If you’re activating your first wildcard this week, the aim is simple: lock in players with both form and fixtures while leaving flexibility to adapt as the season unfolds.
The following wildcard draft that I’ve put together strikes a good balance between premium firepower, reliable defensive options and some differential picks. Let’s dive into why each of the 15 players made my cut.
Goalkeepers
David Raya (£5.5m) — Arsenal
Raya looks an obvious Gameweek 6 wildcard pick. Arsenal have been solid at the back and the Spaniard offers not only clean-sheet potential but also the cheapest route into their defence. From Gameweek 7, Arsenal have a great fixture run: West Ham (H), Fulham (A), Crystal Palace (H), Burnley (A), Sunderland (A) and Tottenham (H).
Martin Dubravka (£4.0m) — Burnley
Dubravka is simply a great enabler at £4.0m. He is the only nailed-on starting goalkeeper at that price point, and although you are unlikely to ever play him as Raya is a great set-and-forget ’keeper, he’s still a good backup in case his Arsenal counterpart is injured or misses out for other reasons.
Defenders
Gabriel (£6.1m) — Arsenal
Gabriel is nailed to start when fit, carries goal threat and has great fixtures ahead. He remains one of the most dangerous defenders in the league from their team’s offensive set pieces. His partnership with William Saliba (£6.0m) makes Arsenal extremely difficult to break down and he offers attacking threat on top of clean-sheet potential. Another good long-term pick from the best defence in the league.
James Tarkowski (£5.5m) — Everton
Tarkowski is one of the most under-appreciated defenders in FPL. His aerial dominance makes him a constant danger from attacking set pieces and Everton have always been a solid defence. More importantly with this season’s scoring rules changes, he seems to be one of the best in the game for defensive contributions, picking up the extra two points for making 10 of them in all five matches so far. His propensity to get those extra points, place in a largely-resolute back line and decent threat at the other end of the pitch combine to make Tarkowski an almost fixture-proof asset.
Marcos Senesi (£4.8m) — Bournemouth
The Bournemouth centre-back is another defensive-contribution monster. He has also hit the threshold in all five games to date this season, picking up an extra 10 points. The great thing about him is his price. Although he has already risen by £0.3m since the start of the season, the Argentinian still offers great value in a solid Bournemouth team who have helpful-looking long-term fixtures.
Joachim Andersen (£4.5m) — Fulham
The Fulham centre-back has earned defensive-contributions points in four of the five matches and looks another excellent-value pick at his price. Fulham have a good defence overall, and the extra points he can be expected to get over the season could prove highly valuable. Although the immediate fixtures aren’t great, Andersen is a fine long-term option who can be rotated out for his tougher games.
Fulham’s Joachim Andersen is an affordable defensive-contribution points magnet (Ryan Pierse/Getty Images)
Omar Alderete (£4.0m) — Sunderland
The Sunderland centre-back is looking like a possible gem. He has started the past four matches and collected the defensive-contributions bonus in the last three of those. Alderete is looking pretty secure in that starting role and his promoted side are proving much stronger than most thought they’d be. He will be your fifth defender and probably won’t spend too many gameweeks in your starting XI, but is a great pick for your bench and good enough to be rotated with your fourth defender for his kinder fixtures.
Midfielders
Bruno Fernandes (£9.0m) — Manchester United
Fernandes remains United’s most consistent FPL asset. He’s on penalties, takes some set pieces and continues to post strong underlying stats. Having Brentford (A), Sunderland (H), and Brighton (H) in the next four fixtures is great, but he’s a dependable long-term hold anyway, given he offers reliable minutes, set pieces, and goal and assist threat. Even with United’s shaky form, Fernandes always finds a way to return for his FPL owners.
Antoine Semenyo (£7.7m) — Bournemouth
Semenyo has been FPL’s standout player this season and that’s evident in his massive £0.7m price rise since the opening weekend just over a month ago. He has three goals and two assists, and has played the 90 minutes in all five games. He also might be first-choice on penalties now, too: he took Bournemouth’s most recent one against Brighton in Gameweek 4 when last season’s regular taker Justin Kluivert (£7.0m) was not on the pitch, and there is no guarantee the latter will get back into Andoni Iraola’s starting XI anytime soon having come off the bench in all four league appearances so far. Other than a trip to Manchester City (Gameweek 10), Bournemouth have profitable-looking fixtures all the way to Gameweek 19, starting with Leeds (A), Fulham (H), Palace (A) and Nottingham Forest (H).
Tijjani Reijnders (£5.6m) — Manchester City
Reijnders is emerging as a potential gem at City and a core pick in a wildcard team. He has played 90 minutes in all five league games, picking up a goal and two assists. He will surely offer a steady stream of points as part of an attacking side, while also acting as an enabler thanks to his price.
City’s Tijjani Reijnders is great value at his price (Carl Recine/Getty Images)
Iliman Ndiaye (£6.5m) — Everton
There isn’t much not to like here. Nailed to start, cheap and on his side’s penalties. Ndiaye already has two goals and an assist, and looks to be thriving in what is a much more attack-minded Everton team this season. Given what he offers and at his price, he’s a fine long-term pick.
Anton Stach (£5.0m) — Leeds
Stach is an ideal fifth midfielder who also offers goals and assists by the looks of it. His minutes look more than secure, with the German playing every minute in the league so far since his summer arrival, and he’s also on corners and free kicks. He is good enough to rotate with your fourth midfielder given his underlying stats, having racked up an xGI (expected goal involvement) figure of 1.2 so far.
Forwards
Joao Pedro (£7.8m) — Chelsea
With Cole Palmer (£10.4m) currently sidelined, Joao Pedro should get consistent minutes. He’s already shown his goalscoring touch this season with two goals and three assists in the five matches. At £7.8m, he’s a mid-priced forward with premium upside, and Chelsea have favourable long-term fixtures. Over the next nine, they play Brighton (H), Sunderland (H), Wolves (H), Burnley (A) and Leeds (A).
Erling Haaland (£14.3m) — Manchester City
No wildcard team this week is complete without Haaland. He’s the ultimate FPL asset right now, with six goals in City’s first five league games and arguably their best fixture of the season, at home to promoted Burnley, up next, then Brentford (A) and Everton (H) to follow in the next two gameweeks.
Viktor Gyokeres (£9.0m) — Arsenal
Gyokeres has got off to a decent start back in English football with three goals in the five league matches. Although he has a tough game against Newcastle (A) this weekend, the fixtures from Gameweek 7 onwards make him an easy pick. He is nailed to start, should play plenty of minutes with Kai Havertz (£7.3m) still out after knee surgery last month, and he’s also scored a penalty, although Arsenal’s previous first-choice taker Bukayo Saka (£9.8m) is back available following his own injury absence.
Final thoughts
The core picks for me on a Gameweek 6 wildcard are Gabriel, Andersen, Senesi, Semenyo, Reijnders, Joao Pedro and Haaland. The rest of the slots offer room to be a bit more adventurous.
What I like about this squad is the flexibility. Cheap midfield options in Stach and Ndiaye allow you to rotate based on fixtures, the strikeforce ensures you always have explosive potential in attack and the back line is full of players with a really high floor, given their defensive-contribution upside.
With a Gameweek 6 wildcard presenting such strong opportunities for City, Bournemouth and Arsenal, this line-up is nicely positioned to take advantage of those fixtures. If you’re hitting the wildcard button for the first time this season, it offers both immediate returns and a long-term structure.
(Top photos: Viktor Gyokeres, left, and Marcos Senesi; Getty Images)