5 ideas for those yet to use one

This season, Fantasy Premier League (FPL) managers have one Wildcard, Free Hit, Bench Boost and Triple Captain chip to use before Gameweek 19’s deadline, necessitating a strategy of early usage.

According to LiveFPL, 77.59% have yet to use one in the opening three rounds.

Some of you will no doubt already have a good idea of when you will be deploying your chips. But for those still unsure when to hit ‘activate’, here are a few ideas.

Keeping in mind that everyone will be topped up to five free transfers in Gameweek 16, here is the mindset behind when to use each chip (excluding Triple Captain, which is player-related rather than team).

EACH CHIP’S LOGIC

Wildcard

Fixtures form the rationale for all three of these. The ideal Wildcard is based around mass fixture swings, where great runs begin for some teams and end for others.

Our pre-season ‘jump on, jump off’ article helps with identifying such moments.

Fixtures aside, the Wildcard is also a great cure-all when your team has racked up too many injuries, suspensions and rotation risks for free transfers to deal with.

Free Hit

If you have one of the very expensive Mohamed Salah (£14.5m) and Erling Haaland (£14.1m) pair, try activating this when the other has one irresistible fixture amidst less essential ones. An attempt to both have and eat cake.

Haaland-only owners may want the Liverpool star’s Gameweek 4 trip to Burnley, whereas Salah-only owners desire the Norwegian’s Gameweek 6 hosting of the same Clarets.

The Free Hit can also be about multiple popular FPL teams having the same tough weekend, often versus each other.

Bench Boost

If you’re a manager who prefers 3-4-3 and 3-5-2 formations, it means 75% of your typical bench is defensive. So it makes sense to Bench Boost when several cheap £4.0m and £4.5m players at the back have appealing fixtures.

Of course, ‘lesser’ sides being against each other usually means that the ‘big’ ones are facing off too, which isn’t ideal for the others. Gameweek 8, for example.

FIVE SPECIFIC PLANS

GW4 Wildcard, GW6 Free Hit, GW9 Bench Boost

Our home page poll says that 39.27% of 1,729 participants are Wildcarding right now, so it’s worth a mention.

A Gameweek 4 Wildcard is a chance to both fix a bad start and respond to late summer transfers, knowing the window has finally closed.

This route can avoid Haaland and Manchester City due to Gameweek 6’s Free Hit.

Meanwhile, the logic behind a Gameweek 9 Bench Boost is that the £4.0m Burnley and Leeds United names get to face Wolverhampton Wanderers and West Ham United, while the outings of Liverpool, Chelsea, Newcastle United and Bournemouth still look good.

GW8 Wildcard, GW9 Bench Boost, GW15 Free Hit

October’s international break comes before Gameweek 8, coinciding with positive Liverpool and West Ham fixture swings, plus the negative ones awaiting Aston Villa, Bournemouth and Tottenham Hotspur. Slightly earlier, in Gameweek 7, things get good for Arsenal and bad for Nottingham Forest.

Which FPL chip strategy is best for you? 1

Here, managers give themselves a chance to maximise the Bench Boost by using it straight afterwards.

As the fixtures of Gameweeks 15 and 19 are reversed, Free Hitting in the first one means stocking up on Liverpool, Man City and Newcastle versus the promoted trio. All while knowing that, before they meet again, lots of free transfers become available and Salah will be at AFCON.

GW8 Wildcard, GW11 Free Hit, GW14 Bench Boost

Alternatively, the Bench Boost could wait until Gameweek 14. A time when so many popular teams have good fixtures, yet it’s not great for lower teams, meaning some cheap starters need to emerge from higher up the league between now and then.

As for Gameweek 11, it’s the weekend of Man City v Liverpool and Tottenham v Manchester United. Free Hit users can ditch those names and go big on Chelsea, Forest and West Ham, at home to Wolves, Leeds and Burnley.

GW13 Wildcard, GW14 Bench Boost

A fortnight break also precedes Gameweek 12, but a leading idea in the Fantasy community is to Wildcard in Gameweek 13. This allows long-term ownership of superb Liverpool, Man City and Newcastle fixtures.

In Gameweek 14, these face Sunderland, Fulham and Spurs, while prospects also look good for Arsenal, Chelsea and Crystal Palace assets.

GW4/6/7 Free Hit, GW9 Bench Boost, GW13 Wildcard

Although a Gameweek 17 Bench Boost has potential, it takes place during the hectic Christmas stretch.

So, if a Gameweek 13 Wildcard aims to have both Salah and Haaland, it can’t afford anything but the cheapest substitutes. Therefore, use Bench Boost earlier.

In the meantime, activating the Free Hit in Gameweeks 4 or 6, as mentioned earlier, makes sense. There’s also Gameweek 7, when Chelsea host Liverpool and players from Arsenal, Man United and Aston Villa can be accumulated.