The Scout is looking at clubs who can be paired together effectively to help Fantasy Premier League managers make a strong start in 2024/25.
Crystal Palace and Everton
Everton were the most reliable side in the Premier League last season when playing in home fixtures.
The Toffees recorded nine clean sheets at Goodison Park in their first full season under Sean Dyche. By contrast, Everton managed only four shutouts on their travels.
Crystal Palace also enjoyed greater success in keeping clean sheets when they played at home, with six of their 10 shutouts in 2023/24 coming at Selhurst Park.
It could therefore be a smart move for managers to pick a player from each club in their squad and then rotate between them each Gameweek, starting the player who has the home fixture and benching the one who has the away match.
Handily, both Everton and Palace alternate home and away over the opening six Gameweeks of 2024/25.
As also shown by the Fixture Difficulty Ratings (FDR), this offers a very favourable early run of opponents. Five of those six home matches – against Brighton & Hove Albion, West Ham United, AFC Bournemouth, Leicester City and Palace - score only two in the FDR.
The exception is in Gameweek 5, when Palace's encounter with Manchester United scores three in the FDR. However, Everton's visit to Leicester in the same Gameweek scores only two, and provides managers an alternative.
How to rotate from GW1-6
| GW | Home team | Opp. | FDR |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Everton | Brighton | 2 |
| 2 | Crystal Palace | West Ham | 2 |
| 3 | Everton | Bournemouth | 2 |
| 4 | Crystal Palace | Leicester | 2 |
| 5 | Crystal Palace | Man Utd | 3 |
| 6 | Everton | Crystal Palace | 2 |
*1 = easiest possible fixture, 5 = hardest possible fixture
Everton’s Jordan Pickford was the top-scoring goalkeeper in Fantasy last season, amassing 153 points.
Rotating Pickford with Palace No 1 Sam Johnstone could prove a profitable tactic. However, opting for a defender from each club may have more upside for points potential.
James Tarkowski boasts a huge aerial threat for an Everton side who scored 19 goals from set-pieces last season, the second-most in the league.
Although he netted only once in 2023/24, the centre-back’s total of 22 shots in the box ranked eighth among all defenders in Fantasy.
Meanwhile, winter signing Daniel Munoz looks the standout option for Palace in his first full season in Fantasy.
Playing as a right-sided wing-back, he produced four assists and five clean sheets in his final 14 outings of 2023/24.
Munoz’s 18 key passes were bettered by only three other defenders in Fantasy across that spell.