Teams with the best fixtures – August 2023

With the first month of the new season on the horizon, it’s the perfect time to look at fixtures for August in advance for planning an initial team and any transfers to be made in August. Below I’ve focused on the top teams and sorted them in terms of teams with the best fixtures in August. By top teams, I mean those involved in Europe or those with other opportunities to score well in August. Given the changes to the game, I think this will be even more important this season.

Aston Villa (3 games)

The game rules have been updated to suggest Villa’s additional games DO NOT count for scoring points in Dream Team so I’m now not considering their players.

Spurs (4 games)

Brentford (A)
Man Utd (H)
Bournemouth (A)
EFL Cup

I won’t be looking at Spurs players very often at the start of this season as they have no European football. However, I may consider them during game week 3 as they enter the EFL Cup earlier than the bigger teams involved in Europe. If Kane plays in this game he could have a big game week with an away fixture against Bourenmouth earlier in the week. It’s a big if around whether he plays in the EFL Cup though. I’ve put Spurs second on this list simply because of Kane in that game week.

Man City (3 games)

Burnley (A)
Newcastle (H)
Sheff Utd (A)

Man City have a decent start to the season with an opening game against newly promoted Burnley. It’s going to be difficult to look past Haaland as captain for game week 1 given that fixture. Their second game is more difficult but I can still see them beating Newcastle. They then have an easier fixture against Sheff Utd. Given the force that they are, it’s going to be hard to look past Man City fixtures given that opening run of games.

Arsenal (3 games)

Forest (H)
Palace (A)
Fulham (H)

Good opening three games for Arsenal. My only question would be around how consistent they are going to be during the season ahead. They ran out of steam last season and their players will be more expensive this time around. An obvious pick from the off would be Saka but he won’t be the bargain that he was last season.

Man Utd (3 games)

Wolves (H)
Spurs (A)
Forest (H)

Only three games for Man Utd to start the season, and one tough fixture against Spurs. After some good individual scores last season the likes of Fernandes and Rashford also won’t be cheap. My main question mark would be around if they can score big again considering they aren’t currently in the Europa League (where it’s easier to pick up points). Quite a few of their players will take my interest though as there could be a defensive bargain, Mount could also be one to watch and I’m on the look out for a good value keeper so we will see who they bring in and what value they are.

Chelsea (4 games)

Liverpool (H)
West Ham (A)
Luton (H)
EFL Cup

After last season I was tempted to leave them off this list completely. However, if they can pull themselves together for the season ahead, they are obviously a talented squad. Their opening two fixtures aren’t great but I do like the look of game week 3 with a home game against Luton and an EFL Cup fixture in the mix.

Liverpool (3 games)

Chelsea (A)
Bournemouth (H)
Newcastle (A)

Liverpool have two tough fixtures out of their opening three games. It will be interesting to see how they bounce back from a poor season. They can only improve and players like Salah and Alexander-Arnold will be the ones to watch. I’m not sure I’ll start with any Liverpool players given their opening fixtures though.

Newcastle (3 games)

Villa (H)
Man City (A)
Liverpool (H)

Really tough start for Newcastle after a brilliant season for them last time around. Trippier was a bargain this time last year but he may be overpriced this time around. I’m not sure I’ll start with any Newcastle players in August but as the Champions League fixtures kick in, some of them could be worth a look.