Zophar’s FPL Gameweek 8 Wildcard Concept

With an international break ahead of Gameweek 8 of Fantasy Premier League (FPL), our experts begin to share their thoughts with us.

Here Zophar – who usually hosts a weekly Q&A session for us – offers a hypothetical Wildcard concept that he likes. Although his own team does not yet need such a chip activation.

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The second international breakthrough of the season will see many Wildcards being activated within the FPL community.

While I resist the urge to use mine yet, I would like to present to you a possible design worth considering, and the reasoning behind such choices.

GOALKEEPS

In purpose, I think there are two good combinations to consider. Alfonso Areola (£4.3 million) and Djordje Petrovic (£4.5m) cost £9.8m, which is an acceptable expenditure. They provided decent home games for the first four game weeks and after that you played against Petrovic almost every week.

But with a defender Mark Senesi (£4.9m) is virtually a permanent fixture due to his defensive contributions (DefCon). I’m not keen on frequent doubles in Bournemouth’s defence.

While at Newcastle United the lack of traditional full-backs means that Nick Pope (£5.1 million) will do very well in the Bonus Points System (BPS).

I want my goalkeeper to get a good number of shots – to rack up save points – but not many big chances. Next, I want him to score higher than his teammates for bonuses.

Who would Zophar select in an FPL Gameweek 8 Wildcard? 1

As we can see, Pope is the best of all Newcastle players for BPS+ (189) and BPS (166) this season, while only Sandro Tonali (£5.4m) beats his baseline of 117.

Only from the defenders in front of him Tino Livramento (£5.1 million) comes close, but he is out for a while. What this means is that every time Newcastle keep a clean sheet, Pope will be in the conversation for extra bonus points. Especially if the Magpies continue to score low.

DEFENDERS

FPL notes: Gabriel hits, why Saliba was a sub + Livramento injury 3

I elected Pope David Raya (£5.7m), I think doubling down on Arsenal’s defense makes perfect sense given their great run of games and overall defensive strength.

Jurriën Hout (£5.9m) may carry some rotation risk, but I think that’s overstated. I can’t see him missing more than maybe one of the next six league games now that Arsenal can smell blood from Liverpool and Manchester City’s recent results. Their primary focus should be to become domestic champions.

Timber is the top defender for shots in the box (nine) and ranks fourth for assists (nine). Gabriel Magalhaes‘ (£6.3m) set-piece threat is well documented, and DefCon points added another bow to his quiver.

Speaking of which, Senesi (88) and Joachim Andersen (£4.5m, 81) are the best in this position for DefCon and deserve inclusion given their bonus point potential.

The fifth choice for the defenseman could be either one Joe Rodon (£4.0m) or a Sunderland option. Anyway, I like the idea of parking a cheap one there since three of the other four will be playing every time.