Should you triple captain Haaland against Wolves in FPL this weekend? Our expert analyses a key decision

Yet another Fantasy Premier League deadline is rapidly approaching, and with it an interesting decision for millions of managers – should we drop our triple captain chips on Manchester City’s Erling Haaland ahead of the home game against Wolves?

It will be a temptation for many players. This is, after all, the highest-scoring player in FPL going up against the worst team in the Premier League – but with Haaland and City hitting a rocky patch of form and potential double gameweeks to consider later in the season, should you hold fire? Our resident FPL expert chips in with his thoughts…

Should you triple captain Manchester City’s Erling Haaland against Wolves in the FPL?

It’s not all that tricky to make the case in favour of making Haaland your second triple captain of the season. His 165 points after Gameweek 22 is a massive 40 points more than any other player has scored, he’s one of the most dangerous forwards in the Premier League, and Wolves have been… Well, not at their best.

With double gameweeks much less frequent and impactful than they used to be after recent changes to the calendar, using the triple captain chip on a single gameweek isn’t such a strange idea any more. There are only likely to be three double gameweeks this season – one each for the EFL Cup final and FA Cup semi-finals and final – and they will be more limited in scope.

In the meantime, Haaland the game’s best asset and at home to the league’s worst team this weekend. It’s certainly not the worst idea to use that chip on him right now. But should we be worried by recent form?

Since Christmas, Haaland has scored just one goal in eight appearances – a penalty in the 1-1 draw against Brighton. He didn’t even manage to get a goal in 45 minutes Exeter City in the third round of the FA Cup while his team-mates collectively scored 10. In the league, his last 20 shots on goal from open play have failed to yield a goal. Haaland, frankly, is on the blink.

Manchester City aren’t doing much better as a unit, either. They haven’t won in four league matches, have just two goals in those games, and just lost 3-1 to Bodø/Glimt days after a dismal display in the Manchester Derby. Meanwhile, Wolves are showing signs of life – it’s been five games since they last lost and they’ve only conceded three goals over that span, with a total of 2.92xG allowed against them in their past four league matches. They drew with Manchester United and Newcastle, and suddenly don’t look like pushovers at all.

City will, most likely, beat Wolves this weekend, but the evidence that Haaland will generate a huge points tally – the floor for a good triple captain has to be two goal contributions – is pretty thin. The regular captain’s armband looks like it will fit well enough. But will there really be a better time to use that chip down the line?

When will double gameweeks happen in the FPL this season – and should you save your chips for them?

As it stands, it’s impossible to know precisely when double gameweeks will take place because the available slots to move matches into will be determined by the results of cup competitions, both in England and abroad – but we can make some educated guesses.

It’s worth starting with the note that Manchester City probably will get at least one double gameweek – assuming they finish the job against Newcastle in the semi-finals of the EFL Cup following their 2-0 win at St. James’ Park in the first leg. That would move their home game against Crystal Palace, probably (but not certainly) to either Gameweek 33 or 36. That would mean Palace and either Arsenal or Brentford, also at home, in the same week.

One of those is, obviously, a more tempting target than the other, but it’s not the only double gameweek City could get – any teams reaching the FA Cup semi-finals will likely get one and perhaps two double gameweeks, depending on how the schedule shakes out.

Arsenal will also get at least one double gameweek if they finish off Chelsea in their EFL Cup semi-final, with the likelihood being that their fixture against Wolves away would be shifted to Gameweek 26 as a consequence – leaving them with a likely (but again not guaranteed) double gameweek of Brentford home and Wolves at Molineux. That’s a tempting and more likely target, even if none of Arsenal’s individual assets are quite as potent as Haaland at his very best. City won’t play a double in Gameweek 26, incidentally, because Palace will be in Europa Conference League action.

In total, with three likely double gameweeks, we’re looking at three opportunities to use chips for maximum value – it’s almost certainly advisable to save a free hit for these weeks, and if possible the second wildcard, but the only double that presents a really tempting triple captain opportunity is the hypothetical Haaland gameweek against both Crystal Palace and Brentford.

That could well happen, but it’s not probable and is just one of a few possible permutations. If the fixture list really gets bunged up, they could even be forced to play the game against Palace in midweek before the EFL Cup final, which would drop the double altogether, although it’s almost certain that the FA will try to avoid that if possible.

So, in summary: Triple captain Haaland this week probably isn’t a great plan based on recent form, but there won’t be many really high upside weeks for using that chip – so picking a single gameweek target like this isn’t a bad idea at all. But there is very likely to be a week when Manchester City and Haaland are both on better form against an opponent who is struggling more than Wolves are right this moment. I’d hold fire for now and see how the double gameweeks break later in the year. There’s always Haaland against Burnley away if needs be…

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