Why You Should Pick Bukayo Saka and Phil Foden Ahead Of Cole Palmer – Az From FPL Blackbox Lays Out His Best Wildcard Tips Ahead Of Gameweek 8

Az from FPL Blackbox is back with another round of Fantasy Premier League tips – this week centring around the best Wildcard team for Gameweek 8.

The international break is drawing to a close and many FPL managers are looking to give their team a bit of a refresh heading in to Gameweek 8.

I’m Az from FPL Blackbox, and in collaboration with SportsCasting, I’ve put together some Wildcard tips that I believe will be beneficial for the upcoming weeks.

Whether you’re struggling to find your footing or looking to build upon a strong start, building this team should help you revitalise your FPL season.

FPL Gameweek 8 Wildcard Tips

Goalkeeper

Only two real considerations for me here: David Raya at Arsenal or Jordan Pickford at Everton. Raya is currently sitting pretty at the top of the FPL points table for goalkeepers. Meanwhile, Pickford’s recent 15-point haul, thanks to a penalty save, clean sheet, and maximum bonus, has helped Everton climb to 16th in the league.

The next seven games for Pickford look fantastic, with shutouts likely. Raya plays for the better side, but conversely has a very rough next four games. Therefore, going with just one Arsenal player for defence (my preferred pick is Gabriel) might be the play here, especially as you can sub him in and out for the tricky run.

That said, I wouldn’t blame you for picking Raya as a “set and forget” option; you shouldn’t need to make any more transfers with that position all season, provided he stays fit. Pickford does potentially have a bit more upside though, particularly in the short term, and saves a bit of £, so he’s made the lineup.

Defence

To accommodate premium assets, Trent Alexander-Arnold has reluctantly been omitted from the defence but still presents a great option despite a rough run of fixtures. Alongside Gabriel, I’ve tried to find some bargains, and it seems to me we have quite a few around the £4.5m pricepoint.

Rayan Ait-Nouri has two goals and an assist in his last two matches, and after Manchester City this week has a great run of games right up to Gameweek 19. Leif Davis also has attacking threat for Ipswich and has been unlucky to just register one attacking return so far this season. The fact he’s on corners and got 18 assists last season in the Championship tells me that the assists will start to come sooner than later.

Nikola Milenkovic is a steady, 90-minute man at a good defensive side in Nottingham Forest, whereas Rico Lewis is a more exciting option. He may not play every game—Man City haven’t been the tightest at the back—but he is a cheap route into the backline of a side who will be fighting for the title and has some attacking threat too.

Midfield

A wildcard has to contain at least one fun pick, and that looks like Phil Foden to me, who plays Wolves and Southampton next. No attacking returns yet for last year’s player of the season, but I think that’s set to change over the coming weeks. There’s enough money in the bank to go for Cole Palmer here instead if you so choose, but I think Foden should outscore Palmer over the coming weeks given the fixtures.

Bryan Mbeumo and Morgan Rogers are no-brainers given their price and importance to their teams. Mbeumo is an especially obvious pick, seeing as he is on penalties and is the sixth highest scoring player in the game. Emile Smith Rowe missed out against Man City, but I’m expecting him back in the lineup for future games and has already shown what he is capable of with two goals and an assist already this season.

The final spot goes to Bukayo Saka, who has only blanked once so far this season. Again, given Arsenal’s fixtures you could choose to go for Palmer instead here, or even make the switch next week when Chelsea play Newcastle.

Forwards

Erling Haaland is a lock despite two successive blanks. I just can’t see any way this continues, particularly with his next two opponents. Dominic Solanke vs Brennan Johnson is a coin flip decision but given the quality of options in midfield, I’ve picked the striker. A Spurs attacking asset does look a must given the brand of football they play and with the coming fixtures.

The final spot is really just picking your poison. Liam Delap, Raul Jimenez, Matheus Cunha, Chris Wood, Dominic Calvert-Lewin, and Jorgen Strand Larsen are all decent picks (although I do believe similarly priced midfield options are better). From what I’ve seen so far, Delap is the one to back, given his price, fixtures, and performances so far.