For those who still have the Wildcard chip, Using the FPL wildcard chip this week ahead of FPL GW9 may not be a bad idea at all during the International break. It is time to get your season back on track. In this article, let’s discuss the Pros and cons of GW9 Wildcard, GW9 vs GW10 Wildcard, Players to Target on GW9 Wildcard, and the Best FPL GW9 Wildcard drafts.
Link to all our FPL GW9 blogs including Buy, Hold, Sell analysis, Differentials, Captaincy metrics, Best GW9 Wildcard Drafts, Tips, and more. Completely free to access as well!
In case you want to check out the other Wildcard windows, check out our detailed blog for the same -> When to Play Your First FPL Wildcard? | Best Windows & Analysis
FPL GW9 Wildcard Guide
FPL Fixture Ticker from GW9-13
Pros and Cons of FPL GW9 Wildcard
Pros of FPL GW9 Wildcard:
- Get Salah and change up your team structure.
- Can attack your team with Liverpool, Villa, Newcastle, Brighton and West Ham players who all good fixtures.
- Offload Chelsea assets – Their good fixture run would have ended and their form has not been great as well
- Get the ideal team you want without being priced out as there are heavy fluctuations in price changes during the international break.
- Remove injured players like Estupinan and Chilwell if you still have them. Get rid of Mbeumo as his form has dipped and fixtures are difficult as well.
Cons of FPL GW9 Wildcard:
GW9 vs GW10 Wildcard:
- If you already have Bruno/Rashford, you can give them last chance vs Sheffield United in GW9 and the Wildcard later in GW10.
- Saka is an injury doubt for GW9 and also has a slightly difficult game in GW9 vs Chelsea. Wildcarding in GW10 can allow you to have the Saka/Other Arsenal assets for their good fixtures from GW10. We will also have clarity on Saka injury situation
- Son plays Fulham in GW9 which is a great fixture. There is a case to not have him on GW10 Wildcard when Spurs fixtures are a mixed bag. And get Arsenal mids/Bowen instead.
Players to target on Gameweek 9 Wildcard(Team Wise)
- Liverpool: Salah, Darwin, Diaz, TAA, Tsimikas
- Arsenal: Saka(if fit), Martinelli, Odegaard, Jesus, Gabriel, Saliba
- Spurs: Son, Maddison, Udogie, Porro
- West Ham: Areola, Ward Prowse, Bowen
- Newcastle: Trippier, Burn, Schar, Gordon, Anderson(Midfield Enabler, 4.4 Million), Almiron
- Aston Villa: Diaby, Watkins, Cash
- Brighton: Mitoma, Ferguson, Pedro
- Bournemouth: Solanke, Neto
- Man City: Haaland, Alvarez
- Wolves: Neto
- Palace: Andersen/Guehi, Edouard
- Man United: Bruno Fernandes
- Chelsea: Cole Palmer(4.9 Million), Carney Chukwuemeka(Enabler, 4.3 Million)
- Burnley: Charlie Taylor(3.9 Million Playing defender, Good bench option if you want to save 0.1 on someone like Kabore)
Further Read: Teams & Players to Target From FPL GW9 | Fixture Swing Analysis
FPL GW9 Wildcard Drafts
Note: Budget may vary for every manager based on their team value, if you fall short by 0.1/0.2 go for an alternative at that price point from the players to target list above.
FPL GW9 Wildcard Draft 1
Goal Keepers:
- This draft has Areola and Turner as the goalkeepers, you can go with both of them or if you want to save 0.2 million on Turner you can go with Strakosha(Who might start till Flekken is back/Another 3.9 million GK option)
Defenders
- Cash is the 1st defender in this draft, He’s in a league of his own amongst defenders with an attacking threat, his xGI(3.71) is comfortably first amongst defenders with the next best being Trippier(2.58). Fun stat: Also, his xG of 3.84 is nearly the same as Julian Alvarez’s (3.79) so far this season!
- We have gone for Porro over Udogie in this draft, Porro has been more attacking when compared to Udogie in the last few games and was unlucky not to haul vs Luton in GW8. Porro’s attacking numbers are better than Udogie which can be seen below. The 0.2 Million difference is worth it for going Porro over Udogie. Also, Porro is on only one yellow card, Whereas Udogie is on three yellow cards already(Five yellow cards before GW19 leads to a one-game suspension)
- Arsenal have conceded only 6 goals(Joint lowest in the league) and their xGC of 6.63 is also the second lowest in the League so far this season. Gabriel at just 4.7 million is a safe option to consider from an elite defence. Arsenal have the fixtures in the long run as well and Gabriel can be held as a long-term option.
- Botman is expected to be back for GW9 and he is the Newcastle defence cover in this draft, If he’s not fit you can go for Burn. Newcastle defence has the third-best defensive numbers amongst all teams so far this season(Only 9 goals conceded from an xGC of 8.20 in spite of playing some tough games)
- Charlie Taylor at 3.9 Million is the last option in this draft as bench cover
Midfielders
Salah is the joint highest-scoring player in FPL so far this season, and has blanked only once all season. Salah’s xGI of 8.0 is the highest amongst all midfielders so far this season. Liverpool have a great run of games coming up and Salah could emerge as a good alternate captaincy option to Haaland as well.
Top Midfielders sorted by xGI(GW1-8)
- Saka(if he’s fit) is the second midfielder in this draft, his xGI of 6.53 is the 2nd highest amongst midfielders so far this season, Arsenal have a good run of games and Saka should offer consistent returns.
- Bowen has had seven big chances in the eight games so far, which is the joint highest along with Salah. Bowen however doesn’t have penalties which are counted as big chances in the case of Salah. Bowen’s 5 goals and an assist has fetched him 50 points, which is more than the likes of Maddison and Odegaard
- Bruno for sure has been a disappointing pick this season but he still has good numbers and Man United still have good fixtures(Sheffield(Worst xGC), Fulham(4th worst xGC), and Luton(Fifth most goals conceded) in the next four games). Not to forget he’s also the designated penalty taker and with key players returning from injury, Bruno’s returns should improve. Bruno’s xGI of 5.83 is the 5th highest amongst all midfielders and comfortably higher than all other Man United players
- Mitoma and Brighton have had a tough run of games but that’s changing with the Seagulls having a fixture swing from GW10, Mitoma has 3 goals and 3 assists already, and with fixtures improving his returns should improve as well. Brighton have scored the most goals amongst all teams(21) so far this season and their xG of 16.59 is the 3rd highest in the League.
Forwards
- Haaland and Alvarez double up in this draft, Haaland has been quiet in the last few games but that shouldn’t be the case for long. The Brighton game in GW9 is an excellent opportunity for Haaland and Man City to bounce back. Haaland’s 15 big chances in eight games is comfortably first amongst all players with Isak the only other player to have hit double digit for big chances(10) so far this season.
Brighton’s defensive woes- Defense Rank among all teams this season:
- Goals Conceded- 16th
- Big Chances Conceded- 13th
- Expected Goals Conceded- 13th
- Julian Alvarez is a nailed asset to consider from Man City if you haven’t owned him yet this season, he’s on set piece and free kick duty, he has also started all games so far this season and is a crucial player especially in the absence of KDB
- You can go with Watkins ahead of Alvarez in this draft if you can afford it.
Further Read: Teams & Players to Target From FPL GW9 | Fixture Swing Analysis
FPL GW9 Wildcard Draft 2
- Watkins should be a no-brainer in GW9 Wildcard draft. He has blanked in only one of the 8 games this season and has the most FPL points(59) this season. It is difficult to look beyond Watkins for this fixture run in the next 4 games.
Watkins stats this season:
- Shots inside the box- 24(2nd)
- Big Chances- 8(4th)
- Assists- 7(1st)
- Goal Involvements- 11(1st)
- FPL Points- 59(Joint 1st)
- Son comes into this draft. Since he started playing as a striker(GW4), Son has the most FPL points(46) in the league. He also tops the xGI chart among midfielders during this time(4.0).
- Son to Saka in GW10/later is an option in this draft. Also getting Diaby over Ward Prowse on the Wildcard is also a great option if he is confirmed fit.
- Neto is also a good option if we don’t get good updates with respect to Mitoma’s fitness. Neto has 6 assists this season which is the Highest among all midfielders this season. Wolves also have good fixtures in the upcoming games to back it up.
- Schar is mentioned in this draft, but if you have good team value you can go for Trippier as well.
Further Read: When to play your first Wildcard?- Best Windows and Analysis
FPL GW9 Wildcard Draft 3
- This draft covers almost all the bases(Salah+Haaland+ Trippier+ Watkins+Saka), but you would need a good team value to afford this. You can downgrade Trippier to Schar if you don’t have team value.
- This draft has the Arsenal midfield double up of Saka and Martinelli. Martinelli is back from injury and got the winning goal vs City in GW8. Getting ahead of the curve with an Arsenal attack double-up ahead of this fixture run can work well.
- Trippier has been a different beast since GW5 with 3 clean sheets, 5 assists(1st among all players), 10 bonus points(1st among all players), and 44 points(1st among all players) from 4 games averaging 11 points/game. Even with the slightly mixed fixture run, Trippier has the capacity to get points and can be a good set-and-forget pick.
- Crystal Palace have excellent fixtures from GW11-GW15 where they might keep 3-4 clean sheets from 5 games. In fact, Palace are already Joint Top for clean sheets this season with 4 clean sheets. Andersen is the Highest-scoring Defender in the game with 51 points and has already risen to 4.9 million. He is a good option, but if you are not able to afford him, Guehi/Mitchell/Johnstone(GK) are good options at 4.5 million
FPL GW9 Wildcard Draft 4
- You can switch Bruno/Maddison to an Arsenal midfielder in GW10 based on how they perform this week.
- This draft covers 3 forwards- Haaland, Watkins, and Alvarez with a 3-4-3 formation.
- Tsimikas at 4.4 million can be a good differential pick in Emerson’s place as it looks like Robertson’s injury is serious and can be out for a while.
Further Read: Confirmed & Likely FPL Double/Blank Gameweeks | 23/24 Season
FPL GW9 Wildcard Draft 5
- Disclaimer- This is No-Haaland Draft. Try it at your own risk.
- TAA makes this draft. He is back from injury and could be among the points in this relatively easy fixture run.
- This draft also has Tsimikas who might be a good punt with decent fixtures if we get news that Robertson is out long-term(got injured in the international break).
Further reads from ALLABOUTFPL ahead of FPL GW9
When to play your first Wildcard?- Best Windows and Analysis
FPL GW9 Tips & Preview – Breaking Down The Key Dilemmas
Top FPL Gameweek 9 Captain Picks Based on Analysis & Metrics
FPL GW9 Scout Picks Based on Stats, Analysis, and Matchups
Top FPL GW9 Differential Picks(<10% TSB)
FPL GW9 Wildcard Guide- Best Drafts, Players to Target, GW9 vs GW10 Wildcard
Best FPL Budget Enablers to Consider From FPL GW9 Onwards
FPL GW9 Transfer Tips- Players to Buy/Hold/Sell
FPL GW9 Transfer Targets & Watchlist Based On Eye Test & Stats
Teams & Players to Target From FPL GW9 | Fixture Swing Analysis
Confirmed & Likely FPL Double/Blank Gameweeks | 23/24 Season
FPL GW9 Ultimate Guide: Tips, Differentials, Captaincy & More
Link to all our FPL GW9 blogs including buy, hold, sell analysis, differentials, captaincy metrics, transfer targets, and more. Completely free to access as well!
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Srinivasan S
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