5% of the top 10,000 Fantasy Premier League managers have already used their second Wildcard of the season.
Just under 2% activated the chip at the first opportunity in Gameweek 21 and a further 3% have pulled the trigger for Gameweek 22.
Not surprisingly, it was the most deployed chip for the current round of action, with minuscule usages for the Triple Captain (0.07%), Free Hit (0.11%) and Bench Boost (0.79%).
Compared to the overall base of players, the top 10k have been a little more patient with their second Wildcards.
While 3.1% of these managers have overhauled their squads, 3.4% of the worldwide population has shaken things up too.
Top-level managers on the Wildcard right now have taken this opportunity to try and invest in some emerging trends.
Most notably, there has been a shift towards a double-up on the Liverpool midfield ahead of Double Gameweek 24.
Sadio Mané (£12.3m) is the clear favourite among normal top 10k squads, currently owned by 80.1% while Mohamed Salah (£12.3m) is not in the top-five most-popular midfielders at that level.
However, he appears in 41.6% of the squads of top 10k managers who have Wildcarded for Gameweek 22.
We see a similar story in defence with Trent Alexander-Arnold (£7.5m) in at least 78% in both top 10k squads and Wildcard teams at that level, while Andrew Robertson (£7.0m) appears only among the top-five defenders for those who have overhauled their players for Gameweek 22.
The Liverpool left-back sits in 22.1% of such squads, indicating that those making preparations for Double Gameweek 24 currently prefer the offensive double-up over the defensive one.
Liverpool’s upcoming double is not the only emerging trend at this level as Wildcarders have also targetted recent improvements at Everton and Southampton.
Dominic Calvert-Lewin (£5.9m) has three goals in as many Premier League matches since Carlo Ancelotti came on board, helping him become the third-most-popular forward among top 10k Wildcarders for Gameweek 22.
The Everton man appears to have come in largely at the expense of Tammy Abraham (£7.8m) who remains the third-most-popular striker among top 10k managers (35.3%) but has not been considered so highly by the Wildcarders.
Elsewhere, two clean sheets in the last four Southampton matches has triggered some interest in Alex McCarthy (£4.3m).
The Saints’ poor start to the season has helped their goalkeeper drop to a kind price, which could help the 22.7% of top 10k Wildcarders enjoy value for money in the coming weeks.
As we reported this week, Southampton have conceded just four big chances in their last four matches, second only to Liverpool during that period.
Interestingly, no West Ham player has made their way into the top 10k Wildcard template even with Double Gameweek 24 on the immediate horizon.
Jamie Vardy‘s (£10.0m) return from a recent calf injury will come as beautiful news to over half of Fantasy managers currently inside the top 10k.
After the Leicester man won the most recent Fantasy Football Scout captain poll, he has earned massive support among the world’s most in-form managers too.
In fact, his command of armbands looks to be even stronger at this level than in our own community.
35.5% of you voted for Vardy as the best captain option for Gameweek 22 but he has amassed a whopping 52.3% support for the armband among the top 10k this weekend.
Such large effective ownership (147.6%) could be the setting for a make or break week for some Fantasy managers.
Those perhaps best placed to capitalise if Southampton’s newfound defensive form does frustrate Vardy at the King Power Stadium are Fantasy managers backing Kevin de Bruyne (£10.6m).
Ahead of a trip to Aston Villa, who have conceded more shots in the box than any other side this season, the Belgian has been chosen as captain by 18% of the top 10k.
Arguably, the same goes for Mané captainers, as only 7.5% of the top 10k have handed their backing to the Liverpool midfielder ahead of a trip to Spurs.
