The last few Gameweeks in Fantasy Premier League (FPL) have seen a frenzy of chips activated as managers aimed to maximise their potential returns from a few recent doubles.
Due to clashes with the FA Cup semi-finals, this weekend’s fixture schedule is reduced to eight matches with last week’s doublers all missing out – leading to plenty of Free Hits being deployed to cover gaping holes in our squads.
However, there will be some among us who have used their Free Hit already, and are instead eyeing up a Wildcard to navigate the upcoming blank as well as the weeks ahead.
If that sounds like you, read on for some of the pros and cons of a Blank Gameweek 34 Wildcard as well as three possible drafts.
- READ MORE: How ready are FPL managers for Blank Gameweek 34?
- READ MORE: Do I keep my free transfers when I use an FPL Wildcard?
GAMEWEEK 34 WILDCARD: THE PROS
FREE HIT ALTERNATIVE
If you’ve already used your Free Hit earlier in the season, went all-in on these last two Double Gameweeks and are now staring at a squad full of blankers, a still-available second Wildcard could be your saviour given the two chips essentially allow you to refresh your squad in the same way (with the difference of course being that a Wildcard is permanent).
RESET AFTER THE DOUBLES
Much of our collective attention has, understandably, been on assets who played twice in Double Gameweeks 32 (Newcastle, Crystal Palace) and 33 (Palace again, Arsenal, Aston Villa, Manchester City).
Four of those five teams (all bar Newcastle) are absent from the Blank Gameweek 34 proceedings, so would need replacing this week anyway.
But some of them – and other clubs we’ve backed to this point – also have relatively unappealing fixtures, little to play for in the league, and/or have suffered a drastic dip in form that has left owners scrambling to ditch their assets at their earliest opportunity (looking at you, Palace…).
Playing a Wildcard in Blank Gameweek 34 therefore allows you to reset your team after the recent Double Gameweek chaos, to focus on attacking the remaining fixtures in front of us rather than being stuck with players from teams whose most appealing fixtures are behind us.
SET UP FOR THE RUN-IN BASED ON REMAINING CHIPS
Hitting that reset button now enables you to set your team up for the remaining few weeks of the season in accordance with whichever other chips you have left, too.
For example, if you’ve already played your Bench Boost, a Wildcard now is an easy way to funnel more funds out of the overall squad into your starting XI.
It also leaves open a couple of possible three-week windows for the Assistant Manager chip to be played, or enables you to load up on potential Triple Captain candidates.
TIME RUNNING OUT
Lastly, simply put we are very much nearing the end of the 2024/25 season – which means that if you’re yet to deploy your second Wildcard, doing so now allows you to still eke as much use out of the chip as possible.
GAMEWEEK 34 WILDCARD: THE CONS
WON’T KNOW FULL REMAINING SCHEDULE
One major “con” when it comes to wildcarding for Blank Gameweek 34 is that we don’t quite know exactly what the rest of the season will look like yet in terms of fixture scheduling.
That’s because the FA Cup semi-finals are taking place this weekend, which could have knock-on effects in terms of a possible Double Gameweek 36 and Blank Gameweek 37.
No matter the results of those cup ties, which could also impact any players selected on a BGW34 Wildcard through injuries or suspensions, we won’t know the rearranged fixtures and their new dates until nearer the Gameweek 35 deadline.
LIMITS OTHER CHIP USE
Another point against a Blank Gameweek 34 Wildcard is that it prevents – or, of course, may be prevented by – other chips being used this week.
For example, several table bonus opportunities this weekend and the potential of a Double Gameweek 36 could bookend a promising three-week stretch primed for Assistant Manager use.
Or, some of you may have your Assistant Manager chip already active from the recent doubles, which blocks the use of other chips like a Wildcard anyway.
Each of the bottom three are also involved in this weekend’s action, which provides a differential opportunity to use the Triple Captain chip. For example, Newcastle will be aiming to bounce back from last week’s unexpectedly heavy defeat to Villa in their appealing home tie against Ipswich, while in-form Wolves host leaky Leicester.
WHAT ABOUT THE BLANKERS? GW35 FIXTURE SWINGS
There’s also the fact that some of the teams involved in the FA Cup semis have appealing fixtures from Gameweek 35 onwards – which changes the Season Ticker outlook a little when filtered by fixture difficulty in Gameweeks 35-38 (right) versus 34-38 (left):
Forest rank highly in both instances, but picking Tricky Trees players on a Gameweek 34 Wildcard carries the risk of them getting injury, suspended or simply rotated due to their FA Cup action on Sunday falling after this weekend’s deadline but before next Thursday’s league outing against Brentford – who are also in good form at the moment, and whose own fixtures swing positively after what could be a challenging trip to the City Ground.
Then there’s Man City, who blank this weekend but sit near the top of the Season Ticker for the remainder of the season. If wildcarding ahead of Gameweek 34, do you therefore keep a Sky Blue or two on the bench this week, ready to be deployed for a big final four matches in which City will be bidding to secure Champions League football? Or do you pick players who don’t blank, with a view to booking in transfers down the line? That’s something we’ll discuss in our drafts shortly…
Aston Villa are in a similar situation, with no fixture in Gameweek 34 but four decent ones afterwards as they fight to land a top five spot.
Wanting Palace players back is less likely, in part thanks to their underwhelming pair of Double Gameweeks just gone but also because the Eagles’ sit towards the bottom of the Season Ticker for the rest of the season.
The same is true of Arsenal, who must face Bournemouth, Liverpool and Newcastle after this blank all while juggling a two-legged Champions League semi-final.
Liverpool, who many FPL managers will own one or two assets of, may take their foot off the gas once the league title is wrapped up – and even if they don’t, facing Chelsea and Arsenal in the two Gameweeks after this one doesn’t necessarily scream “invest urgently”.
GAMEWEEK 34 WILDCARD IDEAS
Now that we’ve discussed some of the things to consider before choosing to use a Wildcard in Gameweek 34, here are a few potential drafts:
DRAFT 1: ATTACK THE BLANK + BOTTOM THREE
First up, the de-facto Free Hit replacement. Effectively targeting the bottom three – as is discussed in more depth in this excellent article – seems a good place to start, with one eye on what’s to come after this weekend.
For that reason, Wolves star Matheus Cunha (£6.9m) – a constant throughout these drafts given his central role, spot-kick duties and the Old Gold’s form and remaining fixtures – comes into play alongside a defensive double up against a Leicester side with much-discussed issues at both ends of the pitch.
Shot-stopper José Sá (£4.4m) has been passed fit after missing out on last weekend’s clean sheet at Old Trafford, while wing-back Rayan Aït-Nouri (£5.0m) – another ever-present pick in these three drafts – is selected for the additional attacking threat he carries.
Alexander Isak (£9.6m) gets a unanimous nod up front as Newcastle prepare to condemn Ipswich to their Championship return, before facing a decent enough final four matches that Champions League football should be theirs for the taking. The Swede is joined in this draft by Jacob Murphy (£5.2m) and Kieran Trippier (£5.6m) who could profit immediately with the Tractor Boys’ weakened left flank and set piece vulnerability.
Longer term, Murphy is less of a positional rival to the returning Anthony Gordon (£7.4m) than Harvey Barnes (£6.0m), despite the latter’s recent consistency. Trippier could also be Tino Livramento (£4.6m) if you fancy more attacking threat from open play, while the appeal of another alternative, goal-scoring centre back Fabian Schär (£5.5m), has been dented by his doubtful status.
It’s Fulham’s turn to face bottom side Southampton. The Cottagers have been a little unpredictable this season, taking some points off the big boys but also failing to win matches we might have expected them to. Still, Marco Silva’s men have a chance of European football and Saints have long been resigned to relegation despite grabbing a few recent goals.
FPL defender Ryan Sessegnon (£4.1m) is selected given he has started each of Fulham’s last three on the right wing, and has registered five attacking returns in his last seven appearances. We’ve also opted for the somewhat streaky Alex Iwobi (£5.5m), who has two goals and an assist from his last three outings. Both players are cheap enough to then be resigned to bench duty in the weeks ahead, should they lose their place or form.
Danny Welbeck (£5.5m) comes into this draft thanks in large part to the suspension of João Pedro (£5.6m), which means the former England striker should be nailed on to lead the line and also take penalties, should Brighton be awarded any. Welbeck also earns his spot on merit, having scored two and assisted two goals across his last four starts. A possible tweak to this draft, however, could see Raúl Jiménez (£5.3m) – whose own appeal is boosted by the absence of positional rival Rodrigo Muniz (£5.5m) – and Kaoru Mitoma (£6.4m) swapped in for Welbeck and Iwobi, respectively.
Lastly, the Liverpool lads. The Reds’ fixtures do turn a little for the worse after this one, but the last time they played Spurs in the league we were treated to a nine-goal thriller in which Mohamed Salah (£13.8m) and Luis Díaz (£7.5m) scored 21 and 13 points, respectively. This time they could also clinch the Premier League title with a win, so including them on a Gameweek 34 Wildcard therefore seems reasonable. Díaz could also always act as a placeholder for a Villa, City or other midfielder from Gameweek 35 onwards if the double up no longer appeals.
On the bench, we look ahead to future weeks a little more with the inclusion of Forest defensive duo Matz Sels (£5.1m) and Nikola Milenković (£5.1m) and Brentford star Bryan Mbeumo (£8.0m), who face each other in next Thursday’s Gameweek 34 closer in Nottingham but each have more appealing fixtures from Gameweek 35 onwards. Attack-minded Chelsea full-back Marc Cucurella (£5.4m) is admittedly more of a pick for this weekend, up against a relatively toothless Everton side, and could reasonably be backed ahead of any of our other chosen defenders (or other outfielders) if you so chose.
DRAFT 2: DIFFERENTIALS
For those who might be seeking more of a differential Gameweek 34 Wildcard, you could drop Díaz and instead pick Jarrod Bowen (£7.5m). West Ham’s captain is a nailed-on starter, first-choice penalty taker, returning at a reasonable rate (six goals or assists in 10 appearances), and faces an out-of-form Brighton side this week before a relatively kind run-in.
Cucurella is shifted into the starting XI in this draft as we opt for Nick Pope (£4.9m) in goal as our chosen Newcastle backlinesman, and Cole Palmer (£10.6m) is given a chance at home to the Toffees.
We know the definition of insanity, but Palmer has been slightly better at Stamford Bridge than on the road during his recent goal drought, still has penalties and set pieces in his locker and will surely be keen to help propel Chelsea into next season’s Champions League. Meanwhile, a notable season-ending injury also means Gameweek 34 opponents Everton may be weaker at the back than we’ve come to expect under David Moyes. Plus, with most other pricey FPL assets blanking this weekend, the money shouldn’t be as much of an issue when it comes to fitting him in as it might be in a typical Gameweek.
Salah, Cunha, Isak and Aït-Nouri all keep their starting spots, but we’ve changed our chosen Newcastle midfielder and third Wolves player.
Harvey Barnes (£6.0m) takes the former slot off the back of eight returns in his last six matches. As mentioned, his minutes may increasingly be an issue with three quality wingers competing for two starting spots. But Barnes has had more shots in the box (18) than any other midfielder over the last six Gameweeks, has played at least 75 minutes in each of his last six matches (and the full 90 on four occasions), and could be in good enough form at the moment that he’s deemed undroppable for the timebeing. Should that prove to not be the case, he’s also an easy sell to someone like Morgan Rogers (£5.7m) or Anthony Elanga (£5.4m).
We’ve then punted on Jørgen Strand Larsen (£5.4m) to join Cunha in a two-pronged Wolves strikeforce. The Norwegian forward blanked in his last appearance but had scored five times in the four matches before that, as well as starting six in a row.
Strand Larsen could also be dropped to the bench in this draft if you’d rather start one of Justin Kluivert (£6.0m) or Milos Kerkez (£5.3m) against a Manchester United side whose focus will surely be largely on their Europa League semi-final next week.
DRAFT 3: FORWARD PLANNING
Here’s where we start trying to think ahead a little more.
It’s tough advocating for players who blank this weekend to be chosen on a Wildcard, but doing so with one or two decent picks that you’d otherwise like from Gameweek 35 onwards at least saves you from spending free transfers on moves you already know you want to make.
Keeping at least one active player on the bench does seem smart, and we’ve stuck with the reliable Forest defensive double up of Sels and Milenković, who are set for one of the best remaining fixture runs in the top flight. As for the players locked in for post-GW34, Omar Marmoush (£7.7m) and Morgan Rogers (£5.7m) both seem assured of regular starts and also rank highly on the Season Ticker after their upcoming blank.
To accommodate those choices we’ve switched formations in this draft to a 4-4-2, which sees Kerkez come into the starting XI. We know the Cherries left-back brings attacking threat to the table, and he’s also coming into this weekend having just secured back-to-back clean sheets. Upcoming opponents United, meanwhile, have failed to score in three of their last four league matches.
We revert back to Trippier for Newcastle defensive cover, alongside Wolves’ Aït-Nouri, and swap Sessegnon out for Antonee Robinson (£4.8m), who is perhaps slightly more assured of long-term minutes with the likes of Harry Wilson (£5.2m) and Adama Traoré (£4.5m) also vying for Fulham’s right wing spot.
Mbeumo is backed to kick on against Forest, who might suffer a bit of an FA Cup hangover with their four-day turnaround compared to the nearly two-week break Brentford will have had since beating Brighton.
And in goal, Jordan Pickford (£5.1m) comes in less so for this weekend’s trip to Chelsea in isolation – though the England No 1 kept a clean sheet in the reverse fixture, as well as shut-outs on the road against Arsenal and Forest – and more with the view to being able to rotate him with Sels as follows:
- Gameweek 34: Pickford (che) or Sels (BRE)
- Gameweek 35: Pickford (IPS)
- Gameweek 36: Sels (LEI)
- Gameweek 37: Pickford (SOU) or Sels (whu)
- Gameweek 38: Sels (CHE)
Sá, while perhaps the top goalkeeping option for Gameweek 34 alone, faces less appealing fixtures between Gameweeks 35 and 38.