If you still have your Wildcard to play, congratulations on your patience! With each passing Gameweek, Fantasy Premier League (FPL) managers have a larger sample size on which to base their decisions.
In this article we take those lessons, use the Fixture sticker to look at the pros and cons of a Gameweek 9 Wildcard and present three concept ideas.
Remember, you have until the Gameweek 19 deadline to use the first Wildcard.
And don’t forget, through us you can weigh the effectiveness of your Wildcard team Rate my team tool or Schedule FPL!
GAME WEEK 9 WILDCARD: THE ARGUMENTS FOR
Aside from the ever-present benefit of being able to increase team value by switching players in and out, here are some more Gameweek-specific ‘pros’.
One point behind Newcastle, Chelsea + Fulham?
The Fixture sticker is now smiling kindly at Newcastle United and Chelsea, so there is a good argument for investing in these teams.
Nick Woltemade (£7.3m) scores for fun, while on the other hand Then Burns (£5.1 million) and Nick Pope (£5.1m) contribute to Eddie Howe’s mostly strong defensive displays.
For Chelsea, Ree James (£5.4m) has produced four attacking returns, two defensive contribution points and a clean sheet in the last four gameweeks.
Hopefully we’ll get more fitness updates Enzo Fernandez (£6.7 million) this week; Wildcarders could wait until the Gameweek 9 deadline before appealing for his inclusion, depending on what Enzo Maresca says.
Fulham’s fixtures meanwhile turn for the better in Gameweek 10, so the likes of Jos Koning (£4.5m) can be pre-purchased, parked on the bench in Gameweek 9 and then used as a starting option in the following three Gameweeks.
Once again, Wildcarders have the luxury of waiting for an update on the DefCon star Joachim Andersen (£4.5 million) before deciding whether to include it or not.
Arsenal’s fixtures have been good since Gameweek 7 and remain largely favourable, although the visit to Crystal Palace this weekend will be far from easy given recent form. Many managers will already be doubling/tripling Arsenal’s assets, but…
Change your Arsenal striker!
This is a good opportunity to change your Arsenal striker if necessary! Viktor Gyokeres (£9.0m) has missed six of his eight starts this season, including each of his last four Premier League appearances.
While the Swede toils at the top, Bukayo Saka (£10.0m) looks sparkling. He was the star at Fulham on Saturday, creating six chances and even a bench bonus and DefCon points. Considering at least some of the fines, he seems like the better buy right now.
Averaging just 4.5 points per game this season, Muhammad Salah (£14.4m) could also be moved to the Arsenal man if you own the Egyptian.
Renew your front line
On a similar theme, Gyokeres is one of the strikers currently at fault.
Alexander Isaac (£10.6 million), Ollie Watkins (£8.6 million) and João Pedro (£7.5m) are also disappointing, although the latter still has some good games in store.
Richarlison (£6.7m), meanwhile, is no longer a reliable starter.
In their places, Woltemade, Jean-Philippe Mateta (£7.6 million) and Jarrod Bowen (£7.8m) have been looking like better bets for minutes and there are indeed good matches on the schedule (after Gameweek 9 in Mateta’s case).
Are you preparing for a Gameweek 11 Bench Boost?
If you still have your Bench Boost intact and feel more in need of a Wildcard this week, you can prepare yourself for a Gameweek 11 ‘boost’ by preparing Martin Dubravka (£4.0 million) and defenders from Burnley, Leeds United, West Ham United and/or Wolverhampton Wanderers. Most of their top options at the back are all available for under £4.5m.
GAME WEEK 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 (perhaps even a week earlier for the former), as their players become more favorable to own.
The Reds are easy to avoid at the moment given their form, but could they get back into the swing of things at the end of November? If so, you’ll probably need 2-3 of their players for this run.
Gameweek 9 wildcarders will of course argue that being able to collect up to five free transfers will allow them to save moves ahead of this match swing.
A week early for Palace – and maybe even Arsenal?
It’s the first for xGC versus the first for xG at the Emirates in Gameweek 9, and it’s not a great match for Arsenal or Crystal Palace.
Ideally, you would want to have players from both teams in a long-term FPL team, and this isn’t a good starting point for either.
While cheap Fulham picks like King can be benched in Gameweek 9, you wouldn’t really want to do that with Arsenal/Palace players.
Can’t play Bench Boost
Just a reminder that not many of you will need one, you can’t use two chips in the same week – so no Bench Boosting if you use a Wildcard this week.
Gameweek 9 could well be that the best window for a Bench Boost, while you probably wouldn’t say that if this were the case for a Wildcard (team dependent of course).
This week it’s all about prioritizing chips, if you still have some intact.
GAME WEEK 9 WILDCARD TEAM DRAFTS
TEAM 1: TRIPLE ARSENAL DEFENSE
First for the clean sheet, first for the lowest xGC, first for the fewest goals conceded… we could go on and on.
Arsenal’s defense has been second to none this season, so this draft sees the Gunners go big with a backline triple-up!
Crystal Palace players come into play as, following their test trip to North London in Gameweek 9, their games improve significantly. To combat the less than ideal starting point, we could bench three of our five Arsenal/Palace players for this weekend’s match at the Emirates, starting instead Martin Dubravka (£4.0m) at low-scoring Wolves.
Yankuba Minteh (£6.0m) is on the back of Brighton’s favorable run, but those with better team value may be able to afford it Ismail Sarr (£6.5 million), FPL’s best midfielder for non-penalty xG.
There is a glaring absence of Liverpool players, but with the form they are currently in, that may not be a bad thing. Free transfers can be made if they perform better and play better matches in the coming matchweek 12/13.
TEAM 2: Step inside
I don’t fancy Arsenal’s defensive triple-up and want Bukayo Saka (£10.0m) there?
Bruno Fernandes (£8.9m) is the autumn man in midfield, with Riccardo Calafiori (£5.8m) drops out at the back. In comes the DefCon food Joachim Andersen (£4.5m) for Fulham’s favorable run, but if he is not fit another backline could be bought from the Cottagers at this price range.
Both drafts 1 and 2 can be boosted in Gameweek 11 if someone has the chip intact.
TEAM 3: BIG IN MIDFIELD?
Do you want Saka and Fernandes as part of a power-five midfield?
Jean-Philippe Mateta (£7.5m) is reluctantly sacrificed, but there is still representation from the Palace attack in the form of Sarr. It is not ideal that he faces Arsenal’s double defense, but then you are ready for the longer term.
Choose Marc Guiu (£4.3m) as a third striker frees up the money to go big in the middle, while there are some cheap DefCon machines at the back alongside the token Arsenal defender.
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