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Rotation analysis – Home and Away rotation and favourable fixtures

Rotation analysis – Home and Away rotation and favourable fixtures

It is a bit tricky to write anything that does not account for all of the variables in terms of knowing what signings might still be made and how a team will gel with those new players. However we will try and point out where fixtures and good rotation of home and away might favour you. Through the coming weeks we will post articles that will try and help you navigate through the tough terrain of choosing a side. This includes having our very own team that will try and use all the information possible to build a highly competitive squad. For the most part we will only cover until game-week 20 in this article since after the start of said fixtures the winter wildcard can be activated. Hopefully we can cover a good deal, but obviously we can’t cover all of them. So please do share your ideas in the comments section, if you see something that was not covered. So let’s get to it and see what we can come up with…

Teams that rotate perfectly home and away are:
Arsenal & Tottenham
Aston Villa & West Brom
Burnley & Hull City
Chelsea & QPR
Crystal Palace & West Ham
Everton & Liverpool
Leicester & Southampton
Manchester City & Manchester United
Newcastle & Sunderland
Stoke City & Swansea

So conceivably you could have a rotation with keepers or defenders going on with any two teams and always have one at home. However we all know that in the cases of some pairs, this is nearly impossible while our budgets are still a measly £100m. So this table has been built to help you decipher what team could be a good rotation partner even if they don’t rotate all 38 weeks. Be warned though; always check fixtures to see who they are playing. Just because they rotate well or perfectly doesn’t mean it is favourable.

Rotation Analysis

This board offers you the opportunity to see which teams rotate home and away the best over the course of the season. The legend below explains the colouring to better help you decipher what teams you should focus on, if rotating is in your plans.

 

 

 

After getting a glance at our colourful board, let us look at those first 20 weeks a bit closer with our pairings from above in mind. For the top teams (and by top, we mean last seasons top 7) we will look more at their fixtures than rotation since it is hard to rotate keepers or defenders from big clubs when our budgets are just enough to get by.

Arsenal & Tottenham
Usually if you own a player from Arsenal at the start of the season, he is a premium player in your squad and you are unlikely to rotate them. Many of us remember the Gunners for some of the savage beatings they took on their travels against top teams, but many forget that they garnered 59 points out of a possible 66 against teams that finished 10th or lower. They only lost 1 game at home and that was their opening fixture, while maintaining 17 clean sheets last season, only second to Chelsea. Despite that we can see a tricky set of games right out of the gate. They play Everton, City, Spurs and Chelsea in 4 of the opening 7 fixtures. After that they only play Man United at home and Liverpool away from GW 8-20. So perhaps avoiding the possible rough start and jumping on for a home fixture vs Hull City in week 8 is advisable.
Tottenham offers you the possibility of investing in them in the first 5 weeks with only Liverpool (H) being what one would call an even game. Then they face Arsenal and City away in a blip on their schedule where you are better suited in avoiding any cover with them. Once past City you have a 10 game stretch from GW 9-18 where Spurs only face Everton (H) and Chelsea (A). So any investment in Spurs should be early or after GW 9. Be aware that when they face the top 4 sides last season they only managed one draw in 8 games garnering only point. Just like their best friends at the Emirates they took a pounding versus top competition allowing 27 goals against and only 2 in favour, YIKES!

Aston Villa & West Brom
Villa rotates perfectly with West Brom… but, and there is a but… Both only combined for 16 clean sheets last season. Their fixtures are not necessarily easy and you might end up playing one of them and then hiding behind the couch. One look at GW 4-8 on both sets of fixtures will feel like a cruel joke from the rotation fantasy gods. Villa starts off with 3 fixtures that they will feel they can get something from, but after that they play last seasons top five in consecutive weeks. So unless you want to designate transfers early on or plan on playing an early wildcard, Villa should probably be left from any consideration until at the very least game-week 9. From there on they only face Spurs and Manchester United (both at home) as difficult fixtures. After GW9 you can consider a possible rotation with Burnley, Swansea, Sunderland and of course West Brom as they all rotate perfectly until the winter wildcard with Villa.

West Brom has in many ways a very similar schedule to Villa in terms of where their more difficult fixtures lie. So this combo should probably be avoided despite their perfect home and away rotation. If you simply can’t resist the temptation of owning a baggie, then let us suggest Newcastle as the better alternative. They rotate in 30 out of 38 weeks and more importantly in 16 of 20 before the New Year. Furthermore, this partnership allows you to avoid a top 7 team all but one game-week (18) even if it does mean you might have to play the away team on certain occasions. Hull has equal numbers in terms of home and away rotation, but their fixtures when combined with West Brom are a bit more troublesome.

Burnley & Hull City
Burnley has what one would call seven difficult fixtures before 2015, but we could make an argument that every game is difficult for them as they adapt to the top flight. Defensively speaking, Burnley was no slouch in the Championship. 19 clean sheets in 46 games, never allowed more than 3 goals, only allowed 14 goals total in 23 home games and only lost 5 games all season. They have a tricky schedule in the sense that they get a couple of winnable and then a couple of toughies. They go back and forth that way until the winter wildcard never having an extended run of good fixtures. However if you were looking to rotate with someone, Hull does seem ideal; when Burnley play 6 of their 7 most difficult games, Hull plays QPR, Villa, Soton, Swansea, Sunderland and Leicester. So a Burnley-Hull partnership based on rotation and fixtures could pay dividends. They also rotate well with Villa and Stoke but neither covers for them the way Hull does when their fixtures are tougher.

Hull City has a kind opening set of games until game-week 5. After that they see 8 games vs the top seven teams (Everton twice) before the New Year. Owning a Hull player as a stand alone with no rotation is only recommendable for the opening fixtures. Commencing in week 6 you will probably need someone that will allow you to sit your tiger against the tougher teams. As recommended above Burnley sets up nicely, but if you distrust the newly promoted team than perhaps Swansea who doesn’t rotate home/away perfectly, but helps you avoid the tougher fixtures in all but 2 weeks through the first part of the season is more to your liking.

Chelsea & QPR
We suspect that if you are looking at Chelsea you are not interested in rotating. For one they are too expensive and two why would you ever rest a Chelsea defender? They kept 18 clean sheets last season to lead the EPL including a run of 12 in their final 19 games. City and Liverpool were only shutout at home a combined 3 times and CFC accounted for two of those. They only allowed 27 goals all season which was ten better than the second best defence. However for all their defensive prowess and records against the better sides last season, a look at the fixtures does see show some potential stumbling blocks. They face Everton, City, Man United and Liverpool all away before week 11 and Arsenal at home. After game-week 12 things get much lighter, a home and away with Spurs is about the toughest they will see before they face off with City at home in GW23.

QPR rotate perfectly home and away with Chelsea, but I can’t see many a manager resting their CFC defender to play one of ‘Arry’s men. However we all know that some of you can resist the appeal of being a mini Tony Fernandes and owning a QPR defender. So if you feel compelled to own one, Crystal Palace and Burnley are your best options when we look at the fixtures and the home/away rotation. Both teams play 16 games out of 20 before January where they are either home or away when QPR is the opposite. When looking at both teams and what they offer, they will both leave you with two games out of 20 where rotation won’t avoid a tough fixture. Not bad though for teams that offer somewhat cheap options to go along with a QPR defender.

Crystal Palace & West Ham
Who could forget Crystal Palace’s memorable run of games last season to conserve their spot in the top division. Most of us will remember that it was based on a capacity to keep it tight in the back. Rotation is key with them, as they lost 15 of 20 games vs the top 10 teams. West Ham rotate perfectly with them home and away and only in GW 8 & 11 can you not avoid the more difficult fixtures by rotating this combo. Palace can also be combined with Tottenham, as they will also carry you to January while keeping you away from all but one of the tougher fixtures. QPR is worthy of consideration as a partner for price reasons, but would fall third in line as far as fixtures go, especially when comparing them to the alternative that West Ham and Spurs give a manager that also carry a Palace defender.

West Ham obviously rotates perfectly with Palace and the best other rotations are teams that usually carry higher priced defenders. As the next best rotations are CFC, Arsenal and Everton. These teams are not the kind of places where you will find cheap rotating players to go along with your West Ham player. No worries though, as we look a bit deeper we see two candidates that despite not rotating home/away well, do help you avoid the tougher fixtures by simply rotating them based on fixture instead of location. Stoke City and Sunderland would both allow you to avoid the top teams for the rest of this year with the exception of one game-week each. So if you team up your hammer with one of these two, in particular Stoke, you can avoid any tough games until week 18 and by then you are unlikely to have any of the players from week 1 anyway. 😉

Everton & Liverpool
The Toffees defence provided a lot of joy in particular at the beginning of the season for managers who invested in them. They had 15 clean sheets last season, 8 of which came in the first 14 games. Because of some of the prices on their players it is unlikely that rotation is in your plans, in particular because their best partner is their bitter rival who also doesn’t come dirt cheap either. It is also hard to see them being much of an option at the beginning of the season once we check their fixtures. They have 4 games in the first 7 weeks vs teams who are likely to finish above them in the standings. In game-week 8 though things should get much easier and if looking to invest this could be the moment. From GW 8-20 they only face Spurs and Man United of note, the rest of the games one would feel that Everton has a decent shot of taking all 3 points.

Liverpool started out with three straight one to nil wins last year and that was the last time we can remember anyone donning their colours playing anything that resembled defence. Their fixtures were much friendlier last season to start off with and despite that advantage after week 4 they started to leak. Trips to City and Tottenham in weeks 2 & 3 this season definitely makes them less appealing for any investment. That is of course if you had not already discarded them because of their comedic defending last season. Nevertheless if you are a brave soul or simply lost a bet and have to have a Liverpool defender, then beginning in game-week four might be your best bet. Two difficult fixtures versus Chelsea and Everton at home are all they will see from GW 4-15 as the rest should be winnable.

Leicester & Southampton
I think it is very obvious that Leicester slept with the FA’s wife. Their schedule is so unkind to start off with that you can easily see them coming away with o points in their first five. Despite giving up less than a goal a game last season it is difficult seeing them survive the onslaught that will come their way in the opening weeks. They rotate perfectly with Southampton, but by rotate we mean play the Saint and leave your Leicester filler on the last spot of the bench. After GW 5 you could sift through their team and see if there is anything worth grabbing. From game-week 6-13 their fixtures are ok enough to have a go at them if the price and display during the difficult beginning leads you to believe there is value there. After week 13 though comes another difficult batch of fixtures so be aware.

Southampton was a big surprise at the beginning of the season last year. Only losing one of their first eleven fixtures and keeping 6 clean sheets in their first 9 games. Despite some lapses throughout the season they still kept their opponents scoreless in 15 games. Leicester rotates with them perfectly home/away, but undoubtedly this would feel like only one team cares about the relationship as Southampton would have to carry the burden. From game-week 2 through 12 the Saints only face Tottenham away from the seven teams that finished above them last season. It is not expected that they will be as strong defensively as we may see some of their starting defenders accompany Luke Shaw out the door. The fixtures though should at the very least make you question whether they are worth a cheeky punt.

Manchester City & Manchester United
City is also one of those teams that you are unlikely to look to rotate. If you own them, you play them. So instead of looking for a rotation partner perhaps we should be looking for when it might be ideal to own one. A quick glance at their fixture list suggests that investing after week 5 would be the most ideal scenario. But if you feel like having a City defender from the start than you can take solace in the fact that despite their tough fixtures at the start, 3 of the 5 are at the Etihad. We can all remember how scarily good they were at home last season and even a side that was sometimes maligned for their lack of defensive conviction was still able to keep ten clean sheets in their seventeen home games.

Manchester United might just get off to a much better start this season. If this is the case, I am sure many United fans will fall at the feet of Van Gaal and join the rest who are already there. But not so fast my United friends, a look at the fixtures will tell you that the living God will probably not get much better results than Moyesie did vs the same opponents (excluding the promoted teams) last season. United’s first six games include the 3 promoted teams and the other 3 games are against teams that United beat by a combined 13-3 with 5 wins and 0 losses (Moyes was fired before the United loss to Sunderland) last season. In a roundabout way we are trying to say that United’s fixtures really look tasty and even the “Chosen One” could do well, because he did. We could ride with United until week 8; sell any assets that are clean sheet dependent thus avoiding CFC, City and Arsenal that are sandwiched in from week 9-12 before the schedule gets tasty again in week 13.

Newcastle & Sunderland
Le Toon has a perfect candidate to rotate with and of course it had to be their half-brother. Sunderland rotates home/away perfectly with Newcastle and a glance at the schedule also says that fixtures wise, is not too shabby. If you decide to alternate them you will find that you can avoid the more difficult games on most occasions before the 1st of the year. Only 2 weeks will you be forced into games where you will feel a bit uncomfortable. Newcastle also can rotate with Swansea or West Brom, but neither fits in as well as Sunderland in home/away or avoidance of difficult GWs. If you wish to have a Toon defender as a stand alone than GW 2-14 does offers a good run of fixtures.

Sunderland as mentioned above is in a relationship, possibly. But if for some reason you prefer to look for a different rotation partner, Aston Villa actually offers good home/away rotation and good avoidance of difficult fixtures. Yes, we are aware that Villa have a murderous run of fixtures from week 4-8, but Sunderland could conceivably cover for them with 3 home games and games away vs Burnley and Southampton. Having said that, we would still be in favour of avoiding any usage of Villa players. One other scenario could see you going for Stoke City as a partner for the first 10 weeks and then weighing your options as the rotation goes sour. From week 11-20 you would be forced to play a top 7 team on 5 occasions no matter who you pick.

Stoke City & Swansea
The Potters not only find an ideal partner for home/away rotation in the Welsh club, they find a near perfect avoidance of the top teams through the first 20 weeks. Only in week 11 would you be forced to play a Swan or Potter vs a top side. There should be some cheap options in both clubs to allow this rotation if you feel this could pay off. Sunderland as mentioned before rotates ok for the first 10 weeks, but the second option if you were looking for one, would probably be Burnley. Stoke/Burnley rotate home and away 16 out of 20 weeks and avoid top teams all the way until week 17. So if Swansea is not your style than Burnley’s cheapies could fit the bill.

Swansea ideally is matched up with Stoke as mentioned above. However just like Stoke a second option for them could be the inclusion of Burnley. To see how they interact with Burnley, just check the Burnley piece as this is already covered. There is an interesting option though that ventures away from the regular two team rotation. Since Burnley is such a good second option for both Stoke and Swansea, we decided to look at a 3 team rotation and see what fixtures we be left with over the first 20 weeks. It was found that you could conceivably play a fixture list from week 1-20 by rotating the right team in, that consists of matching up against promoted teams a total of 9 times. You could also include 3 games a piece vs Villa and West Brom seemingly two of the weaker teams in the EPL. A total of 15 games in 20 weeks vs what could be five teams fighting relegation, sounds pretty good if you budget will allow it.

Rotation Analysis

 

 

We made this table so managers can better compare fixtures for themselves. It is always easier to spot things when things are placed side by side. So we hope that you found this article of use and we were able to point out some things that might have escaped you when looking at rotations and fixtures over the long haul.

If you made it all the way through we thank you and if you only looked at the pictures we are still grateful. Thanks for reading this article, it was written by Mito21 @TheLegendMito21

Rotation analysis – Home and Away rotation and favourable fixtures

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502 Comments

  1. 73
    Fish says:

    New team, please rate:

    Krul (scmeichel)
    Debuchy-Luis-Shaw (Vlaar, Wisdom)
    Hazard-Herrera-De Jong-Siggy (Albrighton)
    Rooney-Sturridge-Pelle

    Is Pelle going to be worth it? Also, who is this Targett guy? Seems he will be replacing shaw at 1st choice LB. Is he a better choice over Wisdom?

    • 73.1
      Calvin Clyne says:

      Time will tell re. Targett Fish; keep an eye on those friendlies, especially the last one at St Mary’s as I have gathered they generally go with their best team for that one.

      Pelle could well be the business, but just depends on whether he can adapt to the PL well, and preferably quickly. Overall a nice team – seems light in midfield at first, but that is only price-wise; I expect all four of them to do well. You have gone with rather a lot of PL unknowns though, so bear in mind it could backfire.

      • inittowinit says:

        Good point on the newbies that Calvin. One or two hit the ground running but players often take a bit of time to adapt to a new team, a new league or a new country. Gosh you have 9 that fit into one of those categories. I’m not saying it’s wrong but just per Calvin, be aware.

        On Pelle I can’t decide. Personally I’d look elsewhere initially and monitor him for a few weeks. He could turn out to be a great 3rd striker to have eventually but for now maybe just see how he adapts. Liverpool away first game isn’t a great start either so maybe even pick someone who has a better first game with a view to that being your first transfer in GW1?

  2. 74
    TheDreamers says:

    Will Davis still be on corners or will Tadic take over?

  3. 75
    Calvin Clyne says:

    OK, just complained, but have to say that Ronaldo, Bale, Rodriguez, Benzema and Kroos is an absolutely deadly front 5. Is it better than Raul, Ronaldo, Zidane, Figo and Beckham though? I’m saying no.

    • 75.1
      NIN says:

      I would say the current team is better than the old ‘Galactico’s’. The key is Ancelotti. They need to keep him for 4-5 seasons at least if they want to see the full potential of this team. If they go back to chopping and changing managers then they’re pissing in the wind. They’ve got a gem in Carlo.

    • 75.2
      DaBomb says:

      Madrid team should be imo:

      Lopez
      Carvajal, Varane, Ramos, Marcelo
      Modric Kroos
      Rodriguez
      Bale Ronaldo
      Benzema

      bench: Casillas, pepe, Arbeloa, Alonso, Isco, Di Maria, Jese

      • I love it, but I see a lot of 5-3 wins in their future and some games getting complicated that should have been easy wins. Their “defensive mids” are well, not defensive mids. Their CBs are good but slow and if Kroos and Modric get to high forward as they are likely to do than they get into some trouble. Not sure Ancelotti will play such an unbalanced team., I hope he does because that will make them even more fun.

  4. 76
    Titleastic says:

    Morning all – I’m very tempted to put Januzaj in my squad as final first pick attacking player. What do people think about game time?

    • 76.1
      Calvin Clyne says:

      Morning, I think it’s too early to call.

    • 76.2
      NIN says:

      I reckon he’ll only get game time when one of the more experienced players’ form drops or an injury/suspension is picked up. van Persie, Rooney and Mata are nailed as the main attacking threats.

    • 76.3
      DaBomb says:

      Very little room for him, especially if LVG goes ahead with this 3412 formation which wont have any room for him, as he is not a very defensive minded player and cant see him playing at RWB any time soon. However if the formation changes and there is room for true wingers, then you never know as Louis is known for his ability to introduce and nurture young talent! Could be a bargain, but imo its too much of a risk when you weigh up your options!

      • Titleastic says:

        Da bomb – nice one. Didn’t see your reply before posting below. So now room for wingers in LVG preferred line up? Shame. I’ve already got Siggs at 6.0 and am struggling to find 6.5 worth of talent to full. The final spot. Team currently as follows. Any thoughts

        Krul Elliot
        Shaw Terry Simpson Mariappa Duff
        Ramsey Siggurdson Toure Eriksson Januzaj
        Rooney Costa Zamora

        Cheers

        • DaBomb says:

          Very nice team in my opinion, i cant see how you got that much money!!! I dont like Toure’s fixtures or price but if youre willing to take the plunge he shouldnt disappoint. I think, instead of Januzaj you could downgrade to maybe Sidwell – in a new team with good fixtures, and that will give you freedom to upgrade Eriksen to Mata (or another 9 mil player) or even upgrade Zamora (I have no idea who he is)

          GOod team though, should serve you well!

          Mind helping me out with mine down below?

    • 76.4
      Titleastic says:

      Cheers for replies – I was think maybe Rooney and Mata will be given free ish roles in the middle of the park to be creative around RvP leaving room on both flanks for some pace…? Which ok there is young, but I would favour Adnan to get the nod. Maybe it’s just wishful thinking!

  5. 77
    DaBomb says:

    How are we lads?
    Gearing up nicely for the new season and crossing my fingers toes (and everything else that sticks out) that LVG can make that big signing to bolster united to the top this year!!

    Anyway onto the team, gone with a very attack minded team here in order to accomodate the big hitters. The defence is a bit weak, but ive got 3 + 1 to play each week with pretty good fixtures.

    Mannone (Krul)
    Shaw, Ferdinand, Vlaar (Rosenior, Mariappa)
    Hazard, Sanchez, Mata, Siggurdson (Albrighton)
    Rooney, Costa, Jelavic

    Any thoughts appreciated!
    Please be brutally honest!

    Thanks!!

    • 77.1
      Titleastic says:

      Honestly that is hard to fault. After my agonising I went for Ramsey over Sanchez just became I wanted only one untested Fpl player… but that is personal preference.

      • DaBomb says:

        Thanks! I was a bit worried about the defence bu the more I think about it, the more i think that having such firepower in attack will surely make up the lost ground! And there are always 2 of my 4 4.5mils that have reasonable fixtures!

    • 77.2
      NIN says:

      DaBomb – I have my doubts about the defence but the rest is fine. Ferdinand is getting on, Villa defence is very dodgy and Rosenior/Mariappa aren’t nailed on to start, as far as i know. Consider Ramsey instead of Sanchez and use the extra 1.5m to upgrade the defence to nailed starters.

      • DaBomb says:

        NIN, thats good thinking I guess, but where is Ramsey going to play in the Arsenal line up?

        with a midfield/forward line up of

        Wilshere Arteta/Flamini/Rosicky
        Ozil
        Sanchez Cazorla
        Giroud

        Where does Ramsey fit in? Even if he replaces Cazorla, doesn’t that leave him vulnerable to rotation?

        • NIN says:

          When he’s fit, he’s in the team. He showed last season that it doesn’t matter where they play him, he’ll score/assist regularly. I’d rather go with him than sacrifice multiple defenders for lesser options. He played deep plenty of times last season and was still a goal scoring machine. I’d like to have Sanchez myself but i think Ramsey is much better value.

        • Raziel says:

          What position did Wenger give him yesterday?

        • NIN says:

          Howdy Raz. I’m not sure mate. Haven’t checked up on the games yet. I wouldn’t worry about it anyway. Same with Fabregas, i see a lot of managers saying his ‘deeper’ role will hurt his productivity. I seriously doubt it. He’s an attack minded player just like Ramsey. They may have deeper roles but they have licence to burst, and are being covered by actual holding mid’s. I expect both to be in the thick of things on a regular basis.

        • Raziel says:

          Problem with Arsenal is they have enough attack minded players. That’s why I had my doubts about him last year but still he managed to be awesome. Sighs. Hard one.

          Anyway. Hazard and Rooney or Tadic and RvP? 😛

        • Raziel says:

          Wait let me rephrase that:
          Hazard – Pelle and Rooney
          or
          Tadic – Giroud and RvP

          Both have Diego Costa

        • NIN says:

          True. I still wouldn’t worry about it though. They don’t have many players who can score so regularly.

          Haha. You know my answer to that one already mate. Hazard and the fat man, for me.

        • inittowinit says:

          Hazard and Rooney combo for me Raz

        • NIN says:

          Same. Haz and fat boy.

        • Raziel says:

          Knowing van Gaal the fat man will be the fittest player for United this season. Sneijder was Hollands fat man before the worldcup. Van Gaal ignored him for a year after he came in overweight I think a year or 2 ago? Anway, Sneijder ran most miles out of all the players this worldcup, it’s crazy. People say he was really poor because he didn’t look as good as WC2010, that’s because he was sacrificed for the team.

          Rooney sucked in the first game but look much better in the second. 4 goals and af few assists? That’s dope. 😉

        • Raziel says:

          It’s hard to let go of RvP because the man helped me in my first FPL season. However, hasn’t looked that good since. He does get his fair amount of points but the price is still a bit off. 11m or 11.5m would be fair.

          Just because he hits it off with van Gaal really well doesn’t mean he will be the star of the team. I think that could actually be Rooney if they do play a 2 striker system.

  6. 78
    Raziel says:

    Owwww dear, every time I drop RvP out of my team I feel like shite. Even though it’s probably the best move. >.<

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