My FPL Gameweek 28 Wildcard draft – and the reasons for playing it

So I’ve gone ahead and pressed the button. Yes, the Wildcard chip is active and so is my mind. A Wildcard week can be very exhausting as your mind is racing, trying to accumulate as much information as one possibly can. My current Wildcard draft is changing quite constantly but instead of simply giving you my team, I’m just going to let you know about the factors I’m considering.

There are three main reasons that led to me press the button and possibly use the Bench Boost chip in Gameweek 29 as well.

The Chelsea Opportunity

Chelsea have a Double Gameweek in 28 where they play against Burnley and Norwich, who sit right at the bottom of the league for expected goals (xG) accumulated this season and are two of the lowest goal scorers. Chelsea themselves have been an elite defence ever since Thomas Tuchel has been at the helm (Chelsea are behind only Manchester City and Liverpool this season for minutes per xG conceded) and have a great run of fixtures right until the end of the campaign. I like the idea of jumping early on them especially because of this stat:

It also helps that Chelsea have two more matches to be rescheduled, so there are future Double Gameweeks on their way.

Good Players from Good Teams

While I was building my Wildcard, my co-host Zophar kept telling me: “make sure you’re picking good players from good teams”.

While Chelsea fall into that category, the fact that Arsenal, Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur all have a Double Gameweek 29 immediately appealed to me. I also really like that all three teams have a good run of fixtures until the end of the season and provide a flurry of good Fantasy Premier League (FPL) picks.

We should not worry too much about ‘the beach effect’ either, as both Arsenal and Spurs are fighting for a Champions League spot and are not involved in any other cup competitions. On the other hand, Liverpool have rekindled the title race and you would hope that their picks remain strong all the way.

The added benefit here is, should you not want to Free Hit in Gameweek 30, both North London sides have fixtures in that week which make it a tad bit easier to navigate. It is worth noting that Arsenal also have two more Double Gameweeks to be rescheduled while Spurs have one.

Things leading to ‘Good Riddance’

I’m not a big fan of the Bench Boost chip and sitting here using my Wildcard in Gameweek 28, I wouldn’t be very confident of getting a Bench Boost-worthy team in the future traditional big Double Gameweeks like 33 and 36. There are a couple of other things playing on my mind. I just feel that a Bench Boost is best when following a Wildcard because you’re building a squad of 15 on the most relevant information (as relevant as it can get being one week early).

In addition, going forward, I can focus my transfers on the ten or 11 outfielders rather than the squad of 15. There is an opportunity to use the Bench Boost chip in Gameweek 29, quite comfortably. The factors that contribute to this are:

• Teams like Leeds United and Southampton have an appealing Double Gameweek 28 and also have a strong home clash in Gameweek 29. Leeds United play Norwich City at home and Southampton host Watford. I’d be happy to play these single Gameweek players on a Bench Boost.
• If you don’t want to use your Free Hit chip in Gameweek 30, Wolves have a handy double up next, then travel to Everton away, followed by a confirmed Gameweek 30 hosting of Leeds.
• Cheap assets like Martin Dubravka (£4.4m) and Mason Holgate (£4.2m) (who claims to have his career revived by Frank Lampard) are easy enough to bench for the season without having to sacrifice too much cash. Additionally, Everton have two extra Double Gameweeks to be re-scheduled.
• It also helps that Chelsea follow their superbly-strong Double Gameweek 28 by facing Newcastle at home.

Considering all of these factors, there is an opportunity to play the Bench Boost chip in Gameweek 29 and then focus solely on the starting XI for the rest of the season.

The core factors above form the crux of my Wildcard strategy. I still haven’t decided whether to use a Free Hit in Gameweek 30, as there is still a lot of tinkering to be done but, as things stand, below is how my team looks between Gameweeks 28 and 30.

Please note that this is definitely a draft and not my final Wildcard. I hope this article gives you ideas in terms of the direction you want to take. We discuss Gameweek 28 and beyond in more detail in this week’s episode of The FPL Wire, which you can watch below.