Welcome to another edition of our weekly Fantasy Premier League update where we will go in-depth of all the fixtures happening in GW31 and much more. Even though we are in between an international break, it will not stop us from gathering all the FPL related information we know you’re craving for. We have come across a rather tepid double Gameweek 31 where only Everton and Burnley (yeah, we’re not excited either) play twice. Both come into their respective fixtures in uninspiring form and are rather desperate for points. It is fair to say that their match at Turf Moor will have massive repercussions in the overall relegation battle and you should expect an extremely tight game fiercely contested by both these teams.
FIXTURES TO TARGET IN FPL Gameweek 31
- LIVERPOOL VS WATFORD
- BURNLEY VS MAN CITY
- CHELSEA VS BRENTFORD
- LEEDS VS SOUTHAMPTON
- SPURS VS NEWCASTLE
- MANCHESTER UNITED VS LEICESTER
Inspite of playing twice, I am not particularly confident in going for an Everton or a Burnley asset as they are way too inconsistent and are massively struggling to find any sort of substantial form. For budgetary purposes, you could go for Anthony Gordon or a Burnley defensive asset but I’d not go anywhere else (even Weghorst or Richarlison). Coming back to the money fixtures, Liverpool’s fixture at Anfield against Watford is FPL gold and you’d ideally want all three of Trent, Robertson and MO Salah (subject to their availability). If you’re looking for an alternative then VVD and Luis Diaz are great options as well.
With the title race neck and neck, I expect city to be at full strength against Burnley at Turf Moor. I am expecting a routine win with a clean sheet for City, so Cancelo automatically becomes a great option given his attacking prowess. Laporte and Stones are good alternatives if you’re low on cash but I wouldn’t necessarily go for Ederson as it would block your midfield options. KDB, Sterling and Mahrez are your usual suspects in their midfield and anyone of them could easily haul against a struggling Burnley side.
Chelsea’s fixture versus Brentford at Stamford bridge could result in another routine win for Chelsea. The man to own could be Reece James but his availability might be uncertain give his injury struggles. Rudiger and Silva are decent alternatives as well and are expected to start the match. Havertz and Mount are the obvious choices in midfield with both of them in decent form. I’d stay away from Lukaku and Werner as their places in the eleven are uncertain.
Leeds entertain Southampton at Elland Road after a thrilling win over Wolves last weekend where they came from two goals behind at halftime and won 3-2. They will surely be buoyant coming into this fixture and with Southampton’s recent defensive frailties, I expect them to be in the mix. Raphinha, if fit, is the best asset to own but if you want to go for a differential, then Moreno and James are good options as well. With Southampton’s assets, I would advise you to hold onto them especially if you’re owning Ward Prowse and Che Adams as Leeds are not defensively astute either.
An in-form Tottenham entertain a Newcastle side at White Hart Lane and I fully expect Kane, Son and Kulusevski to be in the mix as all three of them are in superb form and are also playing with great cohesion. Their fullbacks Reguillon and Doherty are also great picks as they bombard forward most of the time to assist the attack and find themselves in great positions to score/assist. Newcastle’s Fraser and Wood could be nice differentials but I wouldn’t expect too much from them.
Manchester United’s fixture versus Leicester at Old Trafford is of the utmost importance for them as they are trailing Arsenal by three points in the race to qualify for the Champions League. Having been knocked out of the competition by Atletico they will be desperate for a victory against Leicester. Ronaldo, Sancho and Bruno are the obvious choices with Sancho looking very productive over the last month or so. I wouldn’t advise investing in either of the teams’ defensive assets as I expect this to be a goalscoring game. Barnes and Maddison could have a good night given United’s defensive struggles and they are good purchases for the long run as well.
CAPTAINCY DILEMMA (THE USUAL SUSPECTS OR A DIFFERENTIAL PERHAPS) in Gameweek 31
If Salah is fit then he is the perfect choice for captaincy as Liverpool entertains a struggling Watford side at Anfield. He’s been itching to cement his place as the Golden boot winner and I have a feeling that a massive haul is on the way. Harry Kane is another option who is in a rich vein of form and has a great record against Newcastle.
If you’re considering a differential then a Son or a KDB are also great options as the former has a great goalscoring record at home and the latter can turn any match on his head with his ridiculous skillset. A word of caution, don’t captain a double GW asset this week as Everton and Burnley are not the most dependable teams and even if they play twice, I would stay away from captaining their assets.
CHIP STRATEGIES (CAN MAKE ALL THE DIFFERNCE) In Gameweek 31 selections
Managers left with a Wildcard are in a great position to navigate with the upcoming Double and Blank GW 33. If you wildcard now or in the next week (especially for those Bench boosting in GW33), it depends completely upon your team structure. Another way of navigating GW33 is that you use your Free hit chip in that week and just continue to load up on Manchester City assets in the meanwhile.
It might not be the best idea to use any of your remaining chips during this GW but again if you’re absolutely certain then you might as well go for it. I hope this article keeps your FPL blues away during this long international break (atleast it feels that way) and I hope you find the right strategies for your team as we reach the final phase of this awesome Premier League campaign. May the FPL Gods be with you.
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