Fantasy Premier League – GW35 Wildcard

Written by: FPLijah

We’ve reached that point of the season where it’s time to go out all guns blazing and tackle the final 4 gameweeks of the FPL season, so maybe it is a time for GW35 Wildcard. Every single point awarded to your player will make all the difference in your mini-leagues and final overall rank. The difference 1 point makes, could see you either soar up hundreds, if not thousands of places in overall rank (depending on your rank tier) or could see you drop by that much in the event that a point is awarded to a player that will potentially harm your rank.

With that said, if you still have your Wildcard available, NOW is the time to play it in my opinion. After the announcement of Manchester City’s Double Gameweek 36, planning and getting in the right players on the Wildcard is extremely advantageous, compared to those of us FPL managers who will either take hits to bring some Manchester City assets or change strategy by playing the Free Hit in DGW36, which could potentially backfire. Beyond the Wildcard, some of you still have other chips available (Bench Boost, Free Hit, Triple Captain, or any combination of the aforementioned chips), putting you in a great position to end the season on a high. In this article, we will have a look at the ideal draft that I’ve come up with (completed on an FPL planner website called fpl.team), which is flexible enough for any chip strategy.

The first thing that you have to get your head around is that Liverpool, Manchester City, Chelsea, West Ham, and Leicester are all still in other competitions, which could affect their squads in the Premier League. I expect Liverpool and Manchester City to go full strength from now until the end of the season, with reduced minutes for key players once a game is considered won, or the very odd benching in-game or so. Chelsea however is quite tricky, as the Top 4 in the Premier League seems secure, but it isn’t a certainty. They need two more wins to guarantee a Top 4 finish, so can we assume that they go full strength until that happens? You’re going to have to make a judgment call based on minutes, Tuchel’s comments, and a gut call. Leicester and West Ham will undoubtedly rest key players in between their European fixtures, which isn’t ideal, especially for Leicester as we’d want to target their players due to their Double Gameweeks in GW36 and GW37.

Below is an amazing graphic showing the confirmed fixtures between GW35 and the end of the season, inclusive of other competitions that the Premier League teams are still involved in, as well as rest days between games, which will aid us in assuming when the key players are likely to be rested, rotated, or have reduced minutes.

Leicester – If Leicester are to rest players, it will undoubtedly be in GW35, ahead of their second leg fixture against Roma in the Europa Conference League. Leicester really don’t have much to play for in the Premier League, as they sit in 10^th position. Spurs, and more particularly Harry Kane, does well in this fixture. Most Wildcarders will leave out the Englishman due to recency bias, and to spread their money elsewhere (big at the back or in midfield) – however, it could be scary viewing, as Kane is 100% a standout captaincy option in Gameweek 35. Even some top betting sites offer low odds on him scoring in this particular game, and he might be a perfect choice for the GW35 Wildcard round.

West Ham – Just like Leicester, I expect West Ham to be a little weaker in GW35, but they do however have something to play for in the Premier League. I’d say 4^th place is a little out of reach, as they sit in the final European spot currently in 7^th place, 8 points adrift from 4^th, with a game more than Wolves who are just three points behind. This shouldn’t concern us too much though, as I don’t suspect many of you own West Ham players or are considering bringing them in, as they don’t have any Double Gameweeks to come.

Manchester City – Pep Roulette is always possible whether Manchester City has one day or ten days of rest between fixtures. It’s always a gamble, but players like Ederson, Cancelo, and De Bruyne are focal to the Manchester City team. Laporte and Foden aren’t too far behind as well. These are the 5 players I’d look to target, as Manchester City battle Liverpool for the Premier League Title.

Liverpool – We’ve already seen in recent weeks that Liverpool will likely go full strength and once a game is won, Klopp will then take players off, giving them sufficient rest time for the next fixture (Liverpool are 1 of the fittest squads around in World football). Alisson, Robertson, Alexander-Arnold, Mane, and Salah should be your targets.

Teams and Players to Target

Priority Teams

• Manchester City (Title race and amazing fixtures going forward)
• Liverpool (Title race; nailed-on players; best attack in the Premier League)
• Aston Villa (Norwich in GW35, followed by 2 Double Gameweeks in GW36 and GW37)
• Everton (Fighting for survival and having Double Gameweeks in GW36 and GW37)
• Arsenal (DGW36 and fighting for Top 4)
• Tottenham (DGW36 although difficult fixtures, should suit their style of play, and fighting for Top 4

 Players to Target from ‘Priority Teams’ in Order of Priority

• Manchester City – Cancelo, De Bruyne, Foden, Laporte
• Liverpool – Salah, Alexander-Arnold, Robertson, Mane
• Arsenal – Saka, Nketiah
• Spurs – Kane, Son, Kulusevski
• Aston Villa – Coutinho, Cash, Watkins, Ramsey
• Everton – Richarlison, Gordon

[single_affiliate_xl title=”bet365″ ]

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 likely for many teams. These are some budget enablers to consider (my favorites are marked with **):

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

GW35 Wildcard Draft

This is my ideal Wildcard team for GW35 and what the team would look like in DGW36 (either Bench Boost due to 15 DGW players or have a deep squad) with no transfers made. There isn’t an emphasis on the DGW37, as you could Free Hit that gameweek, but do note that there are amazing Single Gameweek fixtures in GW37 that should not be overlooked. I don’t necessarily love the DGW fixtures in GW37, so I’d recommend possibly taking a hit if needed to bring in more DGW players if you would prefer. I’ve used my entire budget, but if you cannot stretch to this squad or just don’t have a bench boost available, you could make downgrades (like Mount to Gordon for instance). The only concern with this Wildcard draft is the lack of Spurs players, especially for GW35 against a possibly weakened Leicester side. I do however feel that the money spread amongst the defense and midfield, will provide enough cover.

• Allows for a Manchester City triple up
• Premium goalkeeper, but a massive differential, allowing for you to make huge gains in overall rank and on your mini-league rivals
• Unlikely to be rotated, as he’s the most nailed Manchester City player
• Title race against Liverpool, so we should see a ton of cleansheets
• Favorable DGW36 fixtures
• Arguably 1 of the best (if not, the best) fixture run until the end of the season, which could see Manchester City win all remaining games

• Essential to the Liverpool attack (Liverpool comfortably have the best attack 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 (cleansheet and attacking potential against any team)
• If you don’t own Trent currently, I’d be afraid going into any gameweek, especially if you are using GW35 wildcard

• High ceiling attacking defender
• Far more nailed than Reece James
• Amazing fixtures until the end of the season
• Unlikely to be rotated due to no fit direct replacement, without Tuchel changing formation
• A cheaper asset that is considered a premium by seasoned FPL managers
• Back to ‘GOALonso’ form (2 goals and 1 assist in the last 4 gameweeks)
• Double Gameweek 36
• Faces an out-of-form relegation battling Everton side who will attack, leaving space for Alonso to exploit

• One of Pep’s most favored players and unlikely to be rotated (only didn’t feature in 2 Premier League games all season)
• Title race against Liverpool, so we should see cleansheets and goals in abundance from Manchester City
• Massive attacking potential – High ceiling
• Arguably 1 of the best (if not, the best) fixture run until the end of the season, which could see Manchester City win all remaining games
• Favorable Double Gameweek 36 fixtures
• Faces Leeds, who have been pulled into the relegation battle and will likely attack, which could see Manchester City absolutely demolish Leeds (likely attacking points for Cancelo if this is the case)
• High ownership

• Shockingly still a huge differential
• The most in-form defender at present
• Extremely high ceiling as we’ve seen this entire season
• 100 points in the last 12 fixtures he has played, with an average of 8.3 points per game
• £1m cheaper than the more popular Trent Alexander-Arnold
• Essential to the Liverpool attack (Liverpool have the best attack in the Premier League)
• Great fixtures until the end of the season
• Essential if on the Gw35 Wildcard

• Norwich at home is arguably the best fixture to target in the Premier League at present
• Differential captaincy option in GW35
• 2 Double Gameweeks in a row, in GW36 and GW37
• Unlikely not to start
• Incredible home record: 41 points and 4.11 xGA vs 25 points and 1.39 xGA away from home
• Instrumental to the Villa attack

• The most consistent FPL asset since Fantasy Premier League began (ESSENTIAL!)
• Was considered out-of-form due to his lack of goals, but is now on a great run of 5 points against Manchester City (1 assist) in GW32, 19 points against Manchester United in GW33 (2 goals, 1 assist, 1 cleansheet point and 3 bonus points), and 6 points against Everton (1 assist) in GW34. Not forgetting his brilliant assist in the UEFA Champions League Semi-Final
• Rivals the 2 Chelsea boys (Mount and Havertz) as the best captaincy option in GW34 despite his Single Gameweek
• Just 49 points away from breaking his own record, as the highest FPL Points Scorer in a Season (Current Record: 303 points)

• The most important player in attack for Arsenal
• Arsenal are fighting for Top 4, so should score a few goals from now until the end of the season
• Back from injury after going off with a knock in GW34
• 2 goals and 1 assist in his last 2 fixtures
• On penalties, and Arteta has confirmed that he will take the next penalty as well
• Up against a CB-less West Ham side, that will likely be a little weakened due their focus on their European fixture

• Huge differential at 6.1% ownership
• Favorable fixtures until the end of the season
• Amazing DGW36 fixtures
• Expected to start in Gameweek 35, which could see him haul
• Title race against Liverpool, so we should see cleansheets and goals in abundance from Manchester City
• Could get the odd benching or reduced minutes, but he is definitely part of Manchester City’s strongest XI, if they are to win the Title this season

• 4 goals and 2 assists in his last 7 matches (goals against Brentford, Chelsea, Manchester United, and Burnley)
• The most important player for Norwich
• 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
• Faces an Aston Villa side that are struggling in terms of form so could definitely get attacking returns
• The decent fixture run until the end of the season, so might be a perfect choice for GW35 wildcard

• Offers a budget enabling role in our squads, allowing for money to be spread into the defense and midfield
• Nketiah now has become the standout forward enabler (probably even more so than Mateta from Crystal Palace; also cheaper than Dennis from Watford).
• In the last 3 gameweeks, Nketiah has started all 3 of Arsenal’s fixtures, which included games against Chelsea (in which he scored 2 goals in) and Manchester United, showing his importance in attack if Arsenal are to secure a Top 4 spot
• Up against a CB-less West Ham side, that will likely be a little weakened due their focus on their European fixture

The Bench – GW35 Wildcard

The bench consists of Foster, Cash, Dennis, and Mount, which allows for you to Bench Boost or have a deeper squad.

Foster – Cheap second goalkeepers, with good DGW36 fixtures

Cash – Attacking potential; Norwich in GW35; and 2 Double Gameweeks in GW36 and GW37

Dennis – Back into the team and scoring; good fixtures and a DGW36

Mount – More nailed than Havertz with similar attacking stats; until Chelsea secures a Top 4 spot, he shouldn’t be rotated too much; DGW36; and important in attack

Other GW35 Articles:

1. GW35 Transfer Activity
2. GW35 Captaincy (*will be released soon)

For more information regarding all things Fantasy Premier League or if you have any questions based on your exact chip strategy, as well as maximum interaction on social media, follow/subscribe to FPLijah on YouTube, Twitter, Instagram, and Reddit.

 

GOOD LUCK AND REMEMBER TO FPL RESPONSIBLY!