FPL Wildcard DraftGW352025/26 GW35 Wildcard Draft the squad to copy
Locked before the deadlineScored
The callCaptain£7.6m
A £7.6m midfielder wore the armband.
The AI handed Maddison the armband, with Rowe as vice-captain, in a 5-3-2 that returned 33. It weighs expected points, form, minutes reliability and an ownership-differential edge over the template.
5-3-2Formation
£89.5mBudget
RoweVice-captain15Players
01Benchmark
How the AI squad scored
33GW35 points · budget-legal
58.3top 1k average
-25.3vs top 1k
Beat the top 1k in 1 of 9 gameweeks this season · 11%
02The eleven · 5-3-2
The squad on the pitch
03Every price and projection
Full squad
| Player | Pos | Price | xPts | Role |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Ferguson BHA | GK | £4.5m | 6.8 | XI |
 RoweWHU | DEF | £4.5m | 12.7 | Vice |
 Haaland MCI | DEF | £5.2m | 10.7 | XI |
 Justin LEE | DEF | £3.9m | 9.4 | XI |
 HatoBHA | DEF | £4.4m | 9.2 | XI |
 KovačićMCI | DEF | £5.4m | 8.9 | XI |
| MaddisonNFO | MID | £7.6m | 14.1 | Captain |
 OkaforLEE | MID | £5.6m | 11.5 | XI |
 J.Murphy MUN | MID | £5.8m | 9.7 | XI |
 Cozier-DuberryWHU | FWD | £7.8m | 9.7 | XI |
 Smith AVL | FWD | £8.8m | 7.4 | XI |
| Bench · in order | ||||
 GroßBHA | MID | £5.5m | 8.6 | Bench |
 DonnarummaMCI | GK | £5.6m | 5.7 | Bench |
 Welbeck BRE | FWD | £7.4m | 5.7 | Bench |
 KamaraAVL | MID | £7.5m | 5.4 | Bench |
How this benchmark is tracked
Every gameweek the AI locks a budget-legal 15-man squad before the deadline and scores it on official FPL points afterwards. Season to date: beat the top 1k average in 1 of 9 gameweeks (11%); running advantage vs the top 1k is -167.9 points. See the wildcard hub for the full gameweek-by-gameweek table and methodology.
Rate your GW35 squad
Run an FPLai analysis to see how your 15 stack up against the AI benchmark build, with AI-based captain and transfer advice for your squad.
Questions managers ask
What is the Wildcard Draft?
Every gameweek FPLai's AI builds the optimal 15-man FPL squad with the same engine that powers its AI-based captain and transfer advice. The squad is locked before the deadline and scored after the gameweek finishes.
How is the squad selected?
The engine evaluates every FPL player on expected points, form, minutes reliability, ownership differential, and correlation penalties. It builds a budget-legal 15-man squad (£89.5m used) with a valid 5-3-2 formation.
When is the squad locked?
The squad is locked up to 24 hours before the gameweek deadline. Once locked, no changes are made — this ensures a fair, pre-committed benchmark.
How does it compare to Top 1k managers?
This gameweek the AI scored 33 points, which is -25.3 compared to the Top 1k average of 58.3.
How is the captain chosen?
The captain is the highest-projected outfield player in the starting XI. For GW35, Gibbs-White was selected.
What formation does the AI use?
The AI evaluates multiple valid formations (3-4-3, 3-5-2, 4-4-2, etc.) and picks the one that maximises projected points. GW35 uses a 5-3-2 formation.