The Scout looks at clubs who can be paired together effectively to help Fantasy Premier League managers make a strong start in 2023/24.
Fulham and Nottingham Forest
Fulham were one of the most reliable sides for keeping out their opponents when playing at home last season.
Their six clean sheets at Craven Cottage proved identical to Manchester City and Liverpool, and was bettered by only three other sides.
Forest, on the other hand, failed to impress when playing at the City Ground and claimed only two clean sheets. However, the underlying statistics tell another story and raise hopes of improvement in 2024/25, which will be their first full season under Nuno Espirito Santo.
They conceded a mere 28 big chances in home matches, the third most-resilient record in the league. Only Arsenal and Man City fared better, allowing 23 and 24 respectively.
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 one who has the home fixture and benching the one with the away fixture.
The good news for managers is that Fulham and Forest alternate perfectly home/away over the first six Gameweeks of the new season.
Furthermore, as shown by the Fixture Difficulty Ratings (FDR), that pairing provides a very kind run of opponents that can immediately reward investment.
Indeed, five of those opening six matches – against AFC Bournemouth, Leicester City, Wolverhampton Wanderers, West Ham United and Fulham – score only two in the FDR.
The anomaly is Gameweek 5, when Fulham welcome Newcastle United to Craven Cottage. Yet the schedule offers another solution here, with Forest’s visit to Brighton & Hove Albion in the same round of matches scoring two in the FDR.
How to rotate from GW1-6
| GW | Home team | Opponent |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Nott'm Forest | Bournemouth |
| 2 | Fulham | Leicester |
| 3 | Nott'm Forest | Wolves |
| 4 | Fulham | West Ham |
| 5 | Fulham | Newcastle |
| 6 | Nott'm Forest | Fulham |
Bernd Leno has been Fulham’s most reliable performer at the back in recent seasons, producing 130+ points in back-to-back campaigns due to his potential for clean sheets and save points.
If you’re a fan of rotating your goalkeepers, then pairing Leno with Forest’s Matz Sels looks a valid tactic in the opening Gameweeks.
Robinson and Boly offer attacking threat
Nonetheless, there are attacking options in defence at both clubs who could outscore their respective No 1s.
Fulham’s Antonee Robinson enjoyed his best-ever Fantasy season in 2023/24 thanks to his impact at both ends of the pitch.
The left-back supplied six assists and also collected nine clean sheets across his 37 starts. Robinson made 44 key passes last season, a total bettered by only three team-mates.
Forest’s Willy Boly boasts a strong threat at set-pieces.
Although injury limited the centre-back to 20 starts, Boly scored twice and had 10 headed shots - only frontman Chris Wood, with 19, surpassed that tally.
Next: Aston Villa and Newcastle
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