Gameweek 8 Wildcard draft
There are several positives and negatives to wildcarding after an international break. The timing is a nice reset if your team is struggling and you need to make several transfers, while you can also see what players are injured or those who are doubts. However, with increased international travel to South America and Oceania, some players may be benched for rest due to long flights such as Chris Wood going to Vanuatu this break. Having said that a wildcard can include some of these players but remember to cover yourself with bench options in case they are rested.
Bear in mind this draft is based on my current team value of 100.1 million which is probably slightly less than many but also better than some, your team may look different if you have more in the bank or in value. While I am currently not looking to wildcard myself this week, if I were wildcarding my draft would look something like this…
Goalkeepers-
David Raya, Arsenal (5.6): Despite Arsenal having only kept three clean sheets in the first seven and Rayas’ hefty price tag, he is still the best goalkeeper in the game and sits second to only Andre Onana of Manchester United in current overall points. Clean sheets for Arsenal will come and Raya will continue to tick over nicely and he is the cheapest way into the Arsenal defence.
Lukasz Fabianski, West Ham (4.0): Probably the best option at 4.0. With Raya in the team you only need a 4.0 bench option. Fabianski is the most likely to play but do not expect much from him if he is needed ever.
Defenders-
Joško Gvardiol, Manchester City (5.9): Gvardiol was a player I started the season with but ended up selling him for Pedro Porro because he was playing as part of a three centre-back defence, was not attacking and Manchester City were not keeping clean sheets. However, with Kyle Walker back, Gvardiol looks set to go back to his high attacking position he finished last season in. City also have great fixtures coming up, with their next four opponents only scoring a two on the FPL Fixture Difficulty Rating (FDR).
Ibrahima Konate, Liverpool (5.2): As much as I would love to put Trent Alexander-Arnold in this team, his attacking threat has not been there to warrant his 7.1 million price tag. However, the Liverpool defence offers great overall value having kept five clean sheets in their first seven games under Arne Slot. Konate offers the cheapest and most reliable way into their defence and could be a bargain with some minor attacking threat.
Noussair Mazraoui, Manchester United (4.6): Manchester United have actually kept four clean sheets out of their first seven this season despite their poor attacking form. Mazraoui was taken off at halftime against Aston Villa with a minor injury but should be back after the international break. He offers attacking threat too with one assist already and that number could have been more.
Leif Davis, Ipswich (4.5): Ipswich does not seem like a defence you would target, however, their upcoming fixtures are great. Their next three opponents only score a two on the FDR and Ipswich have a pretty good fixture run until Gameweek 16. Davis also offers attacking threat with one assist already and he managed 18 assists last season in the Championship so in Ipswich’s nice upcoming fixture run he looks set for more.
Michael Keane, Everton (4.0): Everton started the season poorly however picked up their first clean sheet of the season in the 0-0 draw against Newcastle. Once again this would target the fixtures with six of Everton’s next seven games scoring a two on the FDR. Keane would also most weeks be a bench option to come on in emergencies and he has played the full 90 minutes in six out of seven of their games this season.
Midfielders-
Cole Palmer, Chelsea (10.8): Palmer is the most expensive midfielder in this team. Salah, Saka and Son are all also great options but Palmer can be explosive and runs the Chelsea attacks. Therefore Palmer at 10.8 is the best value pick in here as he will always tick over with returns.
Diogo Jota, Liverpool (7.4): With no room for Mohamed Salah in this team I still wanted to cover the Liverpool attack and Diogo Jota seems the best way to do so. He has 34 overall points, two goals and three assists in six matches played. While Luis Diaz is also a great pick he is a minutes risk as he was benched last game and costs 0.7 million more. For me Jota is the better option now.
Bryan Mbeumo, Brentford (7.5): I have spoken a lot about Bryan Mbeumo and still regret not starting the season with him as Eze was my preferred choice (we all know how that turned out). However, his stats speak for themselves, 51 overall points and he has only blanked twice in seven Gameweeks. Brentford’s fixtures are also good until around Gameweek 14 and he runs the attacks, a must have.
Mateo Kovačić, Manchester City (5.5): Certainly a bit of a differential here as Kovačić is a traditional defensive midfielder and will most likely play there in the absence of Rodri. However, for 5.5 million he is a cheap way into Manchester City midfielder and he always seems to come up with attacking returns. So far he has three goals and an assist and will likely continue to tick over with returns as he continues to play.
Brennan Johnson, Tottenham (6.5): Another differential pick here to help us climb our mini leagues and the overall standings. Tottenham’s upcoming fixtures are good and he is a cheaper way to a consistent playing midfielder for Spurs. Johnson also already has 36 points through five attacking returns and his expected data has been good the last three Gameweeks.
Forwards-
Danny Welbeck, Brighton (5.8): Joao Pedro looked like the best Brighton attacking asset and probably was the first few weeks of the season, however, his injury has been damaging, especially for my team. Danny Welbeck however has been fantastic. The 33-year-old already has 41 overall points- joint 3rd in strikers, five attacking returns (4 goals, 1 assist) and although Brighton’s short-term fixtures are not great, their long-term ones get better and Welbeck has shown he can score against good teams anyway.
Dominic Solanke-Mitchell (7.6): While we all know about Tottenham’s defensive record, their attack is great and they keep playing an expansive style where they will score goals. Solanke as the main striker will get chances and attacking returns in this team, therefore he is a great pick and can make a mockery of his price tag.
Erling Haaland, Manchester City (15.4): Erling Haaland is as Erling Haaland does. He is a goal machine. While he has blanked in the last two Gameweeks he has gone longer before without a goal. Obviously his price tag demands returns, however, he is only a match away from yet another hat trick, in my opinion, a must have for our teams.