Should I Free Hit in GW3?

No. Gameweek 3 is a normal single gameweek with all 20 teams playing, so there is no blank to rescue. Free Hit is worth most in a week where five or more of your players have no fixture.

Is GW3 a blank gameweek in FPL 2026/27?

No. Every team plays exactly once in Gameweek 3, and gameweeks 1 through 6 are all singles with no blanks and no doubles.

What is the difference between Free Hit and Wildcard?

Free Hit gives you a different squad for one gameweek and then returns your original team. A Wildcard changes your squad permanently. That is why Free Hit suits a one-week problem like a blank, and Wildcard suits a structural rebuild.

When should I use my first Free Hit?

On a confirmed blank gameweek, once cup runs and postponements have actually removed fixtures. The first Free Hit lasts until the Gameweek 19 deadline, so there is room to wait for the right week.

Free HitChipsGW32026/27

FPL Free Hit GW3: There Is No Blank to Rescue

August 23, 2026 · 4 min read

TL;DR

Free Hit is a rescue chip for blank gameweeks. Gameweek 3 is not a blank: all 20 teams play once, and so does every side in gameweeks 1 through 6. There is nothing for the chip to rescue.

Copilot verdictWAIT

“No blank, no Free Hit. Hold it for a week where five or more of your players have no fixture, which is exactly the problem this chip exists to solve.”

Is Gameweek 3 a Blank Gameweek?

No. Every team has exactly one fixture in Gameweek 3, and the same holds across the whole opening stretch to Gameweek 6. No blanks, no doubles.

Blanks appear later, when cup progress and postponements pull fixtures out of the calendar. That is when a chunk of your squad suddenly has no game, and that is the week Free Hit turns a wrecked gameweek into a normal one.

What Free Hit Is Actually For

The chip gives you a completely different squad for one week, then hands your original team back. That one-week-only property is what makes it a rescue tool rather than a rebuild tool.

Blank gameweeks where five or more of your players have no fixture. This is the primary use.
A big double gameweek you cannot otherwise attack, if you would rather not Wildcard into it.
Not for a bad run of form. That is a transfers problem, or a Wildcard problem, because Free Hit gives your original squad straight back.

The pitch above shows the strongest one-week XI on live projected points, so you can see what a Free Hit would actually buy you this week. Compare it against your own squad with a free Copilot Score.

Optimize your chips

When to Play Free Hit in 2026/27

Hold it until a blank is confirmed rather than rumoured. Fixture removals are only certain once the cup rounds land, and playing the chip early on a normal gameweek spends it for a fraction of what it is worth in the week you actually need it.

You get two Free Hits across the season, one per half, and the first expires at the Gameweek 19 deadline. Watch the fixture ticker for the calendar changing, and read the 2026/27 chip strategy guide for how the four chips sequence together.

Which gameweek is your Free Hit worth most?

Enter your Team ID and I test every valid chip combination across your remaining gameweeks and rank them by points.

Plan My Chips