Gameweek 10 Wildcard Squad Revealed
Many Fantasy Premier League managers have chosen to play their wildcard this week, including myself. Here’s the tips.
SATURDAY UPDATE: Here’s my finalised wildcard team. The Kane injury scuppered my plans but I’ve not done anything radically different. Kane becomes Morata. I wanted to stick with 3 premium strikers. I’m hoping to make up ground on Lukaku owners who has a difficult game this week. I went with Morata over Lacazette as he has more quality and better short term fixtures. If Kane is fit for Gameweek 11 he will be back against Crystal Palace. I’ve got enough funds in the bank to replace Morata for a straight swap, or one of the City pair if I choose to. Here’s my latest thoughts on Kane’s injury, expect him back after the international break and not risked against Palace.Kane will be out for longer than GW10. They’ve been very coy about the injury ahead of MUN game, the same ahead of Real Madrid UCL tie…. https://t.co/c6RyCvMwTi
— Fantasy Football Community (@FFCommunity_) October 27, 2017
I had a few captain choices for this week. I was choosing between Aguero, Morata, Salah and Richarlison but ultimately went with the Sword Pick. You can read my captaincy thoughts here. I also had some benching dilemmas in defence. With Kane out of the Old Trafford clash, I believe it will be 0-0 so Vertonghen get’s his place. It was tough to choose between Ward, Kiko and Duffy but it’s good to have bench options and I felt that Ward has the best chance of returns at either ends of the pitch. You can read the rest of my wildcard justification from earlier this week below. Those of you who follow my twitter account, will know that it’s unlike me to hold my wildcard until Gameweek 10. I’ve been debating activating the wildcard for several weeks but now feels like the right time. I’ve relied heavily on the Gameweek 10 Form and Fixture Charts for my drafts to bring in the right players. Here’s my current draft: it hasn’t changed for 24 hours, but keep an eye on my Twitter account for any last minute changes due to injuries.⚠️IF Kane plays v Palace in GW11, then he goes out on international duty. Expect Poch to keep him out so he’s fresh for Arsenal (A) in GW12! https://t.co/M9s4K7325a
— Fantasy Football Community (@FFCommunity_) October 27, 2017
Forwards
The general theme this season has been a reliance on premium strikers, with few budget options emerging as reliable contenders. The most important consideration when playing the wildcard was to make sure I’d be able to chop and change between the form forwards over the next few weeks.Midfielders
There were a number of key players on the shopping list here. With the City striker double up, I looked to Spurs and Liverpool for my premium midfielder slot. I decided that it was too much to go for double Spurs attackers, so invested in their defence instead. Out of the Liverpool midfield, Salah has provided the most consistency so far this season and his starting berth is the most secure. Liverpool have some promising fixtures coming up and he may also be on penalties. Given the funds spent in my front line, I couldn’t afford another premium midfielder and nobody appealed in the £6.5-£8.0 million price bracket so I decided to spend the funds on two premium defenders instead. Watford and Brighton rated highly in the Form v Fixture Charts, so I’ve invested in Richarlison and Groß. Both have started the season strongly and are central to goal involvement for thief respective teams. Now the fixtures have improved, this should continue. The budget end of midfield has Choupo-Moting and Carroll. Choupo-Moting has some excellent underlying statistics and an easy run of fixtures coming. He’s developing a good relationship with Diouf and should continue to provide good value for money through the easy schedule. Loftus-Cheek and Surman were considered along with Carroll for the budget 5th midfielder slot. I was concerned about the reliability of Loftus-Cheek starting every game and Surman has been fortunate to return so far, so Carroll got the place due to his strong underlying statistics.Defenders
I’ve gone with the Form v Fixture Charts again here with picks from Manchester City, Spurs, Brighton and Watford. I’ve used the funds saved in the midfield and goalkeeping positions to ensure that I’ve got 5 playing defenders. I’ve splashed out on Kyle Walker for Manchester City as I feel that he offers a better attacking threat for Manchester City than Otamendi and Stones, plus Otamendi is only 2 yellow cards away from a suspension. Walker has 4 assists already and that figure will increase as the season progresses. It was a similar situation with Spurs defence, as the wing backs are rotation risks. Vertonghen had much better underlying statistics than Alderweireld, he was rested in the League Cup and appears to have the licence to roam forward given the defensive security of a back 3. Even though Spurs have some tough fixtures, I’ll be starting him for every game and expect 3 clean sheets in the next 4. It was only a couple of weeks ago that I was considering a premium defence but times are changing and there’s been just 4 clean sheets in the past two gameweeks. Clean sheet kings, Manchester United, looked frail against Huddersfield and have a tough couple of games so I’ve opted for 3 cheap starting options for the final slots. Duffy comes in for Brighton as he had a better record than Dunk in terms of bonus and attacking potential. Watford made a good defensive start to the season and Kiko Femenia looked lively in the wing back role against Chelsea. I’m expecting Marco Silva to sure up the defence with a favourable run of fixtures and hopefully Kiko can get some attacking returns too. The last spot goes to Ward who’s matching the premium options with a goal and assist already within a defensive minded Burnley team. Mee was the other consideration but Ward looked like the best option when delving into the statistics. This strong back line with guaranteed starters will help to combat any injuries or suspensions in my squad further up the field.Goalkeepers
I’ve gone for a low budget combination here, for an outlay of only £8.0 million. Elliot has been in my squad since GW1 and keeps his place: he’s provided excellent value for money so far. Speroni is a slight gamble but appears to be the first choice keeper for Crystal Palace now. He’s conceded just 1 goal in his 2 starts and was rested in the League Cup. Meanwhile, Hennessey conceded 4 goals so it’s likely Hodgson will choose Julian instead in the Premier League. I’ve never been a fan of spending a lot on goalkeepers and these two rotate pretty well too!?On a wildcard this week? Consider this budget goalkeeper rotation for £8.2 million
— Fantasy Football Community (@FFCommunity_) October 24, 2017
WHU-BOU-EVE-STK-wba-wba-BOU-WAT-lei-swa-ARS-BRI-stk-BUR pic.twitter.com/MZvmiWK7s9
Community Thoughts
I’m not the only one with an active wildcard this week, a number of the community have been busy tinkering and offering their tips. Here’s a round up of their latest hints and drafts.The GeneralHe’s activated his wildcard this week and has already previewed one draft for the Fantasy Football Mag podcast. He’s also shared a thread of his essentials, his latest draft and some food for thought regarding riskier picks.https://twitter.com/fplgeneral/status/922574768594935808Thread: My Wildcard squad.
— FPL General (@FPLGeneral) October 24, 2017
Throughout this week I'll post images of the players I'll be including in my WC squad.
Varun and The Editor share their suggested drafts and ideas.*excluding City assets. My point is: make sure you have a strong bench with no duds.
— FPL General (@FPLGeneral) October 26, 2017
If I had a wildcard active this will be my current team. For anyone looking for suggestions. Hope this helps. #FPl pic.twitter.com/140ezIQpDD
— Varun Bansal (@Varun_esque) October 24, 2017
Gaffer Tapes, John, Kegga and Ken reveal their latest drafts.Drafted a team that includes:
— The Editor (@FPLEditor) October 24, 2017
Kane
Agüero
Morata
Salah
Pogba
Ramsey (or 7.0<)
Richarlison
Jones
Cédric
Ward
4.5
Pope/Elliot
Tasty! ? #FPL
Latest draft of my Wildcard #Balls
— The Gaffer Tapes (@TheGafferTapes) October 26, 2017
Had Morata instead of Vardy in the draft before, but had the shittest bench ever as a result.#FPL pic.twitter.com/C3ayCfpd88
WC Update. If things go ok later then this should be me for GW10 & going forward (Eriksen in for Salah very likely soon). Capt not yet set pic.twitter.com/Q4N2IMLFHK
— John G (@GriftersUnited) October 25, 2017
Latest Wildcard Draft! I don't know who to start… pic.twitter.com/qSh2ul2Gtr
— FPL_Kegga (@FPL_Kegga) October 25, 2017
Thank you for reading. Don’t forget to read the Gameweek 10 Preview, Community Podcast and Manchester City RotationsA WC team like this should avoid rotation headaches that have plagued #FPL managers. Flexible, captaincy options – looks OK to me! ? pic.twitter.com/sAenSbznEB
— Ken Rooney (@KenRooney) October 25, 2017