Fantasy Premier League has taken on a new level of popularity for the 2024/25 season with over 11 million people registering to play the FPL game.
With the dreaded international break now well underway, FPL is the perfect opportunity to get your football fix.
Even for those who picked a team at the start of the season and have left it to gather dust ever since, a well-played Wildcard could help you get back on top of those work mini-leagues.
Fantasy Premier League: Is now the best time to play the FPL wildcard chip?
The Wildcard chip is hot property in the FPL world. It allows you to make unlimited transfers for one week without the usual points hits that transfers normally cost.
So why should you play your Wildcard chip heading into gameweek 12?
Firstly, it allows you to transfer in your top targets before their price increases as other managers buys them. Similarly, if you have injured players, such as Eberechi Eze, you can sell them straight away before they drop in price.
Many FPL geeks will tell you that team value is crucial, and a wildcard over an international break can help you gain the money that will allow you to afford multiple premium players later in the season.
Each FPL team gets two wildcards a season, and the first one is lost after gameweek 18 if it hasn’t been played so now is a great time to play it.
FourFourTwo's wildcard draft
For those FPL managers who are brave enough to take the jump and play their wildcard, FourFourTwo has suggested a draft that combines midfield premiums with defensive rotation and bonus points magnets up front.
While Arsenal have struggled for clean sheets in recent weeks, five of their next seven opponents average less than 1.18 goals per game so David Raya may be a sensible choice.
Rayan Ait-Nouri and Antonee Robinson offer attacking threat from defence, while Brighton’s Joel Veltman is a cheap route into a side with some of the best upcoming fixtures in the Premier League.
Bukayo Saka, Cole Palmer and Mo Salah all have huge potential regardless of their opponents, and crucially in FPL, all take penalties.
Bruno Fernandes is yet another penalty taker in this Wildcard draft. He faces Ipswich and Everton in his next two games, scored 27 points across his last two games and has the benefit of the potential new manager bounce under Ruben Amorim.
Up front, Alexander Isak has returned to form with four goal contributions in his last three games and faces three of the bottom six in his next six matches.
Wolves remain firmly in the relegation zone but Matheus Cunha’s fixtures and form make him a bargain at £6.8m. Similarly, Yoane Wissa picked up his early season form after returning from injury and averages 6.8 points per match – the second-highest of any forward.
Haaland: Keep or sell?
Whether you’re brave enough to go without the Norwegian robot has been one of the biggest questions in FPL this season. It’s now been six weeks since Haaland scored more than six points, and, at £15.2 million, he’s an expensive asset to own if he’s not hauling.
Part of his drop-off in form is of course due to Manchester City’s poor form since the loss of Rodri. Pep Guardiola’s side lost four games on the trot for the first time since he joined them in 2016. They also face Tottenham, Liverpool, Nottingham Forest, Manchester United and Aston Villa in their next six games.
In these corresponding fixtures last season, Haaland bagged three goals, two of which were against a leaky Manchester United defence which may be fixed slightly by the arrival of Ruben Amorim.
If he were to follow a similar run this season, going without the Norwegian would be FourFourTwo's choice.
However, Haaland does have the potential to explode in games where there’s space in behind defences, which Liverpool, Spurs and Manchester United may provide.
Last year’s Golden Boot winner started the season averaging a whopping 13 points across his first five games, so there is always the worry he can return to this scintillating form.
Yet the usual creative outlets of Phil Foden and Kevin De Bruyne have not been at their best in recent weeks which reduces Haaland’s appeal.
No Haaland allows FPL managers to pick three, or even four, of the premium midfielders alongside a stronger overall squad to ensure cover for the pesky rotation that is sure to occur over the winter months.
