The Scout assesses the best time to play the Assistant Manager chip in conjunction with the Wildcard, Bench Boost, Triple Captain and Free Hit over the final nine Gameweeks of 2024/25 Fantasy Premier League.
How many chips do you have left?
With only nine Gameweeks of the campaign remaining, the number of chips you have left to play should be determining the best time to use them.
This season’s addition of the Assistant Manager chip means that - along with the Wildcard, Bench Boost, Triple Captain and Free Hit - managers have five chips to play.
But unlike the other chips, the Assistant Manager chip covers three consecutive Gameweeks.
So if you still have all five chips to play, for example, you would essentially be using a chip in SEVEN of the final nine Gameweeks – three for the Assistant Manager, and one each for the Wildcard, Bench Boost, Triple Captain and Free Hit!
This is because you can only play ONE chip in any given Gameweek.
Why Glasner is the best Double Gameweek 32 manager
The best strategy with the Assistant Manager chip is to target managers whose clubs have Double Gameweeks, which means they have TWO matches in a single Gameweek.
At present, Double Gameweek 32 (DGW32), when Crystal Palace and Newcastle United play twice, is the only confirmed Double Gameweek.
So if you pick either Oliver Glasner (£0.8m) or Eddie Howe (£1.5m) over a period that includes DGW32, you can earn points from FOUR matches in a three-Gameweek spell.
The table-bonus element of the Assistant Manager chip – which earns your Assistant Manager extra points for each win or draw against an opponent who is at least FIVE places higher than them in the Premier League table before the Gameweek starts – should shape your decision here.
For example, if you used the Assistant Manager chip over Gameweeks 30-32, Palace and Newcastle’s current league placings of 12th and sixth respectively, relative to that of their upcoming opponents, clearly gives Glasner an advantage.
The Palace boss currently has the potential to earn table bonus in THREE of his four matches because Brighton & Hove Albion, Manchester City and Newcastle are at least five places above Palace in the Premier League.
The exception is their Gameweek 30 visit to bottom side Southampton.
Newcastle, on the other hand, currently sit in sixth place in the table, at least five places above all of their next four opponents.
This means Howe would earn NO table bonus across the same period.
Glasner v Howe fixtures comparison, GW30-32
| GW | Glasner opp. | +/- Opp. league position | Howe opp. | +/- Opp. league position |
| 30 | Southampton (A) | -8 | Brentford (H) | -5 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 31 | Brighton (H) | +5 | Leicester (A) | -13 |
| 32 | Man City (A), Newcastle (A) | +7, +6 | Man Utd (H), Crystal Palace (H) | -7, -6 |
Although your tactics depend on the chips you have left, it’s fair to say that Alexander Isak (£9.3m) is a great option in DGW32 for those who still have their Triple Captain chip to use, as Newcastle are at home in both their matches, against Manchester United and Palace.
Using the Assistant Manager chip over Gameweeks 30-32 would mean you are unable to use any of your other chips until Gameweek 33, though, and careful planning is needed to navigate the run-in.
See: FPL experts reveal chip strategies for Gameweek 30 and beyond
For example, you could follow this up with a Wildcard in Gameweek 33 to load up on any players who have a Double Gameweek later in the season.
You can then play your Bench Boost chip in that Double Gameweek, which essentially allows you to earn points from up to 30 matches in a single Gameweek.
The Free Hit chip seems best-suited to Blank Gameweek 34 (BGW34), where between three and four matches will be removed due to the FA Cup semi-finals taking place on the same weekend.
Wait for more Double Gameweeks?
There is every chance we will have more Double Gameweeks this season, offering further opportunities for the Assistant Manager chip.
This is very much dependant on the outcomes of the FA Cup quarter-finals, which take place over the weekend of 29-30 March.
Crucially, we will know the four semi-finalists two days before the Gameweek 30 deadline, although it's uncertain when the dates for the rescheduled fixtures will be announced.
At present, there are seven Premier League clubs involved in the last eight of the competition – Palace are one of them, along with Aston Villa, AFC Bournemouth, Brighton, Fulham, Man City and Nottingham Forest.
Those who progress to the last four of the FA Cup will have their match removed from Gameweek 34, giving them and their opponents a “Blank Gameweek 34” (BGW34), where players will score ZERO points in FPL.
On the upside, those matches would then be rescheduled into another Gameweek, which is very likely to result in a Double Gameweek for the clubs involved.
It is only when those matches have been given new dates that managers will finally have the full Blank and Double Gameweek picture at their disposal.
Nonetheless, it's worth using previous seasons as an example here, as there has typically been a Double Gameweek 37. If the same occurs this season, you would need to use the Assistant Manager chip in Gameweek 36 to maximise your chances of profiting from four matches.
In turn, that would also mean you would need to have used all your other chips by Gameweek 35.
A Wildcard in Gameweek 30 or 31 looks the best option with this strategy – this depends both on the state of your squad and whether we have confirmed dates for the remaining Blank and Double Gameweeks.
This would allow you to factor DGW32 and any other Double Gameweeks into your Wildcard decision-making, which would subsequently determine the best time for your Bench Boost chip.
Similarly to above, the Free Hit chip looks the easiest way to navigate the reduced round of BGW34 matches.
