Fantasy Premier League – GW34 Wildcard

Written by: FPLijah

Pros and Cons of Using the Wildcard in Gameweek 34

If you’ve held onto your second Wildcard until this point, there is no better gameweek to use it than in Gameweek 34. Prior to the announcement of both Chelsea and Manchester United getting a Double Gameweek 34 (due to Chelsea’s triumph in the FA Cup Semi-Final against Crystal Palace, which resulted in Manchester United vs. Chelsea being moved from GW37 to GW34), keeping the Wildcard and activating it in either GW34 or GW35 to target DGW36 and DGW37 was a viable option. Due to the price point of Chelsea assets that we’d want in our teams, some may find it difficult stretching to them without taking multiple hits. Using the Wildcard right now could be considered the optimum time to deploy the squad-changing chip.

Pros:

• No hits taken, which often result in a small green arrow before a ball is even kicked, due to so many FPL managers taking points hits around your rank tier
• There have been some major season-ending injuries in the last couple of gameweeks (Doherty, Cucho, and Tierney come to mind), so you’re able to freshen up your squad by getting rid of ‘Dead Wood’ (FPL pun intended)
• If you’ve taken a few punts on differentials that ultimately failed or you’ve got players out of form, you can get rid
• You’re able to set up your squad to target the end of season run-in, particularly targeting players that you would ideally want for the biggest Double Gameweek of the season in Gameweek 36
• You can hop onto players from teams with a change in form or something to play for (Manchester City, Liverpool, Chelsea, etc.)
• You’re in a prime position to target fixture swings while the rest of the FPL managers without a Wildcard are stuck or are taking multiple hits

Cons:

• Due to the poor form of Manchester United, you’d likely be selling Ronaldo (who has a Double Gameweek against Arsenal away and Chelsea at home), and as we’ve seen, Ronaldo is very capable of scoring against anyone
• As we still aren’t dead certain about which gameweek Manchester City will get their Double Gameweek (either in GW36 or GW37), taking a calculated punt on the likes of Mahrez or Sterling would be too risky to do, as you’d ideally want to Wildcard as close as possible to that specific gameweek
• You will likely sell your Newcastle assets, who play Norwich in GW34

Nonetheless, these cons aren’t enough, in my opinion, to avoid using the Wildcard in this gameweek. If you still have it, I suggest activating it for GW34.

 

Teams and Players to Target

When prioritizing the players that you want in your GW34 Wildcard, take into consideration DGW34, a transfer strategy of 2 transfers until DGW36, a chip strategy if you still possibly have your Bench Boost of Free Hit and DGW37.

If you don’t have a Free Hit available, targeting players that Double in GW36 and GW37 should be vital.

Priority Teams

• Manchester City (Title race and amazing fixtures going forward)
• Liverpool (Title race; nailed-on players; best attack in the Premier League)
• Chelsea (Double Gameweek 34, with a few captaincy options)

Secondary Teams

• Arsenal and Spurs (Top 4 race is well and truly on – Key FPL assets in both teams) 

Teams that Double in GW36 and GW37 to Consider

• Aston Villa
• Leicester
• Everton

 Players to Target in Order of Priority

• Manchester City – Cancelo, De Bruyne, Laporte, Foden
• Liverpool – Salah, Alexander-Arnold, Robertson, Mane
• Chelsea – Mount, Havertz, James, Alonso
• Arsenal – Saka (I wouldn’t trust the defense, and other players have become rotation risk)
• Spurs – Kane, Son, Kulusevski
• Aston Villa – Coutinho, Cash, Watkins, Ramsey
• Leicester – Maddison, Barnes, Schmeichel
• Everton – Richarlison, Gordon

Budget Enabler Players

Whether you plan to bench boost or not, budget enablers are required to ensure we have a deeper squad, especially with rotation not far away, as we’re into the season run-in. These are some budget enablers to consider:

• Pukki (Norwich)
• Mateta (Crystal Palace)
• Dewsberry-Hall (Leicester)
• Gordon (Everton)
• Ramsey (Aston Villa)
• Dennis (Watford)
• White (Arsenal)
• Nketiah (Arsenal)
• Schar (Newcastle)

Foundation Picks for the Ideal GW34 Wildcard

 

 

 

 

 

 

• Great fixtures until the end of the season
• He has a double-double (Double Gameweek in GW36 and GW37), which includes fixtures of Everton, Norwich, and Watford.
• Save magnet type of goalkeeper
• Saved 2 penalties this season
• Whereas other Leicester players are likely to be rotated, Schmeichel is safe for minutes
• Low ownership and at a decent price bracket
• Up against an Aston Villa side that has dipped in goal scoring form

• Essential to the Liverpool attack (Liverpool comfortably have the best attack in the Premier League
• 1^st for Assists (joint-first with Salah) in the Premier League
• Great fixtures until the end of the season, and with Liverpool being in a Title race against Manchester City, Trent should feature in the majority of every single game
• Essential FPL Asset – worth every single penny of that £4m
• Extremely high ceiling (clean sheet and attacking potential against any team)
• Liverpool plays against an out-of-form, relegation battling Everton side, which feels so far away from the Merseyside Derby that we’re accustomed to. According to Drafthound for GW34, Liverpool has an 88.2% chance of a win, a 50% chance for a clean sheet, and a 68.3% chance to score more than 2.5 goals – All I foresee here is an Everton thrashing with a ton of goals, hence points for Trent Alexander-Arnold

• Extremely high ceiling FPL player – capable of a mega-haul
• Always takes shots from close proximity to the opposition goal
• He recently played as a right center-back (RCB) instead of his usual position, which is a right-back (RB), which limits his attacking threat. Some say it was match specific tactics to protect him, by Tuchel against Real Madrid and Crystal Palace, due to extremely fast wingers that Reece James came up against (Vinicius Junior and Wilfred Zaha, respectively), and it was confirmed by Tuchel, saying that James was played at center-back to manage him since his injury and to reduce the strain on his body
• If benched, Reece James often gets a cameo appearance, which we hate as FPL managers, as it often results in just 1 point instead of possibly getting points from our bench
• After the 4-2 loss against Arsenal, where Reece James started at RCB yet again, once trailing, he was sent back to his usual position, and I suspect that’s where he will remain until Chelsea secures 3^rd position in the Premier League

• One of Pep’s most favored players and unlikely to fall prey to ‘Pep-Roulette’ (only didn’t feature in 2 Premier League games all season)
• Extremely versatile – Can play on the left, right, midfield, or in the front 3 (as we so often see mid-game)
• Suspended against Real Madrid for the UEFA Champions League Semi-Final, therefore strengthening the point of him being less likely to be rotated
• Title race against Liverpool, so we should see clean sheets and goals in abundance from Manchester City
• Massive attacking potential
• Arguably 1 of the best (if not the best) fixtures runs until the end of the season, which could see Manchester City win all remaining games
• A definite Double Gameweek in either GW36 or GW37 is still be confirmed
• Vital to the way Manchester City plays in attack and defense

• Playing out of position as a forward
• Double Gameweek
• Arguably the best captaincy option along with Mohamed Salah for GW34
• More nailed than earlier in the season
• Vital in attack
• Confidence player that has the form to warrant a spot in our FPL teams for the remainder of the season
• The massive differential player at 8.2% ownership
• Leads in most of all the major attacking statistics for Chelsea in the last 6 Premier League games (goals, expected goals, shots, shots in the box, shots on target, and big chances scored)
• Given a rest in Chelsea’s GW33 fixture against Arsenal, coming off the bench in the 59^th minute due to Chelsea losing at the time – strengthens the case of getting him into our teams
• Best Chelsea asset to own, in my opinion, for GW34 as a once-off, but very much a season keeper for the remaining five gameweeks

 

• Most transferred in player ahead of Gameweek 34
• Most nailed-on Chelsea attacker in terms of minutes
• Captaincy option, just like Havertz
• On corners
• Creator and playmaker – Always involved (assists and goals)
• Similar number to Havertz, but leads in terms of chances created, expected assists, and big chances created
• A most vital player in attack
• Best Chelsea attacker to own for the remainder of the season

• The most consistent FPL asset since Fantasy Premier League began (ESSENTIAL!)
• He was considered out-of-form due to his lack of goals, but after his 19-pointer against Manchester United in GW33 (2 goals, one assist, one clean sheet point, and three bonus points), those FPL managers who got rid of him were in panic mode
• Rivals the 2 Chelsea boys (Mount and Havertz) as the best captaincy option in GW34 despite his Single Gameweek
• According to Drafthound, Salah has the highest predicted percentage to score at 64% in GW34, with a 29% of scoring two goals
• He is just 55 points away from breaking his own record as the highest FPL Points Scorer in a Season (Current Record: 303 points)
• 1^st for goals and joint 1^st with Trent for assists this Premier League Season

• Four goals and two assists in his last six matches (goals against Brentford, Chelsea, Manchester United, and Burnley)
• The most important player for Norwich
• Norwich has a very tiny chance of survival in the Premier League this season, and if they are to survive, the reliance falls onto Teemu Pukki to get them the goals
• Norwich is attacking far more frequently than earlier in the season (as expected) due to being in a relegation battle
• Budget enabler, allowing for money to be spread into your midfield and defense
• Pukki’s form warrants a spot as part of the foundation of an ideal Wildcard

Wildcard Draft

This is my ideal Wildcard team for GW34 and what the team would look like in DGW36 with no transfers made, created on the fpl.team, which leaves me with £0.5m in the bank.

Other GW34 Articles:

1. GW34 Players to Target (Focus: Chelsea Assets)
2. 5 Differentials for GW34 and Beyond
3. GW34 Captaincy (*will be released soon)

 

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GOOD LUCK, AND REMEMBER TO FPL RESPONSIBLY!

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