FPL Fixture Hack: Rotate These Teams for Clean Sheets!

Fantasy Football Fix 30 June 2025

FPL Rotation Strategy: Uncovering the Best Budget Defence for 2025/26

With price hikes expected, building a competitive Fantasy Premier League (FPL) squad on a budget might prove trickier in 2025/26.

While midfield and forward options often command premium price tags, defence is where managers can hunt for value – particularly among the £4.5m options.

Some savvy FPL managers use the trick: rotate cheap defenders based on fixtures to maximise clean sheet potential and save valuable funds for heavy hitters elsewhere.

Using our Rotation Planner tool – included in the Preseason Pack, which is just £1 – we’ve identified some of the best fixture rotations to target in the early Gameweeks. These setups not only ensure a steady stream of home matches but also align with favourable Fantasy Premier League fixtures.

⚙️ Rotation #1: Everton / Wolves / Crystal Palace

Everton, Wolves and Palace rotation strategy for defenders in FPL

This three-way rotation might seem extravagant to some – especially as it involves potentially benching two £4.5m defenders. But for managers open to a more nuanced approach, it could be a hidden gem for the opening eight Gameweeks.

Let’s take a look at the upside:

Everton kept 12 clean sheets last season – the sixth most overall – and are typically reliable at the back. A Toffees defender would be needed for a Gameweek 1 trip to newly promoted Leeds, and again in Gameweek 6 against West Ham, who managed just 23 away goals last season – the sixth-fewest in the league.

Wolves aren’t known for defensive stability, but they ended the 2024/25 campaign with three clean sheets in their final nine matches. Crucially, they’d only be needed for favourable fixtures against Everton (H), Leeds (H), and Sunderland (A). For context, Everton scored just 16 away goals last season – only Southampton (13) fared worse – and the other two opponents are newly promoted.

Daniel Muñoz may tempt managers with his attacking threat, but with a projected price of £5.5m, as indicated by the Predicted Player Price tool, a cheaper Crystal Palace alternative might be the better route in a rotation strategy.

Daniel Munoz FPL predicted price for 2025/26

Crystal Palace face tough early fixtures against Chelsea (A), Aston Villa (A), and Liverpool (H), but if you rotate in a budget Palace defender for more favourable games – Nottingham Forest (H) and Sunderland (H) – plus an away trip to Everton in Gameweek 7, the setup becomes far more appealing.

And let’s not forget – Forest will be coming off a UEFA Europa Conference League play-off tie just before Gameweek 2, which could hand Palace an edge in that fixture.

🔁 Rotation #2: Spurs / Nottingham Forest / Fulham

Spurs, Forest and Fulham defender rotation strategy for FPL

Another strong three-way option that grants:

6 home fixtures out of 8
4 matches against promoted teams
Solid early fixture coverage

While Spurs managed just six clean sheets in 2024/25, that might actually work in our favour – defenders like Micky van de Ven could remain priced at £4.5m. With Ange Postecoglou and his defensive high line now gone, Spurs will be hoping for greater defensive stability under new manager Thomas Frank, particularly if they can avoid the injury issues that plagued them last season.

Nottingham Forest were one of the surprise defensive packages of 2024/25, recording 13 clean sheets – joint-second with Man City and only one behind Liverpool (14).

Neco Williams predicted FPL price for 2025/26

However, our Algorithm’s predicted prices have key full-backs Ola Aina and Neco Williams at £5.0m. That could dampen enthusiasm slightly, but we'll be keeping a close eye on whether any reliable £4.5m options emerge.

Fulham, on paper, don’t inspire much defensive confidence after keeping just five clean sheets – the third-worst total in the league. But delve deeper and the underlying numbers paint a different picture. Their expected goals conceded (xGC) was the third best in the Premier League (49.08), suggesting they were actually unlucky to concede as many as 54 goals. If that trend corrects, and a dependable £4.5m starter can be found, the Cottagers might offer sneaky value.

The only notable drawback to this rotation strategy is a Gameweek 8 playing a Forest defender at home to Chelsea, but by then many FPL managers may be eyeing up their first Wildcard, making it less of a long-term concern.

💡 Final Thoughts

Rotating cheap defenders has long been a proven tactic in FPL, and with price pressure potentially to increase in 2025/26, this approach could be essential.

Using the Rotation Planner inside our £1 Preseason Pack, we’ve identified setups that maximise fixture quality and home advantage while keeping the budget intact.

If you're planning to stack your midfield and forwards with premiums, you’ll need to find savings somewhere – and this might just be the smartest place to start.