This two-week international break provides each Fantasy Premier League (FPL) manager with time to think about whether a Wildcard activation is needed to fix their early problems.
Here, eight-time top 10k finisher Zophar talks us through his current position on it.
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It’s been a rough, low-scoring start to the season, where the top one million rank is approximately 27 points worse off than 2024/25. This has only exacerbated the variance factor, with some teams doing significantly worse than others.
As human beings, when faced with adversity or disappointment, we naturally respond by taking action. For example, myself and many others who’ve had a poor Gameweek before the international break will be tempted to activate a Wildcard, as it takes immediate, proactive steps to rectify the problem. It’s how we are programmed to cope.
The easy response is that it’s too early to Wildcard because we don’t know enough. And while yes, I do agree with that general wisdom, I don’t think it should be a blank, all-encompassing statement.
It’s not just the classic ‘team-specific’ line, but there are opportunities over the next three-to-four Gameweeks to gain some ground and future-proof yourself for the fixture swings of later on.
So, while I do advocate holding this chip for later, I want to share a couple of Wildcard drafts that I’m using as a benchmark.
This is an exercise I like to do during the early weeks. See how far my team is from ‘the ideal 15’ and calculate how long it’d take to get there.
DRAFT ONE: NO HAALAND – BUT GAMEWEEK 6 FREE HIT
Defence
Here, I’d have David Raya (£5.5m), although I think that’s too much money to spend on a goalkeeper.
Arsenal have the best defence by far, there’s no doubt about that, and I think their defenders are a bit too pricey this year, given they won’t often bring in defensive contribution (DefCon) points.
This decision prepares you for their nice Gameweek 7 fixture swing, while the Gunners’ immediate hosting of Nottingham Forest also looks good for a clean sheet. Visiting Newcastle United in Gameweek 6 won’t be a problem because that’s when a Free Hit is planned.
DefCon monsters Joachim Andersen (£4.5m) and Marcos Senesi (£4.5m) play for solid defences and are racking up these new points. Considering they offer some goal threat too, the duo look like great value.
Similarly, Tosin Adarabioyo‘s (£4.5m) starting spot looks nailed now that Chelsea have failed to sign an additional centre-back. Plus, he possesses decent DefCon potential.
Joe Rodon (£4.0m) looks like good value, as Leeds United have kept clean sheets in both home fixtures. Meanwhile, Daniel Munoz (£5.5m) is great for the upcoming Crystal Palace run and can be converted to almost any other defender down the line.
Attackers
I would have had Ismaila Sarr (£6.5m) here, but his hamstring injury looks bad. Therefore, I’ve gone for Jack Grealish (£6.7m) instead.
As for Bruno Fernandes (£9.0m) and Lucas Paqueta (£5.9m), they’re good for DefCon, play 90 minutes and take penalties. Strong long-term picks. You can go for Tijani Reijnders (£5.7m), though. I still think he’s a great pick.
Mohamed Salah (£14.5m) stays, keeping Gameweeks 4 and 5 in mind, whereas Antoine Semenyo (£7.4m) looks like an expected goals (xG) monster.
Up front is an all-London trio. Viktor Gyokeres (£9.0m) for Arsenal’s upcoming run, Joao Pedro‘s (£7.7m) minutes look great now that Liam Delap (£6.4m) is injured, and Jean-Philippe Mateta (£7.5m) can profit from Palace’s next two fixtures.
DRAFT 2: THE HAALAND VERSION
As the image below shows, Erling Haaland (£14.1m) is miles ahead of the rest in terms of xG (see below). So, if you want him for the long term rather than just a Gameweek 6 Free Hit, it’s easier to get him now.
Only two downgrades are needed to convert Gyokeres into the Norwegian. Out go Raya and Fernandes for Djordje Petrovic (£4.5m) and Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall (£5.0m).
In my first draft, Paqueta is usually the eighth attacker to bench, but in the second, it’ll be Dewsbury-Hall, while either Paqueta or Reijnders start each week, which is still quite good.
Petrovic is undoubtedly a downgrade from Raya, but I prefer spending £4.5m on a goalkeeper anyway.
We will be discussing these drafts – and more – on The FPL Wire’s first international break episode. You can check it out here.
