We all now have five free Fantasy Premier League (FPL) transfers in our back pockets – so who should we buy?!
In ‘Frisking the Fixtures’ we identify the FPL teams and players with the most appealing matches in the medium term.
We usually focus on a six-match outlook (in this case Gameweeks 16-21), but we’ll look beyond that if the match fluctuations demand it.
As always, our color code Fixture sticker is the primary source for this piece.
ABOUT THE LUMINAIRES TICKER
Using this tool as one Lead memberyou can sort by difficulty, rank by attack and defense potential or find budget rotation combinations.
You can even set your own difficulty level if you don’t agree with ours.
And new, from this season, is the option to customize the colors!
There is the:
- Premier League green/red color scheme
- Good old Scout red/blue
- Color blind friendly combo
- Ability to set your own colors – if you like pink and purple, you can absolutely do that!
TICKER OVERVIEW: NEXT SIX GAME WEEKS
BRENTFORD
The Bees buzz all the way to the top of our Fixture Ticker when we filter by match difficulty between Gameweek 16 and 21, helped by their double-header against Leeds (H) and Wolves (A) at the start of said run.
After that it’s Bournemouth and Tottenham. These two clubs have struggled to keep goals out of late, with a drought dating back to October only ending on Saturday. Crucially, these two matches both take place at the Gtech, where Brentford have been in good form this season. They have won five of seven games on home soil, losing only to Manchester City.
Sunderland must also come to West London in Gameweek 21. The Black Cats – despite all their success – have struggled to score goals on the road since their return to the top flight.
That should all be good news for… Igor Thiago (£6.9m), which is second to you-know-who in the Golden Boot race. The same goes for Kevin Damage (£7.0m), who is expected to pick up some slack in attack Dango Ouattara (£6.0m) heads to the Africa Cup of Nations after the Leeds match. Damage is on ice for the time being: he will miss the next match due to suspension, but will return afterwards.
Gamemaker Mikkel Damsgaard (£5.8m) can venture further forward to pull the strings against lower quality opposition, while defenders like it Nathan Collins (£4.9 million), Sepp van den Berg (£4.5m) – both highly capable of DefCon returns – and long throw specialist Michael Kayode (£4.5m) could also benefit from this stretch of four home games in six. Be warned though: Collins currently has four yellow cards; one more would see him suspended for a match.
MANCHESTER UNITED
Manchester United have had a bit of an up and down season so far, picking up some big wins against in-form opponents but also enduring their share of disappointing results.
This upcoming six-match series offers the chance to move up the Premier League, at a time when many of the teams around them are battling on multiple fronts. Ruben Amorim and co obviously only have the competition to concentrate on.
Bournemouth’s form has dipped considerably of late, although the Red Devils should not forget that this opponent has beaten them 3-0 in successive games at Old Trafford over the past two seasons.
A tougher test awaits in Gameweek 17. Aston Villa have won nine of their last 10 in the competition and are a force to be reckoned with on home turf.
Next up, however, is a Newcastle side that has performed poorly in 2025/26, followed by three consecutive games against teams in a relegation battle: Wolves (H), Leeds (A) and Burnley (A).
Amorim’s men will have to make do without it Bryan Mbeumo (£8.4 million) and Amad Diallo (£6.3m), thanks to AFCON, but skipper Bruno Fernandes (£9.0 million) should always be present in winter. Mbeumo’s move for Bruno will be popular Matheus Cunha (£7.9m) could become a solid difference in Mbeumo’s absence.
FULHAM
Marco Silva’s men will look to take their chances to take a few points off the sides around them, having recorded recent wins against Tottenham and Sunderland before coming close to Manchester City and Crystal.
The second trio of matches in this Gameweek 16-21 series are not as attractive as the first, but Liverpool’s defense is far from watertight. Fulham will also have home advantage on their side in that match and against Chelsea.
Like a few other clubs on this list, they will be saying goodbye to a number of stars heading to AFCON, in this case Nigerian internationals Calvin Bassey (£4.5 million), Alex Iwobi (£6.4 million) and Samuel Chukwueze (£5.3 million). The latter has had a big impact for Silva’s side of late, while Bassey and Iwobi are both first-team regulars. Their absence would leave others – like Kevin (£5.8m) and Jorge Cuenca (£4.3m) – a chance to shine.
But the real standouts are the DefCon-devouring centre-back Joachim Andersen (£4.5m), in-form winger Harry Wilson (£5.2 million), and Raul Jimenez (£6.2m), which is devoid of serious competition at the top Rodrigo Muniz (£5.4 million).
MANCHESTER CITY
Pep Guardiola will be encouraged by the fact that more of his players have stepped up to help Erling Haaland‘S (£15.0 million) mainly in terms of goals Phil Foden (£8.5 million).
A trip to Crystal Palace, who won the last meeting between these two sides – the FA Cup final – and held City to a draw at Selhurst Park last season, is a tricky start to the 16-21 match in Gameweek, but West Ham (H) is expected to have an easier afternoon.
This will be followed by two away games, against an improving but far from perfect Forest and Sunderland side who City have just beaten 3-0.
Brighton, meanwhile, are an open team that City have never scored against in the Premier League era. The Seagulls have also never won at the Etihad.
So we’d expect to see some degree of Guardiola rotation over the next month, especially with Champions League football and a Carabao Cup quarter-final in the mix, but the likes of Haaland and Foden should start the majority of games. As you’d expect, it should Nico O’Reilly (£5.2m), considering its main positional rival Rayan Ait-Nouri (£5.7m) belongs to the AFCON crew.
NEWCASTLE UNITED
Newcastle is just below City in our ranking Fixture sticker despite facing all three newly promoted clubs between gameweeks 16 and 21.
And if we extend the preview to just one Gameweek, Wolves will be in Gameweek 22.
Perhaps the investment can wait until Gameweek 18. The first of their upcoming games is the first top-level Tyne-Wear derby since 2016, and it’s set at Sunderland’s ground – so Eddie Howe and co aren’t expecting an easy afternoon against the high-flying Black Cats. Chelsea then follows.
But a Manchester United side that has kept just one clean sheet all season will have no fear. The games against Chelsea and Crystal Palace will also be played at St James’ Park, where Newcastle’s record is considerably better (P8, W5, D1, L2) than away (P7, W1, D3, L3).
Malick Thiaw (£5.0m) emerges as a strong and relatively reliable defensive option at the back. In midfield, Bruno Guimaraes (£6.9m) is – despite a recent layoff – probably more assured of minutes than any of Eddie Howe’s wide players. As for Nick Woltemade (£7.5m), he should remain an ever-present in the Newcastle XI for now – but it should be noted that fellow summer signings Yoane warned (£7.3m) is now fit again. By the time the really good stuff comes out in Gameweek 19, Wissa might be ready to go.
LIVERPOOL
Slightly adjusting the Fixture Ticker outlook to eliminate Gameweek 21 – when Liverpool and Arsenal face each other at the Emirates – leaves the following as the top five clubs ranked by difficulty of the match (Gameweek 16-20):
Given the expected ease of the Reds’ direct matches, their assets are slightly more attractive.
But do we trust them? Saturday’s crazy six-goal epic at Elland Road raised further doubts, days after they almost lost to Sunderland.
Muhammad Salah (£14.0 million) is of course now off the menu, with playing time being shared at the top between Arne Slot’s two strikers. What does two clean sheets in eleven league matches sound like at the back?
Virgil van Dijk (£6.0m) at least guarantees a Christmas start, along with regular DefCon returns and some level of threat. The same goes for Dominik Szoboszlai (£6.6 million) in midfield – provided he does not receive a yellow card for the next four matchweeks. The threat of an open game goal from the Hungarian is also questionable; On Saturday he scored his first goal of 2025/26.
They’re about the best two of a sorry bunch.
ALSO CONSIDER
Such is the disarray Liverpool find themselves in that we may not need to remove Gameweek 21 to ArsenalIt’s tastier.
And Wolves at Home Next is about the juiciest show you can get. In between, though, a mixed bag against three of the surprise packs currently in the top seven (Everton, Brighton, Aston Villa). Probably not enough to reduce Arsenal’s representation in your squad, but perhaps – after Wolves – enough to make you think twice about signing a Gunner again.
We are relegated Westham United And Everton to this section for their next two matches. Come Gameweek 18, however, they will be at the forefront of our minds for Christmas and beyond.
Burnley are (too?) high on the ticker as things stand, but after five straight losses few people will realistically consider buying Clarets. Home games against Fulham and Everton offer at least a possible opportunity for managers to start/Bench Boost Martin Dubravka (£4.0 million) and/or Maxime Esteve (£3.9 million).
#FPL #Gameweek #fixtures #Players #buy #free #transfers