When is the best time to Wildcard in FPL 2023/24?

Each team has two in total, with the first one needing to be used by Gameweek 20. So let’s calculate when the best time to Wildcard will be.

Without a pandemic or mid-season World Cup to consider, the schedule should be relatively normal for 2023/24. Whatever normal is.

There are regular international breaks, the return of a split-week winter recovery and FPL is back down to two spells of unlimited transfers. No post-World Cup squad refreshment, just a pair of Wildcards to be used before and after Gameweek 20.

When using this summer to draft our initial squads, it’s good to have a rough idea of when the first Wildcard could be activated. Here are some ideas.

Deciding the best time to Wildcard

Fixture swings

As covered by Fantasy Football Scout, some teams have strong early fixtures whilst some must wait until they get favourable. It’d be useful if there was one week where good runs transition into bad and vice versa.

Using this, Gameweek 8 is a time when Arsenal and Man City face each other and Brentford visit Man United. Meanwhile, fixtures improve for Aston Villa and Spurs one week before Liverpool’s get brilliant.

International breaks

Another option is during the two-week gaps that precede Gameweeks 5, 9 and 13. It allows more time to think of ideas whilst also being able to quickly respond to any international injuries.

Combining this with a fixture swing would be even better. Gameweek 9 gives Chelsea and Everton assets one more outing before the aforementioned move towards Aston Villa, Spurs and Liverpool names. It’s a week closer to Brighton and West Ham’s superb matches too.

Although Gameweek 13 is the start of Bournemouth, Burnley and Fulham runs, managers may have lesser interest in those sides.

A proactive, early usage

As a community, we have so many questions and uncertainties heading into the opening deadline. Formations and favoured XIs may have been hinted at but we’ve not seen any Premier League action to confirm things.

By Gameweek 4, most of these have been quickly answered and the transfer window has slammed shut. Some managers will see it as a proactive move to optimise their squad with early bandwagons and capture the price rises of a chaotic period. No chasing, no time to waste.

Conclusion

The disadvantage of using a precious Wildcard so early is that it’ll likely be a long time until the second one gets used. Should an injury crisis occur or a collection of must-have players emerge, you’d be forced into either suffering or taking four-point hits.

Therefore the optimum time to activate this first Wildcard is likely around Gameweek 9. Able to react to any international break injuries, it’s also a time when several notable fixture swings are about to take place.

Of course, if you’re lucky enough to have had a brilliant start, your squad may already be well-equipped, meaning the chip can be used far deeper into the season.