Double Gameweek 33 will be a big week for chip usage, and we’ve covered the Free Hit and the Bench Boost already.
But what about those Fantasy managers adopting Zophar’s differential strategy of a Gameweek 33 Wildcard?
Here, we look at a couple of drafts for anyone overhauling their squads this week.
GAMEWEEK 33 WILDCARD: THINGS TO CONSIDER
- Still another Double Gameweek to come. Manchester City v Crystal Palace, originally scheduled for Gameweek 31, is still without a date. When it is rearranged, it’ll create a Double Gameweek for both clubs. Given Palace’s likely progress in Europe, it’s probably going to drop into Gameweek 36.
- Free Hit. Whether you’re Free Hitting in Blank Gameweek 34 or don’t have a Free Hit chip remaining will have a big say on who you Wildcard in. The first scenario is straightforward: build a team with Double Gameweek 33 and Gameweeks 35-38 in mind. The latter scenario means striking a balance between Gameweek 33 doublers and getting (somewhere close to) an XI out in Blank Gameweek 34.
- Bench Boost. If you’ve still got a Bench Boost in hand, deciding when to use it (likely Gameweek 35 or 36) will also partly shape your Wildcard picks. As it happens, given the strong fixtures enjoyed by the budget picks from Brighton and Leeds, a Gameweek 32 Wildcard squad with a Bench Boost in mind is probably going to look similar to one without.
- Free transfer allowance. How many free transfers you’ve got remaining is also significant. If you’re already sitting on 3-5 frees, for example, you can perhaps opt for a more aggressive Wildcard, targeting the short term (ie more doublers) before shipping them out for other players, if required, further down the line. This is particularly relevant if you don’t have a Free Hit to traverse Blank Gameweek 34.
- Nico O’Reilly’s injury. The Manchester City defender was a staple of Gameweek 32 Wildcard squads. No doubt he would have been, and still might be, one of the first names on a Gameweek 33 Wildcard. After coming off with a possible muscle injury at Chelsea, however, we’ll need further clarification of his fitness on Friday.
GAMEWEEK 33 WILDCARD (PLAYING GAMEWEEK 34 FREE HIT)
A Gameweek 33 Wildcard will look similar to the Gameweek 32 incarnation in a lot of respects. There’s one big difference: without the Bench Boost to play in Gameweek 33 (you can’t use two chips in the same week), we don’t need a squad packed with 14/15 doublers.
PARKED ON THE BENCH FOR GAMEWEEK 35 ONWARDS
That means we can plan for the run-in, parking a couple of the Arsenal backline on the bench this week. The Gunners have excellent fixtures from Gameweek 35 onwards, and it looks like the title race may still be on a knife-edge at that point following Gameweek 32’s results.
Similarly, we’ve got a Palace defender ready for their as-yet-unannounced ‘double’. How big to go on the Eagles is a topic of debate, with their attention chiefly on the Conference League. Oliver Glasner, traditionally not a rotater, made five changes on Sunday, even benching Ismaila Sarr (£6.3m). You’re left with an uneasy feeling about game-time in Gameweek 36, then, if a double does materialise.
We’ve also kept the Golden Boot-chasing Igor Thiago (£7.3m) in the squad. That does come at a cost, with no space for Joao Pedro (£7.7m). We’ll repeat what we said further up this article, though, about short-term aggression and free transfer allowance. You could, of course, back Pedro now, and book a transfer in for Thiago in, say, Gameweek 35. For those who’d prefer not to do that, we’ve included Brentford’s 21-goal Brazilian. He could even be used as a starter this week, for anyone not keen on a budget fifth midfielder.
THE ‘DOUBLERS’
Speaking of which, the budget fifth midfielder is Mats Wieffer (£4.9m) in this piece. This isn’t a kneejerk reaction to his brace in Gameweek 32 – promise! This was actually budget-enforced by the author’s modest team value but, of course, 90-minute man Pascal Gross (£5.5m) and FPL’s leading midfielder for non-penalty xGI over the last six Gameweeks, Jack Hinshelwood (£5.1m), are very viable, slightly pricier, Brighton alternatives. What Wieffer does give you is DefCon potential: he’s hit the threshold in 11 of the 15 games in which he’s lasted 75+ minutes. 6-8 points would be a realistic expectation for a ‘floor’ in Gameweek 33.
Gameweek 33 Free Hitters will no doubt be tempted by a second Leeds or Bournemouth defender over Jan Paul van Hecke (£4.5m) but as we’re putting together a squad for the rest of the season, not just this week, there’s a case for including a member of the Brighton backline. In only one of the last 13 Gameweeks have the Seagulls conceded more than one goal.
Looking at the Gameweek 35-38 fixtures of the ‘doublers’, van Hecke is eminently playable in Gameweeks 36-37 at a bare minimum. Those managers with a Bench Boost still to play will want to think ahead in that regard.
Aside from that, it’s a selection of many of the same names you’ll see in the Gameweek 33 Free Hit article.
Marcus Tavernier (£5.4m) could potentially make way in Gameweek 37, when Bournemouth face Man City. Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall (£5.1m) and James Garner (£5.3m), who face Sunderland and Tottenham Hotspur in their last two games, are similarly priced options to consider at that point.
BENCH BOOST?
This squad could be Bench Boosted in Gameweek 35 or 36, depending on preference. This is even before we’d consider adding any more Palace players, if and when they get their double.
Here’s how the squad would look in those two Gameweeks:
GAMEWEEK 33 WILDCARD (NO GAMEWEEK 34 FREE HIT)
For those with no Free Hit to use in Gameweek 34, we’ve tried to strike a balance between doublers (six of them) and single Gameweekers who have good fixtures (Neco Williams (£4.7m), Elliot Anderson (£5.6m)) and/or are proven, nailed performers (Jarrod Bowen (£7.6m), Thiago).
With one free transfer in Gameweek 34, we could get 10 starters out.
Antoine Semenyo becomes Rayan Cherki (£6.3m) in order to beef up the third forward spot to Bowen.
Another sacrifice is no Palace, as they are away at Liverpool in Gameweek 34 (and we need a starter then).
