The Scout is using the Fixture Difficulty Ratings (FDR) to determine the sides with the most favourable opening schedules in 2024/25 Fantasy Premier League.
Nottingham Forest Other than a trip to Anfield in Gameweek 4, the early schedule looks kind for Nott'm Forest. Five of their first six fixtures score only two in the FDR. Promoted Southampton are among the Gameweek 1-6 opponents, along with four other sides that finished in the bottom half of the Premier League in 2023/24 - AFC Bournemouth, Wolverhampton Wanderers, Brighton & Hove Albion, and Fulham.
Nott'm Forest's first six matches GW Opponent FDR* 1 BOU (H) 2 2 SOU (A) 2 3 WOL (H) 2 4 LIV (A) 5 5 BHA (A) 2 6 FUL (H) 2 *1 = easiest possible fixture, 5 = hardest possible fixture
Here, The Scout picks out three Forest players who can make a flying start thanks to their fixtures.
Morgan Gibbs–White Nuno Espirito Santo’s arrival at the City Ground midway through last season sparked an upturn in Gibbs-White’s form. Having registered only five attacking returns in 17 matches before the appointment of Nuno, the midfielder would go on to deliver four goals and eight assists in 20 starts under his new head coach. Gibbs-White created 11 big chances from the point of Santo’s arrival in Gameweek 18 onwards, a total only bettered by three other players. On most set-pieces, his appeal is further boosted by his role as Forest’s primary penalty taker. Not likely to cost much more than the £6.0m he started at last season, Gibbs-White could be an ideal budget-friendly option for the opening six Gameweeks. The Forest midfielder will certainly relish the prospect of facing Brighton and Fulham in September: he delivered double-digit hauls against both sides last season.
Callum Hudson–Odoi Nuno’s arrival also brought the best out of Hudson-Odoi, who found the net on seven occasions under the Portuguese boss. That more than doubled his career Premier League tally to date. Those seven strikes from Gameweek 18 onwards matched the number of goals that Mohamed Salah and Son Heung-min scored over the same period. Hudson-Odoi’s totals of 24 shots in the box, 18 shots on target, and 67 penalty-area touches under Nuno were the highest of any Forest midfielder, marking him out as one of his side’s chief goal threats. He has all the attributes - and opening fixtures - to be an early-season bargain, even if he gets a small price rise from last season's £5.0m.
Willy Boly Forest only kept one clean sheet after Nuno’s appointment last season, but the underlying data suggests they were unfortunate not to claim more. Their total of 27.7 Expected Goals Against (xGA) under their current boss was the fourth-lowest in the league. Only the top two - Manchester City and Arsenal - allowed fewer big chances than Forest’s 36 from Gameweek 18 onwards. Boly is a name for Fantasy managers to consider at the back, especially as he’s again unlikely to cost more than £4.5m. Finding the net on two occasions and providing one assist last season, his totals of 13 shots in the box and three big chances weren’t matched by any other defender at the club - despite five members of the Forest backline making more appearances than Boly’s 20.