AllAboutFPL Founders' GW5 Strategies: Wildcard vs Free Hit

Gameweek 4 was chaotic. Leeds were the only side to win at home, penalties flew in, and many Fantasy Premier League managers saw carefully laid plans ripped up in a single weekend.

Two of them have decided they’ve seen enough.

The founders of AllAboutFPL, Surya and Srini, are attacking GW5 with chips blazing – Surya on a Wildcard, Srini on a Free Hit – both looking to reset their seasons before the long international break.

Surya: Wildcard active, structure over short-term fear

GW4: Free Hit frustration

Surya’s Free Hit in GW4 returned 78 points. On paper, not a disaster. In reality, it stung.

He backed a triple Arsenal stack and got the call right in theory, but not in personnel. No David Raya. No Bukayo Saka. Both scored and saved penalties, turning what could have been a huge green arrow into a flat, disappointing week.

Add in the Joao Pedro injury concern and a squad riddled with issues, and Surya decided he couldn’t limp through another gameweek. The Wildcard is active for GW5.

Why pull the Wildcard now?

There’s a three‑week international break after GW5. Many managers will wait, fearing injuries and surprise knocks. Surya has gone the other way.

His reasoning is blunt: the team is “in a mess” and this is the chance to build the structure he wants for the long term.

That structure is clear:

• Erling Haaland up front
• Cole Palmer and Bukayo Saka as premium midfielders
• Morgan Gibbs‑White as a key mid-price asset
• Double Arsenal defence

Around that core, he’s targeting cheap, high‑value options from teams with strong fixture runs.

His current Wildcard draft is rated 91% on Fantasy Football Hub’s free AI Team Rating Tool and projected for 59 points. The squad isn’t locked, but the spine is obvious.

Defence and goalkeepers: double Arsenal, value hunting

Surya calls double Arsenal defence on a Wildcard “a no‑brainer”. With their fixtures and clean sheet potential, they form the bedrock of his backline.

Alongside them, Konsa comes in as a standout value pick at 4.5m.

Then come the DEFCON favourites: Muharemovic and Silva. They’re the steady, four‑pointer merchants, the type of defenders who quietly rack up returns regardless of opponent.

Munoz is the riskier, upside play. With Coventry, Crystal Palace and Ipswich in his next four, he offers attacking potential and clean sheet chances in one package.

Midfield: penalties, talismans and one DEFCON darling

Saka and Palmer are non‑negotiable. Both are on penalties, both are the attacking heartbeat of their sides, and both carry captaincy upside in the right week.

There’s already a plan beyond them. Around GW11 or GW12, when Manchester United’s fixtures improve, one of Saka or Palmer could make way for Bruno Fernandes.

Gibbs‑White is the mid-price star of the draft, and the numbers back it up. Among midfielders so far, he sits:

• 1st for Big Chances Created (4)
• 5th for xGI (2.57)
• Joint 2nd for Bonus Points (6)
• 11th for total FPL points (26)

He has multiple routes to returns – set pieces, creativity, goal threat – and a plum GW5 home fixture against Coventry.

King fills the budget midfield slot and brings both fixtures and role. From GW6 to GW8 he faces three promoted sides in a row, plays as an advanced No.10, and consistently pops up in dangerous areas. Surya is backing him to finally turn that promise into FPL points.

Then there’s Vitaly Janelt, who rounds out the midfield as the eighth attacker and a flexible bench option. His defensive work and set‑piece involvement make him a quiet gem.

The DEFCON data on Janelt is eye‑catching:

• GW1: 13 DEFCON
• GW2: 10 DEFCON
• GW3: 12 DEFCON
• GW4: 20 DEFCON
• 13.75 DEFCON per 90
• 2 goals already this season
• 8 corners taken so far
• Just 2.5% TSB

For 5.0m, Surya sees him as one of the best value midfielders in the game.

Forwards: Haaland, the data monster Barry, and a punt up front

Haaland needs no explanation. He stays, he scores, he wears the armband.

The real intrigue is Barry.

Priced at 5.6m, playing 90 minutes, no rotation risk, and facing two promoted teams in the next two gameweeks, Barry is as close to a perfect budget forward scenario as you’ll find. The appeal isn’t just fixtures either.

Among forwards in the league, Barry ranks only behind Haaland for:

• xG
• xGI
• Total shots
• Shots in the box
• Big chances

He’s been unlucky to score just once so far. Surya is betting that “fixtures breed form” and that these next two matches could ignite a scoring run.

Wissa completes the frontline with a strong four‑game run: Hull (H), Coventry (A), Aston Villa (H), Crystal Palace (A). Two promoted sides, two struggling teams, and no European distraction for Newcastle. Surya likes the punt, though Garcia remains an option for that final spot.

Armband: no gamble against Sunderland

Surya flirted with the idea of captaining Gibbs‑White at home to Coventry, especially with predictive models giving him 6.1 points for GW5.

Tempting, but not enough.

Haaland keeps the armband. He tops AllAboutFPL’s own captaincy metrics for GW5, and Surya is content to let Gibbs‑White be a high‑impact differential without risking a captaincy upset.

Srini: Free Hit unleashed for one targeted strike

GW4: punished for missing the big swings

Srini’s GW4 went the other way. No Pascal Gross, no Saka, no Raya, and a Liverpool midfield double-up that didn’t land as hoped.

His Chelsea attacking triple-up returned, but it was a neutral gain with so many managers holding the same players. Missing Saka and Raya, though, hurt badly. The swing went against him.

So he’s hit the Free Hit button for GW5.

Why Free Hit now?

Srini’s approach is aggressive: attack the fixtures, then reset.

GW5 offers a cluster of strong home games against promoted or struggling sides:

• Everton vs Ipswich (H)
• Nottingham Forest vs Coventry (H)
• Newcastle vs Hull (H)
• Leeds vs Crystal Palace (H)
• Manchester City vs Sunderland (H)

The plan is simple – pile into these fixtures for one week, then return to a more balanced squad after the international break.

The Joao Pedro situation feeds into this. Xabi Alonso has said no one is ruled out for the next match and refused to reveal the exact nature of Pedro’s injury. He suggested Pedro could play the upcoming game but then miss Brazil duty. Moises Caicedo is “closer” to a return.

Reading between the lines, Srini expects Pedro to likely miss GW5, recover during the break, and potentially be back for GW6. That uncertainty makes a Free Hit more appealing.

Only two or three players from his original squad make it into the GW5 Free Hit draft.

The current draft is rated 95% on Fantasy Football Hub’s free AI Team Rating Tool and projected for 62 points.

Core locks and moving pieces

Srini has already nailed down six names for his Free Hit XI:

• Haaland
• Barry
• Dominic Calvert‑Lewin
• Bruno Fernandes
• Gibbs‑White
• Munoz

Around them, five slots are still flexible.

He’s clear on the structure though. The final draft will almost certainly include:

• At least one Manchester City defender
• A Leeds defender
• An Everton defender

He has multiple combinations drawn up, with at least three different versions of the draft under consideration. Right now, he’s leaning towards the team shown in his initial reveal, while still liking his first and third alternative options.

Fine‑tuning will go right up to the deadline.

Captaincy: rested Haaland, home to Sunderland

For Srini, the captaincy call is as straightforward as it gets.

Haaland has had a midweek rest. Manchester City host Sunderland. City carry the highest goal‑scoring odds of the gameweek, and when City score, Haaland is usually in the middle of it.

No curveballs here. The armband is locked on the Norwegian.

Both managers have taken early-season risks. One has committed to a long-term rebuild with a GW5 Wildcard. The other is firing a one‑week Free Hit at a soft fixture list.

By the end of this gameweek, we’ll know which chip blinked first – and which one has just changed the shape of their FPL season.