Blank Gameweek 31 of Fantasy Premier League (FPL) is here, meaning we’re at the point of the season when managers think about their Wildcard and general chip strategy.
Arsenal and Manchester City are contesting Sunday’s Carabao Cup final, meaning they plus Crystal Palace and Wolverhampton Wanderers won’t take part in this weekend’s league action.
Free Hit and free transfer-driven approaches are popular, but could there be merit in playing your Wildcard now?
So, let’s list the pros and cons of using this chip now, then provide an example draft.
Don’t forget to rate your Wildcard team via our Rate My Team tool or the Plan FPL planner!
REASONS TO WILDCARD
GET OUT OF A TOUGH SPOT
First and foremost, a Wildcard is always an easy way to get your squad out of a tough spot – whether that be due to suspensions, injuries, poor form, bad fixtures or any combination of the above.
In this instance, having a team laden with multiple Arsenal, Man City, Palace and Wolves players may be a Wildcard-worthy issue. Particularly if you’re lacking free transfers and have other plans for your Free Hit.
DECENT IDEA OF EXPECTED DOUBLES (AND BLANKS)
We also already have a solid idea of the likely Blank and Double Gameweeks to come, meaning Wildcard teams can use predictions of who is likely to double and blank, against whom, and when.
REASONS TO WAIT
FULL PICTURE IS JUST AROUND THE CORNER
However, we don’t have the full, confirmed pictures of these blanks and doubles. Any FA Cup quarter-final upsets, therefore, could change the run-in picture and leave you with single Gameweekers where you thought you’d have doublers.
The good news? Confirmation of the upcoming fixture schedule, including any blanks and doubles, will come very soon.
We should have it all laid out nicely by the Gameweek 32 deadline, as the quarter-finals get played in the meantime. That’s why it’ll be a popular Wildcard point for many managers.
Even if you decide a Gameweek 32 Wildcard isn’t for you, it still might be worth waiting until a later date, so that everything blank and double-related gets confirmed.
WAIT FOR THE BREAK
Furthermore, waiting until Gameweek 32, for example, means you can have your Wildcard active for the entirety of March’s international break.
That’ll mean several weeks’ worth of price changes to catch, plus the flexibility to react to any unexpected injuries or developments.
BEST GAMEWEEK 31 WILDCARD DRAFT
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