The Best Time to Use FPL Chips – 2025/26: GW8-GW19

The new 2 rounds of chips rule has added a completely new dimension to how FPL managers should deploy their chips. In the past you would naturally target double and blank Gameweeks and use the chips to help you navigate such pitfalls towards the end of the season. However, the recent addition of an entirely new set of chips for the 1st half of the season has added an entirely new set of planning into the mix.

We also have great guides on the rules and ins and outs of each chip. Check them out below.

• Triple Captain
• Bench Boost
• Free Hit
• Wildcard

Now before we get stuck in to when the best time to use your chips is, it is important to remember that each team is different. What works for one team may not always work for others. For example, if you are loaded up on Arsenal, Spurs, City and Newcastle players then you may prefer a Free Hit in Gameweek 12. However if you are heavy on Palace, Everton, City and Sunderland then you may prefer a GW16 Free Hit. It is entirely down to how your team is constructed, and don’t worry we will be laying this all out.

Staying up to date with our Predicted Line-Ups Hub will be absolutely vital during this upcoming stretch. So make sure you pay our hub a visit before making any changes and locking in your teams.

Anyway, without further ado, we present to you our ultimate guide to using your remaining first half chips.

 

 

Triple Captain

 

This is perhaps the most obvious one, and therefore one which we feel very confident recommending. If you did not use your Triple Captain chip on Erling Haaland in GW6 vs Burnley then fear not, as Man City also face fellow strugglers West Ham at home in Gameweek 17. This is the fixture I will personally be targeting with my Triple Captain Chip. There is only one team in the league who have conceded less goals than Burnley this year and that’s West Ham. Granted this is a while away and plenty can happen between then and now, but as things stand this is by far and away the best Gameweek to target for the Triple Captain Chip.

 

We have also listed a couple of other options in case you were not fully sold on this or wanted to pursue a different strategy. However a lot of these players find themselves a bit out of form or injured so we would recommend exercising caution. These can be found below:

• Erling Haaland v West Ham – GW17

 

• Cole Palmer v Wolves – GW11
• Cole Palmer v Burnley GW12
• Antoine Semenyo v West Ham GW12
• Isak or Salah v West Ham GW13
• Bukayo Saka v Wolves GW16
• Isak v Wolves GW18

 

 

 

Bench Boost

 

Now, the bench boost is naturally a much trickier chip to provide advice on as everyone’s team is different. The correct answer to when the best time to Bench Boost is, is in fact whenever you feel like it. There is no wrong answer. If you like the fixtures and all your players are set to play then just go for it. don’t listen to anyone who tells you there is a right or wrong time to play this chip.

That being said, one bit of guidance we can provide, is using the template benches as a loose guideline. A lot of people’s benches are comprised of both Sunderland and Leeds players such as Rodon, Gudmundsson, Alderete, Mukiele, Stach, Xhaka, DCL etc. As a result, there are a couple of Gameweeks where both of these teams have great fixtures. So if your benches contain some combination of these players then we recommend targeting these for your Bench Boost:

• Gameweek 8: Leeds v Burnley & Sunderland v Wolves
• Gameweek 18: Leeds v Sunderland (Likely to be low scoring so potentially good for defenders)

 

 

Free Hit

 

Free Hit is by far one of the trickiest chips to get right as it’s completely dependent on how you’ve set up your team. Given there are no Doubles or Blanks to navigate, the main objective becomes absolutely maximising the fixtures available. So we have listed all the possible windows, along with if you should or shouldn’t based on the complexion of your team. With this advice we are going to assume you don’t own multiple players from clubs without lots of good assets such as Wolves, Brentford, Fulham types. So ideally, you are trying to convert as many bad match ups as possible into as many good ones as possible.

It is also worth mentioning, that even if your team’s fixtures aren’t that bad, you can still Free Hit to target the elite assets with good fixtures. Some of our favourites for this are Gameweek 15 & 19. Essentially,  rather than deploying a Free Hit to dodge bad fixtures, you are deploying a Free Hit to target the good ones. For example, GW15 & GW19 would be ideal for this as loaded teams like Liverpool, Newcastle, Man City and Arsenal all have great fixtures during those weeks.

 

Gameweek 9

• Teams with bad fixtures:  Crystal Palace, Arsenal, Everton, Sunderland
• Teams with good fixtures: Chelsea, Leeds, City, Bournemouth

Gameweek 12

• Teams with bad fixtures: Arsenal, Spurs, City, Newcastle
• Teams with good fixtures: Bournemouth, Chelsea, Liverpool, Crystal Palace

Gameweek 13

• Teams with bad fixtures: Arsenal, Chelsea, Everton, Leeds, Man United, Sunderland
• Teams with good fixtures: Bournemouth, Liverpool, Man City

Gameweek 15

• Teams with bad fixtures: Bournemouth, Leeds, Sunderland
• Teams with good fixtures: Liverpool, Newcastle, Man City, Everton, Arsenal

Gameweek 16

• Teams with bad fixtures: Palace, Everton, City, Man United, Sunderland
• Teams with good fixtures: Arsenal, Chelsea, Newcastle, Spurs

Gameweek 19

• Teams with bad fixtures: Bournemouth, Chelsea, Leeds, Sunderland
• Teams with good fixtures: Arsenal, Everton, Liverpool, City, Newcastle, Man United.

 

 

Wildcard

 

Much like Free Hit, Wildcard is another chip where the timing and utility are very much team dependent. As things like injuries, suspensions, benching’s etc, can all strongly influence the urgency to play the chip. However, there are a few great fixture swings and turns for which a Wildcard could be pretty handily deployed. There are also events such as AFCON from GW16-GW22 which could require a serious team shake up. Even with the 5 free transfers given, you may just want to save your Wildcard anyway to rejig your entire team.

As a result, here are the 2 Gameweeks we recommend deploying your Wildcard on:

Gameweek 12

Gameweek 12 is a great opportunity to Wildcard as multiple strong teams come into a set of great fixtures while a few good ones enter bad ones. These tend to be the pre-requisites for a good Wildcard. Bournemouth, Liverpool and Man City all enter fantastic fixture periods and honestly tripling up on them during this stretch would not even be a bad idea. Simultaneously teams like Arsenal, Spurs, Everton and the great budget teams like Sunderland and Leeds all enter much tougher fixture stretches. Providing the perfect opportunity to transition over.

 

 

 

Gameweek 15/16/17 (AFCON)

There are reports that AFCON could affect some players from as early as GW16. In this case the Wildcard can be deployed across any of these 3. As mentioned before, even though FPL will be providing 5 extra free transfers, the removal of players such as Semenyo, Kudus, Salah, Ndiaye, Sarr, Minteh etc, may force managers into a full team shake up.

 

Final Thoughts

There are definitely other Gameweeks which can prove excellent times for chips to be deployed and this is by no means a gospel. We merely seek to provide a loose guideline, so please go easy on us. Make sure you keep up with our Game Week Tips section for more advice and best of luck with your mini-leagues.