FPL Gameweek 21 Wildcard: Pros, cons and three possible drafts

Gameweek 21 is the second opportunity to use the final Wildcard of 2024/25.

These unlimited free transfers are a chance to fix all mistakes and start planning for the future – ideal for the unlucky managers who find themselves owning plenty of injuries and suspensions.

So let’s list the pros and cons of a Gameweek 21 Wildcard, then provide a few draft ideas.

Don’t forget, you can get your Wildcard team rated via our Rate My Team tool or the Plan FPL planner!

• READ MORE: Do I keep my free transfers when I use an FPL Wildcard?

GAMEWEEK 21 WILDCARD: THE PROS

FIXTURE SWINGS

It’s a good opportunity to move away from Bournemouth assets before their run of Chelsea (a), Newcastle United (a), Nottingham Forest (h) and Liverpool (h), while Wolverhampton Wanderers’ Matheus Cunha (£7.0m) and Rayan Ait-Nouri (£4.8m) have it even worse.

On the other hand, Newcastle have five successive wins and are about to host these two, before a trip to last-placed Southampton. Wildcarders can stock up on Magpies, plus names from encouraging Crystal Palace and Manchester United runs.

INJURIES + BANS

Even though Bukayo Saka (£10.2m) pulled his hamstring four matches ago, he’s still in over a million squads. Certain managers will have felt they could bench him for a bit until a clear replacement emerges.

If injured players like Jarrod Bowen (£7.4m), Evanilson (£5.9m) and Danny Welbeck (£5.5m) are still owned, at a time when James Maddison (£7.6m) and Emile Smith Rowe (£5.3m) seem out of favour, then a cull is urgently needed.

THINS OUT THE BENCH

Once Gameweek 21 blends into Gameweek 22, the season’s most rife rotation period will end. Having good squad depth is, of course, an admirable way to proceed but there’ll certainly be less urgency to have a good eighth attacker and back-up defenders. That money can instead boost your starting XI.

FREES BUDGET FOR ASSISTANT MANAGER CHIP

Or it could wait for Mystery Chip usage. Early December brought the reveal that, from Gameweek 24 onwards, there’ll be an Assistant Manager chip.

• READ MORE: FPL Mystery Chip revealed – What is Assistant Manager + when can it be played?

Over a three-Gameweek period, FPL bosses can pick one of the 20 Premier League head coaches and gain extra points from that club’s wins, draws, goals and clean sheets.

However, they cost between £0.5m and £1.5m, so it’s a chip that needs budget preparation.

GAMEWEEK 21 WILDCARD: THE CONS

TRANSFER WINDOW IS OPEN

As always, January is a time of real-life transfers. Names that now seem locked into starting line-ups could suddenly be under threat – like Ismaila Sarr (£5.9m), Vitalii Mykolenko (£4.3m) and a few from Manchester United – should their club spend money.

Additionally, the constant Trent Alexander-Arnold (£7.2m) to Real Madrid rumours are becoming a problem. Liverpool could sell him before the summer or maybe a pre-contract agreement puts his place under threat.

IT’S TOO EARLY

A standard time to use the second Wildcard is later on, near Bench Boost activation. It should take advantage of Double Gameweeks and smoothly navigate the blanks.

But we don’t know about these yet. They’re based on EFL Cup finalists and the FA Cup semis, neither of which will be known by the deadline. We’ve still not heard about the rearranged Everton v Liverpool fixture either.

GAMEWEEK 21 WILDCARD IDEAS

DRAFT 1: EIGHT ATTACKERS

With Erling Haaland (£14.8m) in very few active squads and Saka sidelined – alongside there being several appealing cheap midfielders – Wildcarders may have budget flexibility.

Therefore, even if less line-up rotation is taking place, you might still want the freedom to alter your own team based on fixtures and have an immediate backup should any injuries/suspensions emerge.

Anthony Gordon (£7.5m) has delivered an attacking return in seven successive starts, while we remember how stunning Jean-Philippe Mateta (£7.2m) was in the final weeks of 2023/24. The Crystal Palace forward scored on Saturday and has good-looking fixtures.

This draft has leftover money, preferring the cheaper Amad Diallo (£5.3m) to Bruno Fernandes (£8.3m) when Manchester United host Southampton. Not only is there a big benching headache for Gameweek 21 but the controversial absentees are Bryan Mbeumo (£7.8m) and everyone from Nottingham Forest.

DRAFT 2: LIVERPOOL + EVERTON

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