The Scout picks out clubs and players who can be paired together effectively in opening squads in 2025/26 Fantasy Premier League and give FPL managers a great run of early fixtures.
While it is a good idea to rotate cheap defenders from two different clubs according to their fixtures, data from last season suggests that, when choosing those clubs, it's best not to focus too much on getting lots of home fixtures instead of away matches.
See: How and why to rotate your defenders
After all, of the 17 clubs who have remained in the Premier League from last season, only SIX produced more clean sheets in home matches than they did away from home.
More often than not, then, the key factor for getting defensive returns was the strength of the opposition attack, rather than where the match was being played.
This only enhances the importance of using the Fixture Difficulty Ratings (FDR) at the start of any season when building your opening squad.
By focusing on clubs who, between them, can offer a run of relatively "easy" fixtures according to the FDR, you can potentially find outstanding value at the back.
Spurs and Wolves
You could barely ask for a better opening rotation pairing than picking a defender from both Tottenham Hotspur and Wolverhampton Wanderers.
According to the FDR - where the easiest possible matches are ranked as No 1 and the hardest are ranked as No 5 – as many as EIGHT of the first nine fixtures would score only 2.
Spurs and Wolves rotation, Gameweeks 1-9
| GW | Club | Fixture | FDR |
| 1 | Spurs | Burnley (H) | 2 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | Wolves | Bournemouth (A) | 3 |
| 3 | Wolves | Everton (H) | 2 |
| 4 | Spurs | West Ham (A) | 2 |
| 5 | Wolves | Leeds (H) | 2 |
| 6 | Spurs | Wolves (H) | 2 |
| 7 | Spurs | Leeds (A) | 2 |
| 8 | Wolves | Sunderland (A) | 2 |
| 9 | Wolves | Burnley (H) | 2 |
*1 = easiest possible fixture, 5 = hardest possible fixture
The only match in this opening spell that scores more than a 2 in the FDR is in Gameweek 2, when the better fixture - Wolves’ visit to AFC Bournemouth - is rated as a 3. In that same Gameweek, Spurs visit Manchester City.
A further assessment of the fixtures also shows your starting defender would face a promoted opponent in FIVE of those nine Gameweeks.
Spurs host Burnley in Gameweek 1 and visit Leeds United in Gameweek 7. Wolves, meanwhile, host Leeds and Burnley in Gameweeks 5 and 9 respectively, while travelling to Sunderland in Gameweek 8.
Who could be the best budget picks?
Spurs and Wolves were both among the worst defences in the league last time around, claiming just six and eight clean sheets respectively.
While that might seem like a reason to avoid their defenders, it means there should be at least one from each club who will remain in the budget price bracket.
In the case of Spurs, it would be no surprise if it's Micky van de Ven once again - the Dutchman’s cost of £4.5m last season made him their only regular starter in defence who was under £5.0m.
Spurs are very much a work in progress right now, and the selections, tactics and summer transfers of new head coach Thomas Frank means FPL managers will have to keep a keen eye on Spurs’ pre-season friendlies.
Wolves’ progress after Vitor Pereira's arrival midway through last season looks hugely encouraging for their prospects in 2025/26.
SEVEN of their eight clean sheets in 204/25 came after the Portuguese took charge in Gameweek 17. That total put them level with Arsenal and Liverpool in that spell, and was bettered by just five other sides.
All of Wolves' defenders were priced under £5.0m last season and, despite their improvement under Pereira, that seems unlikely to change.
At present, wing-back Nelson Semedo and centre-back Toti could prove the best options, although managers will be hoping Pereira can find a suitable replacement for attacking left wing-back Rayan Ait-Nouri, who has moved to Man City.
Next: Everton and Crystal Palace
