only Wolves (8) and Southampton (12) feature in the bottom five teams for goals scored from Gameweek 28 of last season. Luke Shaw (72) was only behind Trent Alexander-Arnold (77) for key passes among defenders, though TAA (14) created double the amount of big chances as Shaw.

Manchester City

man city fpl fixtures released premier league sterling de bruyne

Pep Guardiola’s roulette wheel will begin spinning for a trip to Tottenham before City take on Norwich (H), Arsenal (H), Leicester (a), Southampton (H) and Chelsea (a). The Citizens then face Liverpool at Anfield in Gameweek 7 and Burnley at the Etihad in Gameweek 8.

That is undoubtedly a more mixed schedule that either of Liverpool or Man Utd, though it would be careless to disregard Man City assets merely because of fixture. Guardiola’s side scored 10 more goals (83) than next-best Man Utd, while also leading the league for ‘expected goals’ over the season.

The pricing of players such Ruben Dias, Joao Cancelo, Ilkay Gundogan, Kevin De Bruyne, Phil Foden and Riyad Mahrez will be of great interest once the FPL game launches.

Brighton & Hove Albion

lewis dunk brighton fixtures released fpl premier league

Graham Potter’s troops come up against Burnley (a), Watford (H), Everton (H), Brentford (a), Leicester (H) and Crystal Palace (a) from Gameweeks 1 to 6.

The Seagulls might not be a team expected to feature in a fixture analysis but their defensive numbers speak for themselves. Over the entire 2020/2021 season, only Man City (33.18) and Chelsea (34.84) had a better xGC figure than Brighton (41.83).

There are sure to be some budget options for sale in Potter’s squad, with the Fantasy community crossing its fingers that Spain goalkeeper Robert Sanchez remains at £4.5m.

Aston Villa

jack grealish fpl fixtures released aston villa premier league

Dean Smith’s real-world squad will be of serious interest in the Fantasy universe with an opening three games of Watford (a), Newcastle (H) and Brentford (H).

That run screeches to a halt in Gameweek 4 with a trip to Chelsea, as Everton (H) and Man Utd (a) round out a Jekyll and Hyde-type opening for the Villans.

Jack Grealish, if fit, could find himself in a huge number of Gameweek 1 squads though investors may need an exit plan for Villa assets. Emi Martinez may also be hot property, depending on his price and plans for goalkeepers in the new campaign.

Everton

calvert-lewin everton fpl fixtures released

The Toffees have three enticing home fixtures over the course of the opening six gameweeks. Their schedule reads Southampton (H), Leeds (a), Brighton (a), Burnley (H), Aston Villa (a) and Norwich (H).

Trips to Leeds and Brighton are likely to be more difficult than they look on paper, so perhaps a wait-and-see approach could pay off with Everton assets. The Merseyside club are yet to appoint a new manager following the departure of Carlo Ancelotti. That being said, Dominic Calvert-Lewin will certainly be a player to consider for Gameweek 1 along with assets such as Lucas Digne and Richarlison.

Leicester

iheanacho fpl fixtures released leicester

Brendan Rodgers’ men kick the season off at home to Wolves before facing West Ham (a), Norwich (a), Man City (H), Brighton (a) and Burnley (H). All eyes will be on the starting price of Kelechi Iheanacho after his outstanding goalscoring exploits in the second half of last season.

West Ham

antonio fpl fixtures released west ham

David Moyes’ side play Newcastle (a), Leicester (H), Crystal Palace (H) and Southampton (a) in the first four gameweeks, before clashes with Man Utd (H) and Leeds (a). A fit Michail Antonio will certainly be appealing for that opening run, while defenders such as Vladimir Coufal are also set to be on the radar.

The Not

Norwich

The Canaries were already on the backfoot in Fantasy terms after losing chief creator Emi Buendia to Aston Villa. An opening schedule of Liverpool (H), Man City (a), Leicester (H) and Arsenal (a) should effectively end any interest in Norwich assets, perhaps apart from goalkeeper Tim Krul.

Burnley

chris wood burnley fpl fixtures released

The Clarets take on Brighton (H), Liverpool (a), Leeds (H), Everton (a), Arsenal (H) and Leicester (a) in their first six games. Over the final 10 games of last season, only relegated pair West Brom and Fulham (both 20) conceded more goals that Sean Dyche’s side (19).

There is the caveat that Burnley were safe with games to go but that is nonetheless a poor record. The availability of Nick Pope, who missed out on Euro 2020 due to a knee injury, will naturally be key for the Clarets over a tough-looking opening run.

Chelsea

antonio rudiger fpl fixtures released chelsea

The Blues’ excellent defence is set to be severely tested over the first six gameweeks of the season. In that time, Chelsea play Crystal Palace (H), Arsenal (a), Liverpool (a), Aston Villa (H), Spurs (a) and Man City (a).

Blues defenders could be hard sells, with most likely to be priced at a premium this season. And Tuchel’s propensity to rotate in attack is also a Fantasy red flag, though Mason Mount is once more likely to be a ‘safe’ pick. Chelsea’s schedule may allow us to gain insight on the German manager’s preferred starters in attack ahead of a Gameweek 7 fixture swing.

Crystal Palace

zaha crystal palace fixtures released fpl

Whoever does take over at Selhurst Park will have a baptism of fire in fixture terms. The Eagles are pitted against Chelsea (a), Brentford (H), West Ham (a), Spurs (H), Liverpool (a) and Brighton (H) in the first six gameweeks.

Southampton

fpl fixtures released southampton danny ings fpl

A trip to Chelsea in Gameweek 7 is preceded by matches against Everton (a), Man Utd (H), Newcastle (a), West Ham (H), Man City (a) and Wolves (H) in a relatively difficult schedule for the Saints.

Check out our Fantasy Premier League 2021/22 Ultimate Guide

Our Ultimate FPL 2021/22 Guide has everything you could ever need to be a successful FPL manager including guides, team previews, player picks, strategy articles, tools, stats, expert team reveals and much much more…

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