Plan to use your Fantasy Football Free Hit chip? Five players to buy, and five to avoid

While most of the attention in domestic football will be on the FA Cup and the upcoming international break, there is still some Premier League action this weekend.

Five games are set to take place including two of the Premier League’s ‘Big Six’ in Liverpool and Chelsea – as well as fellow top-half sides West Ham United and Leicester City.

Aside from the usual problems with a lack of Premier League action, with just three games set to be played on Saturday, the mini gameweek also brings a Fantasy Football dilemma.

With no Manchester City, Tottenham Hotspur, Arsenal, Manchester United or Wolverhampton Wanderers in action, a lot of people’s go-to FPL picks are not in action.

This could be costly in the race for the thousands of FPL mini leagues around the world as a potentially low-scoring gameweek is on the cards.

But there is a way to beat the gameweek, if you’ve been frugal with your bonus chips so far, particularly the Free Hit.

What is the Free Hit chip?

The Free Hit chip allows you to make unlimited free transfers for a single gameweek without committing to those players long-term like the Wildcard. At the end of the gameweek your team will return to its original state. This makes it perfect for severe minor injury problems or, for those with patience, FA Cup sixth-round weekend.

But, for those who have managed to keep hold of their Free Hit until this weekend, how can you use it to get ahead – or claw back – in your mini leagues? Read on as Squawka has your backs for who to pick, and who to avoid.

Who to pick:

Trent Alexander-Arnold

Cost: £5.6m

Total points: 123

Why? Liverpool have the chance to return to the top of the Premier League this weekend with Manchester City in FA Cup action, and the Reds could hardly have been given a better game.

Jurgen Klopp’s men are up against 19th-placed Fulham, who have scored the third-fewest goals in the league this season. Therefore, it makes sense to pick a Liverpool defender for the upcoming gameweek.

Andrew Robertson may be the highest scoring defender in FPL, but at £6.9m, the Scot would be eating up a chunk of your budget which could be better used elsewhere. That’s where Trent Alexander-Arnold comes in.

The Englishman has scored 29 points in his past three games including 18 against Watford – with a clean sheet plus three assists. And that’s where he can be effective against Fulham, potentially collecting points in both defence and attack.

Callum Wilson

Cost: £6.4m

Total points: 125

Why? Callum Wilson will have found himself out of many fantasy football teams over the past few weeks due to injury, but the Englishman is back playing and back among the goals.

He scored and assisted in Bournemouth’s last game against Huddersfield, bringing 11 points on his return to the team and despite the long break in between, Wilson has scored in his past three games.

The Englishman will be looking to continue this run against Newcastle on Saturday, and given the Magpies’ defensive frailties which showed last week at home to Everton, Wilson could find himself on the scoresheet again.

Declan Rice

Cost: £4.7m

Total points: 80

Why? Despite playing as a midfielder this season, Declan Rice is still down as a defender of FPL and gets the four-point clean sheet bonuses as a result.

Rice has recorded 80 points in total but faces Huddersfield Town on Saturday – who West Ham will be expected to keep at bay.

The recently called-up Englishman is a cheap defensive option who could be on for a decent score this weekend to stretch your total points tally.

Ashley Barnes

Cost: £5.7m

Total points: 96

Why? After a poor start to the season, Burnley have started to find themselves performing fairly well in front of goal, and Ashley Barnes is one of the beneficiaries.

The 29-year-old has recorded 96 points in total and scored in five of his past seven games, only failing to net against Newcastle and Liverpool.

Though he should not be your main striking option, Barnes can be a good back-up to have either on the bench in case of injury or to fill your forward line with points.

Eden Hazard

Cost: £10.9m

Total points: 182

Why? Despite being the third-highest scorer in FPL, Eden Hazard has been inconsistent with points in recent times.

But, while his 10.9 price may put you off signing him full-time, with the Free Hit chip it is fairly risk free.

The Belgian is likely to sit out of Chelsea’s Europa League last-16 second leg against Dynamo Kyiv on Thursday so should be fresh to test himself at Everton this weekend.

Should he score, then you’ll have the points and can decide whether to commit long-term. And if he draws a blank, you’ll not have to waste another transfer taking him back out as the Free Hit does the job for you.

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Who to avoid:

Cesar Azpilicueta

Cost: £6.3m

Total points: 118

Why?

With Liverpool and Chelsea in action, it could be appealing to fill your back line with the top defenders in hopes of the sweet clean sheet points.

As Marcos Alonso is no longer a certainty for Chelsea, Cesar Azpilicueta may be your next option for a Blues full-back, but steer clear.

Maurizio Sarri’s team have a tough game on Sunday against Everton and have struggled at the back, always looking likely to concede at some point.

Your £6.3m would be better off pushed into other positions, with safer defensive options out there.

Ricardo Pereira

Cost: £5.4m

Total points: 106

Why?

Another defender to avoid, Ricardo Pereira is no longer the appealing full-back he was.

Defensively, Leicester have not kept a clean sheet in nine games, with Everton the last team to fail to score against the Foxes on New Year’s Day.

But in those matches, Pereira has also struggled in gaining attacking points, with just 14 total across nine games. Only on two occasions during that spell did Pereira record more than three points, with the Portuguese scoring no points twice and -1 once.

Martin Dubravka

Cost: £5.0m

Total points: 106

Why? When picking your squad at the start of the FPL season, it’s vital to have two solid goalkeeping options and Martin Dubravka may fall into that category. But for the Free Hit, there’s no point.

You want to make the most of the funds available to you, so having one standout goalkeeper is the best option – assuming they’re set to play this weekend.

With the Free Hit in hand, it’s best to just go for Alisson at £6.0m and pick one of the cheapest goalkeepers regardless of whether they have a game and use the remaining funds elsewhere. Ben Hamer, Julian Speroni, Maarten Stekelenburg and Will Norris are all available at £3.9m.

Marko Arnautovic

Cost: £6.8m

Total points: 85

Why?

Up against struggling Huddersfield, you may be looking at investing in a West Ham forward, but Marko Arnautovic may not be the best option.

Following his transfer saga in January, the Austrian has only just come back into the team and is yet to earn back his starting place.

While £6.8m is not the most expensive for a forward, these funds could be used better elsewhere to ensure you get maximum points from your chosen 11 players.

Virgil van Dijk

Cost: £6.6m

Total points: 163

Why? Surely Virgil van Dijk would be a perfect option for this week with Liverpool playing Fulham, you may say. But not necessarily.

While the Dutchman is a fine defender and arguably the best centre-back in the Premier League, a clean sheet on its own would not be enough to warrant his inclusion in your Free Hit team.

Liverpool have both Robertson and Alexander-Arnold to call upon who are genuine contenders to gain attacking points on top of a potential clean sheet – which will be vital in helping you take control of your FPL leagues.

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