Fantasy Premier League

FPL champion's tips: Play first Wildcard late

By The Scout 1 Jun 2023

2022/23 winner Ali Jahangirov on why it is so important to stay patient before using your chips

The Scout analyses the strategies of 2022/23 Fantasy Premier League champion Ali Jahangirov, so that other managers can learn from the best.

Using your first Wildcard late

Jahangirov puts one of the key turning points of his season down to his late playing of the first Wildcard. He played it in Gameweek 12 alongside 260,182 other managers.

"That's a strategy I'm trying to follow every season because the later you use your first Wildcard, it means the later you can possibly use your second Wildcard," he says.

"Once you ignore the temptation of using it in the first two, three or four Gameweeks, you [can] plan accordingly. You simply act like there is no Wildcard. Just be cautious with your transfers, plan ahead and ignore the price rises.

"A lot of people Wildcard early just to catch up those price rises, but having a squad value of £106million doesn't really get you up the ranks. You can have a good squad value, but still be really down in the ranks, so you have to pick your battles."

Save chips for Blanks and Doubles

Jahangirov’s decision to play his chips in Double Gameweeks also proved to be a key factor behind his success.

This season’s FPL champion believes that managers should target the upside of Doubles and play their chips when players have two fixtures.

"I'm just waiting for Double Gameweeks and Blank Gameweeks to come in because that's when they're most useful," explains Jahangirov. "I tend to go for an upside when using a Free Hit chip and I'm trying to navigate Blank Gameweeks without a Free Hit.

"You have a higher upside [if you] go for Free Hit in a Double Gameweek and use a Bench Boost in another Double Gameweek. I also want to use my Triple Captain chip in a Double Gameweek as well."

Jahangirov also believes in the strategy of using the Bench Boost chip just after managers have played their Wildcard.

"Wildcard two and a Bench Boost is the most popular combination of two chips to use in consecutive Gameweeks. I usually go with a Wildcard and then Bench Boost."

Not Triple Captaining Haaland

Jahangirov went against a lot of managers by not handing the Triple Captain chip to Erling Haaland in Gameweek 20 when 520,778 managers did. The champion handed Marcus Rashford the Triple Captain armband based on the additional points midfielders can gain over forwards.

See: Jahangirov's Double Gameweek 22 team

"Marcus Rashford was playing two games at home and against weaker opponents, and he was firing after the World Cup. I like to Triple Captain a midfielder because of the clean sheet points and more points for a goal.

"The [points] hauls are usually easier to get with the midfielder rather than [forwards]. Haaland needs to score a hat-trick in order to get 17 points. Whereas Rashford can score a brace and end up with 16.

"[With] appearance points in another game which is two or three points, you'll end up with 19 or 20 points.

"So I usually like to go with the midfielder for the Triple Captaincy just for a higher ceiling."

By holding his first Wildcard and playing his remaining chips carefully across the Doubles in the second half of the season, Jahangirov ensured he maximised the chips.