FPL GW26 Wildcard Team & Drafts to Consider

After being discarded as not being an ideal gameweek to wildcard, it turns out that FPL GW26 could actually be a good week to wildcard. Using the FPL wildcard chip this week will allow managers to build a team for the doubles in GW27 and GW29 plus the blank in GW28. There are a few chip strategy that could emerge from wildcarding this week and in this blog, we look at different drafts with projections(How the draft will look in GW27, GW28, and GW29 with planned moves) that covers most of the popular chip strategies considered by managers who are wildcarding this week(No chips till GW29, BB in GW29, FH in GW28, etc)

Shoutout to @BenCrellin for his great planner and @_FPLteam for his amazing team planning tool

Link to all our FPL GW26 blogs including Fixtures to target, Double and blank game-week news, Predicted GW26 Lineups, Captaincy metrics, transfer trends, and more. Completely free to access as well!

FPL GW26 Wildcard Guide

FPL Fixture Ticker Starting GW26 till GW38

FPL GW26 to GW38 planner — Credits to **@BenCrellin** for the planner

Key points to note about upcoming Double and Blank Gameweeks

FPL DGW27: FPL GW27 is a double gameweek with Brighton, Brentford, Crystal Palace, and Southampton doubling.
FPL BGW28: Blank gameweek due to FA Cup 6th round(Quarterfinals) with seven confirmed fixtures(Arsenal vs Palace, Villa vs Bournemouth, Chelsea vs Everton, Forest vs Newcastle, Brentford vs Leicester, Wolves vs Leeds, Southampton vs Spurs) and three blanks
FPL DGW29: FPL DGW29 is the biggest double of the season with 12 teams doubling
FPL BGW32: Blank gameweek due to FA Cup Semi-finals with currently 7 confirmed fixtures, 4 teams expected to blank which will be known during GW28 weekend which clashes with the FA Cup quarter-finals. Man city vs Brighton, Fulham vs Leeds or Man United vs Chelsea will be two likely blanks in GW32!
FPL DGW34: 4 or 6 could double to accommodate the GW28/32 blanks
FPL DGW37: 4 or 6 teams could double to accommodate the GW28/32 blanks
There will also be one mini-double in gameweek 30/31/35/36 when Brighton and most likely Newcastle will Double to accommodate the Brighton vs Newcastle game which was postponed due to the Carabao cup finals.

Summary of the key teams from an FPL GW26 Wildcard Perspective

Brighton & Brentford surely double in GW27 and GW29. Brentford have a fixture in BGW28 and have a fixture in BGW32 as well
Leicester surely have a game in BGW28 and BGW32 plus have a double in GW29.
Eight teams: Newcastle, Leeds United, Brentford, Nottingham Forest, Leicester City, Bournemouth, Aston Villa & Chelsea will not blank GW28 and Double in GW29.
Six teams: Arsenal, Spurs, Southampton, Palace, Wolves & Everton have a sure game in GW28 but will not double in GW29
Spurs will not blank in GW28 and GW32 but will also not double once again this season.

Teams with a sure fixture in GW28

Newcastle United vs Nottingham Forest
Chelsea vs Everton
Aston Villa vs Bournemouth
Arsenal vs Crystal Palace
Wolves vs Leeds
Brentford vs Leicester
Southampton vs Spurs

Teams surely blanking in GW28: Man City, Man United, Brighton, West Ham, Liverpool, and Fulham

7 confirmed fixtures and 3 postponements in GW28

Teams with a sure game in GW28 and double in GW29:

Teams that could cover both BGW28 & DGW29:

The below eight teams are confirmed to play in GW28 and have a double in GW29.

Chelsea
Aston Villa
Newcastle
Nottingham Forest
Bournemouth
Leicester
Brentford
Leeds United

Teams with a double in GW27 and GW29:

Brighton
Brentford

Full summary and likely blanks/doubles till the end of the season in the blog below!

Confirmed & Likely FPL Double Gameweeks From FPL GW26

In this blog, we take a look at the confirmed & likely double/blank gameweeks in FPL starting FPL GW26 with all the latest DGW/BGW news & announcements.

Confirmed FPL Double Gameweeks From FPL GW36

Pros and Cons of FPL GW26 Wildcard

Pros:

Can set up your team for the GW27, GW29 Doubles as well as GW28 Blank. Can save the Free Hit for later.
Can use Bench Boost in GW29(with 11-14 Doublers) for the Biggest Double Gameweek of the season.
Helps you to clear Liverpool assets who play Man United in GW26, Blank in GW27, and have a tricky double in GW29(Chelsea, and Man City both away). You can also remove injury risks and rotation-prone players like Nketiah now that Jesus is closing on a return.
No significant difference in terms of information as we have the GW28 blank fixtures and will have the GW32 blank scenarios before the GW26 deadline itself.
A lot of FPL teams are stacked with Liverpool assets who are expensive and face a strong Man United side in GW26
The two popular teams that double in GW27 (Brighton & Brentford) actually have good fixtures in GW26, Brentford play Fulham(H) and Brighton play West Ham(H). Additionally, Brentford have a game in blank GW28 too while also doubling in GW29.

Cons:

Big gap between FPL GW26 and GW29 with an international break falling between GW28 & GW29 as well and a lot could change in terms of form, injuries, etc. GW29 Bench Boost plan may drop off due to these injuries.
Mac Allister who played in an advanced role in the last two premier league games actually played deeper in the FA Cup game vs Stoke, there is no guarantee whether he’ll play in an advanced role or not. Delaying the WC by a week will help you get answers for these questions.
Ivan Toney also has pleaded guilty to FA Charges for betting and could be banned for a while. Although there is no timeline for when the ban will be conveyed which makes things tricky for managers on whether or not to get him.

Players to target on GW26 Wildcard(Team Wise)

Brighton: Estupinian, Dunk, Mitoma, March, Mac Allister, Sanchez
Brentford: Toney, Raya, Mbeumo, Mee, Henry
Spurs: Kane, Emerson
Aston Villa: Watkins, Mings (A lot of rotation risk in the rest of defence and attack)
Chelsea: Kepa, James, Badiashile, Felix, Chilwell (Kepa and Felix are the two safest options with a decent potential from Chelsea atm. James, Chilwell, and Badiashile are still not surely nailed). Silva is ruled out for 6 weeks but there are three players(Badiashile, Fofana and Koulibaily competing for two CB spots)
Arsenal: Gabriel, Zinchenko, Saka, and Odegaard (Nketiah’s time might come to an end with Trossard playing well and the imminent return of Jesus who has posted pictures of him training)
Newcastle: Trippier, Botman, Schar, and Almiron
Bournemouth: Solanke
Leicester: Iheanacho, Ward, Barnes, Maddison
West Ham: Bowen

Further Read: When to Use Your FPL Chips? FPL Chip Strategy Explained

GW26 Wildcard vs GW27 Wildcard

By Wildcarding in GW26, Attack the good fixtures of Brighton and Brentford in GW26 and avoid Liverpool who play Man United
By Wildcarding in GW27, you’ll have a little bit more clarity on Brighton assets(March/Estupinan were out of their FA Cup game against Stoke), Mac Allister who played in an advanced role in the last two PL games actually played deeper against stoke, Welback is also back from injury which might impact enabler Ferguson’s minutes. By waiting one more week we’ll have a lot more information on Brighton assets.
By Wildcarding in GW27, Maybe or maybe not we’ll have some sort of clarity on Toney’s charges and potential ban plus we can see if he gets a YC in GW26 or not which will put him one more card closer to a 2 game suspension.

Brighton Latest Injury update(03/03/2023)- From GW26 Pre-match press conference

FPL GW26 Wildcard Drafts

FPL GW26 Wildcard Draft 1 with Kane

This strategy involves a Wildcard in GW26, no free hit in GW28, and a bench boost in GW29. You can also wish to use the same draft without a bench boost in GW29 but there might be benching dilemmas.

Estpunian can become Dunk if he’s ruled out, both are priced at 4.7 Million
March can become Mac Allister if March is out

Brighton midfielders:

March has been in great form for Brighton since the WC break(5 goals, 2 assists in 8 games) and is the joint 4th highest-scoring player with only Haaland, Bruno, and Rashford scoring more points than March. He’s also on top of the underlying numbers for Brighton. Have an eye on March’s injury news.

Interestingly since Lallana’s injury, Mac Allister has been playing in an advanced role for Brighton in the last two games and has had an xG of 2.12 and a whopping 4 big chances in 2 games. If he continues in the 10 role then he’s a great option as well. Do note: Mac Allister who played in an advanced role in the last two premier league games actually played deeper in the FA Cup game vs Stoke, there is no guarantee whether he’ll play in an advanced role or not.

Mitoma is the form player for Brighton and generally scores from low xG chances which is why his underlying numbers are not as high as March/Mac Allister. He also got the assist for Ferguson’s goal against Stoke in the FA Cup!

Brighton mids in the last two games after Lallana’s injury

Estupinan is the other Brighton player in the draft. He is in excellent form with 35 points from last 5 games with 3 assists.

Brentford plays a Palhinha less Fulham in GW26 and Brentford also have good fixtures after playing Fulham in GW26 their next 3 opponents Everton, Southampton, and Leicester are leaky in defense and are ranked 17th, 16th, and 20th worst for Goals conceded in Premier League since the World Cup break.

It’s your choice on which attacker to get from Brentford: Mbeumo is a safe option, Toney’s ban could well be delayed and you can punt on him but it’s an uncertain situation. He also has a YC issue, listed below.

Cons of bringing on Toney ahead of FPL GW26:

On 8 yellow cards. 2 yellow cards away from a 2-game suspension.
Chances that his FA sanction for betting allegations is coming soon.

Toney is in because his FA sanction looks like will take time, if you are not confident you can have Mbeumo/Iheanacho/Watkins too from GW26 WC itself
If you’re not confident in double Newcastle defence then you can have Mings to instead of Botman. Both double in 29, have a fixture in BGW28 and BGW32
Sanchez and Ward is also a great GK rotation combination but the only con is that Sanchez doesn’t keep a lot of CS and has not got a great save potential like Raya. Raya & Kepa is a decent combo too but expensive compared to other combinations.
Zinchenko could also be a Chelsea defender(James) as Chelsea double in GW29 but Arsenal don’t double in GW29. You can then use the FT in GW29 for converting another single gameweek player to a doubler. James and the rest of Chelsea’s defence could also be rotated which is another cause of concern.

How the draft will look in FPL GW27?

Transfer plan: Save the free transfer
Number of doublers: Six doublers three from Brighton and three from Brentford

How the draft will look in FPL GW28?

Transfer plan: One free used to manage FPL GW28 without the free hit chip, Haaland out for Watkins

Ollie Watkins has been in great form for Aston Villa scoring 5 goals in the last 5 games. His overall numbers are also looking great and is currently nailed to start all games for Villa. Aston Villa have a great run of fixtures and are also one of the eight teams that have a game in blank gameweek 28 and double in GW29.

Removing Haaland sounds like a big risk. But for the short term(b/w GW28-GW29), Haaland has one fixture whereas the likes of Watkins has three fixtures and should potentially outscore him during this period.

The number of players in FPL BGW28: 10 players, you can even use the other free transfer to remove one of (Estupinian, Mitoma, March, or Rashford who all double in GW29 tho) and field 11 players

How the draft will look in FPL DGW29?

Transfer plan: Two free transfers, Saka to Bruno, Zinchenko to Shaw, and Bench Boost
You can play 14 doublers plus Kane
Number of players doubling in GW29: 14 doublers + Haaland

How the draft will look in FPL GW32?

As it stands there are seven confirmed fixtures. You can always free hit in GW32 as you’re not free hitting in GW28 but if you want to free hit in GW34/37 then you can still put out a decent team for GW32 based on the above wildcard GW26 team.

Confirmed FPL GW32 Fixtures (As it stands):

Brentford vs Aston Villa
Crystal Palace vs Everton
Liverpool vs Nottingham Forest
Leicester vs Wolves
Bournemouth vs West Ham
Newcastle vs Spurs
Arsenal vs Southampton

The above team from GW29 without any moves will have 9 players

The core of the team is pretty decent and you can use the three free transfers in GW30,31 and GW32 to build a decent team for the GW32 blanks. The teams that blank in GW28/32 will also be the ones to double in GW34/37 so you need to plan accordingly keeping both the blank in 32 and the double in 34/37 in mind. The GW32 blanks will be known over the GW28 weekend and the doubles in GW34/37 could be known before or after the DGW29 deadline.

FPL GW26 Wildcard Draft 2 (without Haaland)

There is obviously a big risk to go without Haaland but there is a strong case for doing the same. Haaland does blank in GW28, does not double in GW29, and is not a straightforward Captaincy option from GW26-GW29.

You can bring back Haaland in GW30 as City face Southampton(A) and Leicester(H) in GW30 and GW31 before a likely blank in GW32. Or if you are brave enough, you can bring him back only in GW33 for the final stretch of the season!

How the team will look like for FPL GW27?

Transfer rolled with already 5 Double Gameweek players(Estupinan, March, Mitoma, Raya, Toney)

How the team will look for GW28?

1 Free Transfer(March/Mitoma) to Almiron/Gibbs White
Other Free transfer rolled to attack the GW29(Bench Boost)
11 Confirmed players for GW28

How the team will look for GW29?

3 transfers used(-4). Fernandes, Felix/Ihenacho, Shaw IN for Saka, Kane and Zinchenko.
15 Double Gameweek players for GW29 and Bench Boost chip activated.
Alternatively you could have Saka+ 14 DGW players and not do the hit.

How the team will look for GW32 blank?

This is how the team will look like(without doing any transfers from GW30-GW32) for the GW32 Blank Gameweek with the confirmed fixtures as it stands. We will know the confirmed list of fixtures for GW32 before the GW29 deadline.
We already have 8 confirmed players. Using the 3 Free transfers from GW30-GW32 could well help you get 11 players for the GW32.

FPL GW26 Wildcard Draft 3 without Kane

This strategy involves a Wildcard in GW26, no free hit in GW28, and a bench boost in GW29. You can also wish to use the same draft without a bench boost in GW29 but there might be benching dilemmas.

Alternative draft plan:

Since there is a lot of money in the bank, you can potentially have Kane instead of Watkins and bring Watkins in for Haaland in BGW28 as Haaland blanks in GW28 and will not double in GW29.

Alternatively, Iheanacho could also become Kane to have Kane, Watkins, and Haaland too.

Lastly, if you’re brave you can remove Haaland directly in GW26 WC and have Toney/Iheancho/Mbeumo, Watkins, and Kane as your forwards(Check Draft 3 below)!

Brentford and Leiester Goal keeper rotation from FPL GW26 till FPL GW33

If you don’t want to bench boost in GW29 and don’t need a second GK then Raya alone is also a great option as he doubles in GW27, GW29, and also a sure game in GW28. A lot of managers still have Ward as their 2nd keeper and he too has a sure game in GW28, GW32 and doubles in GW29. Interestingly both Raya and Ward will also have a sure game in BGW32 as well. So a Raya + Ward combination also works wonderfully while saving a bit more money than a Kepa + Raya combination.

Further Read: Confirmed & Likely FPL Double/Blank Gameweeks From FPL GW26