It’s a fast turnaround in Fantasy Premier League this week, for players and #ContentCreators alike. In that spirit, let’s crack straight on with this slimline, businesslike FPL Gameweek 31 preview.
Injuries and Suspensions
We’ve got a few injury question marks heading into Gameweek 31, plus one infuriating suspension. Here’s a quick roundup:
- Gordon idiotically got himself sent off late against West Ham, so misses this game against Everton. I’m holding anyway, since he’s still cheap and has solid fixtures to come
- Watkins went off at half time last weekend, and has been ruled out of the Man City game. He does also have tricky fixtures coming up in general. I’m fine holding him if you can put five good midfielders out, but it’s not stupid to bin him now by any means
- Gusto came off late in the Burnley game, and also withdrew from the France U21 squad for the last internationals (which may mean nothing, of course). No update on him yet, but I wouldn’t bring him in right now
- Areola is out for West Ham, so Fabianski comes back in
- Mykolenko disappeared before the weekend’s game with an illness (to my cost), but should be back
- Alisson is apparently 2-3 weeks away, so Kelleher is a decent short-term solution heading into a wildcard
- Awoniyi is out, Cunha is back, Lascelles it out for the season
Best FPL Fixtures
As noted in my Gameweek 30 preview, we can basically split the rest of the season in two. Up to Gameweek 33, then from Gameweek 34 onwards when the doubles start.
If you’ve got your wildcard, you’ll be playing it soon (i.e. before GW 34) and getting doublers in. If not, it’s definitely time to start planning ahead.
In that spirit, here’s a short-term look at the sides with the best fixtures in the next three gameweeks, before the picture changes completely.
As always, home games are in all-caps.
| Team | GW 31 | GW 32 | GW 33 |
| Wolves | Burnley | WEST HAM | Forest |
| Chelsea | MAN U | Sheff U | EVERTON |
| Bournemouth | PALACE | Luton | MAN U |
| Man City | VILLA | Palace | LUTON |
| Liverpool | SHEFF U | Man U | PALACE |
- We’re not interested in any Wolves players, even with Cunha returning – there are far more appealing options out there.
- I’m fine getting Chelsea attackers – Palmer if you haven’t got him already, Jackson (shocking finisher, but keeps getting good chances). I would also have recommended Gusto, but wouldn’t get him right now because of the injury question mark. I don’t want any other Chelsea defenders – they’re shocking defensively
- Hold Solanke. Apart from that, we don’t care about Bournemouth players (although Semenyo is your budget forward, if you’re on a wildcard and only playing two forwards)
- It’s the usual story with Man City. Hold Haaland and Foden… probably don’t bother with their pricey/rotation-prone defenders
- For Liverpool, Salah is must-own, and both Darwin and Diaz are fine. I also like Bradley as a short-term solution (pending Trent’s return), especially if you’ve still got your wildcard
Upcoming Double Gameweeks
I went through all this in the Gameweek 30 preview, so I’d simply refer you back there.
As a super-quick recap, here’s the current state of play, per our lord and saviour Ben Crellin:
Again, if you’ve still got your second wildcard, you’re fine and will obviously target these heavily. If not, start preparing now.
Should I Buy?
In the wake of the recent injuries/suspensions, I’m fine with being quite aggressive with transfers this week, especially if you’ve still got your wildcard to reset things in a couple of weeks. Here are the most-bought players ahead of Gameweek 31, per the official FPL website:
- Isak – Yes. He’s in good form, and has fine fixtures… just be prepared for him to get injured again soon and/or for his form to suddenly tail off, which is what usually happens with him
- Salah – Yes. He’s your number one target, if you haven’t got him already
- Darwin – Yes. Weirdly low ceiling, but has returned fairly consistently, and Sheffield United at home is an amazing fixture
- Palmer – Yes. Man U is a solid fixture, he’s super consistent, and he has very good fixtures through the season now (including doubles)
- White – Maybe. Get Gabriel and save the money, if you don’t have him already. If you can afford it though, an Arsenal double-up at the back feels great – their defence is amazing
- Muniz – Why not? He just keeps on scoring, and now he has two poor defensive teams in Forest and Newcastle
- Bradley – Yes. Nice short-term solution until Trent returns
- Diaz – Yes, although he’d be below Salah, Son, Palmer, and Saka in my midfield rankings
- Solanke – Yes. Back in form, and has nice fixtures now
- Kelleher – Maybe. Alisson is supposedly out 2-3 more weeks, so he’s a decent short-term option if you’ve got your wildcard to play. In general though, only make goalkeeper transfers if you really have to
Should I Sell?
Well, that was quite a lot of ‘yes’ votes to incoming players. Let’s look at who we can bin to get them in.
- Watkins – Maybe. See Injuries section
- Areola – Yes… if you’ve got the transfers, and don’t have another playing keeper
- Gordon – Maybe. I’m holding, but that’s because I’ve got an injured Neto to get rid of. If you want to free up the spot for Son, Diaz, etc., that’s okay, but he’s also fine to hold going forwards
- Walker – Maybe. Again, depends on how many transfers you’ve got, and how many playing defenders you can put out. Moving him to Bradley, then wildcarding soon, feels good
- Maddison – Yes. He’s not ‘must-sell’, but there are just higher-upside midfield options right now
- Douglas Luiz – Yes. Again, there are far better midfield options
- Doughty – Yes. Fairly expensive, Luton’s defence is rubbish, and now they have tough fixtures
- Morris – Yes. Again, Luton aren’t good, and have hard fixtures
- Cash – Yes. Out for a couple of weeks, and wasn’t returning when he was fit
- Son – No. Absolutely not.
- Foden – No. Blanking against Liverpool and Arsenal is not a big deal. He’s still class, and the fixtures get easier now, especially after the Villa game
- Trippier – Yes. Injury doubt, super expensive, and Newcastle defence is awful
- De Bruyne – Yes. He’ll be fine, but I much prefer Son around this price point
- Saka – No. He’s about to play Luton at home…
Captaincy Corner
It’s Salah home to Sheffield United. If you haven’t got him… you should probably get him.
If you really don’t want Salah, then Saka home to Luton is also great, and Son – even in a middling matchup away to West Ham – is super-reliable in general.
Final Thoughts
Right, that’ll do it for Gameweek 31. Remember we’ve got another one kicking off on Saturday, as usual. The games are, as they say, coming thick and fast.
Thanks for reading everybody, and I’ll chuck in an obligatory plug for our Reddit and Twitter profiles for good measure!