FPL Wildcard DraftGW82026/27 GW8 Wildcard Draft the squad to copy
Locked before the deadlineScored after the final whistle
The callCaptain£4.9m
A £4.9m midfielder wears the armband.
The AI handed Henderson the armband, with De Cuyper as vice-captain, in a 3-5-2. It weighs expected points, form, minutes reliability and an ownership-differential edge over the template.
3-5-2Formation
£98.8mBudget
De CuyperVice-captain15Players
01Benchmark
Locked before deadline
15players · £98.8m · scored after the final whistle
The squad is frozen at the GW8 deadline. Points, the top 1k comparison and the win rate land here once the gameweek is complete.
Beat the top 1k in 1 of 6 gameweeks this season · 17%
02The eleven · 3-5-2
03Every price and projection
Full squad
| Player | Pos | Price | xPts | Role |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 VerbruggenBHA | GK | £4.6m | 7.5 | XI |
 De CuyperBHA | DEF | £5.3m | 10.5 | Vice |
 VuskovicBHA | DEF | £5.1m | 9.5 | XI |
 Calafiori ARS | DEF | £6.0m | 7.5 | XI |
| HendersonCHE | MID | £4.9m | 10.5 | Captain |
 NetoCHE | MID | £6.5m | 10.0 | XI |
 Doku MCI | MID | £7.5m | 9.0 | XI |
 RiceARS | MID | £7.3m | 8.0 | XI |
 Mbeumo MUN | MID | £7.8m | 8.0 | XI |
 Evanilson BOU | FWD | £6.1m | 9.5 | XI |
 HaalandMCI | FWD | £15.7m | 9.5 | XI |
| Bench · in order | ||||
 João PedroCHE | FWD | £7.9m | 7.0 | Bench |
 O'Shea IPS | DEF | £4.0m | 7.0 | Bench |
 OuattaraIPS | DEF | £4.0m | 6.5 | Bench |
 RayaARS | GK | £6.1m | 6.0 | 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 6 gameweeks (17%); running advantage vs the top 1k is -209.7 points. See the wildcard hub for the full gameweek-by-gameweek table and methodology.
Rate your GW8 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 (£98.8m used) with a valid 3-5-2 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?
After the gameweek finishes, actual points are resolved and compared against the Top 1k manager average to track the AI's performance.
How is the captain chosen?
The captain is the highest-projected outfield player in the starting XI. For GW8, Henderson 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. GW8 uses a 3-5-2 formation.