13 Dec, 2024

FPL Assistant Manager Chip: The Complete Guide

The FPL Mystery Chip has finally been revealed, and it is officially the Assistant Manager chip – a chance to show off your football knowledge by picking a Premier League Manager to own for 3 Game weeks, and you will earn points based off their results over those Game weeks.

Here is the definitive guide to everything you will need to consider for the Assistant Manager chip including the rules, strategies and some early suggestions for managers and Game weeks to target. Let’s maximise those Assistant Manager points and climb those rankings.

The Rules:

• The Chip is available to use from Gameweek 24 onwards.
• Once you activate the Assistant Manager chip, you will score points based upon their clubs’ results for 3 Game weeks in a row.
• The scoring works as such:
• 6 points for a win
• 3 points for a draw
• 1 point per goal the team scores
• 2 points for a clean sheet
• Table Bonus: If the Assistant Manager you choose is facing a club that is at least 5 places higher in the Premier League table at the start of the Gameweek, you get an additional 10 points for a win or an additional 5 points for a draw.
• You will not be able to use other chips while your Assistant Manager chip is active.
• Your Assistant Manager does count towards your 3 players per club limit – so you will only be able to own 2 players from the club of your Assistant Manager while the chip is active.
• Each Assistant Manager will have a set price of between £0.5m-£1.5m and this will come out of your £100m total budget – so this is something FPL managers will have to plan for.
• Double Game weeks also count for your Assistant Manager, so this is something to factor in.
• Selecting your Assistant Manager does not count towards your free transfers. However, if you want to change your Assistant Manager during the 3 Game weeks the chip is active, that will cost a free transfer
• If the Assistant Manager you selected happens to leave his current club for any reason, you will still score points based on the original clubs results.

Strategies:

Manager from one of the elite teams (Safe Strategy):

• Picking one of Arne Slot, Mikel Arteta or Enzo Maresca over a 3 Gameweek stretch with favourable fixtures to maximise the possibility of a strong points return.
• Maximum number of points using this strategy = 24 points + 1 point for each goal scored across the 3 Game weeks.
• We would strongly suggest considering Liverpool’s Double Gameweek in Gameweek 24 here, as you will get four matches with Arne Slot as your Assistant Manager!
• This strategy is for FPL managers who are doing well and comfortable with their overall ranking and league table positions and are looking to maintain their strong start with a low-risk strategy.

High risk, high reward strategy (Riskier strategy with big potential payoff):

• Picking an Assistant Manager from one of the clubs likely ranked 8^th-13^th in the Premier League table, to try to maximise the overall points return from your Assistant Manager chip.
• Maximum number of points using this strategy = 54 points plus 1 point for each goal scored across the 3 Game weeks. (Unlikely to hit this ceiling due to many factors.)
• This is where the Table Bonus Points become a big factor.
• The fact that there is only a 4-point gap between 7^th placed Brighton to 13^th placed Man United makes this option very appealing.
• If FPL managers can find the correct 3 Gameweek stretch with 2 or even 3 games where their Assistant Manager is facing a team 5 places higher than them in the Premier League table, but the team has a good chance of positive results, you could cash in big and climb those rankings and league tables significantly.
• This strategy is for FPL managers who are having middling seasons – middle of your private league tables or in a solid but not great position in overall rankings. The idea is you are looking to take that little bit of extra risk for the potential payoff and climb from mid table back into contending for your league title / a strong climb up the overall rankings.

Underachiever vs top team transfer chain strategy (riskiest with greatest potential payoff):

Here is the Assistant Manager chip strategy that no one is really discussing – possibly because it seems very risky. However, it could be the way to maximise the potential rewards of the chip for the bold and brave managers out there!

It will require you to save your free transfers for your Assistant Manager selections during the 3 Game weeks you have the chip active – here is how it would work and why it could pay off big time:

• This strategy is essentially a way to target 3 mid table teams, facing a team placed 5 places higher in the Premier League table, for all 3 Game weeks you have the Assistant Manager chip active! The highest risk, but highest reward strategy there is for this new chip.
• By using your free transfers on your Assistant Manager you can be even more selective about the fixtures you are targeting to get you maximum points while the chip is active.
• Depending on the fixtures, you could start off with Thomas Frank in a fixture that Brentford are at Home against a team ranked 5 places higher (we know Brentford’s home form is elite).

You could then switch to Marco Silva to attack a fixture you feel confident about Fulham in vs a side ranked 5 places higher in the league table (1-1 draw against Arsenal last week shows their capabilities against elite opponents).

And lastly finish it off with Eddie Howe in a fixture you like Newcastle’s chances in (1-0 win against Arsenal, 1-3 win against Forest, 3-3 draw against Liverpool all would have been fixtures that gained you big Table Bonus Points at the time).

• We would also strongly consider going Arne Slot in Gameweek 24, to maximise taking advantage of Liverpool’s Double Gameweek. Then follow this up by using your free transfers to select Assistant Managers facing teams ranked 5 places higher in the league table in Game weeks 25 and 26. This would be our #1 option for managers willing to get risky with the Assistant Manager Chip!
• There will however be other Double Game weeks in the future for other teams, so you could equally use this strategy later in the season if you were, for example, planning to triple captain Salah in Gameweek 24.
• We would suggest using this strategy if your FPL season has been a struggle so far, and you need an edge to kick start your season and massively climb those league tables and overall rankings!

Early Suggestions:

Elite team Managers:

Arne Slot:

• Gameweek 24-27 – Bournemouth (A), Everton (A), Wolves (H), Man City (A).

(Gameweek 24 is all but officially confirmed as a Double Gameweek for Liverpool)

• Gameweek 32-34 – West Ham (H), Leicester (A), Spurs (H).

Mikel Arteta:

• Gameweek 25-27 – Leicester (A), West Ham (H), Nottingham Forest (A).
• Gameweek 32-34 – Brentford (H), Ipswich (A), Crystal Palace (H).

Enzo Maresca:

• Gameweek 26-28 – Aston Villa (A), Southampton (H), Leicester (H).
• Gameweek 32-34 – Ipswich (H), Fulham (A), Everton (H).

High risk, high reward Managers:

Andoni Iraola:

• Gameweek 36-38 – Aston Villa (H), Man City (A), Leicester (H).

Thomas Frank:

• Gameweek 31-33 – Chelsea (H), Arsenal (A), Brighton (H).

Marco Silva:

• Gameweek 33-35 – Chelsea (H), Southampton (A), Aston Villa (H).

Underachiever vs top team transfer chain Managers:

Arne Slot into underachiever vs top team strategy:

• Gameweek 24 – Arne Slot vs Bournemouth (A) and Everton (A)
• Gameweek 25 – Eddie Howe vs Man City (A) or Fabian Hurzeler vs Chelsea (H)
• Gameweek 26 – Eddie Howe vs Forest (H) or Ruud Van Nistelrooy vs Brentford (H)

Pure underachiever vs top team strategy:

• Gameweek 26 – Unai Emery vs Chelsea (H) or Eddie Howe vs Forest (H)
• Gameweek 27 – Ange Postecoglou vs Man City (H)
• Gameweek 28 – Thomas Frank vs Aston Villa (H) or Ruben Amorim vs Arsenal (H)

By: Ahsan Ejaz

Last Updated: 13/12