Every time we get the opportunity to use the Free Hit chip in Fantasy Premier League, I’m always astounded by how misunderstood it is.
Countless questions are asked within the FPL community, with some surprising intricacies to consider — including an advantage to be gained for activating the chip early.
Advertisement
So, what are the top misconceptions about the Free Hit chip, and how should you play it?
How the Free Hit chip works
The Free Hit chip in FPL allows managers to make unlimited transfers for one gameweek and then, the following gameweek, your team reverts back to how it was before the chip was played.
Those unlimited transfers can occur at any time prior to the deadline for the gameweek that you choose to use the Free Hit, so it’s possible to tinker with your team on multiple occasions.
It’s important to remember that playing the Free Hit chip means that any transfers made before activating the chip won’t be in play when your team reverts back at the next deadline — it’s not possible to cheat the system!
This also means that any points hits incurred before playing the Free Hit chip won’t stand. Because of this, the Free Hit can be used as a ‘get out of jail’ card if you’ve accidentally taken a hit on points.
How to activate the Free Hit
Frustratingly, the Free Hit button is very prominent on the “confirm transfers” page of the FPL website and app, but there is a further screen to navigate before it is activated.
It is important to note that the Free Hit chip cannot be cancelled once it is activated — unlike the Bench Boost and Triple Captain chips, which can be toggled on or off in the FPL home screen.
GO DEEPER
FPL: Early targets for Blank Gameweek 32
The mechanism for playing the Free Hit is very similar to that of the Wildcard, except that the changes are not permanent.
And similar to your Wildcard, the week after playing the Free Hit you’ll only have one free transfer, regardless of whether you rolled a transfer the previous gameweek.
This gives an upside for a planned Free Hit, as it’s logical to use any available free transfers in the gameweek prior to the one where you plan to play the chip.
Is it worth activating the Free Hit chip early?
There are some key benefits to playing the Free Hit chip early on in a gameweek in FPL, as you can take advantage of price changes to gain team value.
Advertisement
It is important to note, however, that transfers made by players with the Free Hit active won’t contribute to FPL’s price-change algorithm.
Despite this, the key players for a Free Hit will generally be found among the most transferred-in and could be affected by one or two price rises before the gameweek deadline.
GO DEEPER
Fantasy Premier League: How to deal with price changes
We do need to be wary when making transfers with the Free Hit active, though. If you sell a player during a gameweek who you have value in but then change your mind and decide to transfer them back in, you’ll lose the value built up in them for that week, while they would also cost you more to sign again during that week. But once the gameweek is over and your team reverts, they’ll go back to the original price that you held them at.
Another way this can work against FPL managers is if a popular player you don’t own in your main squad goes up in price significantly during the Free Hit window.
You won’t be able to benefit from their price rise during the Free Hit window and will then have to buy them at a more expensive price in a future gameweek.
We saw an example of why activating the Free Hit early in the week was a bad move during the 2021-22 season when there was heavy disruption to the schedule because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
On several occasions, a depleted fixture schedule looked prime for a Free Hit. Then the most attractive remaining fixtures were postponed, leaving an ill-favoured fixture list to manoeuvre.
We saw so much disruption in the 2021-22 season that Fantasy Premier League awarded all managers a second Free Hit chip to use, although managers were not permitted to use their two Free Hit chips in consecutive gameweeks.
The Free Hit was introduced in 2017-18, replacing the All Out Attack chip after two seasons, which had allowed managers to play an attacking 2-5-3 formation.
The best time to Free Hit
Most fantasy managers have diligently saved their Free Hit chip for the season run-in to capitalise on the upcoming blank and double gameweeks.
Advertisement
While there will be opportunities during standard gameweeks in the season to effectively play the Free Hit, most experienced FPL managers plan carefully to navigate the schedule.
However, player suspensions and injuries, plus a beneficial set of fixtures may force our hand.
The Free Hit is best used in either a blank gameweek, a double gameweek or a combination of the two. It is rare that we see a gameweek that is a combination of a blank and double, but these have taken place in recent seasons.
On paper, a double gameweek has the most upside as it allows managers to make the most of a stacked fixture list.
But often we see a blank gameweek for a cluster of clubs sandwiched by double gameweeks, and so the Free Hit becomes the best way of effectively getting around this.
Using the Free Hit chip immediately before or after a Wildcard seems unadvisable, but it can optimise a period of blanks and doubles in the game.
Tools needed to maximise the Free Hit
When setting up for a Free Hit, there are some key pieces of strategy to consider.
When playing the chip in a blank gameweek, it’s advised that you analyse the fixture list carefully and think about the potential results you expect to see. This can help pinpoint your standout picks.
This could involve stacking players from a defence you expect to keep a clean sheet or having an eye on player ownership that will negate a depleted schedule.
Many fantasy websites offer a predicted best team of the gameweek, and I tend to use the one on Fantasy Football Hub — including their points predictions tool — as a guide.
Using anytime scorer percentages and clean sheet percentages can also be particularly useful, with fellow The Athletic Fantasy Premier League writer Abdul Rehman posting these weekly on Twitter.
(Top photo: Stu Forster/Getty Images)
