FPL GW3 Wildcard Guide: Best Team & Player Picks
For many FPL managers, it has been a difficult couple gameweeks. After weeks of planning the perfect team, things haven't panned out as many expected across the opening games with recent injuries and red cards only adding to the problems. Cole Palmer was a late scratch Sunday and Newcastle lost a few players Monday, including Anthony Gordon.
The Wildcard Chip at this early stage could give an early reset, allowing managers to realign their team with what has worked over the opening two gameweeks.
GOALKEEPERS
Robert Sanchez $5.0m
Sanchez can feel hard to trust in fantasy games since he's widely criticised whenever he makes an error. However, over the course of the season, the results tend to speak for themselves. Last season, he kept 10 clean sheets in 32 league games, which is the best clean-sheet-per-game ratio of keepers not priced at $5.5m.
This season, he's returned a save point in each game to go with one clean sheet.
Martin Dubravka $4.0m
Dubravka is going to be a staple in every FPL wildcard going forward as the only apparent $4.0m starting goalkeeper. In this team, he isn't going to start frequently but will be there as a useful backup if the starting goalkeeper is ever injured or suspended.
He already kept a clean sheet, and James Trafford kept 29 clean sheets in the Championship with Burnley, only conceding 16 goals across the entire Championship season.
DEFENDERS
Pedro Porro $5.5m
Porro is part of the Spurs defense which is one of only two teams to keep clean sheets in both games, which included an away trip to Manchester City. The right-back gets forward a bunch and has a role on corners. He's taken three shots and created five chances across the first two matches while also attempting 12 crosses, splitting sets with Mohammed Kudus.
Daniel Munoz $5.5m
Munoz started his attacking returns for the season with an assist against Nottingham Forest. He has some nice fixtures in the next three games with Aston Villa, who have failed to score, followed by Sunderland and West Ham in Gameweeks 4 and 5. He's attempted six crosses in the first two games and ended last season with four goals and six assists. If Marc Guehi leaves Crystal Palace this week, it may change the defensive stability, and he may be one to wait and see.
Valentino Livramento $5.0m
Livramento caused absolute chaos in the first home game of the season against Liverpool and got an assist in the game. He has created three chances across the two games and is the preferred full-back for Eddie Howe due to his ability to play on both right and left sides. He started against Liverpool at left-back but was shifted to right back when Kieran Trippier came off for Lewis Hall. Newcastle play Leeds United and Wolves in their next two matches, spots where clean sheets could happen.
Daniel Ballard $4.6m
Ballard was the top-scoring player in Gameweek 1 and had a couple early chances in Gameweek 2 before he pulled up with a muscular injury. He may be out until after the international break due to this injury, but his presence as a low-priced defensive option could be an opportunity worth taking due to his perceived attacking threat.
Gabriel Gudmundsson $4.0m
Gudmundsson comes in as a solid $4.0m fifth defender. Maxime Esteve is a popular choice, but with Martin Dubravka also in this team, relying on two defensive options from the same newly promoted team is unreliable and could lead to benching issues in the wrong gameweek. Having faced Arsenal in Gameweek 2, Leeds don't face another team which finished in the top four last season until Gameweek 13.
Odds found in our Gameweek 3 FPL cheat sheet and our GW3 FPL Rankings can also help deciding who to use for a Wildcard.
MIDFIELDERS
Mohamed Salah $14.5m
Salah has had a tough start to the season fresh off breaking the record for FPL points last season with 344. However, despite reduced attacking involvement, he has managed to pick up an attacking return in each game after the 90th minute. He's created two chances in each game and had three shots in the opening game. At Newcastle, he didn't take a single shot, something that only happened once last season, which was against Arsenal, Liverpool's next opponent.
Despite this, Salah is an FPL phenom that always finds his way to points and still worth using in a Wildcard. He's a top captain option most weeks, and is getting more minutes with his attacking teammates, which will see him become more involved in the game. He's also an easy captaincy candidate for Gameweek 4 against Burnley and Gameweek 5 against Everton.
Anthony Elanga $7.0m
Elanga is one of the more differential picks in this squad of 15 players. He hasn't had a goal involvement in two matches but will be the main attacker that Newcastle have available in Gameweek 3 when they take on Leeds.
Anthony Gordon picked up a three-game ban for his poor challenge on Virgil van Dijk, and the Alexander Isak transfer situation means that Will Osula is the only central forward available. With a lack of confidence from the manager, Elanga and Harvey Barnes both look set for 90s and a heavy amount of touches in the attack.
Ismaila Sarr $6.5m
Sarr will become Crystal Palace's attacking talisman now that Eberechi Eze has departed for Arsenal, and the signing of Yeremi Pino seems close. Sarr opened the scoring against Nottingham Forest at the weekend to get his first goal of the season. He also scored a crucial goal in the Community Shield, which helped Palace pick up another piece of silverware.
In the next three gameweeks, Palace play goalless Aston Villa, Leeds and West Ham, a fixture run that will hopefully include goal returns for Sarr.
Tijjani Reijnders $5.7m
Reijnders was such a hit with FPL managers after his Gameweek 1 performance of 10 points that his price has risen twice. For less than $6 million to have one of Manchester City's more advanced players is ideal as a fourth-choice midfielder. Across the two games, he's taken three crosses in each aided by a role on corners.
Last season for AC Milan, he scored 10 goals and provided four assists in a team that struggled to eighth place in Serie A.
Pape Sarr $5.0m
Sarr is the perfect fifth-choice midfielder at $5.0m, which is only $0.5m above the minimum price for a midfielder. He assisted in the opening game and had a shot on target against Manchester City. He has had nine and 10 defensive contributions and should get plenty of added points through this new method this season.
Sarr has taken a crucial role in Thomas Frank's new midfield and figures to get more consistent minutes than last season.
FORWARDS
Erling Haaland $14.1m
Haaland failed to score in City's disappointing 2-0 defeat to Spurs but looked back to his early-season best when scoring two on the opening day against Wolves. He finished last season with 22 goals, which was second in the Golden Boot race, only behind Mohamed Salah. He's a reasonable captain choice in Gameweek 3 against Brighton and has Burnley in Gameweek 6.
Joao Pedro $7.6m
Joao Pedro turned around a difficult Gameweek 1 draw with one of the performances of Gameweek 2, scoring once and providing two assists against West Ham. Last season, he scored 10 goals and created six assists in 27 games for Brighton before getting his big money move. Chelsea only play one game against a team that finished in the top six last season between Gameweeks 3 and 13.
Check our Fixture Difficulty Ranker to see that full schedule.
Eli Junior Kroupi $4.5m
Kroupi is one of the very few $4.5m forwards who has played in the opening two gameweeks, and with the talent that he showed at Lorient, he could develop into a starting player in the Bournemouth attack. With extra money in the budget, you could upgrade to a more reliable starter, but I feel this money is better saved for upgrades through transfers in future weeks.
