FPL Wildcard GW3: Best Draft and Template Squad

Gameweek 3 has been played. Playing this chip in GW4 instead? See the Wildcard GW4 draft, built on live projections for the current deadline.

TL;DR

Playing your Wildcard in Gameweek 3? The GW3 deadline is Friday 4 September at 6.30pm BST. The squad above is a full rebuild on the latest projections, so you can draft against it rather than starting from a blank pitch. Wildcard means unlimited free transfers for one gameweek, so the job is to fix the whole squad at once instead of patching one problem.

Copilot verdictREBUILD, DO NOT PATCH

“A Wildcard is worth using when it changes six or more players. If your draft only moves two or three, you are spending a season-defining chip to save a few points hits.”

Building Your GW3 Wildcard Draft

Your Wildcard lets you make unlimited transfers for free in a single gameweek, and your squad keeps its new shape afterwards. That is the difference from a Free Hit in GW3, which reverts after one week, and it changes how you should draft.

The pitch above is a solver-built £100m squad on live projected points. Use it as your baseline, tap through the gameweeks to see how it holds up, then get your own draft scored with a free Copilot Score.

• Draft for the next six gameweeks, not just GW3. The squad stays with you, so fixtures across the run matter more than one week.
• Start from your keeps. List the players you would never sell, then build the rest around what is left of your budget.
• Fix your structure, not just your names. Most broken squads are broken in shape: too much money on the bench, or three players from one struggling club.
• Do not leave money in the bank. A Wildcard is the one time you can spend to the last £0.1m without taking hits.

Is GW3 a Good Time to Wildcard?

Two gameweeks of evidence is a small sample, and Gameweek 3 is a single gameweek: all 20 teams play once, as they do through Gameweek 6. There is no fixture swing to target here, so your Wildcard is doing squad repair rather than chasing a double.

The GW3 fixtures are Ipswich vs Liverpool, Newcastle vs Bournemouth, Brentford vs Sunderland, Brighton vs Leeds, Fulham vs Crystal Palace, Man City vs Coventry, Forest vs Spurs, Hull vs Aston Villa, Everton vs Man Utd, and Arsenal vs Chelsea. Man City at home to a promoted side is the standout, which is also why it is the week the Triple Captain GW3 guide points at.

That is a real use. If you took early hits, missed a price rise wave, or drafted around players who are now injured, GW3 is a reasonable point to reset while the season is young enough for the new squad to pay off. Just make sure the draft is a genuine rebuild.

Deciding between chips this week? The Free Hit GW3 XI covers the one-week rescue and the Triple Captain GW3 guide covers the armband. For how the chip fits the rest of the year, see the 2026/27 chip strategy guide. For this week's captain and transfers, see the GW3 tips.