In his latest article, three-time top 200 finisher Lateriser considers whether his Gameweek 8 Wildcard is ‘future-proof’ ahead of the next big fixture swing in Gameweek 13.

I am on a Wildcard in Gameweek 8, something I discussed in a recent article here.  

What I thought I’d do with this piece is cast forward and try to anticipate what I might need in the future, whether my current draft accommodates it and if there are any changes I need to make.

Gameweek 13 onwards: The fixture outlook

The next primary Wildcard window is around the Gameweek 13 mark. So, what I did was have a look at the fixture ticker for six Gameweeks. I didn’t go too long because we’ve got a few extra transfers around the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) anyway.

The first thing that stands out is the fixtures for Liverpool, Newcastle United and Manchester City. All three teams have ridiculously good schedules and there might be a world in which we would need to go with a very thin squad and have as much money as possible spent on the pitch, ie to potentially accommodate Erling Haaland (£14.5m), Mohamed Salah (£14.4m) and/or Alexander Isak (£10.6m) in one team.

Now, I currently only have Nick Pope (£5.1m) and Haaland in my Wildcard draft from these three teams, although I am contemplating a punt on Isak.

The primary FPL implication of this is as follows…

Don’t spread your funds too wide

I like that I have a bottom-priced defender in Joe Rodon (£4.1m) and a bottom-priced goalkeeper in Martin Dubravka (£4.0m), which means that my funds are not spread too wide.

If I had already used my Bench Boost, I would even have a bottom-priced forward/midfielder as my eighth attacker, which would allow me to spend as much on the pitch as possible. While I don’t necessarily need to do that right now, it will help me in the Gameweek 13 period or so.

Bench Boost before Gameweek 13 or when Salah goes to AFCON

Because we’ll want to spread all our funds on the pitch, we need to either:

a) Use the Bench Boost before Gameweek 13, when these teams have great fixtures together; or
b) Wait till Salah departs for AFCON, and then we spread the funds around

The problem with the latter is that it is very difficult to plan on a Gameweek 8 Wildcard, and injuries and rotation eight Gameweeks later are unpredictable. Do we really want to spend the free transfers given to us during AFCON on a Bench Boost? I think those transfers will be better spent attacking some juicy fixtures and saving them for the future.

Pope a solid long-term pick

Looking at those Newcastle United fixtures, Gameweek 13 onwards substantiates my conviction in Pope as a pick. He plays behind a trustworthy defence and is not just reliant on clean sheets for points.

Bournemouth + Palace fixtures

It helps that both Bournemouth and Crystal Palace have a good run from Gameweek 13 onwards because I will already have Antoine Semenyo (£7.9m), Ismaila Sarr (£6.5m) and Marcos Senesi (£5.0m) on my Wildcard, all of whom will probably be picks I don’t touch for a long time now.

The Palace fixtures do make me wonder about my Chris Richards (£4.5m) vs Joachim Andersen (£4.5m) debate. That said, for these really appealing matches, do I want a Richards or do I want the upside of someone like Daniel Munoz (£5.6m) instead?

Free Hit in Gameweek 13?

If you take out Gameweek 13, when Chelsea and Arsenal play each other, they are still fairly high on the Fixture Ticker.

Instead of immediately selling my Arsenal and Chelsea players (five of them from both teams), I could look to Free Hit in Gameweek 13 instead. The Gunners and the Blues both have decent fixtures before and after Gameweek 13.

I can assess the landscape a little later in terms of whether I want to use my transfers to sell players from these teams for those from Liverpool and Manchester City.

If I look at just Gameweek 13, it offers some interesting opportunities in getting players from Man City, Liverpool, Aston Villa and Tottenham Hotspur. Tripling up on City long term might not be a very healthy opportunity but I could look to instead Free Hit in their players.

Final Thoughts

I like the fact that I have until then to decide which way I want to go, but this little peek into the future has somewhat validated my thinking for the current draft because I don’t think Arsenal or Chelsea players are ‘hard sells’ in Gameweek 13.

However, I will want a piece or two of the Liverpool attack at that time, so doubling up on Arsenal’s defence and having Bukayo Saka (£9.9m) helps from a structural point of view. He’s the easiest way to get to Salah, should I want him at that point.

I hope you enjoyed reading this article. Pras and I further discussed our Wildcard drafts on this episode of The FPL Wire, which you can view below.