FPL chip strategy: when each chip is actually worth playing

Two sets of chips in 2026/27

You get each chip twice: one set for Gameweeks 1 to 19 (Wildcard and Free Hit from Gameweek 2) and a second set for Gameweeks 20 to 38. First-half chips that are not played by the Gameweek 19 deadline are lost, so every timing decision below happens twice a season.

Full 2026/27 chip rules →

Bench boost

The chip scores your four substitutes. Its value is therefore exactly the sum of your bench's expected points, which for a typical squad is 8 to 12 and for a prepared squad in a double gameweek is 25 or more.

The preparation is the whole chip: two or three gameweeks of building a bench of nailed starters, which costs you flexibility elsewhere. Do not play it on a bench containing a backup keeper and a fourth-choice defender because the gameweek looked good.

Triple captain

The gain over an ordinary captain is one extra copy of that player's score, so its expected value is simply his projection. Rank candidates by the 90th-percentile simulated outcome rather than the mean, because you are buying the upside tail.

The strongest setups are a premium forward or midfielder with a home double gameweek, high minutes certainty and a soft defensive matchup. A single home fixture against a poor side is acceptable in a season where the doubles are weak.

Free hit

Free hit is at its best in a blank gameweek where you cannot field eleven players, where its value is the difference between a broken squad and a full one — frequently 30 points or more.

Its second use is a large double gameweek where you want a one-week squad loaded with doubled players without destroying your long-term team. Both uses are structural; playing it because your team looks bad this week wastes it.

Wildcard

Covered fully in the wildcard guide, but as a chip its value is measured against the hits it saves. A wildcard replacing four transfers is worth at least twelve points before any fixture gain, which is why it should be played when four or more changes are genuinely needed.

Sequencing

Chips interact. Wildcarding two gameweeks before a bench boost lets you build the bench; free hitting a blank preserves the squad you need for the following double. Plan the run of chips backwards from the known blank and double gameweeks rather than deciding each one on the deadline.

The league-relative test

Before playing any chip, ask what your rivals are doing. A chip played in the same gameweek as everyone else in your mini-league gains you the difference between your chip and theirs, which is usually small. Timing differently is where chips actually create separation.