The season starts tomorrow, but the biggest decision of the first half comes weeks later: when to play your first wildcard. Most managers make that call on instinct, after a run of bad scores. We checked what the fixture list actually says.
First, the facts: when each chip is available
We read the exact windows straight from the game’s 2026/27 settings. They are not identical across all four chips, which causes a fair amount of confusion:
| Chip | First set | Second set |
|---|---|---|
| Wildcard | GW2 to GW19 | GW20 to GW38 |
| Free Hit | GW2 to GW19 | GW20 to GW38 |
| Bench Boost | GW1 to GW19 | GW20 to GW38 |
| Triple Captain | GW1 to GW19 | GW20 to GW38 |
Two things worth flagging. Wildcard and Free Hit are unavailable in Gameweek 1 — reasonably enough, since transfers are unlimited before the opening deadline anyway. But Bench Boost and Triple Captain can be played tomorrow, even if it is hard to imagine a worse moment: nobody yet knows who actually starts.
The first set expires after GW19. It does not carry into the second half. We covered the chips themselves in a separate guide.
The method: finding where the fixtures break
We summed official fixture difficulty (FDR) for every club across four windows of the first half. The lower the total, the easier the run. Then we looked for where those totals shift most sharply — because a wildcard pays off when played just before a group of clubs enters an easy spell.
The answer: around GW5 and GW6
The largest movement happens between the first and second window. Four clubs improve markedly:
- Fulham — from 18 to 12. The biggest improvement in the league.
- Coventry — from 17 to 12.
- Bournemouth — from 18 to 14.
- Sunderland — from 16 to 13.
Over the same stretch, four others deteriorate sharply:
- Leeds — from 14 to 18. The worst swing in the league.
- Brighton — from 15 to 18.
- Liverpool — from 13 to 16. The best opening run in the league turns into one of the harder ones.
- Manchester United and Tottenham — both from 14 to 16.
That is the wildcard moment: around Gameweeks 5 and 6. You go in with a squad built for an easy start and come out with one aligned to the next five weeks.
A warning about Leeds
Yesterday we showed that Leeds have three players in our Top 30, as many as Arsenal, at a fraction of the cost: Harry Wilson (89), Anton Stach (86) and Dominic Calvert-Lewin (86).
The fixture list completes that sentence. Leeds have a good opening run (14) and the worst GW6-10 window in the entire league (18).
That does not mean “avoid them”. It means buy with a plan. Leeds players are excellent value for the first five rounds, but if you intend to wildcard around GW5 or GW6, they are the natural candidates to move on. Buy for the start, plan the exit — rather than discovering the problem in mid-September.
The second window: the end of the first half
If you prefer to hold the wildcard longer, the data points to one more moment. In GW16-19, Brentford and Chelsea both post difficulty totals of 9 — the lowest figures anywhere in the first half. Bournemouth, Manchester City, Liverpool and Leeds follow on 11.
That is the festive period, when matches come thick and fast. It matters for another reason too: the first set of chips expires with GW19, and anything saved beyond that is simply lost.
Full table: fixture difficulty by window
| Club | GW1-5 | GW6-10 | GW11-15 | GW16-19 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Liverpool | 13 | 16 | 15 | 11 |
| Man City | 14 | 15 | 16 | 11 |
| Man United | 14 | 16 | 15 | 13 |
| Tottenham | 14 | 16 | 13 | 14 |
| Leeds | 14 | 18 | 17 | 11 |
| Newcastle | 15 | 14 | 15 | 14 |
| Crystal Palace | 15 | 15 | 16 | 13 |
| Aston Villa | 15 | 16 | 12 | 13 |
| Brentford | 15 | 16 | 18 | 9 |
| Chelsea | 15 | 16 | 17 | 9 |
| Everton | 15 | 16 | 16 | 12 |
| Nottingham Forest | 15 | 16 | 14 | 12 |
| Brighton | 15 | 18 | 13 | 12 |
| Arsenal | 16 | 14 | 16 | 12 |
| Sunderland | 16 | 13 | 17 | 12 |
| Ipswich | 16 | 15 | 13 | 15 |
| Hull | 16 | 16 | 14 | 14 |
| Coventry | 17 | 12 | 15 | 14 |
| Fulham | 18 | 12 | 17 | 12 |
| Bournemouth | 18 | 14 | 15 | 11 |
What this method cannot see
Honestly about the limits, because no table replaces thinking.
FDR is an approximation. Official difficulty is based on pre-season strength and takes no account of form, injuries or a promoted side punching above its weight.
Double and blank gameweeks are not known yet. They emerge when matches are postponed for cup competitions, and once they appear they can rewrite a chip plan entirely — at which point this analysis needs updating.
The fixture list moves. Television scheduling and cup ties shift matches all season.
So treat this as a starting point rather than a timetable. The live picture for the next five rounds is always in our Fixture Ticker, which updates automatically.
The short version
- GW1-4: run a squad built for an easy start. Liverpool, Leeds, City, United and Tottenham hold the best fixtures.
- GW5-6: the natural window for a first wildcard. Out of Leeds and Brighton, into Fulham, Coventry, Bournemouth and Sunderland.
- GW16-19: the second window if you would rather wait. Brentford and Chelsea have the easiest runs of the half.
- Before GW19: the deadline for your first set of chips. After that they are gone.
Live ratings for every player are in the FPL AI Player Rankings, and a ready-made squad for the coming round sits in our recommended eleven.
Chip availability windows were read from the official Fantasy Premier League game settings for 2026/27. Difficulty totals were calculated from official FDR values across all 380 fixtures, as of 20 August 2026. Fixtures and difficulty ratings can change during the season. Fantasy PL Edge is an independent site, not affiliated with the Premier League or the official Fantasy Premier League game.