If you still have your Wildcard to play, congratulations for staying patient! With every passing Gameweek, Fantasy Premier League (FPL) managers have a greater sample size upon which to base their decisions.
In this article, we take those learnings, use the Fixture Ticker to look at the pros and cons of a Gameweek 9 Wildcard, and present three draft ideas.
Remember, you have until the Gameweek 19 deadline to use the first Wildcard.
And don’t forget that you can weigh up the effectiveness of your Wildcard team via our Rate My Team tool or Plan FPL!
GAMEWEEK 9 WILDCARD: THE ARGUMENTS FOR
Aside from the ever-present advantage of being able to boost team value by moving players in and out, here are some more Gameweek-specific ‘pros’.
Lump on Newcastle, Chelsea + Fulham?
The Fixture Ticker is now smiling kindly on Newcastle United and Chelsea, so there is a good argument for investing in these teams.
Nick Woltemade (£7.3m) is scoring for fun, while at the other end, Dan Burn (£5.1m) and Nick Pope (£5.1m) are contributing to Eddie Howe’s side’s mostly strong defensive displays.
For Chelsea, Reece James (£5.4m) has delivered four attacking returns, two defensive contribution points and a clean sheet in the last four Gameweeks.
We will hopefully get some more fitness updates on Enzo Fernandez (£6.7m) this week; Wildcarders can wait until the Gameweek 9 deadline before making a call on his inclusion, depending on what Enzo Maresca says.
Fulham’s fixtures meanwhile turn for the better in Gameweek 10, so the likes of Josh King (£4.5m) can be bought in advance, parked on the bench in Gameweek 9 and then used as a startable option in the following three Gameweeks.
Again, Wildcarders have the luxury of waiting for an update on DefCon star Joachim Andersen (£4.5m) before deciding whether to include him or not.
Arsenal’s fixtures have been good since Gameweek 7 and continue to be mostly favourable, although the visit of Crystal Palace this weekend will be far from straightforward based on recent form. Many managers will already be doubled/tripled up on Arsenal assets but…
Change your Arsenal attacker!
Now is a good opportunity to change your Arsenal attacker, if needs be! Viktor Gyokeres (£9.0m) has blanked in six of his eight starts this season, including each of his last four Premier League outings.
While the Swede toils up top, Bukayo Saka (£10.0m) looks in sparkling form. He was the stand-out player at Fulham on Saturday, creating six chances and even banking bonus and DefCon points. At least on a share of penalties, he’s looking like the better buy at present.
Averaging just 4.5 points per match this season, Mohamed Salah (£14.4m) could also be moved out for the Arsenal man if you own the Egyptian.
Revamp your frontline
On a similar theme, Gyokeres is one of a number of forwards who is misfiring at present.
Alexander Isak (£10.6m), Ollie Watkins (£8.6m) and Joao Pedro (£7.5m) are similarly underwhelming, although the latter does still have some good fixtures coming up.
Richarlison (£6.7m) is no longer a reliable starter, meanwhile.
In their places, Woltemade, Jean-Philippe Mateta (£7.6m) and Jarrod Bowen (£7.8m) are looking better bets for minutes and indeed have good fixtures to come (after Gameweek 9 in Mateta’s case).
Prepare for a Gameweek 11 Bench Boost?
If you’ve still got your Bench Boost intact and are in greater need of a Wildcard this week, you can get yourself set up for a Gameweek 11 ‘boost’ by readying Martin Dubravka (£4.0m) and defenders from Burnley, Leeds United, West Ham United and/or Wolverhampton Wanderers. Most of their best options at the back are all available for less than £4.5m.
GAMEWEEK 9 WILDCARD: THE ARGUMENTS AGAINST
Is Gameweek 13 a better window?
Looking at the Fixture Ticker, there is a significant swing for Liverpool and Manchester City in Gameweek 13 (maybe even a week earlier for the former), when their players become more favourable to own.
The Reds are easy to avoid at present, given their form, but might they be back in the groove come late November? If so, you’re likely to want 2-3 of their players for this run.
Gameweek 9 Wildcarders will, of course, argue that being able to roll up to five free transfers allows them to stockpile moves in advance of this fixture swing.
A week too early for Palace – and maybe even Arsenal?
It’s first for xGC versus first for xG at the Emirates in Gameweek 9, with it not being a great fixture for either Arsenal or Crystal Palace.
You’d ideally want players from both teams in a long-term FPL squad, and this isn’t a great entry point for either.
Whereas cheapo Fulham picks like King can be benched in Gameweek 9, you’d not really want to do that with Arsenal/Palace players.
Can’t play a Bench Boost
A reminder, not that many of you will need one, that you can’t use two chips in the same week – so no Bench Boosting if you’re Wildcarding this week.
Gameweek 9 might well be the best window for a Bench Boost, while you probably wouldn’t say that to be the case for a Wildcard (team-dependent, of course).
It’s all about priortising chips this week, then, if you have several still intact.
GAMEWEEK 9 WILDCARD TEAM DRAFTS
TEAM 1: TRIPLE ARSENAL DEFENCE
First for clean sheets, first for lowest xGC, first for fewest goals conceded… we could go on.
Arsenal’s defence is peerless this season, so this draft goes big on the Gunners with a triple-up of the backline!
Crystal Palace players feature because, after their testing trip to north London in Gameweek 9, their fixtures improve markedly. To combat the far-from-ideal entry point, we could bench three of our five Arsenal/Palace players for this weekend’s clash at the Emirates, instead starting Martin Dubravka (£4.0m) at low-scoring Wolves.
Yankuba Minteh (£6.0m) is in for Brighton’s favourable run but those with a better team value may be able to afford Ismaila Sarr (£6.5m), FPL’s top midfielder for non-penalty xG.
There’s a glaring absence of Liverpool players but with the form they’re in at present, it’s maybe not a bad thing. Free transfers could be stockpiled for when they’re in better nick, and enjoying better fixtures, come Gameweek 12/13.
TEAM 2: SAKA IN
Not fancying the Arsenal defensive triple-up and want Bukayo Saka (£10.0m) in there?
Bruno Fernandes (£8.9m) is the fall guy in midfield, with Riccardo Calafiori (£5.8m) dropping out at the back. In comes the DefCon-eating Joachim Andersen (£4.5m) for Fulham’s favourable run but if he’s not fit, another one of the Cottagers’ backline is purchasable at this price bracket.
Either draft 1 or 2 could be ‘boosted’ in Gameweek 11 if anyone has the chip intact.
TEAM 3: BIG IN MIDFIELD?
Want Saka and Fernandes as part of a power-five midfield?
Jean-Philippe Mateta (£7.5m) is relunctantly sacrificed but there is still representation from the Palace attack in the form of Sarr. It’s not ideal having him face double Arsenal defence but you’re then set for the longer-term fixtures.
Opting for Marc Guiu (£4.3m) as a fodder third forward frees up the cash to go big in the middle, while there’s some cheap DefCon machines at the back alongside the token Arsenal defender.
