FPL GW5 Strategies: Surya's Wildcard vs Srini's Free Hit

Gameweek 4 left chaos in its wake. Leeds were the only side to win at home, Free Hits misfired, and penalty saves from David Raya and Bukayo Saka punished anyone on the wrong side of those swings.

Out of that mess, the two founders of AllAboutFPL, Surya and Srini, have gone all in for GW5. Both have a chip active. Both are attacking the fixtures. And both are gambling that early aggression will pay off long-term.

Surya: Free Hit Regret, Wildcard Redemption

GW4: Arsenal call right, details wrong

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

He backed the Arsenal triple-up, got the team right, but the names wrong. No Raya. No Saka. Both scored from the spot, both saved penalties, and both delivered huge hauls that he watched from a distance.

Throw in Joao Pedro’s injury concern and a handful of other fires, and Surya’s squad was drifting. The response was ruthless.

Wildcard activated for GW5.

Why pull the Wildcard now?

There’s a three-week international break immediately after GW5. Many managers will wait, gather information, and then reset. Surya is moving early.

His view is simple: the team is “in a mess” now, value is emerging, and the structure he wants can’t wait. The Wildcard gives him a clean slate and a long-term core built around:

• Erling Haaland
• Cole Palmer
• Bukayo Saka
• Morgan Gibbs-White
• Double Arsenal defence

Around that spine, he’s targeting cheaper assets from sides with strong upcoming runs. The draft he’s currently on is rated 91% by Fantasy Football Hub’s free AI Team Rating Tool and projected at 59 points for GW5.

Defence and Goalkeepers: Arsenal double locked in

Double Arsenal defence is, in his words, a “no-brainer” on Wildcard. Clean sheet potential, bonus appeal, and long-term fixtures all line up.

• Konsa comes in at 4.5m and offers strong value.
• Muharemovic and Silva are his DEFCON favourites – steady 4-pointers, week after week, regardless of opponent.
• Munoz is the upside pick, with Coventry, Crystal Palace and Ipswich in the next four. He’s there for attacking returns as much as clean sheets.

Midfield: Penalties, talismans and a DEFCON gem

Surya’s midfield leans heavily on set pieces and central roles.

• Saka and Palmer are his premium midfielders, both on penalties, both talismans for their clubs. The longer-term plan includes a possible switch to Bruno Fernandes around GW11/12 when Manchester United’s fixtures soften.
• Gibbs-White is central to his strategy. The numbers back it up:
• 1st among midfielders for Big Chances Created (4)
• 5th for xGI (2.57)
• Joint 2nd for Bonus Points (6)
• 11th for total FPL points (26)

He offers multiple routes to returns – creativity, set pieces, and bonus.

• King is the budget enabler with serious upside. From GW6–GW8 he faces three promoted sides in a row. He operates in an advanced No.10 role and regularly gets into scoring positions. Surya is betting on this being King’s breakout stretch.
• Vitaly Janelt rounds off the midfield as the 8th attacker and a 5.0m DEFCON darling:
• GW1: 13 DEFCON
• GW2: 10 DEFCON
• GW3: 12 DEFCON
• GW4: 20 DEFCON

He has a share of corners and set pieces (8 corners taken already), averages 13.75 DEFCON per 90, and has 2 goals this season. At just 2.5% ownership, he’s the definition of a hidden gem.

Forwards: Haaland plus value hunting

Up front, Surya keeps it simple at the top and aggressive underneath.

• Haaland is non-negotiable.
• Barry is the headline value pick. Priced at 5.6m, nailed for 90 minutes, no rotation risk, and two promoted sides in the next two gameweeks. The underlying data is elite:
• Only Haaland beats him among forwards for xG, xGI, shots, shots in the box, and big chances.

He’s been unlucky to score just once so far. Surya is backing the old FPL rule: fixtures breed form.

• Wissa completes the trio with four strong fixtures ahead: HUL (H), COV (A), AVL (H), CRY (A). Two promoted teams, two struggling sides, and no European distractions for Newcastle. Surya sees this as the perfect window for a punt. Garcia is the main alternative under consideration for that final slot.

Captaincy: No gamble here

Despite flirting with the idea of captaining Gibbs-White at home to Coventry – a player Fantasy Football Hub projects at 6.1 points – Surya won’t overthink it.

The armband is on Haaland.

Owning Gibbs-White is enough of a differential. Going against Haaland, who again tops AllAboutFPL’s GW5 captaincy metrics, is a risk too far.

Srini: Free Hit Loaded for Home Comforts

GW4: Big swings, wrong side

Srini’s GW4 story is one of missed edges.

No Pascal Gross, no Liverpool midfield double-up, and crucially, no Saka or Raya. The Chelsea attacking triple-up delivered, but it was widely owned. The real gains were elsewhere, and he didn’t have them.

The outcome: a below-par week and a clear decision.

Free Hit activated for GW5.

Why Free Hit now?

Srini is targeting one specific angle: strong home fixtures against promoted or struggling teams. GW5 offers a cluster of them:

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

His plan is to stack these spots hard for one week, then drop back to his original squad afterwards.

Joao Pedro’s situation adds another layer. Xabi Alonso has confirmed no one is ruled out for the next match and kept Pedro’s exact issue under wraps. He suggested Pedro could play the club game and then miss Brazil duty. The expectation is that Pedro likely misses GW5, uses the international break to recover, and returns around GW6. On a Free Hit, Srini can simply sidestep the uncertainty.

Only two or three players from his original squad are likely to survive into the GW5 Free Hit XI.

The draft he’s currently on is rated 95% by Fantasy Football Hub’s free AI Team Rating Tool and projected at 62 points.

The Free Hit core: six names set in stone

Srini has six locks for his GW5 Free Hit:

• Haaland
• Barry
• Calvert-Lewin
• Bruno Fernandes
• Gibbs-White
• Munoz

Around them, five spots remain flexible. He’s weighing up combinations, but some principles are clear:

• There will be Man City defensive coverage.
• There will be a Leeds defender.
• There will be an Everton defender.

He leans towards sticking with the draft currently in his article image, although he’s seriously considering two alternative builds (labelled as option 1 and option 3). Final tweaks will come closer to the deadline, once press conferences and late injury news land.

Captaincy: Rested Haaland, prime spot

For Srini, captaincy is straightforward.

Haaland got his midweek rest. He now faces Sunderland at home. Manchester City have the highest goal-scoring odds of the gameweek, and history suggests that when City score, Haaland is usually in the middle of it.

The armband is firmly on Haaland.

Surya tears up his squad with a Wildcard. Srini detonates a Free Hit to attack one power-packed home gameweek. Both are betting that bold early moves will define their season, not the caution of waiting.

If they’re right, GW5 won’t just be a reset. It will be a launchpad.