We’ve reached the second international break of the 2025/26 Fantasy Premier League season. With squads now largely settled after a hectic summer transfer window, it feels like crunch time for FPL managers.
In this blog, we break down the teams with the most favourable fixture runs over the next six Gameweeks, using Fixture Difficulty Ratings (FDR).
The aim is to help you plan smarter defensive and attacking transfers, while spotting the best opportunities to target in Gameweek 8 and beyond.
As the Fixture Difficulty Ratings show, Palace, West Ham, and Chelsea sit in the top three for Attack Difficulty over the next six Gameweeks.
Palace benefit from four home games in that period, with only a tricky trip to Arsenal in Gameweek 9 standing out as a tough fixture. The Stats Sandbox highlights that only Semenyo (seven) and Enzo (six) have been afforded more big chances among midfielders than Sarr (four).
West Ham could also be set for a new-manager bounce under Nuno. Their next six include matches against two promoted sides, and Bournemouth and Newcastle, while the immediate Gameweek 8 clash with Brentford also looks promising. Our Elite XI: Team Reveal manager, Copenhagen Wednesday—who boasts six top-10k finishes—is currently on his Wildcard and recently highlighted three West Ham players he is considering in a recent article.
Chelsea’s schedule is equally appealing, starting with a visit to struggling Forest in Gameweek 8. They then face Sunderland, Wolves, and Burnley across their next six, offering potential for FPL returns at both ends of the pitch.
The Match Centre shows that although João Pedro remains their most popular FPL asset, it is Enzo who is dominating the underlying numbers.
Over Chelsea’s last five matches, the Argentinian international is top for goals (two), expected goals (xG) (2.4), shots on target (four), and ranks second for attempted assists (seven).
Forest also have a good run of fixtures, but so far none of their assets have impressed under Postecoglou.
Liverpool are another intriguing case. Despite back-to-back league defeats, their fixtures remain favourable. The defending champions host Man Utd, Villa, and Forest at Anfield over the next six, while trips to Brentford and West Ham hardly look daunting either.
The Stats Sandbox shows that despite an underwhelming start, Salah still leads all Liverpool players for shots in the box (11), big chances (four), and xG (2.88). He also tops the side for big chances created (four), while only Gakpo (14) has attempted more assists than his 12.
For Burnley, the next two fixtures against Leeds and Wolves could be crucial to their survival hopes. However, their run toughens considerably afterwards with matches against Arsenal and Chelsea, as well as away trips to fellow relegation rivals West Ham and Brentford.
Only two of the six sides that feature in the Fixture Difficulty Ratings (Chelsea and Liverpool) have favourable defensive fixtures over the next six Gameweeks.
As the Stats Sandbox image below shows, only Trippier (11) has created more chances than Cucurella (10) amongst defenders this season.
Spurs play three of their next four matches at home. FPL managers holding their defensive assets still have plenty of cause for optimism, Porro (10) has created the same number of chances as Cucurella (10).
Sunderland rank third on the ticker, but their assets are best used in a rotation. Their standout fixtures are home ties against Wolves in Gameweek 8 and Everton in Gameweek 10.
As the Stats Sandbox image above shows, Alderete is top amongst their defenders for DEFCON (64) and should be the preferred choice for FPL managers.
Liverpool and Fulham's favourable fixtures should also place their assets on the priority list for FPL managers, even given their recent lack of clean sheets.
As the Stats Sandbox image above shows, Andersen (81) and Virgil (78) are in the top four defenders for DEFCON points this season and can be relied upon to bring in FPL points even if their teams do not keep a clean sheet.
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