Players often produce their best hauls in home matches, so wouldn't it be handy if Fantasy Premier League managers could guarantee as many home fixtures for their starting XI as possible?
The 2023/24 fixture list has revealed a way that you can do just that.
There are some team pairings, such as West Ham United and Sheffield United, that alternate home and away over the whole season.
In each Gameweek, managers can select the player who is at home while benching the one who has the away match.
This strategy is most effective when swapping between two cut-price players, either goalkeepers or defenders, who cost less than £5.0m.
Fantasy managers should therefore seek out value pairings that offer the best potential for clean sheets.
2023/24 rotation pairings
| Team 1 | Team 2 |
|---|---|
| ARS | TOT |
| BOU | LUT |
| BRE | WOL |
| BHA | NFO |
| BUR | AVL |
| CHE | FUL |
| LIV | EVE |
| MCI | MUN |
| NEW | CRY |
| WHU | SHU |
Brentford and Wolverhampton Wanderers are a strong example from the table above.
The Bees kept seven clean sheets at home last season, a total bettered by only five other sides. By contrast, they managed just five clean sheets on their travels.
Wolves, meanwhile, were far more reliable when playing at Molineux in 2022/23.
Indeed, they claimed 10 of their 11 shutouts in home encounters, second only to the 11 of Manchester United.
By selecting Brentford's Rico Henry and Wolves' Craig Dawson (both £4.5m) for home matches only, managers can take advantage of the value offered by both clubs' backlines if the two teams can take their form into 2023/24.
See: The Scout's golden rules for picking an FPL squad
Brighton & Hove Albion and Nottingham Forest also fared far better in defence at home.
They kept a combined 15 clean sheets in such matches, with Brighton leading Forest by nine to six.
But the pair totalled a mere five clean sheets on the road last season, producing three and two respectively.
Throughout this week, The Scout will be highlighting the best FPL rotation pairings.
See: Register your team early to boost your FPL chances
Also in this series
Part 2: Brighton and Forest stars offer dream fixtures
Part 3: Pair up Villa and Everton for fast start
Part 4: Find early value with Brentford and Newcastle