With the New Year upon us, I thought it would be useful to look at teams with the best fixtures going into January. I thought this was an important month to look at, as it gets off to an odd start with FA cup and EFL cup fixtures very early on. This may influence any decisions made regarding those new transfers for the New Year. It’s also worth noting that the Dream Team website states that we don’t get February transfers until 8th February. However I always thought the rule was that we got fresh transfers on the 1st Friday of a new month. With February 1st falling on a Friday, I’d assumed this would be when transfer refreshed – but the website states otherwise. If anyone could shed any light on this feel free to leave a comment below.
Man City (7 games)
Rotherham (H) – FA Cup
Burton (H) – EFL Cup
Wolves (H)
Huddersfield (A)
Burton (A) – EFL Cup
Newcastle (A)
Arsenal (H)
Chelsea (7 games)
Forest (H) – FA Cup
Spurs (A) – EFL Cup
Newcastle (H)
Arsenal (A)
Spurs (H) – EFL Cup
Bournemouth (A)
Huddersfield (H)
Spurs (7 games)
Tranmere (A) – FA Cup
Chelsea (H) – EFL Cup
Man Utd (H)
Fulham (A)
Chelsea (A) – EFL Cup
Watford (H)
Newcastle (H)
Liverpool (5 games)
Wolves (A) – FA Cup
Brighton (A)
Palace (H)
Leicester (H)
West Ham (A)
Man Utd (5 games)
Reading (H) – FA Cup
Spurs (A)
Brighton (H)
Burnley (H)
Leicester (A)
Arsenal (5 games)
Blackpool (A) – FA Cup
West Ham (A)
Chelsea (H)
Cardiff (H)
Man City (A)
I’ve personally still got two transfers from December in the bank to use and three to come for January. As a result I’ve got a bit of room to play with when it comes to making these transfers. At this stage the Burton games for Man City stand out. They are additional fixtures and should give game time to some of the players capable of high scores who haven’t had the minutes recently. The two players I’m considering (in place of Richarlison) are Sane or Mahrez. It’s very difficult to judge which one will get the most game time across the FA cup and EFL cup fixtures, and it’s also a complete lottery around which one scores the most points if they were to start. However I’ve got a feeling that they should get some minutes under their belts. This could make my final two transfers of the month: Shaw out, Lindelof in. Richarlison out, Sane or Mahrez in. I think this should strengthen my team and sets things up nicely going into January without needing to make any changes. I’d be interested in other people’s thoughts on these fixtures. Is anyone else hoping to gain an advantage by targeting the EFL Cup games?
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DTT, have you any plans to double up on Liverpool defence, only 5 games to others with 7, but they look strong in defence, with Van dijk the standout, is it also worth considering taking out Mane limited games to others & seems to need several chances before finding the net. After Spurs, Man utd do have good fixtures, up until their Champions league games with PSG, but is their a reason to stick with one of their defenders, they look brittle at the back, regardless of personnel, also are you going to wait on Everton lineup in FA cup, before making a decision on Richarlison, their fixtures remain good, but he is way off the pace, one other point on Man utd, the form of Pogba looks irresistible.
Hi DTT
As always excellent piece. So so helpful. After putting pogba in for mahrez with my last transfer last week I have gone top of my mini league with 1251 points , although only by 2 points. The team in 3rd 100 points behind worry me slightly as they have a heavy man city presence – sterling, de bruyne & mahrez as well as VVD & robertson so this month with the fixtures i am mindful of his threat (the guy in 2nd only has robertson & Sane – both of who I have) – team:
Kepa
Robertson
Doherty
Laporte
hazard
sane
Pogba
Maddison
Auba
Salah
kane
Advice needed with the new transfers – almost tempted to stay put with this team 1st week as it’s a long month – I have £300k in bank. But mindful do I need VVd in? Do I need to squeeze another man City midfielder in somewhere with there fixtures ?
Any ideas guys please?
I’d be tempted to move Maddison on but to be honest I’d be fairly happy with that team. It’s not far off where I aim to be at the start of January.
I may look at Liverpool defensively but not until after at least the first game week in January. I think Lindelof may represent good value which would free up swapping Richarlison for Sane.
Hi guys need some help.
My team is
Ederson
Stones
Vvd
Robertson
Sterling
Mahrez
Mane
Pedro
Kane
Aub
Got £1 million in bank
Forgot to say I’m over 100 points behind in my league
Tough one – I’d be uncomfortable not having Salah but I can’t see how you could get him in. I’d be tempted to downgrade Ederson and try to free up funds to move Pedro on. Mahrez and Sterling could be good picks for Man City’s extra games.
Thanks yeah been thinking of salah. Would it be better to downgrade a goalkeeper then perhaps Robertson to spare some cash to change mane then maybe Ali for Pedro
I’d personally keep hold of Robertson.
Part of me is tempted to go Richarlison to Eriksen initially with those extra fixtures (rather than to VVD). I’d be amazed if Eriksen played all seven though in all honesty so I may stick with the VVD plan.
Who do you guys think will score more during January? Eriksen or VVD?
I’d eventually go Lacazette to the remaining one at some stage of the month anyway in all likelihood.
I’d personally be tempted to play the fixtures during the first half of January at least. Although Spurs could face a tough task against Chelsea. Not tempted by City facing Burton?
That could go either way Chris, any reason why you would favour Erickson over a back in form Pogba, would you be tempted to replace Lacazette to Rashford, he is basically saying to the manager, drop me if you dare, more funds to replace Richarlison.
Extra fixtures being the main reason David. Eriksen is a safe bet for points but Pogba could easily match or better him.
Rashford has certainly played his way into my thinking as well. During Mourinho ‘s tenure he was one of the few players to come out of it with any decency regarding his performances. Since OGS has come in though he’s found an even higher gear. May be tempted to go Richarlison to VVD then Lacazette to Rashford as and when the time seems right.
My ML lead is now down to two points after my rival’s Wan-Bissaka trumped my Doherty tonight. 😬
Evening ,
Man cities fixtures look great don’t they for jan , leaning towards sane over Mahrez, no idea why though (which is probably the best way sometimes ?!). An early jan aguero , auba switch maybe tempting too?
Do we have to do any transfers we have left before Friday (ie after tomorrow nights games) or can we do it on Friday ? Someone might get injured etc …
I think I’m going to have to give Aguero a miss for now. I’m tempted to go for Sane over Mahrez as well for those additional fixtures but it’s a lottery around which one will play more. Any transfers from December need to be done today I think.
After considering my options and David’s comments above, I’m thinking of being bold (or stupid depending on your viewpoint) and going for three transfers straight off the bat in January as I feel I need to shake things up with my current team. The transfers I’m considering:
Ryan-Ederson
Richarlison-VVD
Lacazette-Rashford
Ederson has extra fixtures so just hoping they can start keeping clean sheets again soon.
VVD needs no real explanation. Just a class defender for a very good team.
Rashford is a gamble but at the price he’s at, I think it’s a gamble worth taking given his and United’s current form. At such a cheap price he also allows me to get any keeper I want. I’d normally favour Alisson but it could be risky to triple up, and with City having the extra fixtures I’d sooner spread the risk a little.
These moves feel the right thing to do in my gut so I think I’m going to go for it. I’ll obviously check out the starting line-ups for the FA Cup games and time them accordingly but this is where I want to be at. Thoughts appreciated.
My only worry would be that Ederson might not play in either leg of the EFL Semi final as Muric has been playing in those games.
That’s an excellent point Callum, thanks for that! So now I have a decision to make on Lloris, Kepa one Alisson now then… 🤔
I’ve been looking ahead and has anyone noticed Gameweek 25? Only Liverpool, City, Chelsea and Spurs play in that Gameweek. If you can time a transfer or two correctly, you could get an extra fixture out of that month. Anyone else seen this and got any strategy for how to play it?
I’ve been fairly happy with Kepa – might play in the EFL cup and should continue to play in Europe where Chelsea have an easy draw in the next round.
Yeah, think I’ll probably go with Kepa, although I do fancy Spurs in that semi-final. I guess I’ll be covering my bases by having Kepa, Hazard and Kane for those games.
The only thing that puts me off Kepa though are
Chelsea’s fixtures:
Nottingham Forest home (FA Cup)
Spurs away (Carabao Cup)
Newcastle home
Arsenal away
Spurs home (Carabao Cup)
Bournemouth away
Only the Forest and Newcastle games appeal to me out of those. Spurs fixtures aren’t much better either so I’m now wondering if I’d be better going with Alisson or Ederson after all. I’m really struggling to make a decision with this keeper slot… 🤔
I might run a poll on Twitter.
I think Alisson is probably the most sought after keeper. Highly owned and the highest point scorer. If I felt like I could accommodate him, then he would be my first choice.
Think game week 25 might be the next round of the FA cup Chris, hence no fixtures in there yet?
Of course. Cheers Allan.
Might replicate 2 of those transfers Chris, Lacazette & Richarlison out, if they start in the cup hold for another week, that would leave Mahrez or Sane to come in for 3rd transfer.
I hope that works for you Chris. It’s a very bold move given how poor City’s defence is. I’m looking at going the other way and losing Laporte!!
For the same reasons of no clean sheets, I also have question marks over Doherty lately. I don’t think we can keep relying on goals or assists as his only way of earning points when their are other defenders such as Pereira matching his goal threat but with the added occasional sheet.
Pereira could be a great choice Lee, Wolves need to address their home form that’s for sure. I’ll see how Doherty gets on in January and re-assess in Feb. Hopefully he’ll just keep on doing what he does and chips in with decent regularity.
Whatever happens, I need to get some Chelsea defensive coverage in.
My 50 point lead has been reduced to 19 points this week because of Chelsea’s back to back clean sheets and I don’t envisage there being any clean sheets tonight between City & Liverpool.
Lee, I hear what you say on Doherty, me and you are in same boat – Doherty and Laporte are on my radar but with Laporte I think there is a better chance of clean sheets or points with the fixtures they have. I wonder if we have squeezed as much out of doherty as we can – therefore my thoughts are;
laporte / Doherty to VVD & Lindelof
Doherty & Maddsion to Lindelof & B Silva
What do you think?
If Lindelof plays, he sounds like a bargain for his price, but there are some question marks whether he will be a regular starter once Smalling and Bailly are available again.
Also, whilst I’d love to have VVD in my team, I think I need to get some Chelsea coverage in first, since I already have Robertson and Alisson. I guess that a case can be made for losing Maddison and switching to a 433?
As for B.Silva,… much like Mahrez, he seems to have been a bit elusive for me. Bad timing I guess, but I have had both B.Silva and Mahrez in my team this year (twice) and in the combined 10-12 games I’ve had them, I don’t think I’ve registered much more than a few points which would have been a couple of 7 ratings from B.Silva!! Mahrez has played about 7 games for me and not registered a single point!
That’s not to say of course that they won’t get points, but preferably, I’d prefer Sterling if funds permit.
I have got Sane but do I need another man City Midfielder with their fixtures? – I think Lindelof is a favourite of Solksjaer and with Bailly banned and Smalling injured think he might get a run – B silva did well for me earlier in season before I foolishly took him out for mahrez. Mine and your team are similar –
kepa
laporte
Doherty
Robertson
Hazard
Sane
Pogba
maddison
Auba
salah
kane
I guess its a case what combination will score more this month?
laporte / Doherty or VVD & Lindelof
Doherty & Maddsion or Lindelof & B Silva
Yes, the are virtually identical, although I’d prefer your team since you have the Chelsea coverage that I’m after and Pogba!!
I have Alisson and Anderson where you have Kepa and Pogba.
That said, I needed to double on my Liverpool Defence a few weeks ago since a few people with blocks of 3 or 4 were making a lot of damage. Now I have the same problem with the Chelsea blocks.
Bailly is banned until the 19th.
Smalling is due back (allegedly) the 13th.
So a move for Lindelof should see a couple of games, at the very least although it’s questionable as to whether he will start in the FA Cup and get a clean sheet against Spurs.
I don’t think I’d be unhappy with that team going into January. Have you got transfers left over that need using?
I have no transfers left for december. Leaning towards holding any transfers this week as its 5 weeks before the next lot and that’s a long time – 8th february and I think a lot of teams will rotate for the FA CUP. But next Thursday night before price increases, think I will do Maddison & Doherty out for B Silva & Lindelof
At the moment, I’m swaying towards:
Laporte>Luiz
Anderson>Pogba
Part of me wants to wait on Laporte thinking that a sheet for City is surely on the cards, but I’ve been thinking that for about 12 games!!
Also, I’m reluctant to remove Anderson since I only put him in last week and he hasn’t really had much chance in my team yet (2 games). It seems a waste of a sub, but Pogba (and Utd) looks transformed. If Anderson goes on to get points, it’s still good as I have him in my Telegraph team.. 😉
Also contemplating this bold move….
Auba > Rashford
This would free up a whopping 3.4m in funds to upgrade Maddison or Doherty
Couldn’t you just do auba to rashford and then doherty to Luiz as I think losing Laporte this month might be hasty
You could be right.
To be honest, I’m not going to do anything too rash because Chelsea are likely to field a weakened defence in their FA cup game (Caballero, Zappacosta, Christensen, Ampadu & Palmieri) and then they have Spurs away, so it might we worth waiting for a bit…
To be honest I think the FA Cup could be a bit of a lottery, I personally will probably wait for any transfers until Thursday 10th see how this week pans out as all teams could rotate heavily for the FA Cup
This is my team currently top of my mini league on just over 1100 points:
Schmeichel
Robertson Doherty azpilicueta
Maddison hazard mane Anderson
Kane salah aubameyang
I’m thinking I have to get VVD in the team. Aside from shifting azpilicueta which I don’t want to do, only other option is to lose probably mane and go 4 3 4. Mane hasn’t done anything for a long time and I’m struggling to justify keeping him.
My other transfer I feel I need to get out is Maddison. He’s starting to lag behind now and he’s not getting enough points for me.
A lot of people seem to be looking to move Auba on where as I’m looking to get him in for Lacazette.
He is proving time and time again how important he is and now the main man at Arsenal.
Nobody else thinking he is essential? I do like Rashford for the price and it does enable you to upgrade other areas. Will this United form continue against the better opposition? Sanchez is now back in the fold, sub appearance last night and chipped in with an assist. Worth keeping an eye in for sure.
Can anyone actually confirm any transfers left for Dec have to be done tonight after the games ? (Can’t donit before and get points for Sane can we?) We can’t leave it until tomorrow (which would be nice with Injury potential etc)
When are you going to make a final decision Dtt?
Any december transfers left have to be done BEFORE 6.59am tomorrow morning but you wont earn points off them until after 7am tomorrow
I’m currently top of my mini-league by 77 points, with 1259. My team is below but I feel I need to switch to 3-4-3 at some point but only have 0.1 in the bank so any thoughts welcome:
Kepa
Roberston
VVD
Doherty
Laporte
Mane
Hazard
Lingard
Salah
Aubameyang
Kane
Flags for me in this team are Laporte (Man C haven’t been good at keeping clean sheet recently), Mane (still only sporadic scoring) and Lingard (two blanks since I brought him in and only came on as a sub against Newcastle last night).
But, with Lingard being only 2.9 my options are limited unless I combine the transfers with someone like Laporte / Mane. I have no December transfers left now.
I’d be tempted to try and bring in someone who may play in the EFL cup games – Alli, Eriksen, Sane, Mahrez, ect.
Current team with 1 transfer left and 1.1m in the bank;
Kepa
Doherty
Laporte
Robertson
Shaw
Eriksen
Hazard
Richarlison
Auba
Kane
Salah
Looking at making my final change tonight to 1. use my final transfer and 2. not get caught up in price changes? (If any of us can actually get anywhere close to guessing this).
I’d like to use 2 transfers before the next set of games;
1. Shaw -> Lindelof
2. Richarlison -> Man City representative – Sane / B.Silva / Mahrez??? (Can’t decide the best option at all!)
If i make the Richarlison transfer tonight i can afford only B. Silva or Mahrez, however if I do the Shaw transfer it leaves me with the option of affording Sane tomorrow?
Do you think there is an advantage of doing one or the other? I’m second in my ML and his mid 3 are Sterling, Mahrez and Sane, with the same top 3 as me.
Pretty much in the same boat as me. I just did the Shaw to Lindelof transfer and also did Richarlison out for Sane.
Has anyone had any official confirmation regarding when the February transfers will be given to us??? 1st or 8th? We need clarification on this.
Two transfers left; tempted to take out Hazard for Pogba, allowing Eriksen or David Silva in for Richarlison. Could then upgrade Foster before or after FA Cup. Thoughts appreciated.
Foster
Robertson
Laporte
Shaw
Doherty
Richarlison
Sterling
Hazard
Aubameyang
Kane
Salah
Any money in the bank? I’d be tempted to stay as you are other than Richarlison.
A goal fest tonight wouldn’t do me any harm with goals for Sterling, Sane, Laporte, Robertson and Salah (in my Eutopian world). 3-2 to City it is then! 🤞🤞🤞
I don’t even know what I want to happen tonight. Got a feeling Liverpool clean sheet would do me harm despite having Robertson. I certainly don’t want any goals from Sane, Sterling or Aguero though.
Assuming you are not using your last 2 transfers tonight? Question is, do I switch Maddison > Shaw to get my team back to the same as yours?!?!
I’m going to do them tonight – I’ve got to do it before the end of the day or they get lost. I wouldn’t do Maddison to Shaw because I’m going to take Shaw out. My transfers are Shaw -> Lindelof and Richarlison -> Sane.
Prefect! Back with the same XI
Can we reverse the transfers saybif Sane gets injured tonight and put in Maherz say or you doing them after the game anyway
I’ve done them. Assuming we can reverse them after the game anyway because they aren’t effective anyway.
Hi guys
This is my team
Hart
Robertson
Laporte
Doherty
Mane
Sterling
Hazard
Maddison
Aubamayang
Aguero
Kane
I have 0.1 ITB
Obviously looking at getting hart out, not sure on who for budget or spend big.
Looking at getting pogba in now as playing a more advanced role.
Any thoughts would be most helpful.
TIA
Ref the post above, I’m thinking of doing;
Hart – De gea (obvious change)
Laporte – Lindelof (free up funds)
Mane – Pogba
What do you guys think?
Cheers
Long time lurker on here and really enjoy the conversations/discussions you all have – definitely makes me reassess some of my decisions before I do them as well as egg me on to follow some through.
I have a quick query and could do with your views. I stupidly thought the additional EFL game was next week, and not this game week so missed the boat in bringing in Aguero (for Lacazette) in case he features against Burton. Now I’ve missed that one, he’ll only have one extra game so I’m slightly reconsidering transfers…which doesn’t normally go very well. Team is as below;
Ederson
Stones
Robertson
Lindelof
Hazard
Sterling
Mahrez
Maddison –> Pogba/Taylor (Bur)
Lacazette –> Rashford/Aguero
Kane
Salah
I would have shifted Mahrez but for their extra fixtures this month, so as you can see instead I’m trying to weigh up which pairing will get the most points this month. Pogba/Rashford or Aguero/Taylor? I always feel uncomfortable NOT having Aguero and only took him out due to his injury – that and Burnley’s fixtures aren’t awful for this month at least. However, Man Utd obviously looked to have turned a corner and don’t have bad fixtures except for their next game vs Spurs. I am torn as I just know Aguero at any point could grab a hatful.
Apologies for the ramble but appreciate any of your views!