Fantasy Premier League - when and how to use Wildcard, plus the Man Utd, Arsenal and Man City stars to target

The Premier League season is underway and fantasy football managers are already agonising over their teams to come out on top of office and family mini-leagues.

Manchester City striker Erling Haaland is already a must-own after his brace against Burnley while Mikel Arteta made the shock decision to bench defender Gabriel against Nottingham Forest and Wolves look much more the part under Gary O'Neil than expected.

All those conundrums might have fantasy football managers licking their lips at the thought of using a wildcard. National World has all you need to know about what the wildcard is and when to play it.

What is a wildcard in fantasy football?

A wildcard is one of the chips available to Fantasy Premier League managers throughout the season.

Using a wildcard gives a manager unlimited free transfers throughout a Gameweek. Usually, users only receive one free transfer and every one thereafter comes with a four-point deduction, which is why the wildcard is so great.

Users must still stick to budget and team selection rules. The wildcard is activated at the moment of confirming transfers and remains in play until the deadline for the next Gameweek has passed.

When should I play my wildcard in Fantasy Premier League?

When fantasy football managers play their wildcard depends on their tactics and the state of their team.

If your Fantasy Premier League team has a lot of injuries and suspensions that cannot be fixed with one or two transfers, that could be an opportune moment to use the wildcard chip.

There are two wildcards available to players each season. The first can be used anytime up until Saturday, December 30 at 1:30 pm. The second is available from then on until the end of the season.

Some people like to play the wildcard a few weeks into the season once there is a better idea of the best-performing players and managers' starting XI.

Who are the best players to buy on a wildcard?

If you've had a rubbish Gameweek 1 and are thinking your whole squad needs a revamp, that's good enough reason to use the wildcard already and no doubt thousands of managers will be doing so.

Which players you bring in on a wildcard is a personal choice but here are a few recommendations from National World.

• Erling Haaland, Man City, 14.0 - Talisman who bagged 36 goals last season and already has two this term.
• Bukayo Saka, Arsenal, 8.6 - Consistent performer in an attacking Arsenal team.
• Mohamed Salah, Liverpool, 12.5 - Prolific Liverpool forward whose 29.3% ownership makes him a tidy differential.
• Marcus Rashford, Man Utd, 9.0 - Man Utd’s main goal source until Rasmus Hojlund is fit.
• Ben Chilwell, Chelsea, 5.6 - Attacking Chelsea defender who came close to hauling against Liverpool.
• Robert Sanchez, Chelsea, 4.5 - New Chelsea goalkeeper who offers a budget way into the side's defence.

The other Fantasy Premier League chips

The wildcard isn't the only chip available to fantasy football managers.

The bench boost chip allows users to collect points from all the players on their bench in one Gameweek and is often used when there is a Double Gameweek (when some teams play twice).

The Triple Captain means that a team's selected captain scored triple instead of double points that week and, again, is often saved for a Double Gameweek.

The Free Hit chip allows a manager to pick a completely new team for one Gameweek only and after that week, the user's previous team returns. This is a good option for a Blank Gameweek (when some teams don't play at all).