The Best FPL Gameweek 23 Wildcard Team

With many assets reaching their expiry date like Saka, Foden etc, and Chelsea actually showing signs of life, the GW23/24 wildcard is most definitely back on the menu.

Speaking of signs of life, Man United’s impressive display against Man City has also catapulted some of their players back into relevancy, making for a very interesting and entertaining Gameweek 23 wildcard team.

A quick reminder to check in with out Predicted Line-Ups and Team News hub before locking in any changes.

Also, make sure you check out our Gameweek 23 differentials article for more key routes to gain rank.

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

 

 

Goalkeepers

Robert Sanchez – £4.9m

It’s no secret at this point that Chelsea have unbelievable fixtures at the moment, so targeting their starting GK was a no-brainer for us. With no team outside of Arsenal looking good defensively all we can possibly go off is fixtures. Chelsea face 4 of the bottom 5 in their next 5, and even Palace have scored the 3^rd least goals in the league this season. With other Chelsea assets holding asterisks over them like Palmer, Joao Pedro, Neto etc, Sanchez emerges as one of the safer options.

 

Martin Dubravka – £4m

Starting goalkeeper, £4m, enough said.

 

 

Defenders

Gabriel – £6.8m

The standout defender to own in FPL at the moment. Plays for one of the few elite defences in the league, is a beast from set-pieces, has decent DefCon chances and has solid fixtures. No-brainer here as well.

 

Jurrien Timber – £6.3m

When one team’s defence is head and shoulders above the rest of the league, doubling up on their defence is almost a necessity. Timber makes a lot of sense here given his attacking propensity on top of the clean sheet potential. He currently leads all defenders for total xGI this season and often finds himself in dangerous areas. Reflected by his 6 attacking returns already this season.

 

Matheus Nunes – £5.5m

Now this is where we’ve left ourselves with some flexibility. Nunes was left out of the City squad who lost to United due to flu. What helps his case here is that it did not go well without him. More importantly however, is what his place in the team allows us to do. If City’s defence continues to perform poorly, then his price tag allows for an easy one-transfer move to Daniel Munoz once he returns from injury. However, given how much cash this line-up keeps in the bank, if City sort it out and the back, and get back on track against quite frankly 2 of the worst teams in the league at the moment in Wolves and Spurs, then we will keep Nunes, upgrade Alderete and go to a 5 at the back.

 

Trevoh Chalobah – £5.5m

In my opinion the best Chelsea asset to own at the minute. Chalobah has now hit his DefCon threshold in 6 of his last 8 games. Combine that with Chelsea’s upcoming fixtures and he could be an absolute point machine. He is also now slouch in the opposition box either, with 3 goals and an assist already this season.

 

Omar Alderete – £4.1m

£4.1m is not bad value for a man who averages 9.81 Defcons a game, plays for the team who have conceded the 3^rd least goals this season and is nailed for minutes. Alderete is the ideal bench player and even has some more than serviceable fixtures coming up. With West Ham and Burnley in their next 2, you could definitely look at starting him over a Wilson, Tavernier or Enzo type.

 

 

Midfielders

Declan Rice – £7.4m

It’s hard to ignore the highest scoring midfielder in the game and 2^nd highest in the entire game. Especially when he only costs £7.4m. Rice is the perfect move from Foden or even Saka at this point if you need to save some cost. Being an Arsenal set-piece taker honestly carries as much weight as being a penalty taker for another team. Combine this with his Defcons and bonus points and he just has so many routes to points. He’s too good value to pass up on.

 

Bruno Fernandes – £9.2m

We’ve checked VAR and it turns out Bruno is indeed fixture proof. Like Rice he just has so many different routes to points. Following the Arsenal fixture, United also have a fantastic run of fixtures up until around GW29. Essentially, there is nothing to dislike about Bruno’s game. 0.7 xGI per 90, 10.47 DefCons per game, great fixtures, new manager bounce? All aboard.

 

Enzo Fernandez – £6.5m

Our 3^rd and final Chelsea player for this run is non-other than Enzo Fernandez. With 3 returns in his last and an xGI per 90 of 0.54 over his last 5 games, Enzo’s involvement going forward looks very stable and trustable. Not least given how uncomfortable Palmer is looking on the field at the moment. More importantly, at only £6.5m, he offers great value into that Chelsea attack as well, as well as some much needed stability around minutes, which is plaguing other assets like Joao Pedro.

 

Harry Wilson – £5.9m

Despite a blank against Leeds, Wilson was still very much involved in the attack and could have easily came away with an assist, so I would not be concerned as an owner. Not least considering he’s only £5.9m. 9 returns in 10 games is still an incredible return on investment and it’s hardly like the fixtures are that scary. He is definitely rotatable however, given Fulham’s attack has been a bit stagnant of late.

 

Iliman Ndiaye – £6.2m

Now there is every chance Ndiaye may not be ready to start this weekend given Senegal’s celebrations. In case he is able to start though, Leeds at home is a fantastic attacking fixture to return to. Everton have just started to gather some momentum as well following a big win over Villa. Everton have fantastic attacking fixtures right up until GW29 so Ndiaye should see plenty of opportunities for returns. Ndiaye and Wilson also rotate fantastically up until GW35, so you also have the option of holding them long term if they both find some form. Again, FLEXIBILITY.

 

 

Forwards

Erling Haaland – £15.1m

Now I would never put this bloke on fraud watch but 1 return in his last 5 just isn’t cutting the mustard. He is and will probably never be a sell, especially with Wolves and Spurs up next but my god is he frustrating to own at the moment. Not least around captaincy decisions.

 

Kroupi Jr – £4.6m

The only player with a higher goals per game ratio and lower goals per min ratio than Erling Haaland so far this season. Given his volatile minutes Kroupi Jr will naturally find himself stashed on the bench as well to begin with. However, if Bournemouth start cooking during their elite fixture stretch and Kroupi Jr produces even 60% if his current rate he could be an unbelievable asset for only £4.6m. Again, this is a raffle ticket that could save you the transfer down the line. Also a very cheap ticket at that.

 

Huge Ekitike – £8.9m

How this man failed to return either a goal or assist against Burnley we will never know. As he punched in an xGI of 1.20. Outside of Newcastle and City and Gameweek 24 and Gameweek 25, Liverpool have pretty good fixtures right up until the end of the season. Both our eyes and the stats tell us Ekitike is good for returns so his set and forget fixtures should allow us to preserve transfers elsewhere, particularly for doubles and blank season.

 

 

Final Thoughts

This team is punctuated by one thing, flexibility. The average manager should still have around £3m in the bank with a set up like this, allowing for plenty of 1 transfer moves to assets like a Munoz, Thiago in GW 27/28, Rogers/Watkins in GW26/27. As mentioned before we can move off Nunes if City’s defence isn’t looking sharp and go straight for Munoz or upgrade Alderete to Munoz and go 5 at the back if City’s defence looks sharp with Guehi’s arrival.

This transfer saving should allow us to stash enough FTs to move off Chelsea assets if need around the GW28 mark. This long term thinking and planning should also help with set ups during the busy blanks and double period.

Let us know if there’s anyone we missed or any changes you’d make.

 

Check out our Game Week Tips section for more Gameweek 23 Tips.