This season, Fantasy Premier League (FPL) managers have one Wildcard, Free Hit, Bench Boost and Triple Captain chip to use before Gameweek 19’s deadline, necessitating a strategy of early usage.
Some of you will no doubt already have a good idea of when you will be deploying your chips. But for those still unsure when to hit ‘activate’, here are a few ideas.
Keeping in mind that everyone will be topped up to five free transfers in Gameweek 16, here is the mindset behind when to use each chip (excluding Triple Captain, which is player-related rather than team).
EACH CHIP’S LOGIC
Wildcard
Fixtures form the rationale for all three of these. The ideal Wildcard is based around mass fixture swings, where great runs begin for some teams and end for others.
Our pre-season ‘jump on, jump off’ article helps with identifying such moments.
Fixtures aside, the Wildcard is also a great cure-all when your team has racked up too many injuries, suspensions and rotation risks for free transfers to deal with.
Free Hit
If you have one of the very expensive Mohamed Salah (£14.5m) and Erling Haaland (£14.4m) pair, try activating this when the other has one irresistible fixture amidst less essential ones. An attempt to both have and eat cake.
The Free Hit can also be about multiple popular FPL teams having the same tough weekend, often versus each other.
Bench Boost
If you’re a manager who prefers 3-4-3 and 3-5-2 formations, it means 75% of your typical bench is defensive. So it makes sense to Bench Boost when several cheap £4.0m and £4.5m players at the back have appealing fixtures.
Of course, ‘lesser’ sides being against each other usually means that the ‘big’ ones are facing off too, which isn’t ideal for the others. Gameweek 8, for example.
THREE SPECIFIC PLANS
GW8 Wildcard, GW9 Bench Boost, GW15 Free Hit
October’s international break comes before Gameweek 8, coinciding with positive Liverpool and West Ham fixture swings, plus the negative ones awaiting Aston Villa, Bournemouth and Tottenham Hotspur.
Slightly earlier, in Gameweek 7, things get good for Arsenal and bad for Nottingham Forest.
Here, managers give themselves a chance to maximise the Bench Boost by using it straight afterwards.
In Gameweek 9, the £4.0m Burnley and Leeds names get to face Wolverhampton Wanderers and West Ham United.
Free Hitting in Gameweek 15 means stocking up on Liverpool, Man City and Newcastle versus the promoted trio. All while knowing that, before they meet again, lots of free transfers become available and Salah will be at AFCON.
GW8 Wildcard, GW11 Free Hit, GW14 Bench Boost
Alternatively, the Bench Boost could wait until Gameweek 14. A time when so many popular teams have good fixtures, yet it’s not great for lower teams, meaning some cheap starters need to emerge from higher up the league between now and then.
As for Gameweek 11, it’s the weekend of Man City v Liverpool and Tottenham v Manchester United. Free Hit users can ditch those names and go big on Chelsea, Forest and West Ham, at home to Wolves, Leeds and Burnley.
GW11 Free Hit, GW13 Wildcard, GW14 Bench Boost
A fortnight break also precedes Gameweek 12, but a leading idea in the Fantasy community is to Wildcard in Gameweek 13. This allows long-term ownership of superb Liverpool, Man City and Newcastle fixtures.
In Gameweek 14, these face Sunderland, Fulham and Spurs, while prospects also look good for Arsenal, Chelsea and Crystal Palace assets.
TRIPLE CAPTAIN OPTIONS
As for the Triple Captain, you could pair one of the following with whichever strategy you opt for:
- Gameweek 10: Bukayo Saka/Viktor Gyokeres – Burnley (a)
- Gameweek 13: Erling Haaland – v Leeds (h)
- Gameweek 14: Mohamed Salah/Alexander Isak – v Sunderland (h)
- Gameweek 15: Erling Haaland – v Leeds (h)
- Gameweek 19: Alexander Isak – v Leeds (h)/Erling Haaland – v Sunderland (a)
