The FPL Free Hit chip replaced the All-Out Attack chip. This means once again there will be four chips for the new season: Free Hit, Wildcard, Bench Boost and Triple Captain. Each of these can only be used once in a season.
What does the FPL Free Hit Chip do?
The best way to explain the new FPL Free hit chip is to compare it to the Wildcard chip. The Free Hit chip allows you to make unlimited transfers, much like the Wildcard chip, but for
one Gameweek only. For example if you use the Free hit chip at the end of Gameweek 36 then all your transfers will apply to Gameweek 37 and
NOT Gameweek 38. Once Gameweek 37 concludes your squad will revert back to the squad you had before using the Free Hit chip.
FPL Free Hit Chip - Finer Details
The main principle behind the FPL Free Hit chip has been explained but there are some finer details to note. These include:
- Managers can't benefit from any price changes in their "new" temporary squad
- Price changes from the initial squad (pre Free Hit chip) will apply
- Once confirmed the Free Hit chip can't be cancelled
FPL Free Hit Chip Strategy
The Free Hit chip may appear less important than the triple captain and bench boost chips but this is not the case. The Fantasy Premier League 2017/18 season showed there is a clear strategy to utilise for the Free Hit chip. With that said we discuss the three different times you can use it. For the record we strongly recommend using the third option, "Dealing with Postponements".
Avoiding One Awkward Gameweek
The first, and probably the least effective in our opinion, would be to use it when a lot of your squad face a difficult fixture. A Gameweek where it seems all your players are playing top 6 teams always manages to come up. This would be a quick fix to avoid that inevitable Gameweek. Even in the most difficult appearing Gameweeks we would avoid using the Free Hit chip here.
Double Gameweek
If you're reading this you're likely one of the better FPL managers. Therefore you'll have prepared in advance for any Double Gameweeks. If unforeseen circumstances occur and you're not in a position to maximise the Double Gameweeks then you can be excused for using the Free Hit chip here. A lot of FPL managers believe this is the best time to use the Free Hit chip. However this is not the case as we explain below.
Dealing with Postponements
As experienced FPL managers are more than aware, fixture congestion and rescheduling is an inevitable part of Fantasy Premier League. The Fantasy Premier League 2017/18 season saw Double Gameweeks in 34 and 37. Gameweeks 31 and 35 had blank fixtures. Having a blank Gameweek in between two Double Gameweeks is a likelihood due to FA Cup fixture conflicts. This creates a problem for FPL managers as teams which feature in the Double Gameweeks mostly won't feature in the blank Gameweek. A lot of FPL managers wildcard before Gameweek 34 to maximise these Double Gameweeks. However, to fully maximise the Double Gameweeks you need to ignore the blank fixtures in between. This is where the Free Hit chip comes in. Using the Free Hit chip in the blank Gameweek between the two Double Gameweeks allows you to fully commit to both of them. As a result having your Free Hit chip available for this Gameweek is imperative. This of course is the optimal time to use it.
Bench Boost, Triple Captain and Wildcard Strategy
The other chips bench boost, triple captain and wildcards also play an important part in a successful FPL season. We discuss the strategy surrounding these chips here.
Bench boost and triple captain:
/triple-captain-bench-boost-fpl/
Wildcard:
/fantasy-premier-league-wildcard-strategy/
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