Pros + cons of a Wildcard in FPL Gameweek 4

Numerous FPL managers are using this international break to fix their problems with a Wildcard. But is Gameweek 4 the right time?

Everyone gets two of these chips per season, allowing unlimited free transfers to your 15-man squad. They’re very important to overall Fantasy performance and some believe that enough information has been provided in these opening three weekends of Premier League action.

There are pros and cons to activating it right now.

PROS OF GAMEWEEK 4 WILDCARD

SELL BAD ASSETS

Firstly, several bad assets have quickly emerged, to the point where unlucky managers might struggle to field an XI. Jarell Quansah (£4.3m) became an instant problem, Dominic Solanke (£7.5m) got injured and Phil Foden (£9.4m) has played just 45 minutes.

16.8% began with Christopher Nkunku (£6.3m), before watching in horror as he was taken off early in Gameweek 1 and benched for both matches since. Then there’s the poor starts of Bruno Fernandes (£8.4m) and Ollie Watkins (£8.9m).

JUMP ONTO PRICE CHANGES

Naturally, this coincides with many price drops – which have a more devastating effect at this early stage, as losing £0.1m in a player effectively blocks £0.5m.

Three players have already risen £0.2m, while 12 have dropped the same amount. Wildcarders can therefore use this volatile time to increase team value and stop the rot.

Newcastle trio Alexander Isak (£8.5m), Anthony Gordon (£7.5m) and Lewis Hall (£4.5m) look likely to drop, whilst Mohamed Salah (£12.6m) and Bryan Mbeumo (£7.1m) will keep increasing.

TRANSFER WINDOW HAS CLOSED

This international break gives two weeks to crack the Wildcard code, boosted by Friday’s closure of the summer transfer window. It means some questions now have an answer.

Newcastle failed to buy a centre-back and their defence should be avoided, plus the lack of new forwards at Chelsea and Man City means less rotation for Nicolas Jackson (£7.6m) and Erling Haaland (£15.2m).

KNOWLEDGE OF CHEAP ENABLERS

A popular pre-season pick was Brighton’s Valentin Barco (£4.0m), seemingly set to be one of the few starters at the game’s lowest price.

However, he’s gone on loan to Sevilla and Ipswich’s Ben Johnson (£4.0m) isn’t the regular we thought he’d be.

By improving such enablers, managers suddenly have more squad depth for the long term. Southampton’s cheap defenders are playing, as are Jacob Greaves (£4.0m) and Yerson Mosquera (£4.0m).

In midfield, Harry Winks (£4.5m) and Tim Iroegbunam (£4.5m) have played every minute, although the only bargain basement goalkeeper to appear is Lukasz Fabianski‘s (£4.0m) half. Up front, only five remain at £4.5m and none of them have played a single minute.

CONS OF GAMEWEEK 4 WILDCARD

TOO EARLY

On the other hand, the majority of FPL managers remain adamant that it’s simply too early to activate. The sample size of data is tiny and we’ve not had the European competitions get underway.

By using the chip now, it’ll likely be at least another 20 or 25 Gameweeks until the second Wildcard is used. A huge amount of time.

NO FIXTURE SWINGS

Meanwhile, it’s nice for the Wildcard to occur alongside major fixture swings. Gameweek 4 is lacking notable ones.

Whereas Gameweek 6 sees attractive runs end for Liverpool, Newcastle and Brighton, just as things get good for Arsenal and Brentford.

Those who began with Salah could keep him for home matches against Nottingham Forest and Bournemouth, before moving him onto someone like Bukayo Saka (£10.1m) or Cole Palmer (£10.6m).