Cianan’s Column: GW32: It’s crunch time

Before Arsenal were bundled out of the FA Cup by Championship-dwelling Southampton, the chip strategy seemed all so simple. Hence, the Gunners no longer double in GW33, and neither do their opponents, Newcastle. Many have thus questioned whether it’s even worth deploying their wildcard with a far more restricted repertoire of player options available.

For me, the decision about whether to stick with the GW32 strategy or not is made easier by the fact that my GW32 team pre-wildcard is hardly dazzling. Watkins, Thiaw, Andersen, and so on are not assets set to excel this week, and if you similarly own many mediocre GW32 players, it helps swing the pendulum in favour of an earlier wildcard and free-hitting in blank GW34. You can delay until GW35 to navigate the blank while instead using your free hit in GW33, which is perhaps slightly safer, but also veers into punishable over-caution if it’s a high-scoring double gameweek. Plus, if you have any banked transfers, I think you can navigate the post-GW34 FPL landscape. Neither strategy is wrong, of course, and only hindsight will prove decisive.

If you are to wildcard this week, what will it look like? Of course, there will be a lot of doublers for GW33, where we’ll deploy the bench boost, but that doesn’t mean we can wholly count this gameweek out. Brighton assets are useful in this sense, as they face Burnley (A) this week, followed by a (admittedly subpar) double. In defence, Verbruggen and Van Hecke offer utility with potential cleansheets and saves/DEFCONs, respectively (the latter having grabbed eight bonus DEFCON points in the last five games), while in midfield, Groß is the standout with defensive and offensive prowess at a lowly £5.5m price point. Welbeck seems astute given his goalscoring form, but there are fears over his minutes, particularly for the double, so it’s hard to wholeheartedly recommend him.

The easiest team to triple up on is Man City, while Chelsea (A) is no doddle this week; they double twice over the rest of the season, in GW33 and GW36. Haaland, Semenyo, and O’Reilly are the trio; no debate needed, they’ve been that electric over the season. Haaland goes without saying, but Semenyo has four goal contributions in his last five, while O’Reilly has averaged 9.5 points per game in the last four he’s played. I’m unsurprisingly yet to see a wildcard team without them, and given Chelsea also double in GW33, some will have as many as six members of their team featuring in that one match. While I can’t see much Chelsea appeal aside from the Palmer and Pedro duo, with the Blues desperately needing a return to form, that one match is the centre of gravity for GW32. They also face Forest (H) in GW35, and so you can hold onto them until GW36, where Palmer can be sold to free up funds to pick up Arsenal (Rice, Timber, Raya) and Palace players (Sarr, Muñoz) ahead of the latter’s (likely) GW36 double.

Elsewhere, so long as you can construct a team that does not rely on them too heavily going forward, you can look at Leeds’ assets. Calvert-Lewin is FPL’s version of Marmite. However, the double in GW33 followed by Burnley (H) and then Spurs (A) ought to be happy hunting grounds, and he is on penalties while only costing £5.6m. Darlow in goal should have consistent minutes for the double in GW33, and either Strujik/Bijol could excel if the odd clean sheet or DEFCON bonus is secured. Bournemouth defenders, primarily Senesi and Hill, offer similar utility, though you won’t want to play them this week against Arsenal (A).

Wildcarders probably need to leave two slots for non-doublers that you’ll want to own post-GW34 free hit. Those assets are probably (in descending order) two of Gabriel, Fernandes, and/or Thiago. You simply won’t have enough transfers (unless you’re at the max five going into the wildcard) to get any of these players back, alongside bringing back in other Arsenal/Palace assets going forward as discussed. This allows you to operate in the middle ground, where your bench boost in GW33 is still strong but doesn’t hinder your team going forward.

Rapid recommendations

● Briefly, for the GW35 wildcarders (who ought to have a good side for this week anyway), you need to make transfers ideal for this gameweek and especially blank GW34, given you won’t have the tools to manage it any other way, and can free-hit the optimal team in GW33.
● If you’re on the above strategy, I’d look at Bowen as this week’s ideal transfer. Wolves (H) this week, avoiding Palace (A) in favour of a doubler, and then Everton (H) with only 9% ownership and penalties.
● Fernandes is the best captain option this week against Leeds (H), another reason why wildcarders will want to stick by him.
● This is probably the most important week from now until the end of the season, so it really is worth working out how your moves this week create a trajectory for your team heading forward.
● With that in mind, factor in price changes when deciding who you’re going to keep on your wildcard, and who you’re going to sell to bring back in later. It’s worth planning some of your ideal moves in advance to ensure funds and transfers allow, with wiggle room for the unfortunate inevitability of injuries/suspensions.

The Boar Standings

1st: Dwight Club (1821) – managed by Cianan Sheekey
2nd: parths11 (1800) – managed by Parth Malik
3rd: Meganerd FC (1792) – managed by Megan Green