FPL Fixtures: The Teams To Avoid — 1 Sep

The map says: six clubs heading into rough terrain

Aston Villa's next six read like a route nobody would choose: Hull away, Forest, Spurs away, Brentford, Newcastle away, City at Villa Park. Our projections have their best asset over that stretch — Buendía, £6.0m, owned by barely 1 in 10 — pencilled in for under 18 points across six gameweeks. That's a dead end, not a road. Cash at £4.5m projects even lower. If you hold Villa cover, this is the window to move it on.

Coventry face similar weather: City away first, then Brighton, Forest away, Newcastle, Spurs away. Thomas and van Ewijk are £4.0m and popular — van Ewijk sits with about 1 in 10 managers — but the clean-sheet route through that run is narrow. At the price they're tolerable bench bodies; just don't start them expecting shutouts before the terrain eases.

Palace and Fulham are avoid-for-attackers territory too. Nketiah and Wharton top Palace's list but neither clears 19 points over six, and Palace's clean-sheet picture is worse than their attacking one — Mitchell owners should look elsewhere. Fulham's Gonzalo (£6.0m, ~1 in 2 don't even know he exists at 4.5% — call it fewer than 1 in 20 owning him) is the pick of their lot, but with Liverpool and United in the next three, patience beats a purchase.

Spurs are the interesting split on this map. Their attacking route is genuinely nasty — Forest away, then United away and Chelsea away in the run — so leave the forwards alone. But the clean-sheet terrain is merely average, and Van Hecke at £5.0m is the strongest defensive projection on this entire page, a shade over 18 points across the six. Kinsky, owned by about 2 in 10, remains a perfectly serviceable budget keeper.

Liverpool is the one where you hold your nerve. The fixtures — Ipswich away, then Bournemouth away, City at Anfield — are a tough climb, yet Szoboszlai (£7.0m, roughly 4 in 10 own him) and Isak (£9.0m) still project 25–26 points each over the window. Elite players clear rough ground that lesser ones can't. They stay in the squad; they just aren't automatic captains through this patch.

The call for the next six gameweeks: sell any Villa, Palace or Fulham attackers now and reroute the funds; keep Coventry's £4.0m defenders benched, not started; hold Van Hecke as your defensive high ground; and hold — but don't captain — Szoboszlai and Isak until Liverpool's climate clears.