The Best FPL Gameweek 13 Wildcard Team

If this team looks drastically different to the Gameweek  12 Wildcard Team then it’s because it is. Injuries and panic buttons have given the team a complete shake up and honestly, it feels a lot better to look at.

I tried my hardest to give Liverpool the benefit of the doubt, but there are some results which honestly just scare you. This was not a 1-0 to Crystal Palace or a 2-1 to Newcastle, this was a 3-0 at home to 19^th place Nottingham Forest. Losing 6 out of your last 7 is reason enough to be concerned, but when you factor in the opposition it becomes a reason to not bring in any Liverpool players until further notice.

Make sure you also check out our Predicted Line-Up Hub before locking in any changes, as the midweek fixtures and injury bug will likely mean plenty of teams get chopped and changed ahead of the weekend’s fixtures.

Anyway, without further ado, we present to you our Best FPL Gameweek 13 Wildcard Team:

 

Goalkeepers

 

Martin Dubravka – £4m

Pretty simple inclusion this, he’s a starting keeper for only £4m.

 

David Raya – £5.9m

If there’s one thing we can take away from the Spurs game, it is how solid Arsenal look at the back, even without a talisman like Gabriel. Arsenal emphatically answered the question of how good their defence is without their talisman, and it’s safe to say we can still trust their defence as a result.

But for a freak goal, they were solid all day. Their fixtures also only get better after this week meaning Raya maintains his spot in goal.

 

 

Defenders

 

Jurrien Timber – £6.3m

If you read our Best Gabriel Replacements article, you’ll know Timber was always our favourite Gabriel replacement. He looked solid defensively while also showing involvement going forward. An xGI per 90 of 0.29 while playing for the best defence in the league is juts a winning formula. Get him in.

Any Arsenal defender is probably good right now so one that offers attacking potential as well is even better. This combo also means Timber has found himself 3^rd in the league for BPS. In case he needed even more reason to be our favourite Arsenal asset at the moment.

 

Marcos Senesi – £5m

 

Speaking of our Gabriel replacements article, Senesi was another one of the top candidates we mentioned. Is shipping 2 to West Ham ideal? No. But if you watched the game, you’d know there was an element of fortune to both goals, and neither were particularly with the run of play.

Bournemouth completely controlled that game start to finish and I would not apply too much weight to those goals conceded. What I would apply weight to is Senesi’s role in Bournemouth’s attack. He is given full license by Iraola to attempt balls into the final 3^rd and is first in the league by a huge margin at doing so. Bournemouth’s 2^nd showed us exactly why. This is on top of being the best DefCon defender in the game. A superb asset.

 

Chris Richards – £4.5m

Another GW, another instance of not understanding how Richards is only 3.9% owned. The 3^rd most DefCons of any defender in the entire game, part of a defence with 3 clean sheets in a row and costing only £4.5m. Sensational value.

 

Daniel Munoz – £5.9m

Speaking of that defence, it is now a skill issue if you do not own Munoz. We mentioned in just about every single piece we did last week from Gabriel replacements to our Free Hit article to our Gameweek 12 wildcard how primed Munoz was to score points on either end against Wolves.

We have been tooting his horn since GW2 and will not slow down anytime soon. An absolute essential for any Gameweek 13 Wildcard Team.

 

Nico O’Reilly £5.0m

Even though City lost to Newcastle, I still liked what I saw. O’Reilly has still returned in 6/8 starts already this season and in truth, very easily could have against Newcastle considering how much you would expect Haaland to bury lay offs like that.

Nonetheless, O’Reilly now takes his solid form into Leeds, Fulham, Sunderland and West Ham in their next 4, so it is completely understandable to expect these returns to pick back up. Still only at 4% ownership, he is comfortably the best City defender to own at the moment.

 

 

Midfield

 

Bryan Mbeumo – £8.6m

Granted this is being written before the Man United game, so any amendments required will be made following that result. Until then though we absolutely love the Man United attack and in particular, the Man United double up.

Mbeumo has been imperious form with 5 returns, including 4 goals, in his last 5. Operating at a very healthy xGI of 0.54 per 90. With Everton, West Ham and Wolves in their next 3, The Cameroon hitman is primed to continue his great output.

 

Yankuba Minteh – £6.1m

For weeks now I have been quietly optimistic about Brighton, and with good reason. Their fixtures to begin the season were gnarly to say the least. However, In their last 3 Brighton have conceded only 1 goal, while scoring 5 on the other end.

With 5 assists in his last 4, Minteh now leads the league in assists, and with the fixtures Brighton have, there is no reason this can’t continue. They are 5^th in the league for goals scored and their next 4 games are all against bottom 6 defences , meaning there is no reason it can’t continue. An absolute bargain at only £6.1m and 6% ownership.

 

Declan Rice – £6.9m

Joint 1^st with Minteh for Premier League assists, Declan Rice rounds out our 3^rd Arsenal spot. With 7 returns already this season, and a regular DefCon potential, Rice presents as a fantastic option for any Gameweek 13 Wildcard Team.

Considering he is more than £3m cheaper than Saka, value wise this is a no brainer. Particularly for those looking to cover the Arsenal attack without paying premium prices for a Saka or worrying about minutes like a Trossard or Eze. Rice is also 2^nd in the entire league for BPS, further adding to his appeal. Our favourite Arsenal asset after Timber.

 

Bruno Fernandes – £8.9m

We told you we were doubling up on United and we weren’t joking. Bruno has been a long-standing member of our Wildcard team and with good reason. He just has so many routes to points. An xGI per 90 of 0.6 combined with 10.5 DefCons per game is practically unheard of. This combo also makes him a great bonus point candidate, landing him 5^th amongst all midfielders for BPS.

 

Harvey Barnes £6.3m

Right, now this is a bit of a wildcard admittedly, and there may be some bias. That being said, Barnes finds himself here in large part, for his differential value. If there’s one thing Barnes is, it’s a streaky player, and normally where a few goals come, there are more to follow. So this could be a great chance to get ahead of most of the streak.

The one thing no one can take away from Barnes is his eye for goal. His xGI per 90 is higher than other midfield studs like Mbeumo n Saka at 0.61. Which for £6.3m is pretty good value. The concern would naturally be for his minutes. However, as a Newcastle fan I feel very confident in his minutes, at least over the next 5 following the City game. Newcastle look night and day with Livramento and Hall back and with great fixtures coming up there could be more hauls on the way.

 

 

Forwards

 

Thiago – £6.5m

The Premier League’s 2^nd highest scorer rarely comes in at a price of only £6.5m. Brentford play Burnley, Spurs, Leeds and Wolves in their next 5, which means I can’t see a reason his production will be slowing down.

He has very solid underlying numbers of 0.7 xGI per 90 and is nailed on pens. 7 goals in his last 7 games, electric. A fantastic GW13 wildcard option.

 

Danny Welbeck – £6.6m

Fine I admit it, I’m very high on Brighton right now. Their attack is being slept on, and as a result so is their gun-man Danny Welbeck. The Premier League’s 3^rd top scorer also comes in at a cut price cost of only £6.6m.

Like Thiago, Welbeck also has 7 in his last 7 and enters into a great stretch of fixtures. The underlying stats are there as well, with Welbeck boasting an xGI per 90 of 0.61. A potential differential option to Thiago, although considering the price of both of them, there is no reason you can’t fit them both in. Cheap forwards have never been more back.

 

Erling Haaland – £14.9m

It feels fitting that the 3 forwards are all the league’s top scorers. We don’t need to go into more detail about why this man should be in your squads though, even after a blank.

 

 

Final Thoughts

 

Now the one downside to this team will admittedly be some of the benching headaches it causes. However, it does seem like every player and team in there does have at least 1 fixture where their starting appeal is dented within their next 5. Meaning it should actually rotate quite nicely.

The plus side of this, means that any managers still with their bench boost will get ample opportunity to play it in the coming Gameweeks. Also, with Gambia set to miss AFCON, there is only 1 player who will need transferring out ahead of next month’s tournament, and that is Mbeumo. Meaning those 5 transfers can be saved and hoarded for the business end stretch of the season.

Even though there are plenty of alternatives, we really like the balance and differential threat carries by this team. With 5 potential starters being under 10% ownership. As well as a few sub 5% players such as Richards, O’Reilly and Barnes.

Let us know who you think we missed and best of luck with those green arrows.

 

Make sure you also check out our Game week Tips section for more great Gameweek 13 tips.