Fantasy Premier League revealed the identity of the Mystery Chip last week – and it promises to have a significant impact on the way managers approach the game.
For months we've tried to speculate what the mystery could be in FPL this season, but few came close to predicting the brand new 'Assistant Manager' chip, available from Gameweek 24.
So what is it and how should we approach playing it? Fantasy Football Hub expert Holly Shand looks at everything you need to know.
What does the 'Assistant Manager' chip do?
This new chip will allow players to add a manager to their team to score points over a period of three game weeks. Points are awarded for wins, draws, goals and clean sheets.
Managers will have set the cost for the game at between £0.5 million and £1.5 million and prices will not fluctuate throughout the season. The costs must be paid from your existing FPL budget.
There is also a table bonus mechanism: if your manager faces a club at least five places higher in the Premier League, you get extra points for a win or a draw.
It is possible to change managers while the chip is active, using transfers in the same way as when changing players. However, you cannot captain a manager and these count as part of the quota of three per club.
For example, if FPL managers want to recruit the services of Mikel Arteta, they cannot do so with three Arsenal players such as Bukayo Saka, William Saliba and David Raya already in their squad.
It's also important to note that in FPL you can only play one chip per game week – so the 'Assistant Manager' chip should be activated wisely. If you activate this, you will not be able to use any other existing chip, such as a Wildcard or Triple Captain, during that three game week period.
When and how should you play the chip?
As with all chips, deploying a strategy should help maximize the 'Assistant Manager' points.
Because of the bonus points offered by the new chip, support managers in the bottom half of the table can offer a tempting high-risk, high-reward strategy, especially for those looking to chase rivals in their mini-leagues.
Once again there are benefits to using this chip in a double gameweek, which should become clearer in 2025. We already know that Everton and Liverpool will have to reschedule a match due to the postponement of the Merseyside derby this month.
There will be further double game weeks caused by the League Cup final and FA Cup semi-finals. However, given the recent changes to the FA Cup schedule, the calendar should be less disrupted than in previous seasons.
Personally, I'm more inclined to chip in on a manager from one of the top clubs, with Liverpool's Arne Slot being the most consistent in the league this season in terms of wins, goals and clean sheets.
There will be opportunities to also support underperforming clubs battling to avoid relegation in the final gameweeks of the season, at a time when their opponents could be 'on the beach'.
Other opportunities may arise during the course of the season, including if there is a management change. The infamous 'new manager bounce' could be perfect for this chip in Gameweek 24.
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