Is Gameweek 32 or Gameweek 35 now the best time to Wildcard in FPL?

The Scout on why FA Cup quarter-final results could now change some managers' chip strategies The Scout assesses the upcoming schedule following the FA Cup quarter-finals to help managers determine when is the best time to use their chips in Fantasy Premier League. A number of FPL managers are revising their chip strategies for the run-in after Arsenal’s surprise exit from the FA Cup. The Gunners’ 2-1 loss to Southampton means there are SIX clubs with a Double Gameweek 33 (DGW33) and a Blank Gameweek 34 (BGW34). If Arsenal had won - as many managers had anticipated - there would have been eight clubs with a DGW33 and a BGW34 instead. As a reminder, a “Double Gameweek" is when a club play TWO Premier League fixtures in a round of matches, and their players get two chances to score points. A Blank Gameweek occurs when at least two top-flight clubs DON'T have a Premier League fixture in a particular Gameweek.Which clubs have a DGW33 and a BGW34? Chelsea, Leeds United and Manchester City are the three Premier League clubs who have progressed to the FA Cup semi-finals, which will be played on the same weekend (Saturday 25 and Sunday 26 April) as Gameweek 34. Those three clubs will now have their respective matches against Brighton & Hove Albion, AFC Bournemouth and Burnley removed from Gameweek 34 and play them in Gameweek 33 instead, which essentially gives all six clubs a DGW33 and a BGW34. As you can see from the table below, Man City have a tough opening Gameweek 33 match at home to Arsenal prior to their visit to Burnley, who travel to Nottingham Forest beforehand. Chelsea will host Manchester United before visiting Brighton, who travel to Tottenham Hotspur in their first match. Leeds, meanwhile, are at home to Wolverhampton Wanderers prior to visiting Bournemouth, who travel to Newcastle United in their first match. Who has a DGW33 and BGW34? Club DGW33 Bournemouth Newcastle (A), Leeds (H) Brighton Spurs (A), Chelsea (H) Burnley Nott'm Forest (A), Man City (H) Chelsea Man Utd (H), Brighton (A) Leeds Wolves (H), Bournemouth (A) Man City Arsenal (H), Burnley (A) What chip strategies are managers planning? Arsenal’s loss to Southampton means their home match with Newcastle will simply remain as it is in Gameweek 34 and neither club will have a Blank or Double Gameweek for the run-in. Prior to the weekend, managers had anticipated both Chelsea and Arsenal would beat their lower-league opponents, a scenario which would have given eight clubs a DGW33 and a BGW34, as opposed to six. Essentially, this means that there will be SEVEN matches taking place in BGW34, with the schedule listed below. Blank Gameweek 34 scheduleSunderland vs Nott’m ForestFulham vs Aston VillaLiverpool vs Crystal PalaceWest Ham v EvertonWolves v SpursArsenal v NewcastleMan Utd v Brentford Wildcard Gameweek 32, Bench-Boost Gameweek 33, Free-Hit Gameweek 34 Despite Arsenal’s exit, many managers are still planning to play their Wildcard in Gameweek 32, loading up on key players from those six clubs who will have two matches in DGW33. By playing your Bench Boost chip in DGW33, you could potentially earn points from up to 30 matches (15 players with two matches), as opposed to the usual 11 in a typical single Gameweek. By then playing the Free Hit chip in BGW34 if you still have it, you can bring in a one-week squad to help you navigate that reduced round of matches. This chip strategy would also allow you to save up free transfers, which you could use prior to a possible Double Gameweek 36 (DGW36 - more on that below), bringing in the key players who have two matches in that Gameweek. Crucially, this approach allows you to immediately triple up on Man City trio Erling Haaland (£14.4m), Nico O’Reilly (£5.0m) and Antoine Semenyo (£8.2m) for their run-in.Along with Crystal Palace, Pep Guardiola’s side have eight matches left to play – one more than the other 18 clubs. This is likely to give them ANOTHER Double Gameweek, which is expected to fall in Gameweek 36, as the midweek calendar doesn’t clash with European competitions. Haaland’s hat-trick in Man City’s 4-0 win over Liverpool on Saturday shows he is back to his best and is a must-have once again in Fantasy. If Man City’s fixture against Palace is indeed moved into Gameweek 36, they would have TWO home matches - hosting Brentford beforehand – which makes Haaland a standout option if you’ve yet to play your Triple Captain chip. While Chelsea's premium-priced pair Joao Pedro (£7.8m) and Cole Palmer (£10.6m) offer plenty of attacking upside, the Blues' victory over Port Vale has also lifted the appeal of bringing in Brighton's budget players on a Wildcard. The Seagulls have a very favourable Gameweek 32 match away to Burnley prior to their DGW33 against Spurs and Chelsea. Indeed, their forward Danny Welbeck (£6.2m) and centre-back Jan Paul van Hecke (£4.5m) are both among the six most-bought players ahead of Friday’s 18:30 BST deadline, earning 154,000+ and 95,000+ new owners. Leeds frontman Dominic Calvert-Lewin (£5.6m) offers another cut-price pick up front. Free-Hit Gameweek 33, Wildcard Gameweek 35, Bench-Boost Gameweek 36 Due to the high ownerships of Arsenal and Liverpool’s players in Fantasy, their exits from the FA Cup have arguably lessened the need for many managers to play their Free Hit in BGW34 because their squads are now far better-equipped to deal with that reduced round of matches. The table below shows that, at present, there are 11 players with an ownership of over 20 per cent who will have a match in BGW34. And crucially, this affects every position, which makes it easier to build a starting XI. For example, Arsenal’s David Raya (£6.0m) is found in 34.7 per cent, making him the most-owned goalkeeper in Fantasy. Three of the four most-owned defenders - Gunners' pair Gabriel (£7.2m) and Jurrien Timber (£6.3m), along with Liverpool's Virgil van Dijk (£6.3m) - have a match in BGW34. The same applies to five of the six most-owned midfielders - Manchester United's Bruno Fernandes (£10.3m) and Bryan Mbeumo (£8.6m), Arsenal's Declan Rice (£7.3m), Fulham's Harry Wilson (£6.1m) and Aston Villa's Morgan Rogers (£7.5m). Meanhwile, Brentford's Igor Thiago (£7.3m) and Liverpool's Hugo Ekitike (£9.3m) are both owned by over a third of managers, ranking third and fourth respectively among the most-selected forwards. Most-owned players who will have a match in BGW34 Player Ownership Position Club Raya 34.7% GKP ARS Gabriel 43.0% DEF ARS Van Dijk 35.0% DEF LIV Timber 26.7% DEF ARS Fernandes 44.7% MID MUN Rice 26.0% MID ARS Wilson 25.0% MID FUL Rogers 24.2% MID AVL Mbeumo 22.1% MID MUN Thiago 36.0% FWD BRE Ekitike 35.3% FWD LIV Scroll across on mobile to see the full table If you're now in a good position to navigate BGW34, you could play your Free Hit chip in DGW33 to field a full starting XI with players from the six clubs who have two matches. What this also does is allow you more time to wait for Man City's match against Palace to be rescheduled before finally playing your Wildcard. Should those two clubs get a Double Gameweek 36 (DGW36), the plan would also involve "dead-ending" your squad, using your transfers on players who have favourable short-term schedules and who will get you through BGW34. You would then get rid of those short-term picks when you pick your brand new squad in Gameweek 35. Similarly to the example above, the idea would be to set up your squad to use your Bench Boost chip in DGW36, profiting from the players who have two matches. The possible downside to this strategy is that as the season wears on, some clubs might have less to play for, so there might be more rotation. That can cause frustration for Fantasy managers who have made big, late moves that rely on the performances of key players.