With Blank Gameweek 29 out of the way, our focus shifts to Gameweek 30 and the fixture frenzy that lies beyond it.
That also means it may now be Wildcard time for many Fantasy Premier League (FPL) managers over the next few weeks.
But is it better to refresh your team early in Gameweek 30, or hold out to make a more informed decision by Gameweek 31?
Here, we’ll weigh up the pros of both approaches.
Wildcard: Gameweek 30 – The pros
Gameweek 29 ended on March 16, while Gameweek 30 does not begin until April 1 – so if you activate now, there’s over a fortnight’s worth of tinkering possible.
Deal with international break issues
That time gap is largely due to an international break for Nations League play-offs and World Cup qualifiers, which take place between Wednesday 19 and Wednesday 26 March. Having an active Wildcard through that break provides the perfect cover to deal with any injuries that crop up while players are on national team duty.
React to FA Cup results
The other footballing action scheduled to take place between Gameweeks 29 and 30 is the FA Cup quarter-finals.
Seven Premier League teams are still alive in that competition:
- Saturday 29 March
- Fulham v Crystal Palace
- Brighton & Hove Albion v Nottingham Forest
- Sunday 30 March
- Preston North End v Aston Villa
- Bournemouth v Manchester City
Those matches could also result in injuries, or suspensions, which would undoubtedly be easier to navigate using a Wildcard than free transfers.
Plus, based on the results of those fixtures we’ll have a clearer picture by the Gameweek 30 deadline which teams are set to blank in Gameweek 34. A minimum of three matches should be rearranged due to clashes with the FA Cup semi-finals.
- READ MORE: What we know about FPL Blank Gameweek 34
We might not have final confirmation of where those rearranged fixtures are moved to by the deadline (more on that shortly…), but it’s becoming increasingly likely that there will be a Double Gameweek 33 for at least a few clubs.
Price changes and reuniting with Gameweek 29 blankets
Injuries, suspensions and future blank/double planning aside, a Gameweek 30 wildcard could mean capitalising on two weeks’ worth of price changes, enabling maximised profit and team value for the season run-in.
It also means any in-form assets who might have been sold due to blanking in Gameweek 29 – the likes of Daniel Muñoz (£5.0m), Jean-Philippe Mateta (£7.5m) and Alexander Isak (£9.3m), to name a few – can be brought right back into our squads for some more promising fixtures. That aforementioned trio, and the rest of their Newcastle and Crystal Palace colleagues, also play twice in Double Gameweek 32.
Bigger window for Assistant Manager
For any FPL bosses still holding on to their Assistant Manager chip, Wildcarding earlier (i.e., in Gameweek 30 instead of Gameweek 31) opens up a bigger window within which to deploy it.
For example, the three-week chip could then be played from Gameweek 31-33, potentially giving five matches worth of returns due to the confirmed and predicted Double Gameweeks.
Wildcard: Gameweek 31 – The Pros
On the other hand, there are a few pros of waiting to Wildcard after Gameweek 30 has passed – the main one being…
Get Double Gameweek confirmation
As mentioned above, we may not have the rescheduled dates for rearranged Blank Gameweek 34 fixtures in advance of the Gameweek 30 deadline. The FA Cup quarter-finals finish on Sunday evening, with the Gameweek 30 deadline passing just under 48 hours later. The schedulers may not act that quickly when it comes to announcing new dates.
Given this second Wildcard will presumably be used by FPL managers with future doubles and subsequent strategies for when to play a Bench Boost and/or Triple Captain in mind, it may therefore be safer to wait until we get final confirmation of which matches will be moved where, so we know who plays twice in Double Gameweek 33.
That very likely will come before the Gameweek 31 deadline at the latest.
What’s the rush?
There’s also the simple fact that FPL may not even necessarily need to Wildcard as soon as Gameweek 30 – so what’s the rush?
This point is of course team-dependent, but consider this; the likes of Wolves, Nottingham Forest, Bournemouth and City will all be fairly heavily owned by those among us who chose not to Free Hit their way through Blank Gameweek 29.
Rather than immediately rushing them out on Wildcard, you could still cash in on some appealing Gameweek 30 fixtures for assets from those teams with a view to restructuring after that.
Waiting for Saka… and Palmer?
The return of Bukayo Saka (£10.2m) shouldn’t be far away after the break. Good luck hoping for Mikel Arteta to give us the green light ahead of Gameweek 30, however – expect “we’ll see”, “hopefully” or “we’ll assess after training” when he’s grilled in his next pre-match presser on Monday 31 March.
Waiting to see if Saka features in Fulham in Gameweek 30, and to what extent, will be our most reliable gauge of the winger’s fitness. Why wait? Well, the Gunners may well have a Double Gameweek 33 and Saka could feature in some FPL managers’ Wildcard plans as a result. There’s no guarantee of getting an update on Saka before Gameweek 31 either, of course, but we’re likelier to have a better idea.
As for Cole Palmer (£10.9m), he’s an early injury doubt with the muscle issue that caused him to miss Sunday’s defeat to Arsenal. The bad news for owners: Chelsea play on the Thursday of Gameweek 30, so there’s no guarantee that Enzo Maresca’s press conference will be before the deadline. When deciding whether to keep or sell, you may be going into a Gameweek 30 Wildcard without knowledge of the England international’s fitness.
LESS TIME BEFORE A GAMEWEEK 32/33 BENCH BOOST
Many Fantasy managers will be looking to play their Bench Boost in either Double Gameweek 32 or, should it materialise as expected, Double Gameweek 33.
As discussed above, it’d be great to get the Double Gameweek picture before committing to a Wildcard full of ‘boostable’ bench options. Again, that’s information that might not come before Gameweek 30.
Another reason to leave the Wildcard till closer to the actual Bench Boost is to be as certain as you can that your players are going to play when the latter chip is activated. Lewis Dunk (£4.2m) could be a great bootable option for Gameweek 32, for instance, but it’d be good to see back him in action first before committing to him on a Wildcard.
Lots to think about, then, over the international break.
For those who are playing their Wildcard in Gameweek 30, we’ll be back soon with a look at a few potential drafts.
16 hours, 27 mins agoWC 31, BB 32, FH 33, is my strat