Both of these teams have three home games in their next four, with West Ham facing Brentford (H), Leeds United (A), Newcastle United (H) and Burnley (H) in this period.
Their next match will also be Nuno Espirito Santo’s first home game in charge, so we could expect to see a response, with Jarrod Bowen (£7.7m) a key pick.
Chelsea (second) and Arsenal (fourth) are two other sides dominating this fixture ticker. Chelsea have home games against Sunderland and Wolves in Gameweek 9 and 11 respectively. They also face Wolves in the Carabao Cup, which could provide a natural opportunity to rotate some of their squad, with their games spaced naturally on Saturdays and Wednesday.
Joao Pedro (£7.7m) is being heavily sold this gameweek after three successive blanks, but it looks worth holding him for the time being, with the Brazilian and his team having the fixtures to prosper.
Advertisement
Many managers will also be keeping a close eye on the fitness of Enzo Fernandez (£6.7m) ahead of this spell, who is on penalties in the absence of Cole Palmer (£10.3m) but withdrew from Argentina duty on Saturday.
Arsenal’s schedule looks a little more demanding, especially between Gameweek 9 and 11, with three away trips. After Fulham away this weekend, Arsenal host Crystal Palace the following Sunday. They then have Brighton visiting in the Carabao Cup on Wednesday before travelling to Burnley, Slavia Prague and Sunderland.
Bukayo Saka (£9.9m) has emerged as their go-to attacker after converting from the penalty spot against West Ham last weekend. He should be a key pick for this period. There’s also an argument to load up with two Arsenal defenders, given their form and fixtures. They have kept four clean sheets in this campaign, conceding just three goals.
Their underlying numbers are equally compelling, conceding just five big chances on their goal. Gabriel (£6.3m) and Jurrien Timber (£5.9m) are key purchases, with the double-up key for those playing a wildcard in Gameweek 8.
At the opposite end of the fixture ticker, we have Manchester United, who face Liverpool (A), Brighton (H), Nottingham Forest (A) and Spurs (A) in the next four gameweeks. The only advantage for their assets is that they don’t have any other competitions to contend with right now.
Given the element of fatigue their opponents may experience, there may still be potential for the likes of Bruno Fernandes (£9.0m) to prosper, especially with defensive contribution points.
However, I’d avoid other United attackers, including Bryan Mbeumo (£8.1m), for this spell. I predict Saka and Bournemouth’s Antoine Semenyo (£7.9m), who has the most points of any midfielder so far this season, outscoring him.
Now is also the natural point to move away from Aston Villa assets, with their appealing run of opening games coming to an abrupt end. They travel to Spurs this weekend before playing Manchester City (H), Liverpool (A) and Bournemouth (H), who are all teams bang in form right now.
Ollie Watkins (£8.7m) picked up a knock on international duty, with his ownership now dipping into differential territory; he’s in nine per cent of sides at the time of writing.
Liverpool are a tricky conundrum for this period too, facing Manchester United (H), Brentford (A), Aston Villa (H) and Manchester City (A). I’m personally considering selling Mohamed Salah (£14.4m) this week to free up funds for Arsenal assets, since he isn’t justifying his price tag this season.
Four goal involvements in seven is consistent but not explosive, and when you throw captaincy into the equation, too, there’s a compelling case to go against Liverpool attackers in general.
I’ll personally be looking to permanently captain Erling Haaland (£14.5m) in this next four-gameweek period, with games against Everton (H), Aston Villa (A), Bournemouth (H) and Liverpool (H) on the menu for the Manchester City talisman.
He has reached essential status, with 10 goal involvements in the opening seven gameweeks, scoring in five successive games. His underlying numbers are equally compelling: he leads the way for shots and big chances on goal, suggesting his returns are sustainable. He’s also on penalties.
City have four home games in this period, with a trip to Swansea in the Carabao Cup between Gameweek 9 and 10 being a natural opportunity for Pep Guardiola to rest some players.
Of course, there are captaincy alternatives for each of these gameweeks, but Haaland remains the outstanding candidate.
Spot the pattern. Connect the terms
Find the hidden link between sports terms
Play today's puzzle