FPL Tilt · Team talk · Wildcard · Gameweek 9
A wildcard built on Haaland and two Arsenal defenders, and why I would still wait until after the break
Be the first to comment ↓Haaland, Gabriel and Konsa first, then Spurs, Bournemouth and Chelsea. The Gameweek 9 wildcard team I'd pick with our predictions, and why I'd wait until after the break.
About 3.5 million of FPL's 11.2 million teams have played their first wildcard. Ours went in Gameweek 7, and this is the team I would build if I still had it.
It starts with Erling Haaland and two Arsenal defenders, and adds Spurs, Bournemouth and Chelsea players around them. As for when, I would make one transfer now and keep the wildcard until after the international break. Here is the team player by player, with our predictions for the next five Gameweeks and the fixtures after them.
The Gameweek 9 deadline is .
Eleven Gameweeks to New Year's Day
Gameweeks 9 and 10 come before the international break, and the Gameweek 11 deadline is on Saturday 21 November. Gameweeks 12 and 13 follow four days apart, with deadlines on Friday 27 November and Tuesday 1 December.
Then Christmas, with Gameweeks 17, 18 and 19 on Boxing Day, 29 December and New Year's Day. That week is when players who start every game are worth the most, and when rotation costs the most. A wildcard played now has to last through all of it; one played after the break has two fewer Gameweeks to cover and more team news to go on.
Two injuries, and where the fixtures turn
João Pedro (Chelsea, £7.8m) and Riccardo Calafiori (Arsenal, £6.0m) are the two most sold players of the week. João Pedro has a thigh injury with no date for his return, and Calafiori is a doubt with a hip problem.
The teams a wildcard helps most are the ones still built around the most-owned players. The fifteen most-owned players in FPL include three each from Arsenal, Brighton and Manchester City, and in Gameweek 9 Brighton go to the Etihad and Arsenal to Anfield.
Chelsea have the two kindest fixtures before the international break: Manchester United at home and Sunderland away.
After the break Tottenham Hotspur play Ipswich, Sunderland and Fulham in Gameweeks 11 to 13, and Liverpool play United, Everton and Sunderland.
Both come into those runs in form. Spurs did not win any of their first six league games, then beat Coventry 3-1 and Chelsea 2-0 at Stamford Bridge. Liverpool have won three of their last four.
Haaland and two Arsenal defenders
Haaland (Manchester City, £15.8m) has nine league goals and is predicted for 27.0 points over Gameweeks 9 to 13. His lowest week is Gameweek 12 at the Emirates, where our predictions would leave him on the bench.
Arsenal have let in five league goals. Gabriel (£7.9m) and David Raya have started all eight league games, and Gabriel is predicted for 24.0 points over the five Gameweeks, second only to Haaland.
Ezri Konsa (£4.7m) has started six and is the cheaper way into the same defence. William Saliba is out with a back injury, with no date for his return, and once he is back I would expect him and Konsa to share the minutes, with Saliba first choice. Calafiori is worth his price when fit. He was on the bench against Everton before the hip, though, and I would want to know more about the injury before picking him.
Nobody in Arsenal's attack has made a case yet. Martin Ødegaard and Kai Havertz have two league goals each, and Bukayo Saka is out with a thigh injury.
Chelsea without João Pedro
Chelsea finished tenth last season and are not in Europe. Without João Pedro they lost 3-0 at Brentford and 2-0 at home to Spurs, and did not score in either. That makes me think twice about the Chelsea players as long as he is out.
United at home on Saturday is still the strongest reason to buy from them. Morgan Rogers (£8.0m) has four goals and an assist, and Pedro Neto (£6.6m) has three goals and an assist. Those are the two I would take.
Still, Cole Palmer (£9.8m) is predicted higher than both of them over the five Gameweeks, 22.3 points against 18.5 each. He has two goals and four assists, and he has not played well enough for me to pay that much for him. He misses tonight's League Cup tie at Anfield and is back for United, and that game could change my mind.
Spurs, Bournemouth and Mbeumo
Spurs have scored only eight league goals, so their attack has not been the strongest, though I still think Mohammed Kudus (£6.5m) could be a good option. Mostly I would go for their defence. Jan Paul van Hecke (£4.9m) is nailed and is predicted for 21.0 points over the five Gameweeks. Andrew Robertson (£4.3m) is a cheap Spurs defender for the bench, and Antonín Kinsky (£4.4m) might be a solid second keeper.
Marcus Tavernier (Bournemouth, £6.4m) has five goals and is the second most bought player of the week. Behind him, António Silva (£5.0m) is owned by 1.0% of managers and is predicted for 21.8 points, the second most among defenders.
Bryan Mbeumo (Manchester United, £7.9m) has four goals for a United side that lost 3-0 at home to Bournemouth on Sunday. Even so, he is the midfielder our predictions rank highest over the next five Gameweeks, with 23.0 points.
Up front, in goal and on the bench
Thierno Barry (Everton, £5.6m) has started every league game and has three goals from chances worth about five.
James Trafford (Leeds, £5.0m) is predicted higher than Kinsky in every one of the next five Gameweeks, so pairing him with a £4.0m keeper might be the best option.
Jack Rudoni (Coventry, £4.9m) has started seven of eight and sits on my bench in midfield.
The team
| Position | Player | Club | Price | Owned by | Predicted, GW9–13 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GK | Trafford | LEE | £5.0m | 6.1% | 16.9 |
| GK | A £4.0m keeper (bench) | £4.0m | |||
| DEF | Gabriel | ARS | £7.9m | 22.8% | 24.0 |
| DEF | Silva | BOU | £5.0m | 1.0% | 21.8 |
| DEF | Van Hecke | TOT | £4.9m | 7.8% | 21.0 |
| DEF | Konsa | ARS | £4.7m | 20.3% | 19.5 |
| DEF | Robertson (bench) | TOT | £4.3m | 2.2% | 16.2 |
| MID | Mbeumo | MUN | £7.9m | 21.5% | 23.0 |
| MID | Tavernier | BOU | £6.4m | 19.4% | 21.7 |
| MID | Rudoni (bench) | COV | £4.9m | 0.7% | 20.9 |
| MID | Rogers | CHE | £8.0m | 50.2% | 18.5 |
| MID | Neto | CHE | £6.6m | 4.3% | 18.5 |
| FWD | Haaland | MCI | £15.8m | 78.2% | 27.0 |
| FWD | Barry | EVE | £5.6m | 7.3% | 21.2 |
| FWD | Open | £9.0m left |
By position, then by predicted points over Gameweeks 9 to 13. Fourteen players cost £91.0m, which leaves £9.0m for a third forward. Predictions: ours, 28 October 2026. Prices and ownership: Fantasy Premier League, the same day.
Figures read on 28 October 2026. The predictions are updated daily: Players shows today's figures.
The case for doing it now
The best £100m wildcard team our predictions can build, with the best eleven and captain each week, is predicted for 271.1 points over Gameweeks 9 to 13.
If your team still has João Pedro and Calafiori, three Brighton players at the Etihad on Saturday and no Chelsea player for United at home, waiting costs you points. A wildcard played now also covers Chelsea's two kindest games before the break.
Waiting has its own risks. Arsenal's November is hard: against Liverpool and City the clean sheets will be harder to come by. Chelsea's players have to be sold in time for December, and over Christmas any of these players can be rested on one of the three days.
Why I would wait
Haaland and two Arsenal defenders are the part of this team that has to hold for eleven Gameweeks, and from Gameweek 14 to New Year's Day Arsenal play Spurs, Bournemouth, United, Crystal Palace, Fulham and Ipswich, with no City, Liverpool or Chelsea among them. Everything else depends on news that is not in yet: Calafiori's hip, Saka's thigh and João Pedro's return.
If your team is already built for the next five Gameweeks, make one transfer now and play the wildcard for Gameweek 11. You build straight into Spurs' and Liverpool's runs after the break, with two fewer Gameweeks to cover.
Points, goals, assists, starts, results, fixtures, prices, ownership, transfers, chip plays and injury news are Fantasy Premier League's, read on 28 October 2026. Predictions are FPL Tilt's, from the run of 28 October 2026; our team's picks are Fantasy Premier League's, the same day. Chelsea's season without European football is from beIN Sports (24 May 2026); Palmer's ban from ESPN. The fixtures after Gameweek 13 are read against the league table of 28 October.
Figures read on 28 October 2026. The predictions are updated daily: Players shows today's figures.