Later in the week I’ll be talking through my picks and shortlists of players for the first weekend’s fixtures. However, this season I’m also looking to cover some monthly previews that examine the fixtures over a given month and recommend the best clubs from which to source your transfers. And here’s the first – I’ve called it the “August Scout Report” – snappy eh?

This month already provides a conundrum for Fantasy Managers with six missing a game due to postponements caused by the early rounds in European competitions. Arsenal, Liverpool, West Ham, Newcastle, Aston Villa and Blackburn all miss a game this month.

This immediately casts doubt over the early season value of their players. However, Arsenal’s could be worth coveting regardless. The Gunners have home games with Fulham and Man City, both sides bedding in new players who could provide the likes of Van Persie with shooting practice. These fixtures are sandwiched between a trip to Blackburn which is likely to be tighter – although much depends on how Arsenal fair home and away, certainly last season, it wasn’t goals away from home that were hard to come by for Arsenal.

Liverpool players meanwhile are probably worth avoiding until September. Two away games at Villa and Sunderland sandwich a clash with Chelsea at Anfield – enough to suggest that the Fantasy money involved in buying Gerrard and Torres is better spent elsewhere this month. Two clean sheets from that trio of fixtures is probably on the cards however, making Agger, Reina and Carragher decent targets if you’re willing to take the missing fixture on the chin.

Both Chelsea and United have their full compliment of fixtures this month but Chelsea’s trip to Liverpool and ther long injury list, gives United players the edge. United play Reading, Man City, Portsmouth and Spurs. There are tests there, but you’d still expect four wins, plenty of points for Ronaldo and Rooney and at least a couple of clean sheets along the way. Chelsea meanwhile, should find clean sheets and goals at home to Birmingham and possibly Portsmouth at the end of August but with Terry possibly absent for those games, the Chelsea defence is hard to predict. Drogba is also a doubt as this is written, so Chelsea could face a stuttering start to the season. Trips to Reading and Liverpool will certainly be tricky and Chelsea will have kinder months fixture wise.

Outside of that quartet the likes of Middlesbrough, Everton, Bolton and Wigan appear to have the easiest months in front of them. All four clubs avoid last season’s top four, with Boro having the easiest games on paper. Home fixtures against Blackburn and Newcastle are paired with visits to Wigan and Fulham. Boro’s form in pre-season has been far from sparkling but Yakubu and Downing are certainly worth a look, particularly as Downing has been pushed forward in a front three on a few occasions in the summer. Injuries at the back could mean clean sheets are difficult to come by though with an inexperienced Wheater/Davies pairing set to play the bulk of this month’s games.

Everton and Bolton defenders look the better bet if you’re looking for early season mid-range buys. Similarly, Johnson at Everton and Anelka at Bolton could both get off to decent starts given their opening month’s fixtures. Everton face home games against Wigan and Blackburn and visit Spurs and Reading. Bolton meanwhile host Newcastle and Reading and visit Fulham and Portsmouth. For Wigan, Koumas looks very tempting. He will a decent set of opponents in August but will still fancy playing a major role in games against Everton, Boro, Sunderland and West Ham.

Tottenham’s attacking players should also have a decent month. They might end the month with a visit to Old Trafford but before that, games against Sunderland, Birmingham and Wigan should yield plenty of goals for Berbatov, Bent and maybe Keane, although there are still doubts over Jol’s plans up front. As always though, the Spurs defence is best avoided, particularly with King sidelined and Kaboul bedding in.

Aside from those player for clubs missing a game in August, it’s Reading players that are perhaps best avoided in August. Their start to the season is by far the most daunting beginning with a trip to Old Trafford followed by a home game with Chelsea. Games against Everton and Bolton won’t be easy either and it wouldn’t be surprising to see Reading leaving some of the pre-season doubters with smug grins on their faces, with a stalled start and a bottom six placing come September.

As I’ve mentioned, later this week I’ll be running through the opening games of the season and tipping some specific players for those matches. You can get a peak at these already by scanning the shortlists in the right-hand menu of the site. I’m updating these throughout the week to reflect injuries and team news, so keep coming back for updates to those.

Back to the month as a whole then and my choice of August’s best sources are:

For Clean Sheets: Man United, Everton, Chelsea, Bolton, Liverpool
For Goals: Man United, Tottenham, Arsenal, Middlesbrough, Chelsea, Bolton