Gameweek 31 Preview - Blank Gameweek Special

Greetings all, and welcome to your bumper edition Gameweek 31 FPL preview.

We’ve got all your old favourites – transfer tips, best fixture runs, and captaincy picks to boot. And, on top of all that, a look at blank gameweek 31 too. Talk about a fountain of riches!

Without any more waffling from me (Joe) then, let’s get straight into the heart of the matter.

Blank Gameweek 31

Yes, yes – this is a blank gameweek. You know it, I know it, people have been banging on about it for ages.

Well, now it’s finally here, and it’s decision time as to how we’re all going to navigate it.

(Note: technically there’s a chance Palace and City could play midweek, and it’ll still retroactively count as Gameweek 31. It’s unlikely though, and… frankly I’m just doing my best with the information I have right now – which is that they’ll probably blank).

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Overall, if you can get at least 10 players out this week, you’re fine.

It’s not worth burning a ton of transfers just to get 11 top quality starters out there. It’s one gameweek, many of the best real-life players are missing, and all FPL managers are in the same boat.

That being said, if you’re planning to wildcard in Gameweek 32 anyway (as James is), I don’t mind using one or two transfers.

Nowadays – since we can save up to five through our wildcard (which we didn’t used to be able to do) – we tend to prefer banking transfers even as we build up to a wildcard. Not like the good old days, where you could just go hell to leather and burn through them all.

In this case, if you are wildcarding next week, I’m fine just using one or two transfers to make moves around the margins.

Obviously, as ever, whether you should do so or not is team dependent.

I would not sell the likes of Gabriel, Haaland, Semenyo, Raya, etc. Just bench them and stick your bench fodder out there.

To give an example from my very own team – I am, however, happy to bin O’Reilly. I wouldn’t if he wasn’t blanking. But he’s not irreplaceable, I don’t like his next two fixtures, and he’s expensive enough that I can get someone good in, and give myself 11 starters instead of 10.

If you’re not wildcarding next week, I’d err slightly more conservative. The next-most popular wildcard week is 35, so you’ve got four gameweeks to get through until then, and should guard your transfers more carefully.

I’m not going to list every single player who’s blanking here, nor list every possible combination of chips you might have and when you might use them. But that’s a general overview of who I do and don’t think is worth keeping, and how seriously to treat the blank.

Best FPL Fixture Runs

FPL is all about planning for the medium-term, and getting lucky in the short-term. It’s simple, really.

To help you out with the first part at least, here are the best upcoming FPL fixtures, starting in Gameweek 31.

These runs, as always, come courtesy of our lovely little fixture ticker.

(We actually just updated all the team ratings for said fixture ticker. You can see what the updates were, and why we made them, right here).

Best Attacking Fixtures

Liverpool

Liverpool’s attack is absolutely all over the place. They scored five against West Ham, three against Wolves in the FA Cup, four against Galatasaray in the second leg… but also one against Forest, one against Wolves in the league, one against Spurs at home (!!!).

So, I’d be wary of buying in this week, even with a decent run of fixtures. Brighton away is a fine, not brilliant matchup anyway, so I’d err towards just staying away for now and buying in for the week after, if they actually put two good attacking performances together in a row.

If you are looking to get involved, Szoboszlai and Ekitike are both addressed in the next section.

Chelsea

Chelsea’s attack is also pretty hit and miss, to put it lightly. I also wouldn’t buy in specifically before Everton away, though it’s fine to hold any Chelsea players you do have for that game, especially on a blank gameweek where you’ve presumably got higher priorities elsewhere.

Brentford

Man U away aside, I actually like all these upcoming fixtures quite a bit. If you haven’t got Thiago yet, this feels like a pretty good time to buy him in.

Unlike other people, I also couldn’t care less about ‘doubling up’ on a non-premium team. The players are the players, in FPL, and it doesn’t matter if they happen to play for the same real-life team. So, I’m also fine with getting Dango in right now too, at his budget-friendly 6.0 price point.

Aston Villa

Nope. Nopedy-nope nope nope. Not even with a fixture against West Ham at home. They looked absolutely horrendous going forward against Man U, and that’s been the pattern for a while now.

Man U

They played some excellent attacking football against Villa, and have largely looked good going forward ever since Carrick took over.

I don’t love Bournemouth away as a matchup, though. You can still get Bruno in for it, if you don’t have him already (for some reason), but I’d hold off on anyone else until the Leeds home game the week after.

Best Defensive Fixtures

Aston Villa

Their defence hasn’t been as bad as their attack (which might actually be impossible), but I wouldn’t go there right now anyway. They’ve done okay for cleans, but I continue to just not like any of their actual FPL defenders.

Sunderland

Not before Newcastle away. After that though, they’ve got four of the best defensive matchups in the league, all back to back. Hold any Sunderland defenders you’ve got for those, and – if you’re wildcarding in 32 – I’d have at least one of their picks (probably Alderete, since he’s so cheap).

Liverpool

They’re obviously one of the better defences in the league, and they could conceivably clean in any of these next four fixtures. The issue – as usual with this defence – is who you actually pick.

I’d certainly hold VVD for these, but it’s a bit hard to justify getting him in at that price right now. If you are moving an expensive Arsenal or City defender for the blank gameweek though, he’s one of the top replacements.

Frimpong continues to be the biggest tease in FPL. Since coming back he got a return in only 13mins against West Ham, and has accidentally gotten two clean sheets by virtue of being subbed off early against Wolves and Spurs. He’s got potential to be the best non-Munoz attacking defender in the game. It’s just so hard to trust him when we’re looking at 60-70mins per game, and he keeps getting injured.

Chelsea

Nope. As noted when I downgraded them in our fixture ticker rankings update last week, I just don’t think they’re a good defence.

Leeds

Man U away aside, I quite like all four of their other upcoming fixtures.

Obviously… they’re Leeds. But also their defenders are super cheap, so if you’re looking for budget enablers, this is one of your better options.

Rodon is the pick of the bunch. He’s only 3.9, is nailed, and has hit on DefCons in six of his last eight games. Players like him are why I continue to advocate not wasting your money on overpriced CB’s like Thiaw, when you can just hope for DC’s and cross your fingers for a clean with Rodon just as well.

Notts Forest

As also noted in the fixture ticker ratings update, Forest have been better defensively for a while now, and just cleaned last week against Fulham. All four of these next defensive matchups are also excellent.

I certainly wish their actual defenders were a bit cheaper, though. I just can’t justify spending over 5.0 on their centre-backs when they’re terrible for DefCons, and neither Williams nor Aina offers anything going forward.

If you’re happy to gamble purely on cleans though, Williams is fine at 4.7.

Gameweek 31 Transfer Tips

Who to buy, and who to sell – these are the questions grizzled old vets and spring chickens to FPL ask themselves each and every week.

Fortunately, this guy is on hand to give you all the answers – and my advice is guaranteed to be unequivocally, 100% correct.

Let’s peruse the most-bought and binned players in the game going into Gameweek 31, and decide whether or not they belong on our own beautiful teams.

Should I Buy?

Gordon – No… but him being the most-bought player was certainly unexpected! Frankly I hadn’t thought about Gordon seriously for months… and neither had anyone else, given that his ownership is around 5%. A couple of good weeks go a long way in FPL, I guess! Frankly, I wouldn’t even begin to consider him yet. This is the first time he’s returned in back-to-back matches since Gameweeks 14 and 15. He’s been inconsistent, underperformed his underlying numbers, and we don’t know if the team is actually any good. It’s a no, in short
Bruno F – Yes. Always yes. He’s the best player in the game right now
Thiaw – No. The fixtures are fine, but he’s not that cheap, doesn’t average 10+ DefCons, and Newcastle’s defence is rubbish. I’d much prefer one of the many, many cheaper alternatives
Joao Pedro – No. We are officially an anti-JP website – see James’s hit piece here. (More seriously, it’s a no anyway. His fixtures have turned, he’s blanked in two of those three harder games so far, and his next three matchups are tricky too).
Senesi – No. Just get Hill instead – he’s also getting DefCons, and costs far less
Szoboszlai – Maybe. I still struggle to get excited about him, but I can’t argue with the form over the last couple of months, and he’s shown he’s got multiple routes to points
VVD – Maybe. Considering I just got him in a couple of weeks ago, and he immediately stopped scoring points, it’s hard for me personally to recommend him right now. On paper though, objectively, his next couple of fixtures are still good enough to strongly consider him, even at that price
Ekitike – No. As I keep saying, it doesn’t matter how good his underlying stats are if he doesn’t actually put the ball in the net. He’s now blanked in five of his last six games (admittedly he didn’t start the Spurs game… but that’s a concern in itself)
Sesko – No. Yes, I know he keeps scoring. He also keeps not starting, the game was effectively over when he scored against Villa, and history suggests the whole ‘super sub’ thing is obviously unsustainable
Thiago – Yes. He’s not exactly setting the world on fire, but we have to take what we can get at the forward position right now. He’s got the job done in his easier fixtures recently – against Burnley and Wolves – and his next three matchups are fine too (if not as good as those)
Hall – No. For basically the same reasons as Thiaw, except he’s even more expensive
H Wilson – No. I don’t hate it, for the price, but the fixtures after this week’s home game against Burnley look pretty tricky. That being said, some of those games (namely Liverpool and Villa) probably look harder on paper right now than they actually are

Should I Sell?

Haaland/Semenyo/Gabriel – No. I’m lumping this lot together because they’re the three best players at their respective positions (technically Semenyo is 2pts off Bruno in midfield), and I wouldn’t sell any of them. Just hold them for this week, sell other players if you have to, and be patient
Guehi/O’Reilly – Maybe. I can’t give this a firm ‘yes’ because it’s too team-dependent. But City’s next two defensive fixtures aren’t great, so you basically can’t/don’t really want to start them for the next three gameweeks. At their respective prices, therefore, I’m fine binning them now
Rice – Yes. Obviously it’s team-dependent, blah blah blah. He’s not a ‘100% must sell’. But he’s basically been doing the Elliot Anderson job of ticking along at 4-5pts a week recently, while costing significantly more. This feels like a good time to move him
Timber – No. Just hold him if you can. He plays for the best defence in the league by far, and – City aside – the fixtures after the blank are fine
Mbeumo – Maybe. I didn’t love his performance against Villa, nor do I love him being pushed up to play as the 9 in general. Blanking three weeks in a row isn’t ideal… But personally I’m holding – he’s just such a proven and consistent player that I’m happy to give him time. I don’t love the Bournemouth away fixture admittedly – that feels like a blank – but it gets better afterwards with Leeds then Chelsea
Rogers – Maybe. I’m sick of the sight of him in my team, and Villa’s attack looked awful again at Old Trafford. I can’t bring myself to actually bin him this week though, between the blank and the West Ham home fixture. If he blanks for a sixth game in a row… okay, that’ll be the final straw

Captaincy Corner

I wouldn’t say there are any dream matchups for players that we’d actually back to captain this week… so let’s just not overthink it and captain Bruno. Bournemouth away isn’t a great fixture, but he is ridiculously consistent, and returns against everyone anyway.

I don’t even know who my second choice would be. You can gamble on a good-not-great player with a nice matchup, like Thiago away to Leeds, or Wilson home to Burnley. You can gamble on a better player like JP or Ekitike, with a worse fixture.

I’m just taking the safer option, doing what I should have done the last two weeks, and capping Bruno.

Final Thoughts

Right-o, that’ll wrap things up neatly for this particular Gameweek 31 preview. And, with a whole year to wait until the next Gameweek 31 preview, let’s all just take a moment to enjoy this one while it’s still here and fresh.

Thanks for reading, everybody, and best of luck out there – even in a big, scary blank gameweek!