Gameweek 6 looks set to be a popular time to Wildcard in Fantasy Premier League (FPL).
Indeed, over half of the responders in our weekly chip poll say they are playing the chip this week…
In this article, we will assess the pros and cons of a Gameweek 6 Wildcard, and then provide a couple of draft ideas.
Remember, you have until the Gameweek 19 deadline to use the first Wildcard.
PROS
Build team value
Ideally, the Wildcard would have been activated on Friday in order to capitalise on those early price rises/falls.
However, the Gameweek 6 deadline isn’t until 10 October, so there is still plenty of time to boost team value.
Indeed, the likes of Pascal Gross (£5.8m), Kevin Schade (£6.2m), Lewis Hall (£5.3m) and Ezri Konsa (£4.6m) have already risen once since Friday, and will likely rise again before the deadline.
React to any international break injuries
With many nations playing four international fixtures between Gameweeks 5 and 6, you can react to any injuries.
The likes of Cole Palmer (£9.7m), Declan Rice (£7.4m), Pedro Porro (£5.4m) and Tino Livramento (£4.9m) have already been flagged by FPL, and we haven’t really started the international football yet.
Offload underperformers + minutes risks
If you haven’t got off to a good start, and some players are stinking up your team, a Gameweek 6 Wildcard will help rejuvenate your squad.
Nico O’Reilly (£6.3m), for example, hasn’t started since Gameweek 2.
Dominik Szoboszlai (£7.0m) meanwhile has delivered just 12 points over the last four Gameweeks, while Mamadou Sangare (£5.6m) has potentially become a problem for his 10% ownership, having averaged only 54 minutes per appearance in Gameweeks 3-5.
A Wildcard offers a chance to quickly resolve these issues.
Hop on Fulham + Bournemouth?
Even upon fixture release as far back as June, Gameweek 6 was earmarked as the perfect window to invest in Fulham.
The Cottagers face all three promoted clubs over the next three Gameweeks…
It’s a short-term burst of favourable matches, but David Affengruber (£4.5m), who has banked defensive contribution (DefCon) points in each of his two starts for Fulham, Josh King (£5.5m) and Gonzalo Garcia (£6.0m) all have the potential to do well.
As for Bournemouth, they’ve got a more sustained run of excellent fixtures through to Gameweek 16…
Get Gross
Over 700,000 managers have already bought Gross this week, with his ownership at 28.1% and rising.
The German midfielder has delivered 47 points over the first five Gameweeks, the most of any player.
Brighton and Hove Albion face Sunderland in Gameweek 6, followed by a home encounter with Crystal Palace. After that, it gets trickier, with away trips to Liverpool and Manchester City, but given Gross’ current form, you can probably start him in any fixture right now.
Joao Pedro (£7.7m) is another name to potentially chew over.
He’s owned by over 65% of managers, so if you sold him last week but he’s passed fit to return in Gameweek 6, he’ll be hard to ignore, given that Bournemouth are one of just four teams yet to keep a clean sheet.
Set up for a Bench Boost
If you are yet to Bench Boost, you could use a Wildcard to set it up.
As outlined here, Gameweeks 8 and 9 carry appeal, with many cheap players having decent fixtures.
Alternatively, if you’ve already played your Bench Boost, you might want to redistribute your funds, moving money from your bench into your starting XI.
CONS
Not many notable fixture swings
Other than Fulham, there aren’t too many other attractive teams whose fixtures dramatically improve this week.
Here’s the top of the ticker in Gameweek 6-9, when sorted by fixture difficulty…
Other windows might be more attractive
In contrast, Gameweek 7 looks like the ideal entry point for Bournemouth, while Tottenham Hotspur also move up the ticker.
Manchester City meanwhile play Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League just three days before they host Ipswich Town in Gameweek 7. A Wildcard here would allow you to react to Enzo Maresca’s European teamsheet.
Indeed, with nine clubs playing in Europe between Gameweeks 6 and 7, a post-European Wildcard could perhaps provide information worth waiting on.
Looking further ahead, Aston Villa kick off a decent stretch of fixtures in Gameweek 11, followed by Liverpool in Gameweek 12.
Other Wildcard windows might be more attractive from a fixture perspective, then.
Fulham investment easily achieved without a Wildcard
Many managers who Wildcard this week will get Fulham players into their squads.
But for non-Wildcarders, it shouldn’t be difficult to add one or two (if desired) of them with free transfers.
Also, the better entry point for Bournemouth is probably Gameweek 7, so there isn’t any real urgency for the Cherries’ assets right now.
GAMEWEEK 6 WILDCARD DRAFTS
Here’s what we’ve come up with, then.
These are not Bench Boost squads, obviously, with a non-playing goalkeeper included in our first draft.
No Bruno draft
Firstly, a double-up on the Arsenal defence feels like a must, with David Raya (£6.1m) and Konsa included in this draft.
Elsewhere at the back, Antonio Silva (£5.0m), Tarik Muharemovic (£5.0m) and Hall have DefCon potential each week. As part of a rotation, they also have mostly favourable fixtures to tap into…
Further forward, Bukayo Saka (£9.5m) could be the best way to triple-up on Mikel Arteta’s side. He’s had 12 shots in the box over the first five Gameweeks, the joint-most of any midfielder except Bryan Mbeumo (£7.9m).
The downside here is no Bruno Fernandes (£11.9m), of course. However, the Portuguese playmaker has blanked in four of his first five matches. It also allows us to include Palmer.
Up top, we’ve gone for Haaland and Pedro (provided he is fit) for obvious reasons, with Garcia included for his promoted triple-header.
There are eight strong attackers in this set-up, but most weeks, one of the cheaper options is easily benchable…
Haaland + Bruno draft
Here, we remove Palmer and Saka for Fernandes and Morgan Rogers (£7.7m).
We’ve also replaced Raya with a £4.5m goalkeeper rotation, namely Bart Verbruggen (£4.5m) and Antonin Kinsky (£4.5m).
But because we still want Arsenal double defence, Riccardo Calafiori (£5.8m) is in for Muharemovic.
