In this piece, we’ll discuss the pros and cons of Wildcarding in Gameweek 7 of Fantasy Premier League (FPL), as well as a few possible drafts.
PROS
Good chunk of data to go on
We’re now six full Gameweeks into the season, meaning a decent chunk of data has been generated which we can start to form opinions and make decisions.
While things will inevitably keep changing as the weeks progress, if you’re an FPL manager who is averse to an early Wildcard due to wanting to avoid making hasty/uninformed decisions, then it should be of some comfort that we’ve now seen teams play multiple times.
React to form…
Similarly, six Gameweeks is a solid length of time to judge a player or team’s form.
Bruno Fernandes (£11.9m), for instance, may have been given a stay of execution by many FPL managers due to facing struggling Tottenham Hotspur at home last week. Now that he has blanked again, for the fifth time in six matches, it becomes an increasingly easy decision to part ways with the Manchester United skipper; his FPL pedigree is evident, but the Red Devils are looking far from their best, and teammate Bryan Mbeumo (£7.9m) has been more consistent than Fernandes anyway.
On the flip side, players like Brighton and Hove Albion duo Maxim De Cuyper (£5.1m) and Pascal Gross (£6.0m) continue to terrorise opponents. If you haven’t already, it’s probably worth jumping on the bandwagon for as long as the points keep flowing – and before their prices rise any further out of reach!
Then there’s Joao Pedro (£7.8m), who came through weeks of injury question marks to hit double digits last time out, and teams like Aston Villa and Coventry City might be turning a corner while the likes of Newcastle United and Sunderland go the other way form-wise.
… and fixture swings
Playing your Wildcard now also allows you to capitalise on a few fixture swings. Coventry, for example, are finding some form with two wins in a row and could offer up some appealing budget-friendly options for a run of games that puts them top of our Fixture Ticker over the next eight Gameweeks…
Bournemouth sit just behind the Sky Blues over that upcoming period, and Tottenham Hotspur are another side moving up the medium-term ticker.
Prepare for the busy winter stretch
Another reason to Wildcard now could be to prepare your squad for the start of a busy winter fixture schedule.
Rotation could strike particularly hard for the nine English clubs competing in European competitions over the coming months, so ensuring you’ve got (a) as few minute risks as possible and/or (b) reliable bench options within your FPL squad could be a reasonable reason to Wildcard in Gameweek 7 – especially if you’re able to spread any funds currently trapped in someone like Fernandes.
CONS
Do we actually trust teams like Spurs, Bournemouth or Fulham?
Contrary to one of our ‘pros’ above, though, is the question of whether we actually want to load up on players from underperforming clubs like Spurs or Bournemouth just because their fixtures are turning for the better.
The Cherries are yet to keep a clean sheet, after all, while Spurs – the Premier League’s lowest scoring team, with three goals to date – are struggling to find the back of the net.
Bottom side Fulham, meanwhile, are struggling at both ends despite having decent short-term appeal based on fixtures alone, facing Hull City, Coventry and Newcastle in their next four.
Other windows and fixture swings ahead
If your current squad already contains many of the players in our suggested drafts below, with others able to be reached with a free transfer or two, then a Wildcard might not be worthwhile this week.
Instead, you could choose to look further ahead – to Gameweek 11/12 territory, for instance, where the likes of Aston Villa and Liverpool, comparatively better teams than those listed in the previous section, begin appealing runs of games. Waiting a few weeks rather than hitting the button now means dodging games against Man City and Arsenal, respectively, and – especially in the Reds’ case – getting some key players back from injury.
Keep it for emergencies
Similarly, if you haven’t been hit by injuries or suspensions and feel like your squad is in a manageable spot as it stands, it might be worth hanging onto your Wildcard.
It’s always handy to have the chip in your back pocket in case of emergencies, and the winter fixture congestion could spark injury, suspension or rotation crises the likes of which we’re yet to see this season – at which point having your Wildcard intact could prove to be a blessing.
POSSIBLE GAMEWEEK 7 WILDCARD DRAFTS
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