Two-time Indian Fantasy Premier League (FPL) champion Lateriser discusses various Gameweek 6 Wildcard ideas, covering both a fit and unfit David Raya (£5.6m).
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My Wildcard trigger was pulled on Saturday and, since then, the week has been an intense rollercoaster. Sunday and Monday were spent deep diving into fixtures, structuring a draft and eventual team.
There’s sometimes a ‘Eureka moment’ where you’re finally happy with a squad and get somewhat attached to it but then team news starts filtering in which suggests you’ll have to move away from it. That leads to an existential crisis. So, on Thursday, I was questioning everything in life.
But, as always, you just sleep it off, think with a calm head, make peace with the fact that you can’t have everyone and start constructing teams for all possible scenarios.
RAYA YES
Predictably, Mikel Arteta was vague about Raya’s thigh issue and availability in his Friday press conference.
My primary draft includes Arsenal’s goalkeeper but I also have a plan if it becomes clear that he’s missing out. Of course, I want to state that I reserve the right to question and change every pick of this draft.
For the first time in my FPL history, the team will proceed with a premium name between the sticks. I’m just trying to adapt to the game’s evolving landscape of goalkeeping bonus points being more proportional with clean sheets.
I also have Gabriel Magalhaes (£6.1m) in defence as he is probably the second-best defender around, one who is capable of returning in any game. Trent Alexander-Arnold (£7.1m) is my other perma-play, as Liverpool look better for clean sheets under Arne Slot compared to last year. Furthermore, Trent involves himself in so many attacks.
Given his fixtures and attacking position, I think the upside for Rico Lewis (£4.7m) is worth owning, as long as you surround him with nailed-on defenders. I’ve done this with Vitalii Mykolenko (£4.3m) and Jacob Greaves (£4.0m).
I’m quite optimistic about Sean Dyche’s Everton, as they enter a good run of fixtures with fit-again Mykolenko, Jarrad Branthwaite (£4.8m) and Nathan Patterson (£4.4m), so I expect an upturn in performances from a team that tends to prioritise clean sheets. With Branthwaite around, I’ll always back them to shut-out lower-half opponents.
Moving onto midfielders, my early hot take was that it could be Luis Diaz‘s (£8.0m) season and I’m jumping on him for the short term. Slot’s team is designed to create chances for wide forwards and I’m ready to gamble on one attacking spot where transfers can be used in the near future.
Bryan Mbeumo (£7.2m) is a no-brainer who ticks every box, given Brentford’s brilliant fixture run.
As you can see, my big sacrifice is not having Bukayo Saka (£10.0m) and that’s because I simply have a really good feeling about Cole Palmer (£10.6m). But an Arsenal triple-up feels needed on these Wildcards, given their next two opponents, and I’m happy with the long-term plan of double defence plus Kai Havertz (£8.1m). The German forward has managed to keep pace with Saka since the second half of last season.
Meanwhile, Chelsea look good in attack and I really like the balance of their front four. Not only that, Palmer isn’t part of the Blues’ European squad and likely plays the number 10 role. By being so good, I think that he’ll easily receive chances in an attack that’s showing real signs of clicking.
Morgan Rogers (£5.2m) still offers great value, in my opinion, in a good Aston Villa team. That’s why he’s staying in mine. Alongside him, the fifth midfielder is a Fabio Carvalho (£4.8m) punt, in case he remains in Brentford’s starting XI. To be honest, I’m still not fully sure of that slot. It could be Tyler Dibling (£4.5m) instead, saving the money for future upgrades.
Up front, there’s obviously Erling Haaland. He’ll be my captain for the foreseeable. Next to him and Havertz is my cheap striker of choice Dominic Calvert-Lewin (£6.0m). I like his supporting cast at Everton, their medium-term fixtures look superb and I’ll be hoping that last season’s expected goals (xG) underperformance adjusts to the mean this time.
RAYA NO
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