WEEKLY WILDCARDS 2016/17: FPL Gameweek 33
Every week The Hype Train analyses the best wildcard options for your Fantasy Premier League teams. Historically weekly FPL Dream Team’s comprise of mostly wildcard players whose selection falls with a low selection % of overall players, to which there is no doubt that their influence cannot be ignored. With such an abundance of points coming from the FPL’s hidden gems The Hype Train selects one player from each Premier League match in the upcoming Gameweek to decide who could be the differential that sets your team apart. All aboard.
Weekly Wildcards: 2015/16 Season Review
The pursuit of Fantasy Premier League glory never hinges on the success of key 'essential' players, instead finding a differential with very little player ownership can help drive your team up mini-leagues and the global points ladders. The Hype Train invested a great deal of time last season trying to unearth the FPL gems that lay just beneath the surface of our thinking, and we have taken the journey to review our efforts from the 2015/16 season. We're reviewing what worked, what didn't, the teams and players to rely on, and those to avoid. All aboard as we review a season of Weekly Wildcard picks.
To read the full Wildcard Season review, click here, or on cover stars Troy Deeney and Gylfi Sigurdsson below.
DIFFERENTIALS: WHAT IS A WILDCARD PLAYER?
The rules for the 2015/16 season were easy enough to follow. The only rule was that a player had be to selected by less than 5% of the FPL's populace. With 2016/17's price changes, and player selection trends, we have been forced to revise our rules on what constitutes a differential. After testing the waters with selection, there are just not enough differentials with the 2015/16 classification in each position, so we have introduced position specific rules regarding what is and isn't a wildcard/differential player in the FPL that we believe is representative to the game this season.
We have set new boundaries for selection, and these rules listed below will be running throughout the 2016/17 FPL season.
Goalkeepers
- Any shot stopper outside of the top 5 selected. A differential Goalkeeper is now considered outside of the top bracket due to the overwhelming ownership selection % of the top 5 GKs for any one Gameweek.
- A GK's ownership must not exceed 10%
Defenders
- Due to the pricing structure, a differential Defender is the uncommon picks for any one side. There is one or two overwhelming options for most teams in the FPL that consume ownership percentage.
- We cannot pick the top 2 selected Defenders, unless they fall below 7% ownership. We can only pick the second most selected for the same reasoning. This ensures 2 wildcard options are available for all teams.
Midfielders
- Any Midfielder under 8% ownership is classified as a differential.
- Our percentage criteria of 8% is due to a greater wealth of premium midfielders. There is a monopoly of top midfielders for most Premier League clubs, leaving only a handful of Midfielders that provide differential options on a weekly basis.
Forwards
- We cannot pick the most highly selected Forwards in the FPL, most of which are over 10% player ownership. The exception is if the top selected Forward from any club falls below 9%.
- Our percentage criteria of 9% is high because there is already a monopoly of Forwards, and anything outside of that is considered to be a differential.
DIFFERENTIALS: GAMEWEEK PERFORMANCE (GW32)
Our scoring procedure is exactly the same as the FPL's, and each week a good barometer of success is whether or not our weekly selections outscore the average points for a Gameweek. Each week the results vary due to rotation, and unpredictable scorelines, which applies more so to differential players. We have an invested interest each and every week at finding the different players to make a difference, especially since it is easy to say Aguero or Kane will get on the score sheet.
See below for how our wildcard selections got on this past Gameweek.
Gameweek 32 Average Points: 56pts Gameweek 32 Wildcard Points: 33pts
DIFFERENTIALS: SEASON PERFORMANCE
To help track our progress throughout the 2016/17 season, below you can check how our wildcard selections have done by week to week in the Fantasy Premier League.
Best Wildcard Week: GW27 - 72pts, 9 player returns
Worst Wildcard Week: GW10 - 24pts, 2 player returns
Average Points: 44 (1), 57 (2), 42 (3), 43 (4), 48 (5), 45 (6), 42 (7), 39 (8), 42 (9), 58 (10), 52 (11), 40 (12), 46 (13), 50 (14), 46 (15), 48 (16), 47 (17), 54 (18), 45 (19), 49 (20), 56 (21), 46 (22), 35 (23), 51 (24), 47 (25), 45 (26), 44 (27), 19 (28), 47 (29), 40 (30), 45 (31), 56 (32) = 1,478pts
Wildcard Points: 25 (1), 25 (2), 26 (3), 57 (4), 37 (5), 32 (6), 46 (7), 36 (8), 35 (9), 24 (10), 39 (11), 57 (12), 42 (13), 55 (14), 45 (15), 41 (16), 42 (17), 44 (18), 50 (19), 63 (20), 65 (21), 46 (22), 39 (23), 29 (24), 43 (25), 38 (26), 72 (27), 32 (28), 46 (29), 40 (30), 52 (31), 33 (32) = 1,356pts
Best Gamweek Wildcard Player(s)
GW1: Lukasz Fabianski (Burnley vs. Swansea) - 8pts
GW2: Michel Vorm (Spurs vs. Crystal Palace) - 7pts
GW3: John Terry (Chelsea vs. Burnley) - 6pts
GW4: Romelu Lukaku (Sunderland vs. Everton) - 17pts
GW5: Manuel Lanzini (West Brom vs. West Ham) - 7pts
GW6: Hueng-Min Son (Middlesbrough vs. Spurs) - 15pts
GW7: Troy Deeney (Watford vs. Bournemouth) - 9pts
GW8: Gylfi Sigurdsson (Arsenal vs. Swansea) - 9pts
Callum Wilson (Bournemouth vs. Hull) - 9pts
GW9: Winston Reid (West Ham vs. Sunderland) - 14pts
GW10: Claudio Bravo (West Brom vs. Man City) - 6pts
Yannick Bolasie (Everton vs. West Ham) - 6pts
GW11: Marcos Alonso (Chelsea vs. Everton) - 13pts
GW12: Harry Kane (Spurs vs. West Ham) - 13pts
GW13: Gylfi Sigurdsson (Swansea vs. Crystal Palace) - 10pts
GW14: Christian Eriksen (Spurs vs. Swansea) - 18pts
GW15: Gylfi Sigurdsson (Swansea vs. Sunderland) - 13pts
GW16: Divock Origi (Middlesbrough vs. Liverpool) - 11pts
GW17: Patrick van Aanholt (Sunderland vs. Watford) - 15pts
GW18: Andy Carroll (Swansea vs. West Ham) - 8pts
Troy Deeney (Watford vs. Crystal Palace) - 8pts
GW19: Andre Gray (Burnley vs Sunderland) - 17pts
GW20: Leighton Baines (Everton vs. Southampton) - 15pts
Dele Alli (Spurs vs. Chelsea) - 15pts
Olivier Giroud (Bournemouth vs. Arsenal) - 15pts
GW21: Marcos Alonso (Leicester vs. Chelsea) - 21pts
GW22: Andy Carroll (Middlesbrough vs. West Ham) - 13pts
GW23: Gylfi Sigurdsson (Swansea vs. Southampton) - 13pts
GW24: Troy Deeney (Watford vs. Burnley) - 7pts
GW25: Manolo Gabbiadini (Sunderland vs. Southampton) - 13pts
GW26: Patrick van Aanholt (Crystal Palace vs. Middlesbrough) - 15pts
GW27: Fernando Llorente (Swansea vs. Burnley) - 13pts
GW28: Josh King (Bournemouth vs. West Ham) - 18pts
GW29: Manuel Lanzini (West Ham vs. Leicester) - 10pts
GW30: Heung-Min Son (Burnley vs. Spurs) - 7pts
Leroy Sane (Arsenal vs. Man City) - 7pts
GW31: Mesut Ozil (Arsenal vs. West Ham) - 14pts
GW32: Jan Vertonghen (Spurs vs. Watford) - 6pts
Eric Bailly (Sunderland vs. Man United) - 6pts
Gameweek Wildcard History
GW1: 25 points, 2 player returns
Fabianski (8), Townsend (2), Deulofeu (3), Friend (2), Tadic (2), Nolito (1), Callum Wilson (2), Lovren (0), Diego Costa (5)
GW2: 25 points, 1 player return
Targett (1), Kolarov (2), Lallana (2), Llorente (2), Vorm (7), Deeney (1), Rondon (2), Cazorla (3), Defoe (2), Kouyate (3)
GW3: 26 points, 2 player returns
Janssen (2), Terry (6), C. Benteke (2), Lukaku (2), Huth (4), Fonte (2), Holding (2), Abel Hernandez (2), Stuani (2), Otamendi (2)
GW4: 57 points, 5 player returns
Nolito (2), Mustafi (2), C. Wilson (6), Heaton (2), G. Ramirez (0), Bony (2), Antonio (13), Wijnaldum (5), Sigurdsson (8), Lukaku (17)
GW5: 37 points, 5 player returns
Oscar (2), Monreal (2), Huth (6), Bravo (6), Lanzini (7), Stekelenburg (-1), Rooney (1), Benteke (2), Tadic (6), Lloris (6)
GW6: 32 points, 2 player returns
Huth (-1), Bolasie (2), Matip (2), Hueng-Min Son (15), Chadli (1), Mandanda (1), Kolarov (1), Walcott (8), Lanzini (1), Deeney (2)
GW7: 46 points, 5 player returns
Christian Benteke (5), Karius (2), David Luiz (6), van Aanholt (7), Deeney (9), Downing (2), Rashford (2), Austin (2), Dele Alli (8), Iwobi (3)
GW8: 36 points, 4 player returns
Slimani (1), Sigurdsson (9), Callum Wilson (9), Nolito (6), Arnautovic (5), Danny Rose (0), Christian Benteke (-1), Deeney (2), Forster (2), Milner (3)
GW9: 35 points, 2 player returns
Dele Alli (2), Mustafi (5), Stekelenburg (1), Joe Allen (2), Huth (2), Sigurdsson (2), Reid (14), Matip (2), Austin (2), Moses (3)
GW10: 24 points, 2 player returns
Monreal (0), Smalling (0), Adama Traore (3), Alli (2), Deeney (2), Bravo (6), Christian Benteke (2), Bolasie (6), Redmond (2), Pieters (1)
GW11: 39 points, 3 player returns
Wilshere (2), Keane (1), Gundogan (3), Bony (2), Alonso (13), Kane (8), Fonte (1), Matip (2), Sigurdsson (5), Zieler (2)
GW12: 57 points, 6 player returns
Monreal (2), Zaha (6), Coleman (9), Karius (6), Martins Indi (2), van Aanholt (10), Musa (1), Kane (13), Alonso (6), Vokes (2)
GW13: 42 points, 5 player returns
Yaya Toure (2), Phillips (5), Simpson (4), Matip (6), Sigurdsson (10), Alonso (2), Deeney (2), Mustafi (1), Mata (2), Soares (8)
GW14: 55 points, 5 player returns
Pedro (1), Zaha (2), Eriksen (18), Glen Johnson (7), Anichebe (2), Phillips (9), Lanzini (2), Origi (6), Coleman (2), Valdes (6)
GW15: 45 points, 5 player returns
Deeney (2), Monreal (2), Ake (1), Benteke (6), Sigurdsson (13), David Silva (5), Alonso (6), Rose (1), Bertrand (0), Origi (9)
GW16: 41 points, 5 player returns
Slimani (1), Gabriel (1), Origi (11), Alonso (7), Randolph (8), Zaha (2), Iheanacho (0), Lloris (8), Arnautovic (-2), Phillips (5)
GW17: 42 points, 4 player returns
Alonso (6), Llorente (2), Glen Johnson (0), van Aanholt (15), Cresswell (7), Phillips (2), Boufal (1), Oxlade-Chamberlain (1), Lloris (2), Mignolet (6)
GW18: 44 points, 5 player returns
Deeney (8), Monreal (1), Andre Gray (7), Alonso (6), Slimani (2), Phil Jones (2), Carroll (8), David Silva (6), Mignolet (2), Jay Rodriguez (2)
GW19: 50 points, 5 player returns
Mirallas (6), Gray (17), Alonso (3), Ayew (2), Jones (0), Forster (1), Ake (8), Milner (3), Lloris (2), Giroud (8)
GW20: 63 points, 5 player returns
Valdes (0), Baines (15), David Silva (0), Klavan (1), Brunt (8), Carroll (1), Giroud (15), Townsend (1), Pieters (7), Alli (15)
GW21: 65 points, 6 player returns
Vertonghen (6), Gray (2), Stanislas (7), Grant (2), Sigurdsson (2), Deeney (1), Carroll (5), Alonso (21), Barkley (9), Milner (10)
GW22: 46 points, 5 player returns
Mignolet (1), Stanislas (2), Barkley (3), Carroll (13), Arnautovic (2), Dawson (6), Wimmer (0), Yoshida (6), Mustafi (7), David Luiz (6)
GW23: 39 points, 4 player returns
Ozil (2), Stanislas (2), Gray (2), Brunt (2), Lloris (0), Sigurdsson (13), Milner (4), De Bruyne (8), Phil Jones (1), Coleman (5)
GW24: 29 points, 3 player returns
David Luiz (2), van Aanholt (0), Tom Davies (1), Milner (1), Jack Stephens (1), Deeney (7), Chadli (6), Ben Davies (6), Sane (2), Schmeichel (3)
GW25: 43 points, 4 player returns
Rannochia (0), Mkhitaryan (3), Robles (7), Crouch (2), Gabbiadini (13), Chadli (6), Wijnaldum (7), David Luiz (2), Llorente (2), Gabriel Jesus (1)
GW26: 38 points, 4 player returns (from 8 matches)
David Luiz (1), van Aanholt (15), Robles (6), Markovic (0), Chadli (5), Deeney (9), Heung-Min Son (1), Matip (1)
GW27: 72 points, 9 player returns (from 11 matches)
Bailly (0), Fuchs (9), Martins Indi (6, 6), Llorente (13), Gabbiadini (5), Chadli (2), Wijnaldum (8), Davies (5), Sane (10, 2), Pedro (6)
GW28: 32 points, 3 player returns (from 4 matches)
Josh King (18), Robles (6), Llorente (1), Wijnaldum (7)
GW29: 46 points, 5 player returns
Mustafi (1), Mamadou Sakho (9), Robles (6), David Luiz (7), Andre Gray (2), Lanzini (10), Josh King (8), Mkhitaryan (0), Gabbiadini (1), Wijnaldum (2)
GW30: 40 points, 6 player returns
Wijnaldum (2), Rojo (5), David Luiz (0), Carroll (6), Deeney (0), Fuchs (5), Son (7), Tadic (3), Mawson (5), Sane (7)
GW31: 52 points, 6 player returns
Keane (9), Fuchs (7), Holebas (6), Robles (1), Ozil (14), Niasse (6), Bertrand (0), Vertonghen (2), Sane (2), Wijnaldum (5)
GW32: 33 points, 4 player returns
Vertonghen (6), De Bruyne (0), Keane (5), Origi (2), Redmond (3), Lanzini (2), David Luiz (2), Bailly (6), Barkley (5), Ozil (2)
WILDCARDS: HALL OF FAME
To honour the exceptional diamonds in the rough, below is a a Hall of Fame highlighting last season's top performing wildcards, as well as the best individual points returners from this season.
2015/16: Top 5 Wildcards 1 - Troy Deeney (WAT) (P15) (77pts) 2 - Christian Fuchs (LEI) (P10) (48pts) 3 - Gylfi Sigurdsson (SWA) (P6) (43pts) 4 - Nicolas Otamendi (MCI) (P9) (39pts) 5 - Daniel Sturridge (LIV) (P5) (38pts)
FPL Wildcards: Our Best Individual Wildcard Points Returns
1 - Marcos Alonso (Chelsea): 21pts (GW21)
2 - Christian Eriksen (Spurs): 18pts (GW14)
2 - Josh King (Bournemouth): 18pts (GW28)
4 - Romelu Lukaku (Everton): 17pts (GW4)
4 - Andre Gray (Burnley): 17pts (GW19)
6 - Hueng-Min Son (Spurs): 15pts (GW6)
6 - Patrick van Aanholt (Sunderland): 15pts (GW17)
6 - Leighton Baines (Everton) - 15pts (GW20)
6 - Dele Alli (Spurs) - 15pts (GW20)
6 - Olivier Giroud (Arsenal) - 15pts (GW20)
6 - Patrick van Aanholt (Crystal Palace): 15pts (GW26)
FPL DREAM TEAM ANALYSIS: GAMEWEEK 32
Wildcards: Hennessey, Jagielka, Trippier, Shaw, Townsend, Clasie
Non Wildcards: Son, Zaha, Hazard, Lukaku, Ibrahimovic
Points achieved by Wildcards: 65pts
Points achieved by Non-Wildcards: 65pts
GAMEWEEK WILDCARD DIFFERENTIALS
For each FPL Gameweek we select a wildcard player from each game.
We do not select a back-up player for the differentials we bank on – that’s the whole point, being a wildcard.
The selection percentage and player price is accurate with the posting of the article.
Our rundowns of player selections are representative of the Premier League’s TV fixture list.
Weekly Wildcards (GW33)
All the talk in the FPL community is about how to best manage the upcoming double gameweeks. With little time before key decisions are made about using your transfer wildcard and any chips you have left start infesting the mind, but we are here to take a step back and look at some of the alternative options for considering in the here and now. The best advice we can give is that it is better to not alternate your team if you are performing well, there is no guarantee any fresh players you draft in will perform just because they are in a double gameweek. Anyway, we start with the defenders in consideration for this week’s differential picks. Phil Jagielka is the first name within our defensive structure that we deem to have the perfect mix of value and potential, after being on the FPL scoresheet for attacking and defensive returns since his return to the starting eleven he is one to watch as the Premier League's Jekyll and Hyde team visit Goodison Park. Jan Vertonghen is also in the same line of thinking, we can't see how Bournemouth are going to pose any problems for Spurs (unless we have another Josh King miracle return). David Luiz travels with Chelsea to Old Trafford where they meet draw kings Manchester United in what should be a low scoring affair, and most probably Chelsea victory. European hangovers are real and that leaves United vulnerable to being rolled over by Mourinho's old team. Our fourth and final defender in this week’s differentials in Nacho Monreal, long time custodian in the weekly picks, and we are quite thankful that due to Arsenal's recent form and scrutiny that they are being written off in this fixture. Monreal is an even bigger differential because nobody expects anything from this fixture where they have Middlesbrough...a team Arsenal should be easily dispatching. We believe Arsenal will have a reaction, even if it isn't a strong one, and will bounce back with a scrappy victory over the northern club.
Turning to midfielders we only have two entries this week, and that is because there are just very few options this week to consider in favourable games. Manchester United and Chelsea don't have any wildcard midfielder’s worth mentioning which leaves two teams ineligible for consideration. Bizarrely that leaves us with Gini Wijnaldum who made shock-waves in the FPL community after picking up an assist in the victory over Stoke last weekend. For the small minority who had him in their fantasy teams couldn't believe their luck. This is progress for the Dutchman who has evolved his game at Liverpool, and his ability to assist goals (notably for Firmino) is a welcome addition for the Reds attacking unit. More is expected of Gini as he looks to help the Reds secure Champions League football for next season. The second midfielder and regular pick in the differentials if German winger Leroy Sane of Manchester City. The attacker has been finding regular minutes under Pep Guardiola and has a phenomenal away record, he is essentially the Gini Wijnaldum of away fixtures.
Lastly we move onto the most daring pick of forwards we have picked, a total of four which has actually been a rare event due to the notable number of midfielders and defenders available for selection. The two left-field options include Sadio Berahino of Stoke and M'Baye Niang of Watford, two athletic strikers who are finding their feet at their new clubs. Berahino showed flashes of his potential against Liverpool and were it not for an unbelievable save from Simon Mignolet would have condemned the Reds to defeat. Mark Hughes is integrating him into the team with the focus of building a team around for him for next season, but why wait? Hull City visit and this is the perfect opportunity for Saido to prove that he deserves a place in the team for next season. Elsewhere on-loan forward Niang who is currently enjoying a good term at Watford has impressed us, his running, pace, skill, and natural goal scoring prowess has us thinking there is more to come from the Frenchman.
Struggling Swansea may find it tough to cope with the youngster as they begin to show their relegation credentials. The two obvious forward picks are Andy Carroll and Christian Benteke for obvious reasons, but let us talk about Benteke in more detail as the match between Crystal Palace and Leicester has the chance to become one of the weekends more entertaining fixtures.
Gameweek 33 Differential Picks
TOT/BOU: Jan Vertonghen (TOT, DEF, £5.5mil, 1.9% ownership)
CRY/LEI: Christian Benteke (CRY, FOR, £7.3mil, 7.3% ownership)
EVE/BUR: Phil Jagielka (EVE, DEF, £4.7mil, 4.3% ownership)
STK/HUL: Sadio Berahino (STK, FOR, £6.0mil, 0.5% ownership)
SUN/WHU: Andy Carroll (WHU, FOR, £6.3mil, 4.6% ownership) WAT/SWA: M'Baye Niang (WAT, FOR, £5.9mil, 0.6% ownership) SOU/MCI: Leroy Sane (MCI, MID, £7.6mil, 5.5% ownership)
WBA/LIV: Georginio Wijnaldum (LIV, MID, £7.5mil, 1.8% ownership)
MUN/CHE: David Luiz (CHE, DEF, £6.3mil, 5.3% ownership) MID/ARS: Nacho Monreal (ARS, DEF, £5.8mil, 3.3% ownership)
Key Differential: Christian Benteke
The former Aston Villa and Liverpool striker has found himself nicely setup in the heart of Crystal Palace's mammoth attack. On paper their attack has all the ingredients with versatile wingers, a play-maker behind them, and an out-and-out target man. Benteke is great because he can link play together, hold the ball up, and make himself a general nuisance to defenders. On his day, the Belgian is one of the best traditional forwards and his goal tally speaks for itself. Crystal Palace also have an absolute lack of other options than Benteke...his place in the team is rock solid and with the in-form duo of Andros Townsend and Wilfried Zaha flanking him he is a blessed position.
Two goals and an assist from his last three games has been a good return for Benteke, and it should have been more against Arsenal were it not for some fine saves from stand-in keeper Damian Martinez. Crystal Palace are just playing in a vein of form that you wouldn't want to back against them, especially at Selhurst Park where they recently slayed the collapsing Gunners. Benteke was influential in both wins over Arsenal and Chelsea, and because everyone has been hyping up Wilfried Zaha as the man with the plan it is no wonder that Benteke is quietly going about his business and contributing to the team as he knows best. The spotlight is not focused on him and that makes the burly forward a great differential option heading into the weekend game against Leicester. Speaking of their opponents, the Champions of England, they are in the midst of rotation season as they manage their expectations of continuing their Champions League campaign. The evidence was in the performance against Leicester in which demonstrated the Craig Shakespeare still has plenty of work to do in order to get the Foxes running on all cylinders again. The way in which Romelu Lukaku brutalised the central defenders of Leicester gives great optimism that a man of Benteke will cause them similar problems. Defending from crosses in particular were not dealt with effectively against the Toffees and the last thing Leicester want is Benteke lurking in the box with a similar service.
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For all FPL Gameweek build up, check out the Weekly Hype page now.
All aboard.
