Welcome back to the Hive FPL blog in which we'll feature our first set of fixtures over a busy Christmas and New Year period.

With 3 game weeks over the next 10 days and for the teams that are still involved in the EFL Cup and Europe already having had a frantic December, it's fair to say that we can expect some chopping and changing by managers. Is your squad ready for that?

Remember the days when you used to look at the players in your FPL squad and think "they won't get me much from a game against City". Ah happy times.

As things stand, the FPL fixture difficulty rating still has this down for Villa as a '4' but in reality it's looking more like a '2' given City's current woes.

Villa of course have plenty of options upfront to try and take advantage of the flaky City defence. Watkins (FWD) was on the bench last time out but appears to have recovered from that knock. He's only recorded 3 goal involvements in his last 8 league appearances but in none of those matches has his xGi fallen below 0.37. At some point, you have to assume the form and sharpness will return and so will the FPL points...

Brentford the home specialists versus Forest the away specialists. Who's going to blink?

The other fact worth considering when selecting FPL players with this fixture in mind is that the G-Tech Stadium has seen an incredible 40 goals in the 8 games played here so far this season so attacking players look a good bet.

Of course, the likes of Wood (FWD) and Mbeumo (MID) are already amongst the most popular picks in the game this season. Therefore, if you're looking for a differential then how about Schade (MID) who scored a hattrick on his last league start at home and despite starting in only 2 of the last 4 league matches has acquired any incredible 7 goal involvements during that time. At £5.1mil and 0.8% ownership perhaps he's a chance worth taking.

A massive win for Ipswich last time out keeps them within touching distance of safety. Meanwhile Newcastle continue to be something on an enigma this season with big wins followed by big defeats. They also played midweek in the League Cup so I'd imagine that they'll be a bit of rotation with plenty of fixtures still to come over Christmas/New Year.

Ipswich's Delap (FWD) is suspended for this one and given that he's scored 6 of their 16 goals this season then you do wonder how they'll find a way to hit the back of the net.

For Newcastle, Joelinton's (MID) suspension may well give Barnes (MID) an opportunity to return to the starting XI in the league.

No win in 4 now for Brighton means that their position in the top half of the table is very much under-threat. In fact, West Ham could close the gap on their opponents to just 2 points if they can get a win in this one.

West Ham are still struggling to find an identity under their new manager but the erstwhile Bowen (MID) continues to be a potential pick for FPL manager. He has 6 goal involvements in home games so far this term and is 6th in terms of goal threat over the past 3 matches on the ICT. West Ham also face managerless Southampton after this match.

Wellbeck (FWD) may return to the Brighton side but whether he's fit enough to start remains to be seen. Even then, the Seagull's forward has failed to score since October so I don't think it's a certainty he'll return to the early season goal scoring form he displayed even if he is fit.

Palace versus Arsenal round 2! These 2 sides played each other on Wednesday night in the cup and at least from the Gunners point of view you'd imagine the starting XI will be different.

That being said, big hitters Saka (MID) and Odegaard (MID) came off the bench to set-up all 3 goals in their comeback win.

Lots has been said and written about Arsenal's lack of a number 9 and while Jesus (FWD) might not be the long-term solution, he did hit a hattrick midweek. With only 2 starts and no league goals this season, it'd be a bold pick for your fantasy team but perhaps his form over this busy period is one to monitor going forward.

Only Brentford (62) have been involved in more goals than Chelsea (56) this season while Everton matches have seen the fewest (35).

You'd imagine that the Toffees will continue the trend of sitting deep and playing for a clean sheet so it will very much depend on whether this talented Chelsea midfield can break them down.

While Everton have the 2nd most clean sheets this season (6) they've also conceded 3 or more goals on 4 occasions suggesting that if Chelsea can break the deadlock early then they might be on for another healthy win which would surely see Palmer (MID) in the points again.

It's difficult to remember a more abject first half-performance than the one that Southampton mustered against Spurs last weekend. It was like watching a hot knife cut through butter at times. The manager had to go and the Southampton board will be hoping they can find their equivalent of a Marco Silva to guide them to safety.

Given the big players that Fulham have lost over the last couple of years, it's a miracle that Silva has kept his side where they are let alone laying a platform for them to challenge for a top 8 position.

Robinson (DEF) took his assist tally to 6 this season and you'd fancy him to add a clean sheet bonus to any further attacking returns. Fulham also have a decent run of games in the New Year which means their left-back is not just for Christmas...

On the face of it, this should be a Christmas cracker of a match. Ruud van Nistelrooy hasn't managed a game for Leicester where there haven't been at least 4 goals while Wolves have been involved in those kind of games all season.

Of course, what this match does represent is a very high stakes affair. A Leicester win could easily see them move to 15th in the league with 3 places and 5 points separating them and relegation. Whereas, if Wolves can pull themselves together and find a win then they'll move well clear of bottom placed Southampton and keep themselves in touching distance of the pack.

There has been reason to have several attacking options from both these sides in your FPL team so far this season but looking at the fixture list for both going forward I wouldn't keep faith beyond this match.

It's still incredibly difficult to work out what a United XI is going to look like from game to game. Amorim is right to give everyone an opportunity under the new regime but you'd feel that now is the time to make some decisions on the foundations of the team going forward. Of course the January transfer window looks likely to be an interesting one for many teams this year including United and is something for FPL managers to bear in mind when using their 2nd wildcard chip.

Bournemouth won this fixture last year and have generally enjoyed themselves against the traditional 'big 6' clubs this season. From an FPL point of view however, it's also difficult to really bank on any of their players on current form.

Semenyo's (MID) ownership peaked in GW7 and you'd have to say that collectively FPL managers have got that right with the Cherries man only having 1 goal involvement since then. With Tavernier (MID) joining a fairly long list of injuries for Bournemouth then it may well present further opportunities for Ouattara (MID) in the starting XI.

The man from Burkino Faso is strong and quick and capable of causing defences plenty of trouble and if his shooting can improve then he might be a really good differential to consider. Over the last 3 GWs he's recorded xGi of 1.94 from 145 mins of football.

I think we can safely say that this won't end nil nil given that Spurs most recent 2 matches at home have both ended 4-3. On that basis I'm sure plenty of FPL managers will be banking on Salah (MID) to get on the scoresheet as captain.

The million dollar question is who else will join him on the front line and are they worth a look at too? Nunez (FWD) and Gakpo (MID) started in midweek which might be an indication that it'll be Jota (FWD) and Diaz (MID) for this one although the former is working his way back from the latest injury. Liverpool have a fairly nice run of fixtures over the Christmas period with matches against Leicester and West Ham to come so adding one of those might be worth the risk.

For Spurs, Kulusevki (MID) has scored in his last 4 games in all competitions while over the same set of fixtures Solanke (FWD) has also recorded a goal involvement in each. By contrast, Spurs current injury issues mean they are pretty much guaranteed starters but whether they maintain match sharpness over such a busy period remains to be seen.

Division 1

GW16 Results

GW17 Fixtures

Division 2

GW16 Results

GW17 Fixtures