In his latest article, three-time top 200 finisher Lateriser considers whether his Gameweek 8 Wildcard is ‘future-proof’ ahead of the next big match in Gameweek 13.
I’m on a Wildcard in Gameweek 8, something I discussed in a recent article here.
What I thought I would do with this piece is push forward and try to anticipate what I might need in the future, whether my current design is suitable for it and whether there are any changes I need to make.
Game week 13 and beyond: the outlook for the match
The next primary Wildcard window is around Gameweek 13. So what I did was look at the schedule sticker for six gameweeks. I didn’t stay too long, because we have a few extra transfers around the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON).
The first thing that stands out are the matches for Liverpool, Newcastle United and Manchester City. All three teams have ridiculously good schedules and there could be a world where we would have to go with a very thin roster and spend as much money on the field as possible, i.e. to accommodate potential Erling Haaland (£14.5 million)Muhammad Salah (£14.4 million) and/or Alexander Isaac (£10.6 million) in one team.
Now I’m currently alone Nick Pope (£5.1m) and Haaland in my Wildcard draft from these three teams, although I am considering a run on Isak.
The main FPL implication of this is as follows…
Don’t spread your money too widely
I like that I have a low-priced defender Joe Rodon (£4.1m) and a low-priced goalkeeper Martin Dubravka (£4.0m) which means my funds are not spread too widely.
If I had already used my Bench Boost, I would even have an advantageous attacker/midfielder as the eighth attacker, allowing me to spend as much as possible on the pitch. While I don’t necessarily need to do that now, it will help me in the Gameweek 13 period or so.
Bench Boost before Gameweek 13 or when Salah goes to AFCON
Since we want to spread all our funds on the field, we need to:
a) Use the Bench Boost before Gameweek 13, when these teams are playing great matches together; or
b) Wait until Salah leaves for AFCON and then we’ll spread the money around
The problem with the latter is that it is very difficult to schedule a Gameweek 8 Wildcard, and injuries and rotation eight Gameweeks later are unpredictable. Do we really want to spend the free transfers we get during AFCON on a Bench Boost? I think those transfers would be better spent attacking some juicy matches and saving them for the future.
Pope a solid long-term pick
Watching those Newcastle United games, Gameweek 13 and beyond substantiates my belief in Pope as a choice. He plays behind a reliable defense and is not solely dependent on clean sheets for points.
Bournemouth + Palace schedule
It helps that both Bournemouth and Crystal Palace are having a good run from Gameweek 13, because I will have already done that Antoine Semenyo (£7.9 million), Ismail Sarr (£6.5 million) and Mark Senesi (£5.0m) on my Wildcard, these will probably all be picks I haven’t touched for a long time.
The Palace fixtures make me think about my… Chris Richards (£4.5m) vs Joachim Andersen (£4.5m) debate. That said, for these really attractive matches, do I want a Richards or do I want the advantage of someone like Daniel Munoz (£5.6m) instead?
Free hit in Gameweek 13?
If you take Gameweek 13 out of the equation, when Chelsea and Arsenal play each other, they are still quite high in the table Fixture sticker.
Rather than immediately sell my Arsenal and Chelsea players (five from both teams), I could watch 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 of Liverpool and Manchester City.
Just looking at Gameweek 13 alone, it presents some interesting opportunities to sign players from Man City, Liverpool, Aston Villa and Tottenham Hotspur. Trebling City in the long term may not be a very healthy prospect, but I might look at Free Hit in their players instead.
Final thoughts
I like that I have until then to decide which way I want to go, but this little glimpse into the future has somewhat validated my thinking going into the current draft, as I don’t think Arsenal or Chelsea players will be a ‘hard sell’ in Gameweek 13.
However, I do want a piece of the Liverpool attack at that point, so I double down on Arsenal’s defense and have Bukayo Saka (£9.9m) helps from a structural point of view. He’s the easiest way to get to Salah if I want him at that moment.
I hope you enjoyed reading this article. Pras and I further discussed our Wildcard concepts for this episode of The FPL Wire, which you can watch below.
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