When does the second FPL Wildcard become available?
In Gameweek 20, the first week of January 2027. FPL 2026/27 gives every manager one Wildcard in each half of the season: the first can be played from Gameweek 2 to Gameweek 19, the second from Gameweek 20 to the end of the season. The table below reads both windows from the FPL game.
The two are separate. The second Wildcard arrives whether or not you played the first, and a first Wildcard still unused at the Gameweek 19 deadline is lost; it does not roll over.
| Chip | First half | Use by | Second half | Played so far |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wildcard | GW2–GW19 | GW20–GW38 | 31.5% | |
| Free Hit | GW2–GW19 | GW20–GW38 | 13.5% | |
| Bench Boost | GW1–GW19 | GW20–GW38 | 18.4% | |
| Triple Captain | GW1–GW19 | GW20–GW38 | 33.2% |
Windows read from the FPL game’s own chip rules. A first-half chip not played by the GW19 deadline is lost; the second set opens at GW20. Plays so far count both halves, as FPL reports them.
Should you play the first Wildcard before Christmas?
If you still have it, almost certainly. A first Wildcard played over Christmas builds a squad for four gameweeks in eleven days, and the second arrives a week later. Holding it past Gameweek 18 only shortens the time it has to earn, and holding it past Gameweek 19 loses it.
When is the best time to play the second Wildcard?
Managers use it in one of three windows.
Early, in Gameweeks 20 to 23, to repair a squad damaged by the festive fixtures, injuries and price changes, and to set up for the fixtures of late winter. The grid below shows every club's run from Gameweek 20.
Around the blank and double gameweeks of the spring. When cup ties move Premier League matches, FPL creates blanks and doubles, and the second Wildcard is usually paired with the Free Hit and the Bench Boost around them: a Wildcard into a double gameweek, a Free Hit through a blank. FPL announces those gameweeks only once the cup draws are known, so this plan waits on them.
Late, for the run-in, when the last ten gameweeks' fixtures are clear and the second set of chips can be played in a sequence.
Whichever you choose, play it to fix a squad with several problems at once. Two or three changes are what free transfers are for.
| Club | Avg | GW20 | GW21 | GW22 | GW23 | GW24 | GW25 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| IPS | 2.7 | COV (H) | BOU (A) | HUL (H) | AVL (A) | TOT (H) | ARS (H) |
| BOU | 2.8 | BHA (A) | IPS (H) | NFO (A) | FUL (H) | LEE (A) | AVL (A) |
| CRY | 2.8 | CHE (H) | LIV (A) | TOT (H) | HUL (A) | COV (H) | BRE (H) |
| AVL | 3.0 | EVE (A) | MUN (H) | FUL (A) | IPS (H) | SUN (A) | BOU (H) |
| COV | 3.0 | IPS (A) | EVE (H) | SUN (A) | LEE (H) | CRY (A) | LIV (H) |
| EVE | 3.0 | AVL (H) | COV (A) | BRE (H) | LIV (A) | NEW (H) | LEE (H) |
| FUL | 3.0 | TOT (H) | NEW (A) | AVL (H) | BOU (A) | MCI (H) | NFO (H) |
| HUL | 3.0 | NFO (A) | ARS (H) | IPS (A) | CRY (H) | BHA (A) | SUN (H) |
| TOT | 3.0 | FUL (A) | LEE (H) | CRY (A) | SUN (H) | IPS (A) | MCI (H) |
| SUN | 3.0 | LIV (H) | CHE (A) | COV (H) | TOT (A) | AVL (H) | HUL (A) |
| ARS | 3.2 | BRE (H) | HUL (A) | NEW (H) | MCI (A) | LIV (H) | IPS (A) |
| BHA | 3.2 | BOU (H) | BRE (A) | MCI (H) | NEW (A) | HUL (H) | MUN (A) |
| CHE | 3.2 | CRY (A) | SUN (H) | LEE (A) | NFO (H) | MUN (A) | NEW (A) |
| LEE | 3.2 | MCI (H) | TOT (A) | CHE (H) | COV (A) | BOU (H) | EVE (A) |
| LIV | 3.2 | SUN (A) | CRY (H) | MUN (A) | EVE (H) | ARS (A) | COV (A) |
| MCI | 3.3 | LEE (A) | NFO (H) | BHA (A) | ARS (H) | FUL (A) | TOT (A) |
| MUN | 3.3 | NEW (H) | AVL (A) | LIV (H) | BRE (A) | CHE (H) | BHA (H) |
| NFO | 3.3 | HUL (H) | MCI (A) | BOU (H) | CHE (A) | BRE (H) | FUL (A) |
| BRE | 3.5 | ARS (A) | BHA (H) | EVE (A) | MUN (H) | NFO (A) | CRY (A) |
| NEW | 3.5 | MUN (A) | FUL (H) | ARS (A) | BHA (H) | EVE (A) | CHE (H) |
Each cell is that club’s fixture in the gameweek; a dash is a blank, two chips are a double. Clubs are ordered by average difficulty across GW20–25, easiest first. Fixtures are coloured by FPL’s own difficulty rating, green easiest to red hardest.