Which budget FPL Wildcard picks rotate well?

Rotating picks in Fantasy Premier League (FPL) is perhaps historically most associated with £4.5m goalkeepers.

However, with many Fantasy managers trying to crowbar the likes of Erling Haaland (£15.3m), Mohamed Salah (£12.8m), Cole Palmer (£10.6m) and/or Bukayo Saka (£10.0m) into their Gameweek 6 Wildcard teams, the need for cheaper outfield players becomes more of a necessity.

Rotating two budget buys for one position is a viable strategy going forward.

The idea is to find two or more low-cost FPL players whose fixtures dovetail to offer a prolonged spell of favourable opponents.

That could be two cheap midfielders/forwards to be used in a seventh attacking spot. It could be a pair of budget-friendly defenders who, between them, could nab you a clean sheet or two. Or, of course, it could be two £4.5m goalkeepers.

HOW TO USE OUR FIXTURE TICKER TO FIND PLAYERS THAT ROTATE WELL

We’re using our customisable Season Ticker for this article, a tool that allows you to filter clubs by rotation amongst other sortable options.

Above: You can sort a club by rotation by clicking on the team in the ticker and then hitting the highlighted button

BEST ROTATION PAIRINGS

Below, we have picked out five pairings of teams whose fixtures rotate fairly well until Gameweek 19.

This takes us to the end of 2024 and the midway point of the season.

We’ve isolated the standout fixtures in each case. In instances where both matches are decent, or are just as unappealing, we’ve included each.

EVERTON/BOURNEMOUTH

Antoine Semenyo (£5.6m) could be paired with Dwight McNeil (£5.4m) or Dominic Calvert-Lewin (£6.0m) for the above run.

Semenyo and McNeil are the leading FPL midfielders for shots taken (24) and chances created (20) respectively.

Calvert-Lewin, meanwhile, has three attacking returns from his first five starts. He is also Everton’s first-choice penalty-taker.

Four meetings with Southampton and Ipswich Town are guaranteed in the next five Gameweeks. Other than in Gameweek 8, it’s possible to avoid any current top-half club until after Boxing Day. Even then, that top-half club is Fulham.

There’s an argument for starting Calvert-Lewin/McNeil in all of the next seven, of course. Crystal Palace and Newcastle United haven’t convinced at the back this season, their one and only clean sheets arriving through luck, opposition profligacy and/or goalkeeping heroics.

Despite mostly favourable starts to 2024/25, Palace and the Magpies rank 14th and 15th for expected goals conceded (xGC).

At the back, the looming return of Jarrad Branthwaite (£4.8m) should help stiffen up the Everton backline. Vitalii Mykolenko (£4.3m), ill in the last two Gameweeks and dropping to a low price, is a potential rotation buddy for Illia Zabarnyi (£4.5m) or Milos Kerkez (£4.5m).

BOURNEMOUTH/LEICESTER CITY

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