Last week brought heavy Wildcard usage and, in many cases, an immediate red arrow! Managers waiting to use this Fantasy Premier League (FPL) chip in Gameweek 7 surely breathed a sigh of relief.
Now it’s their turn to activate, attempting to have a more successful start to owning a new squad.
Managers have until the Gameweek 19 deadline to use the first Wildcard. These unlimited free transfers are a chance to fix all mistakes and start planning for the future.
So let’s list the pros and cons of a Gameweek 7 Wildcard, then provide a few draft ideas.
Don’t forget that you can get your Wildcard team rated via our Rate My Team tool or the Plan FPL planner!
PROS
- Change team structure: If your current squad’s funds are focused more towards a heavier defence than an expensive midfield, Wildcarding is an instant way to alter this. Those managers wanting Cole Palmer (£10.7m) or Mohamed Salah (£12.8m) might struggle to resist for any longer.
- Sell the unavailable: For example, popular forwards Joao Pedro (£5.6m) and Alexander Isak (£8.3m) are sidelined with ankle and toe injuries, whilst Bruno Fernandes (£8.2m) has a three-match ban following Sunday’s red card.
CONS
- Not yet time to jump off Liverpool: A widespread strategy for Gameweek 6 Wildcard users was to sell Salah, only to then see him score at Wolverhampton Wanderers. So if you’re planning to eventually ditch a combination of him, Luis Diaz (£8.0m) and Trent Alexander-Arnold (£7.1m), it may be best to wait until after the Reds’ trip to winless Crystal Palace.
- Better fixture swings are coming soon: Arsenal and Brentford schedules improved from last week but, having missed out, the next great shift doesn’t take place until around Gameweek 11 or 12.
GAMEWEEK 7 WILDCARD IDEAS
DRAFT 1: Palmer, Saka and Haaland
Funds are tight here, as three premium attackers get squeezed into a line-up. It means plenty of captaincy options but at the expense of all Liverpool players.
Managers still wanting a double-up of Arsenal’s defence could bring someone in for Josko Gvardiol (£5.9m) although – depending on your team value – it may require a downgrade elsewhere.
A luxury of Wildcard usage is that you should now have the squad depth to cover a short-term injury like Joao Pedro’s. Brighton and Hove Albion’s fixtures improve greatly from Gameweek 12.
Also, another sacrifice is having cheap Morgan Rogers (£5.2m) be the fourth rather than fifth midfielder. That honour goes to Brentford’s Fabio Carvalho (£4.8m), who has started two successive Bees matches and assisted in Gameweek 6.
DRAFT 2: No Haaland
