The Scout gives an early example of a Wildcard squad for managers in Fantasy Premier League who are using the chip in Gameweek 30.
Having claimed the best points total of ALL-TIME in Fantasy with nine matches still remaining of 2024/25, Liverpool's Mohamed Salah (£13.7m) should be a must-have for any manager.
However, the upcoming Blank and Double Gameweeks will play a huge part in how you should assemble the rest of your 15-man squad for the run-in.
Load up on Double GW32 players
Any Wildcard squad has to factor in Double Gameweek 32 (DGW32), when Crystal Palace and Newcastle United are the only two clubs playing TWO matches.
A Double Gameweek is where there are more than 10 fixtures, with at least one club playing TWICE in one Fantasy Gameweek. Players from that club get two chances to score FPL points.
Palace visit Manchester City prior to their trip to Newcastle in their DGW32, with Newcastle at home to Manchester United before hosting the Eagles.
Crucially, both sides also have very kind fixtures beforehand, lifting the appeal of tripling up right now – Palace face Southampton and Brighton & Hove Albion over the next two Gameweeks, while Newcastle play Brentford and Leicester City.
Alexander Isak (£9.3m) and Jean-Philippe Mateta (£7.5m), providing he is fit, will be hugely popular picks for managers’ forward lines in the coming period.
Palace’s Daniel Munoz (£5.1m) is the standout defender in Fantasy right now, while Newcastle’s Dan Burn (£4.4m) is a strong option in the sub-£4.5m category.
Midfielders Ismaila Sarr (£5.6m) and Jacob Murphy (£5.0m) also look like great budget picks, with the latter’s immediate appeal lifted by the suspension of Anthony Gordon (£7.4m), who serves the last of a three-match ban in Gameweek 30.
With the likes of Burn, Murphy and goalkeeper Jose Sa (£4.3m) selected, this squad is also well set up for those managers who still have their Bench Boost chip to use over the remainder of the season.
Invest in Bournemouth
Similarly to Palace and Newcastle, AFC Bournemouth also have a favourable run of opponents, including a home encounter with Ipswich Town in Gameweek 30.
According to the Fixture Difficulty Ratings (FDR), each of the Cherries’ next five matches score no more than three, which should provide defender Milos Kerkez (£5.2m) and penalty-taking midfielder Justin Kluivert (£6.2m) with plenty of opportunities to score well.
Bournemouth's next five matches
| GW | Opponent | FDR* |
| 30 | Ipswich (H) | 2 |
|---|---|---|
| 31 | West Ham (A) | 2 |
| 32 | Fulham (H) | 3 |
| 33 | Crystal Palace (A) | 3 |
| 34 | Man Utd (H) | 3 |
*1 = easiest possible fixture, 5 = hardest possible fixture
From a Fantasy perspective, a win for Man City over Bournemouth in their FA Cup quarter-final on Sunday 30 March would be good news, as this would mean the Cherries' home match against Man Utd would remain in Blank Gameweek 34 (BGW34).
Why the FA Cup quarter-finals will shape the rest of your plans
The squad is very much a work in progress and some of the player selections will depend on the outcome of the FA Cup quarter-finals, which will determine the schedule for BGW34.
Handily, those matches take place on the weekend prior to the Gameweek 30 deadline of 18:15 BST on Tuesday 1 April, so you will have more information at your disposal before finalising any plans.
At present, for example, there are only SIX players in the squad who have a match in BGW34 – Wolverhampton Wanderers pair Jose Sa and Rayan Ait-Nouri (£4.8m) are at home to Leicester, Salah has a home fixture against Tottenham Hotspur, while Newcastle trio Burn, Murphy and Isak welcome Ipswich to St James' Park.
However, all it would take is a win for Fulham over Crystal Palace in the FA Cup to immediately give you FIVE more players and a full starting XI for BGW34. This would mean Palace’s trip to Arsenal will remain in BGW34, which also highlights the appeal of moving early for the Gunners’ Bukayo Saka (£10.2m).
For managers who still have their Free Hit chip available, they could still choose to use it in BGW34.
BGW34 fixtures that could be postponed
| BGW34 fixture | Fixture postponed if... |
|---|---|
| Arsenal v Crystal Palace | Palace beat Fulham in FA Cup |
| Bournemouth v Man Utd | Bournemouth beat Man City in FA Cup |
| Brighton v West Ham | Brighton beat Forest in FA Cup |
| Man City v Aston Villa | Man City or Villa win in FA Cup |
| Nottingham Forest v Brentford | Forest beat Brighton in FA Cup |
| Southampton v Fulham | Fulham beat Palace in FA Cup |
FA Cup quarter-final draw
Preston v Aston Villa
Bournemouth v Man City
Fulham v Crystal Palace
Brighton v Nottingham Forest
With his ownership down to just eight per cent, Saka’s cost of £10.2m allows you to keep an extra premium spot in midfield alongside Salah and gives you a replacement for the out-of-form Cole Palmer (£10.8m). The Arsenal star has been sidelined since Gameweek 17 but is expected to return to action at home to Fulham in Gameweek 30.
