The Best FPL Gameweek 22 Wildcard Team

With injuries popping up left, right and centre, Free Transfers are getting blown through at an alarming rate. I imagine most people will not have their 5 from AFCON still left over. Or if you do, fair play, you are a better planner than me.

A lot of people will have also been let down by certain transfer such as Ekitike, whose injury could not have been worse timed for managers. All these factors have pushed some managers into what can only be described as ‘The Rage Wildcard’.

Now, I don’t even hate the rage wildcard, if your team has so many holes it’s often better to plug it sooner than later without taking the hits. So we thought it only fair to draw you up our best wildcard team for Gameweek 22.

A quick reminder. Makes sure you check in with our Predicted Line-Ups hub before locking in any changes. The packed fixture schedule will mean lots of players are likely to be rotated. Which is also a big reason we have made sure to have solid bench cover in this Wildcard team.

Also, if you are after more ways to gain rank, make sure you check out our Gameweek 22 Differentials article and our Best Captains for Gameweek 22 article.

Anyway, without further ado, let’s get stuck into the team.

 

 

Goalkeepers

 

Robert Sanchez – £4.9m

I don’t know if you’ve looked at the fixture schedule recently but if there’s one thing you’re going to want it’s triple Chelsea. Even though they have been struggling for form of late, it’s very hard bet against them considering their schedule. They play 5 of the lowest scoring 7 teams in their next 6 games, meaning clean sheets should be more than on the menu. £4.9m for those fixtures is a bargain.

 

Martin Dubravka – £4m

Starting keeper. £4m price tag. Not much else needs to be said.

 

 

Defenders

 

Gabriel – £6.7m

Starting any wildcard defence without this man is unserious. He plays for the best defence in the league, has good upcoming fixtures, is a perennial set-piece threat and even averages 9 DefCons a game. The unanimous best defender in FPL.

 

Jurrien Timber – £6.3m

Even though Arsenal may not have kept as many clean sheets as they may have liked, with Gabriel back, Calafiori ‘back soon’, Rice back etc, Arsenal are in a great position to continue their solid momentum. So doubling up on Arsenal defence is back. Timber’s attacking threat is not to be scoffed at either, as he leads all defenders in total xGI on the season. Averaging 0.30 xGI per 90. Combine that potential on both ends with those fixtures and you’re onto a winner.

 

Trevor Chalobah – £5.5m

Yes, Chelsea have been bad, we get it. But have you seen those FIXTURES. Any team playing 5 of the lowest scoring 7 teams in their next 6 would be targeted so why not Chelsea. Who in fact have conceded the 5^th least goals this season. Chalobah is our pick of the bunch due to his nailed minutes and solid DefCon floor. He has hit his DefCon threshold in 5 of his last 7 starts and even has a solid knack for set-piece returns, registering 3 goals and an assist already this season. Those riskier of you could go for a James, Cucurella or even a Gusto but their minutes are just to volatile for us to trust at the moment.

 

Nordi Mukiele – £4.3m

I promise we won’t make a habit of including defenders who just shipped 2+ goals into the wildcard. Like Chalobah, Mukiele is here for his fixtures. Sunderland play the joint 3^rd lowest scoring teams in the league this season in their next 3, in Palace, West Ham and Burnley, who all sit on 22 goals scored this season, just one above the 2^nd lowest. Combine this with his very strong DefCon output – 4 in his last 4 – and you’re onto a great asset.

 

Chris Richards – £4.4m

Richards is now back from injury and available for selection again. Much like Chelsea, Palace also have fantastic upcoming fixtures, and have conceded the 4^th least goals in the league this season, just 1 behind Sunderland in 3^rd. Richards had been a fantastic option for those who owned him pre-injury as he regularly racked up clean sheets and Defensive Contribution points. He is still top 10 amongst all defenders for total Defensive Contributions even while missing 4 games, and averages 10.64 per 90. A top asset at only £4.4m

 

 

Midfielders

 

Declan Rice – £7.3m

With 4 goals and 7 assists already this season, it’s safe to say Rice has been getting his fair share of attacking returns. Being Arsenal’s set-piece taker will naturally open such doors. What really separates Rice from Saka as an asset, however, is not just the attacking return potential, but also the defensive contribution potential. Rice average 11 Defensive contributions a game making him a solid DefCon candidate every time he steps on the field. This unique combination also lends itself very handily to picking up bonus points, and is in no small part why the top 3 bonus point scoring midfielders are Bruno Fernandes, Rice and Bruno Guimaraes.

 

Cole Palmer – £10.4m

I DON’T CARE. HAVE YOU SEEN THE FIXTURES. Palmer has seemed a bit off pace since his return from injury, there’s no denying, but we all know just what he can do. He had 25 G/A last season and 35 G/A the season before that. Personally, I’m not going to bet against that production going into a run of fixtures like that. Furthermore, the lack of other great premium options, and prevalence of cheaper stars like Rice, Bruno G, Thiago and defenders in general, has meant that affording players on the more expensive end is a lot easier.

 

Harry Wilson – £5.8m

What a gorgeous little man. With 10 returns in his last 9 games and honestly could’ve been 11 if Raul’s foot was a centimetre shorter, Wilson has been absolutely flying. Fulham are now unbeaten in their last 6 and with Leeds, Brighton, United and Everton’s defences coming up, show no signs of slowing down. £5.8m is ludicrous value for such production and this makes Wilson an absolute staple of any wildcard team. He’s also averaging an xGI per 90 of 0.63 over his last 6 games so it’s hardly like his output is flukey or unsustainable. Now is as good an entry point as ever so do not be concerned about missing the boat.

 

Harvey Barnes – £6.1m

Now this is definitely a short-term punt but it’s one we think can definitely pay off. If there’s one thing Harvey Barnes has, it’s an eye for goal. With Murphy wrestiling with a temporary injury it looks like Barnes could be set to start a few more games in the upcoming schedule. Wolves is as good a fixture as any on the calendar, Aston Villa have snuck into the bottom 7 for lowest xGA and Liverpool v Newcastle is always a barn burner. In fact, in Newcastle’s last 5 meetings with Liverpool, there has been an average of 4.4 goals per game. These high scoring affairs are the exact sort of games Barnes thrives in. We will be looking to move Barnes + another player to Bruno Fernandes in GW24 once the Arsenal and City fixtures are out the way. Be that downgrading Thiago, Palmer, Mateta etc. We will see how their form pans out.

 

Bruno Guimaraes – £7.2m

Potentially my favourite player on the planet right now. Bruno has been the focal point of a galvanised Newcastle who have now won 3 on the bounce. He has already registered a staggering 8 goals and 5 assists this season and is showing signs of speeding up if anything, let alone slowing down. We mentioned the upcoming fixtures in the Barnes paragraph so we will not go into more detail on that. What Bruno does have, like Rice and Fernandes, is the unique ability to pick up points everywhere. Whether it’s crashing the box and scoring goals, providing for teammates, securing defensive contributions or picking up bonus points. Bruno G can do it all.

 

 

Strikers

 

Erling Haaland – £15.1m

No need to elaborate here. Back in the goal column as well.

 

Thiago – £7.1m

The Premier League’s 2^nd highest scorer has been in absolutely blazing form, with 5 goals in his last 2 games. His next 3 fixtures could all be high scoring affairs and could lend themselves very nicely to some more returns. He is in red hot form at the moment, and you’d be a brave man to leave him out your team.

 

Jean-Philippe Mateta – £7.6m

Mateta is in this team in no small part due to that run of fixtures from GW24 to GW30. Palace’s attack and indeed Mateta have been sputtering a bit lately but with those fixtures coming up it is hard to bet against him. He may have to be benched for the next 1 or 2 depending on your preference, or until Palace kick back into gear. But from GW24 onwards he will be one of the best options in the game. So if you are using your wildcard now, you may as well get him in and save yourself the future transfer.

 

 

Final Thoughts

The main focus of this team is around fixtures and versatility. The whole point of a wildcard is to limit the number of transfers you will need to use in the immediate future and we believe this team does just that. Doubling or tripling up on Palace, Arsenal, Chelsea, Newcastle etc, allows us to create that versatility.

Our future plans will be to absolutely move for Bruno Fernandes once his next few fixtures are out the way. This team is on the much cheaper end as well so those with more budget can definitely look to make upgrades around the pitch already as part of their immediate teams. One good place to start being Watkins over a Mateta and then moving to Mateta from Thiago around GW24 when Thiago’s fixtures turn a bit and Mateta’s pick up.

Best of luck with your green arrows and feel free to ask us any questions on X.

 

Check out our Game Week Tips section for more great Gameweek 22 Tips.