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Town's fixture difficulty ranked as FPL looks ahead at the next nine games

alex jones
·2-min read
Ipswich Town will face Manchester United, Arsenal and Chelsea before the end of the calendar year <i>(Image: Steve Waller)</i>
Ipswich Town will face Manchester United, Arsenal and Chelsea before the end of the calendar year (Image: Steve Waller)

Ipswich Town are seemingly set for an easier run of fixtures compared to many of their rivals, according to a ranking published by Fantasy Premier League [FPL].

FPL has given every team a difficulty rating, with one being the easiest and five being the hardest. The Blues, in this situation, are in category two, although ratings can also change depending on whether the opponents are at home or away.

Everton have the toughest run of Premier League games up until the start of 2025 (Image: Fantasy Premier League)

Looking at the next nine games, Town face an average fixture difficulty of 2.9, level with Liverpool and Newcastle. This places them in the bottom half of the table when looking at the strength of their upcoming opponents.

In this run, they'll face four opponents in category two (Nottingham Forest, Crystal Palace, Bournemouth and Wolves), three teams in category three (Manchester United, Newcastle United and Fulham), one in category four (Chelsea) and one in category five (Arsenal).

In contrast, Everton have the toughest run with an average of 3.6 in their next nine games, with tough tests against Liverpool, Arsenal, Chelsea and Manchester City to come. They're followed by Leicester City and Crystal Palace (both 3.4), who are currently lingering towards the bottom end of the Premier League table.

Chelsea, on the other hand, have the easiest set of games leading up to gameweek 20, with seven in category two. Their only category four opponent is Tottenham Hotspur, who they face next month. Bournemouth (2.4), Wolves (2.6) and Arsenal (2.6) also have a kinder run around Christmas.

The Premier League also asked a number of pundits for their thoughts on the season so far, with Tim Sherwood putting 'Ipswich look competitive' as his biggest surprise of the campaign.

The former Spurs boss also picked striker Liam Delap as the best signing, as did Town legend Matt Holland and ex-goalkeeper Shay Given, while Karen Carney chose Omari Hutchinson.