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I don’t know exactly who they’ll be yet. I do know that I want Chelsea players to start the season. Palace at home, West Ham away, Fulham at home, Brentford and Man U away, Brighton at home. I love it. The potentially slightly harder fixtures are all at home. West Ham, Brentford, and Man U are all very nice away trips indeed for attacking teams. Palmer, Pedro, Paul from down the pub – it doesn’t matter who plays in these games, they’re getting some returns. 
Yes, it’s City. Yes, it’s boring. But we just can’t look past this for a 10-game opening fixture run. All four of those opening games are pretty easy, with Brighton being the only potential stumbling block. Arsenal away isn’t great… but you know what is great? Burnley at home straight after. Villa away isn’t ideal in GW9, but all the other fixtures are completely fine. Haaland is basically a lock in my team already, and these fixtures are so tasty that I’m already tempted to break my tried-and-true No Pep Roulette rule. 
They’re not quite as tasty as City’s fixtures, admittedly. But they’re still pretty damn appetising. Newcastle and Arsenal in weeks 2 and 3 aren’t ideal. I’d back them for 2+ goals in every other fixture up until Chelsea away in GW7 though… and then they have Man U at home after that, who they demolished last season. Again, I’ll be looking for at least a double-up here… I just need to figure out who I’m pairing with our FPL Lord and Saviour, Mo Salah. 
Thought I was just going to pick the big, obvious teams, did you? Think again, my friend! Admittedly, things don’t get off to a great start. After that though, I think they’re good up to and including GW8. Newcastle and Fulham aren’t ideal attacking fixtures, but the Cherries even get those at home. 
I don’t have a clue what we’re going to get from Spurs this season. What I do know, however, is that they play Burnley at home in GW 1, and play West Ham, Wolves, and Leeds within the next six gameweeks. I’d bench any Spurs players for City away in GW2, but I definitely think they’re startable in all the other, not-incredibly-easy games. 
I half-hope Man U’s attack is better this season, just because I love Mbeumo so much. History suggests, however, that unfortunately Old Trafford is where attacking talent goes to die. The Prem’s fixture computer hasn’t done them any favours. They do get Burnley and Sunderland at home. Unfortunately, they also play Arsenal, City, Chelsea, and Liverpool within their first eight gameweeks. Fulham away is no walk in the park, either, nor is Forest away in Week 10. Apart from those two easy-peasy aforementioned fixtures, I wouldn’t be confident starting their attackers in any of these other opening games. 
Brighton will probably be fine again this season, when all’s said and done. I don’t want their attackers early on, though. Fulham, Everton away, then City is… not an easy start. Spurs and Wolves are fine, but you’ve got Chelsea away and Newcastle mixed in with those games. Stay away, I say. 
Yuk. I might like Palace’s attacking players (including Munoz) in a vacuum. But not with these fixtures. Chelsea, Forest, then Villa is a tricky old start. Things pick up a little the next couple of weeks… but then they have Liverpool, Everton away, and Arsenal soon after. Things swing in their direction from GW10 onwards… but that’s ages away. Let’s leave it for now, and reassess then. 
I’m assuming Newcastle players will be quite trend picks early on. They’re good players, after all, on a good team. But I don’t like their fixtures very much. They’re not horrendous… they’re just not good. Villa away then Liverpool is a tough start. There are two dream fixtures after that, but then it’s just very up and down – Bournemouth fine, Arsenal and Forest tougher, Brighton away isn’t great, Fulham are defensive and tricky. I’d still consider Isak (if he stays), because he’s just incredible and has proved himself fixture-proof. I wouldn’t be rushing to get anyone else in, though. 
Yes, yes – I’m sure you weren’t rushing to get Wolves players in anyway. If anyone was considering a cheeky punt on Strand Larsen, though… forget it. City, Everton, and Newcastle within the first four weeks. Things pick up a bit, after that… but I still think Wolves’ attack will be rubbish, and those opening fixtures alone are more than enough to dissuade this guy. 
Chelsea just have a great opening set of fixtures. So, you’re probably not exactly stunned to see them popping up in the ol’ Best Defensive Runs too. There are two or three fixtures in there where I’d either bench a Chelsea defender, or consider it. There’s also eight or more where I’d have at least a good shot at a clean though, which makes them an excellent option in my book… for what that’s worth. 
As with a couple of these defensive fixture runs, it’s not perfect. But there’s definitely enough there, combined with City’s probably strength as a defensive unit, to merit getting at least one of them in. Wolves, Burnley, and Everton are great defensive fixtures. Apart from Arsenal away, there’s at least a shot at a clean in the others too. I’d be a bit surprised if we didn’t come away from these games with at least 3 or 4 cleans, plus there’s plenty of attacking potential for City’s full-backs against the likes of Burnley, Brentford, and Spurs.
Full disclosure – Forest do play Newcastle, Chelsea, and Bournemouth away straight after these. If you’re looking to wildcard fairly early though, or are just happy to move them on at that point, they’re a solid early season option. Arsenal away is a bad fixture, and Palace away is so-so. The other four games, however, all have strong clean sheet potential. 
I’m assuming Everton will be solid defensively, as they tend to be. James has Pickford pegged as one of the top goalkeepers heading into the season. And, if all that does work out, they’ve got a generally favourable set of fixtures across the first few months of the season. Sure, you’ll bench them against Liverpool and City. But they’re at least startable in all the other games, and confidently so in most of them. 
You might be under the impression that Wolves are pretty good defensively. You might not even be wrong, since they massively underperformed their xGA last season. Either way, we don’t want their opening fixtures Within the first four games alone they play three of the best attacks in the league: City, Bournemouth, and Newcastle. You’re not getting any cleans out of those, nor from Spurs away or probably Brighton home in weeks six and seven. They have some very good fixtures scattered around those. I could see a world in which you’d get a budget defender, start him in four of the first nine games, and bench him for the others. But don’t spend anything more than the minimum here – you’ll be benching them more than you’ll be starting them. 
Nobody’s under the impression West Ham will be good defensively this season. And they almost certainly won’t be! Sunderland away… even West Ham could clean there (though they probably won’t). Everton away aside, I’d be very surprised if they kept a single clean after that, up to GW9 vs Leeds… and straight after that they have Newcastle. No thank you. 
Poor Man U. Unfortunately their combination of tricky fixtures, and us having no idea if they’ll be rubbish again or not, sees them appear in both ‘avoid’ lists here. They’ve got some easy games, obviously, like most teams. But not enough to outweigh Arsenal, City, Chelsea, Liverpool, plus Brighton, plus who-the-hell-knows away trips to Brentford, Fulham, and Forest. They’re only startable in two of these first 10 games. Which just isn’t worth it, in this guy’s book. 
Bournemouth earn the coveted (or not) Fixture Run Split here – recommended for attacking fixtures, gently discouraged for defensive ones. They’re technically startable in four of these opening 11 games. But A) that’s just not enough, and B) they just some of their best defenders. (Oh, and – C) They’ve got quite a few difficult fixtures in that lot). 
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