For some, it’s time to think about Gameweek 21 Wildcard squads, as the Fantasy Premier League (FPL) deadline approaches.
Here, FPL Milanista – who has three top 5k finishes in the last five seasons – explains why he’s ditching forwards.
Don’t forget to sign up to get all the Member-only articles, tools and features to make 2025/26 your best FPL campaign yet!
WHY THE EARLY WILDCARD?
After a lot of consideration, I’ve finally decided to activate the chip. For many, this might sound far too early. But FPL isn’t about following the crowd, it’s about playing your game. And for me, a few key factors made this decision feel not only justified, but necessary.
First of all, those five free Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) transfers disappeared like a dream. One moment they were there, giving flexibility and breathing room, and the next, they were gone.
Without them, I feel that my squad has fallen well behind where I want it to be. Instead of limping along and taking multiple hits to fix problems bit by bit, I’ve opted for a full reshuffle. The hope is that this reset allows me to stabilise, while saving transfers ahead of the future Blank and Double Gameweeks.
Another huge reason is this year’s aggressive price changes. It genuinely feels like waiting even a couple of weeks could leave me around £1.0m short of what I can currently afford. Team value might not mean everything, but it absolutely matters, and I didn’t want to be priced out of moves I can comfortably make today.
After weighing everything up, I’ve decided that now is the right moment to press the activation button. That feeling was only reinforced when I looked at my squad and saw three Liverpool assets about to visit Arsenal. Players I had very little confidence in holding.
At that point, the discomfort became too much to ignore. So, let’s get into the Wildcard thinking.
GAMEWEEK 21 WILDCARD DRAFT
The rest of this article below is completely free to read but requires a Fantasy Football Scout user account for access – you can get yours at no cost here
The main strategy here is clear: defensive contribution (DefCon) rewards, premium midfielders, and Erling Haaland (£15.1m).
In my opinion, forwards are suffering this season, largely due to the introduction of DefCon. They simply don’t have access to it, while some defenders are almost starting games on four points. Reaching the 10-action threshold feels achievable to the point that they’re regularly halfway to a reward before anything even happens in the match.
Because of that, my first setup after activating the Wildcard was a front line of Haaland, plus two £4.5m strikers. This structure allows me to put as much budget as possible into the defence and midfield, where value and consistency seem to belong.
Igor Thiago’s (£6.9m) hat-trick on Sunday was more than welcome to my team. But does that change the plan? Honestly, I’m not convinced it does.
Brentford’s upcoming fixtures aren’t great, and owning him over the previous few weeks had been pretty painful. One explosive haul doesn’t fix the underlying issues, and I’m wary of chasing points.
Another forward I’ve considered is Dominic Calvert-Lewin (£5.9m), but only in a very specific scenario. If I were setting up for a quick Bench Boost – mainly to get rid of a chip that causes more headaches than it yields, in my opinion – then the Leeds United man makes sense.
After that, I’d likely drop him back down to a £4.5m name and effectively burn that spot for the foreseeable future.
[/logged_in]
There’s only one day left for me to tinker (and there’s a good chance of more tinkering!), but I’m hoping that this Wildcard acts as a proper reset. Not just for my team, but for my motivation as well.
Sometimes pressing that button clears the noise and lets you enjoy the game again. As always, play your own game. If it pays off, the satisfaction is incredible. And if it doesn’t? So be it.
All the best for Gameweek 21, everyone.
