Which teams have the best fixtures this August? Smart Dream Team gaffers will target favourable match-ups
Published: Invalid Date,
THE very best Dream Team managers tailor their XI to the schedule by targeting favourable match-ups.
This approach requires a certain degree of foresight.
5
Weekly transfers allow you to roll with the punches but it's generally wise to look a few Gameweeks ahead when devising your strategy.
With that in mind, let's take a whistle-stop tour of the August fixtures for all 20 Premier League clubs.
ARSENAL
Manchester United (a)
Leeds (h)
Liverpool (a)
The Gunners will be thankful for a newly-promoted team first up at the Emirates but the two away days are demanding match-ups.
ASTON VILLA
Newcastle (h)
Brentford (a)
Crystal Palace (h)
A middling set for the Villains on paper but if you extend the calendar to September their start appears rather favourable.
Might Morgan Rogers (£5.5m) and Ollie Watkins (£5.5m) fly out the blocks?
BOURNEMOUTH
Liverpool (a)
Wolves (h)
TBC (Carabao Cup)
Spurs (a)
It's a brutal curtain-raiser for the Cherries with a trip to the Europa League winners to follow soon after but Gameweek 2 could yield healthy returns thanks to the Carabao Cup second round.
BRENTFORD
Nottingham Forest (a)
Aston Villa (h)
TBC (Carabao Cup)
Sunderland (a)
Many pundits are tipping the Bees to struggle in the wake of Thomas Frank's departure (not to mention Bryan Mbeumo) and we might get a clear gauge on that common prediction after the first fortnight of the campaign.
Defeat at the Stadium of Light would be horribly ominous.
5
BRIGHTON
Fulham (h)
Everton (a)
TBC (Carabao Cup)
Man City (h)
The Seagulls will be hopeful of getting some points on the board before Pep Guardiola's troops roll into town.
A reminder that all the clubs not involved in Europe will enter the Carabao Cup at the second round.
BURNLEY
Spurs (a)
Sunderland (h)
TBC (Carabao Cup)
Man United (a)
Away days to two of the country's biggest stadiums will make the Clarets realise they are back in the big time but is it too soon to dub their game against Sunderland a six-pointer?
CHELSEA
Crystal Palace (h)
West Ham (a)
Fulham (h)
The Club World Cup winners get underway with three consecutive London derbies - whether that's an advantage or a disadvantage is open to interpretation.
CRYSTAL PALACE
Chelsea (a)
Nottingham Forest (h)
Aston Villa (a)
A reminder that the Eagles' two-legged Conference League play-off does NOT count in the world of Dream Team, hence why those fixtures aren't included here.
A tough opening on the domestic front against three of last season's top seven.
5
EVERTON
Leeds (a)
Brighton (h)
TBC (Carabao Cup)
Wolves (a)
The Toffees can't complain about their first few games this term but Elland Road under the lights in the season's first Monday night game is a potential banana skin.
FULHAM
Brighton (a)
Man United (h)
TBC (Carabao Cup)
Chelsea (a)
Could be better, could be worse.
Marco Silva's side were competitive throughout 2024/25 but, Antonee Robinson (£4m) aside, gaffers were reluctant to spend their budget at Craven Cottage - will it be a similar story this time around?
LEEDS
Everton (h)
Arsenal (a)
TBC (Carabao Cup)
Newcastle (h)
The Whites will fancy their chances of a positive start amid a potentially raucous atmosphere but a trip to the Emirates might come as a reality check - Arsenal's home record has been immense in recent years.
LIVERPOOL
Bournemouth (h)
Newcastle (a)
Arsenal (h)
At this stage it's hard to envisage anything other than a confident home win on the first Friday of the season but Eddie Howe and Mikel Arteta will smell blood if the defending champions stutter against the Cherries.
Dream Team bosses won't pay much attention to Liverpool's schedule as the likes of Virgil van Dijk (£5.5m) and Mohamed Salah (£7.5m) are essentially fixture-proof.
5
MANCHESTER CITY
Wolves (a)
Spurs (h)
Brighton (a)
Gaffers will be very interested to see how Pep Guardiola organises his troops this season with the likes of Rayan Ait-Nouri (£4.5m), Tijjani Reijnders (£4.5m) and Rayan Cherki (£5m) raring to go.
Spurs have been a bogey team for City in recent years but the most notable capitulations have come in North London.
MANCHESTER UNITED
Arsenal (h)
Fulham (a)
TBC (Carabao Cup)
Burnley (h)
The Red Devils will enter the Carabao Cup at the second round for the first time in over a decade.
The opening weekend will be a tough test but Gameweeks 2 and 3 could yield satisfying returns for popular assets such as Bruno Fernandes (£6m), Matheus Cunha (£5m) and Bryan Mbeumo (£5.5m).
NEWCASTLE
Aston Villa (a)
Liverpool (h)
Leeds (a)
The Magpies' frustrating summer could easily be exacerbated if they find themselves on zero points when they head to Elland Road at the end of the month.
In fact, the fixtures don't turn for Eddie Howe's side until the autumn.
NOTTINGHAM FOREST
Brentford (h)
Crystal Palace (a)
West Ham (h)
Last season's likeable underdogs start this campaign with four successive games against London-based opposition as they are due to visit the Emirates after the above fixtures.
It's worth noting that Forest will also play Burnley and Sunderland before the end of September - it's a favourable opening all things considered.
5
SUNDERLAND
West Ham (h)
Burnley (a)
TBC (Carabao Cup)
Brentford (h)
Life in the top flight has been mostly miserable for the newly-promoted clubs in recent times but the Black Cats couldn't have asked for a friendlier August.
It will be interesting to see how Sunderland's new recruits get on as many pundits have praised their business this summer.
TOTTENHAM
Burnley (h)
Man City (a)
Bournemouth (h)
One favourable, one unfavourable, and one to split the difference.
Over to you, Thomas Frank.
WEST HAM
Sunderland (a)
Chelsea (h)
TBC (Carabao Cup)
Nottingham Forest (a)
The combination of a newly-promoted opponent to start and a potential double header in Gameweek 2 makes Jarrod Bowen (£5m) an appealing option for August.
WOLVES
Man City (h)
Bournemouth (a)
TBC (Carabao Cup)
Everton (h)
Dream Team managers are understandably reluctant to back Vitor Pereira's troops following the departures of Cunha and Ait-Nouri but we'll get a better idea of their prospects by the end of the month.
Is Jorgen Strand Larsen (£3.5m) a smart differential for Gameweeks 2 and 3?
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Metro
28 minutes ago
- Metro
Arsenal vs Leeds: Latest team news, predicted lineups and injuries
Arsenal are looking to make it two wins from two when they take on Leeds United at the Emirates this weekend. The Gunners got their Premier League campaign up and running with victory over Manchester United on Sunday, leaving Old Trafford with a 1-0 victory despite looking far from their best. Viktor Gyokeres had an uneventful debut in Manchester, failing to record a single shot on goal. The Sweden international, signed from Sporting CP this summer, will hope to keep his place in the side with the visit of newly-promoted Leeds the perfect opportunity to settle the nerves and open his account in the Premier League. With the visit to Liverpool looming next week, Gyokeres could find himself under some early pressure, now the club's only centre forward following news Kai Havertz is facing a spell out with a knee injury. Metro's new weekly football newsletter: In The Mixer. Exclusive analysis, FPL tips and transfer talk sent straight to your inbox every Friday – sign up, it's an open goal. It wasn't just Gyokeres who had a quiet afternoon against United – Arsenal's entire attacking unit was undercooked against United with Bukayo Saka, Gabriel Martinelli and Declan Rice in midfield all largely anonymous. Leandro Trossard, who has agreed a new contract with the club, and Noni Madueke will be pushing to replace the Brazilian on the left. Riccardo Calafiori was given the nod at left-back, scoring his side's winning goal after 13 minutes as he seemingly did enough to keep his place in the side. On the other flank, Ben White was preferred to Jurrien Timber who will be hoping to get his place back this weekend. Christian Norgaard meanwhile missed the trip to Manchester with Mikel Arteta expected to provide an update on the former Brentford captain later this week. Gabriel Jesus is the club's only other injury absentee. It wasn't pretty from Arsenal on Sunday but it got the job done. Arteta noted his players need time to get to grips with the presence of Gyokeres up front with the visit of Leeds an ideal opportunity to put them to work again. More Trending Other than the possible inclusions of Myles Lewis-Skelly and Timber at full-back, it is difficult to envisage many changes. Arsenal vs Leeds kicks off on Saturday 23 August with kick-off scheduled for 5:30pm. You can watch the match live on Sky Sports Premier League and Sky Sports Main Event with streaming also available through the Sky Go app and NOW TV for subscribers. You can also follow all the action with Metro's LIVE match day blog. MORE: Man City vs Tottenham: Latest team news, predicted lineups and injuries MORE: West Ham vs Chelsea: Latest team news, predicted lineups and injuries MORE: Wesley Fofana deletes references to Chelsea on Instagram after Enzo Maresca snub
Metro
28 minutes ago
- Metro
Man City vs Tottenham: Latest team news, predicted lineups and injuries
Manchester City and Tottenham meet at the Eithad this weekend with both sides out to continue their thrilling starts to the new Premier League season. Pep Guardiola's side swept Wolves aside last Saturday with Erling Haaland scoring twice with Tijjani Reijnders looking superb on his competitive debut following his summer arrival from AC Milan. City were without a number of stars that afternoon with Phil Foden and Rodri watching on from the stands with Josko Gvardiol not making the trip to Molineux. Guardiola suggested Foden and Rodri were close to making the matchday squad last week with the City boss expected to provide a further update on the trio in his pre-match press conference on Friday. They are set to remain without Mateo Kovacic who is recovering from an Achilles injury which is expected to sideline him until September at the earliest. Metro's new weekly football newsletter: In The Mixer. Exclusive analysis, FPL tips and transfer talk sent straight to your inbox every Friday – sign up, it's an open goal. Savinho, linked with a move to Tottenham, is also expected to be ruled out for a few weeks having missed City's final pre-season match and their league opener last weekend. Spurs enjoyed a sparkling start to life under Thomas Frank, thrashing Burnley 3-0 in their opener. They too however are dealing with a handful of injury concerns. In addition to long-term absentees James Maddison, Dejan Kulusevski and Radu Dragusin, Yves Bissouma missed last weekend's victory after picking up a knock in training. The former Brighton midfielder missed the Uefa Super Cup clash with Paris Saint-Germain due to disciplinary reasons with the severity of the issue still to be disclosed. Destiny Udogie meanwhile missed Tottenham's entire pre-season tour and appears unlikely to be available for the trip to Manchester. Summer signing Kota Takai is also still recovering from injury. We suspect Guardiola may keep his cards close to his chest when it comes to injury updates on Friday. But given how efficiently his side eased past Wolves, the City boss may be tempted to stick with the same XI although Rayan Cherki could force his way in after his goal off the bench. Dominic Solanke will be pushing for a starting role but after his double against Burnley, Richarlison will fancy his chances of keeping his place. More Trending In midfield, the experienced Joao Palhinha could come in after making his debut off the bench last weekend. Man City vs Tottenham kicks off on Saturday 23 August with kick-off scheduled for 12:30pm. You can watch the match live on TNT Sports 1 with streaming also available through the Discovery+ app You can also follow all the action with Metro's LIVE match day blog. MORE: West Ham vs Chelsea: Latest team news, predicted lineups and injuries MORE: Arsenal change transfer plans after Kai Havertz injury blow MORE: Wesley Fofana deletes references to Chelsea on Instagram after Enzo Maresca snub
The Independent
28 minutes ago
- The Independent
Kai Havertz injury blow forces Arsenal into transfer rethink
Arsenal have suffered a bitter blow with Kai Havertz having picked up a knee injury, causing a rethink of their remaining transfer plans this summer. According to David Ornstein of The Athletic, Havertz is set for a spell on the sidelines after suffering the issue and is now undergoing assessments to determine the extent of the injury. Given these are still at an early stage, the prognosis and how long he will be out for is still unclear. The 26-year-old German missed an opening training session at the Emirates on Wednesday morning and his absence means the Gunners will now re-enter the transfer market as they actively explore their options to strengthen the attack and provide cover. Boss Mikel Arteta wants a left winger as competition for Gabriel Martinelli, although already reportedly had to sell before the club is able to buy. The need for a striker now just adds a further wrinkle. Havertz came off the bench on 60 minutes during Sunday's Premier League opening 1-0 win over Manchester United to replace new signing Viktor Gyokeres, who is still getting fully up to speed with life at the Emirates. However, the Swedish international is now the only fully fit and available striker for Arteta, with Gabriel Jesus still recovering from the ACL injury he picked up back in January and not expected to be ready for match action for some time. Winger Leandro Trossard has previously featured as a No 9, and could be an option after recently signing a new contract, while central midfielder Mikel Merino filled in as emergency cover up front for a spell last season when Arsenal ran out of viable forwards. That Merino stint at No 9 partly came due to a previous Havertz injury, when he tore his hamstring during a warm-weather training camp in Dubai in February. He went on to miss 18 matches before returning as a substitute for the final couple of games of the season. The German international has scored 29 goals for the Gunners since joining from Chelsea in the summer of 2023 and his absence will put even more pressure on Gyokeres to quickly adapt to life in the Premier League and prove he can be a prolific goalscorer for a title-chasing team. After the largely unconvincing 1-0 win over Man United, Arsenal next host newly-promoted Leeds on Saturday aiming to avoid any early-season slip-ups as they try to wrest the Premier League trophy out of Liverpool's grasp this year.
