When is the best time to play your chips in Fantasy Premier League (FPL)? Our FPL Chip Strategy Guide for the 2024/25 season has the answers.

The Assistant Manager was added to the list of chips this season, which also includes the Wildcard, Free Hit, Bench Boost and Triple Captain.

Regardless of which ones you have left, this guide will help you map out a strategy.

See our Blank and Double Gameweek Guide for detailed information about the upcoming fixture schedule.

Download fixture expert Ben Crellin’s FPL transfer planning sheet and check out our flagship My Team tool for more guidance in this crucial part of the season, including AI-recommended transfer tips tailored to your team.

Last updated: 31/01/25 (major updates after Double Gameweek 25 announced)

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FPL chip strategy: When is the best time to play my chips?

There’s countless chip strategies available – but three or four solutions tend to emerge as the most popular each season.

These often focus heavily on the blanks and doubles but with changes to the FA Cup schedule expected to lead to smaller doubles this season, chips like the Bench Boost and Triple Captain could be an option in normal gameweeks too.

For the purpose of this guide, we will focus on building your FPL chip strategy around the blank and double gameweeks.

We were expecting Double Gameweeks in 24, 33 and 36 this season – but on Friday, January 31, we got news of a Double Gameweek 25.

The precise teams doubling in Gameweek 25 will not be known until after the Double Gameweek 24 deadline, however the back-to-back doubles makes the Assistant Manager chip look very strong between Gameweek 24-26.

The graphic below – helpfully outlined in our recent Green Arrow podcast – highlights some of the possibilities for using each chip. Double Gameweek 25 could now be a possibility for the Triple Captain or even Bench Boost.

But for those with all the chips still in hand, popular chip strategies could now be:

Assistant Manager 24-26, Free Hit 29, Wildcard 30/31, Triple Captain 33, Bench Boost 36
Assistant Manager 24-26, Triple Captain 33, Free Hit 34, Wildcard 35, Bench Boost 36
Triple Captain 24/25, Wildcard 30/31, Bench Boost 33, Free Hit 34, Assistant Manager 36-38

We will update this guide regularly as new information emerges.

FPL chip strategy options

What does the FPL fixture schedule look like?

Blank gameweeks are when two or more teams have no Premier League fixture, usually due to cup match clashes.

Double gameweeks are formed when postponed matches are rearranged, with certain teams playing twice.

This season, we’re expecting the following blank and double gameweeks:

Double Gameweek 24
Double Gameweek 25
Blank Gameweek 29
Double Gameweek 33
Blank Gameweek 34
Double Gameweek 36

The fixtures are yet to be set for Double Gameweek 25, with who doubles depending on the results of the Carabao Cup semi-finals. Find more information about that in our dedicated guide.

When will we know the fixtures for the blank and double gameweeks?

The Carabao Cup semi finals take place on February 5 and 6, ahead of the Gameweek 25 deadline.

We’ll then know who doubles in Gameweek 25 and who will blank in Gameweek 29.

The main difficulty in plotting out a wider FPL chip strategy at present is we are not expected to know who will double in Gameweek 33 and 36 before Gameweek 30.

By Gameweek 28, we’ll have a better idea who might blank in Gameweek 34.

FPL chip strategy in depth

Here, we take a more in-depth look at our recommended options to play the FPL Triple Captain, Bench Boost, Free Hit, Assistant Manager and Wildcard.

Best time to play the FPL Assistant Manager chip

The Assistant Manager chip could be the most powerful of all.

Just one win for your chosen manager’s team is worth up to 16 points, not including goals and clean sheet extras. That’s the equivalent of Haaland’s hat-trick haul in Gameweek 2.

Playing this chip in a three-week window which includes a double gameweek therefore looks appealing.

And with back-to-back double gameweeks in Gameweek 24 and 25, activating it from Gameweek 24 is likely to be the best time to use it.

Unless we get any more unexpected announcements, we may not have an opportunity to gain five fixtures out of the Assistant Manager chip.

Which managers to use it on in Double Gameweek 25 and Gameweek 26 will become clearer once the Carabao Cup final is set.

But in Double Gameweek 24, it’s a choice between the doubling Arne Slot and David Moyes.

Top tips for Assistant Manager chip success and predicted points

The table bonus side of the chip sees managers awarded 10 extra points for a victory if the winning team is five places or more below their opponents in the league table.

Choosing the manager of a team fighting for points when their opponents have nothing to play for could prove powerful. If you’re not keen on using the chip in Double Gameweek 34, Double Gameweek 36 onwards could be a way to target table bonus gains.

Please note that like the other chips, you cannot combine the Assistant Manager with other chips.

Assistant Manager chip prices

Best time to play the FPL Triple Captain chip

Nearly 500,000 FPL managers used their Triple Captain on Erling Haaland in Gameweek 2, when he earned 17 points against Ipswich.

But millions still have the chip in hand and prior to the Double Gameweek 25 announcement, Double Gameweek 24 looked the most straightforward time to use it.

Mohamed Salah is the leading candidate for Double Gameweek 24, with games against Bournemouth (A) and Everton (A).

But with the Assistant Manager chip now looking stronger from Double Gameweek 24, the Triple Captain may be better off used at another point.

One of the later double gameweeks – 33 or 36 – could be a good alternative. A double such as Aston Villa (A) and Crystal Palace (H) could emerge for Alexander Isak if Newcastle reach the Carabao Cup final.

You could settle for a good single gameweek fixture instead, such as Cole Palmer against Southampton (Gameweek 27), Leicester (Gameweek 28) or Ipswich (Gameweek 32) or Salah against Ipswich (Gameweek 23) or Southampton (Gameweek 28).

And if you’re not playing the Assistant Manager from Double Gameweek 24, Double Gameweek 25 might work well – particularly if Liverpool reach the Carabao Cup final.

They would have fixtures of Wolves (H) and Aston Villa (A) – and that home fixture could make it better than the Gameweek 24 double.

Alexander Isak

Best time to use the FPL Free Hit chip

The best time to play your Free Hit may depend on how your squad shapes up for Blank Gameweek 29.

This blank clashes with the Carabao Cup final and there are plenty of highly owned players among the teams who could see their league game postponed.

Once the fixtures are set, you will have a few weeks to transfer out players who blank – but you may not wish to lose all of them. For example, selling Salah may not be ideal.

This is even more the case when considering the Reds have strong home fixtures either side of the blank.

Using the Free Hit would solve this problem.

Gameweek 29 fixture permutations

But there is another blank in Gameweek 34 – created as a result of the FA Cup semi-finals – which must also be taken into account.

It’s too early to know which fixtures will be affected but similar problems could arise, so either way careful transfer planning will be needed.

While using the Free Hit in one of the blanks this year could prove helpful, FPL managers have had great success using it in double gameweeks too.

Activating it in Double Gameweek 33 or 36 would allow full focus on doubling teams.

Gameweek 34 last year was a prime example of the potential of playing the Free Hit in a double, with some huge scores.

In contrast, those using it in Blank Gameweek 29 were massively disappointed, with a record low FPL average of just 12 points.

Changes to cup scheduling will make the doubles smaller this year however, so the swings should be less severe. Some of the doubles pencilled in for these weeks have also been provisionally moved to Double Gameweek 25.

FPL Free Hit

Best time to use the second FPL Wildcard

The second Wildcard is a useful tool to help you navigate through the blanks and doubles.

Gameweek 24, 30 or 35 are three potential times to use it.

An early Wildcard in Double Gameweek 24 would allow those low on Liverpool and Everton players to stock up without taking hits.

Confirmation of a Double Gameweek 25 could make this a more attractive strategy as there will be more teams to max out on.

But early wildcarders would be vulnerable, given there would still be a long way to go in the season. Using it in Double Gameweek 24 also rules out using the Triple Captain or Assistant Manager.

Gameweek 30 offers another way of tackling Blank Gameweek 29. This could be a strong strategy for those without a Free Hit or with a squad with very few blanking players.

The FPL Wildcard

It allows managers to ‘dead-end’ their team into the blank – planning transfers for the sole purpose of setting up their teams for that week – before wildcarding blanking players back in for the next fixtures.

Those with their Free Hit still intact could then use it in Blank Gameweek 34.

One downside of using the Wildcard here though is it leaves little time to plan.

The FA Cup quarter-finals, which will decide the Gameweek 34 blanks, take place on the weekend of March 29. The Gameweek 30 deadline follows on the Tuesday (April 1).

The final Wildcard window on our shortlist is Gameweek 35.

This follows Blank Gameweek 34 and comes just before Double Gameweek 36.

Using the Wildcard and Bench Boost close together allows squads to be easily set up for the latter chip, so this strategy could appeal if you have both in hand.

Alternatively, it could set a team up for a late Assistant Manager run.

Best time to use the FPL Bench Boost chip

Gameweek 25, 33 and 36 are our three recommendations for the Bench Boost as things stand.

Each of these are double gameweeks but with the doubles expected to be smaller this year, don’t rule out playing it in a single gameweek later in the season if your bench looks very strong.

FPL Bench Boost

The opportunities for this will vary significantly from team to team, so we recommend checking out our customisable fixture ticker and predicted points tool for guidance on your bench strength week to week.

If benched players have home games against weaker teams, have good expected minutes and you’re struggling to choose who to start, these are all good signs that the Bench Boost could be used.

But if you’re making your decision before the full fixture schedule is known, bear in mind your bench in a future double gameweek could end up looking stronger.

New Hub feature: Fixture projections included in our tools

Ben’s fixture projections are now built into all our tools, helping FPL managers plan their way through the blanks and doubles.

Our fixture ticker includes potential doubles and blanks, with information provided about the likelihood of them going ahead.

As seen below, Liverpool and Everton’s Double Gameweek 24 was included in the projections before it was announced.

This will impact predicted points and our AI-recommended transfers.

Please note, you can turn off the predicted fixtures mode using the toggle at the top of the page.

Predicted fixtures change the ticker

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FPL Chip Strategy Guide 2024/25: Best time to play Triple Captain, Free Hit and more

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