Gameweek 31 Preview

This weekend sees the return of the Barclays Premier League and Fantasy Premier League (FPL) Gameweek 31, with some huge games at both ends of the table, as well as a double Gameweek for strugglers Aston Villa and Queens Park Rangers. Meanwhile, the stand-out fixture of the week is at the Emirates as Arsenal host Liverpool, as both sides continue to fight for a place in next season’s Champions League.

Fixtures

Arsenal host Liverpool in the weekend’s early kick-off, with Arsene Wenger’s men knowing that a win would put them into second spot, albeit temporarily, with City not playing Palace until Monday night. Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain (6.2) remains unavailable for the Gunners with a hamstring problem; midfielders Jack Wilshere (6.3) and Mikel Arteta (5.3), both of whom have not featured since November 22, are doubtful to return just yet due to a lack of match fitness; while forward Danny Welbeck (6.9) is also a doubt after picking up a knock in England’s Euro 2016 qualifying win over Lithuania.

Liverpool will be looking to bounce back from their Gameweek 30 defeat at the hands of Manchester United. Steven Gerrard (8.5) and Martin Skrtel (6.0) are both suspended until April 18, while Daniel Sturridge (11.2), Raheem Sterling (8.5) and Adam Lallana (8.3) are all injury doubts for the Reds.

Everton welcome Southampton to Goodison Park, with Martinez’s side perhaps still a couple of wins away from ensuring their Premier League safety after a disappointing 2014/15 campaign. Romelu Lakaku (8.8) is doubtful for the Toffees (hamstring), while left-back Leighton Baines (7.0) and midfielder Kevin Mirallas (7.2) are both also doubtful with knocks.

As for the visitors, Fraser Forster (5.6) could now be sidelined for up to a year after leaving the pitch just 13 minutes into his side 2-0 win over Burnley with a knee injury. Experienced goalkeeper Kelvin Davis (4.4), who replaced Forster in that game, is likely to fill in for the rest of the season. After netting for Italy against England on Tuesday night, can Graziano Pelle (7.4) finally bag his first Premier League goal of 2015 on Saturday afternoon?

Bottom club Leicester City entertain West Ham United at the King Power Stadium, in what is surely a must-win game for the home side if they are to have any real hope of avoiding the drop. Striker David Nugent, valued at just 4.9, could be a decent punt for this week, with 2 goals in his last 4 matches while Leonardo Ulloa, despite failing to find the net in the league since Boxing Day, remains the Foxes’ top-scoring FPL player with 86 points.

The Hammers will be on somewhat of a high after beating Sunderland in Gameweek 30 (their first league win in two months). Forward Enner Valencia (6.3) is a 50% doubt with a toe injury after sitting out the last two gameweeks, Andy Carrol (6.3) appears to be edging closer to a return after undergoing knee surgery, while defender James Tomkins (4.8) remains out with a shoulder injury.

After their vital Gameweek 30 victory over rivals Liverpool, Manchester United welcome Aston Villa to Old Trafford, with Van Gaal’s side looking to consolidate their place in the top four in their bid for a return to Champions League football. Juan Mata’s (8.3) match-winning display at Anfield has put the Spanish playmaker back on FPL managers’ radars, with over 28,000 of you already having snapped up the midfielder since March 22. Defender Chris Smalling (5.3) is a doubt for United after sustaining a knock while on international duty, Jonny Evans is still suspended following his spitting incident with Papiss Cisse, while Robin Van Persie (12.0) remains sidelined because of an ankle injury.

Defender Aly Cissokho (4.5) remains out for the visitors with a knock, while Tom Cleverley (5.2) is ineligible to play against his parent club due to the conditions of his loan deal.

Swansea City welcome Hull to South Wales, looking for a second successive league win after their victory at Aston Villa. After netting the winner in that game, Bafetimbi Gomis (6.5) will be hoping he can add to his tally of 3 in 2014/15, while keeper Lukasz Fabianski (5.3) is a decent option for those seeking a replacement for stricken keeper Fraser Forster, having amassed 117 points so far this season, second only to United’s David de Gea (119 points).

For the visitors, defender James Chester (4.3) is still out as he continues to recover from a dislocated shoulder, midfielder Tom Huddlestone (5.3) is suspended until April 11, and a knee injury is expected to keep striker Nikica Jelavic (5.7) out of action until the end of the month.

West Brom welcome struggling Queen’s Park Rangers to the West Midlands, with goalkeeper Ben Foster (4.6) almost certain to miss the rest of the campaign with a knee injury sustained in Gameweek 29 – Boaz Myhill (4.0) is likely to be his replacement once again in the Baggies’ goal. Forwards Saido Berahino (5.6) and Brown Ideye (5.3) both remain doubtful for the home side, meaning Victor Anichebe (4.9) could be West Brom’s only real attacking option.

This is of course QPR’s first match of their double gameweek, which has been the subject of much discussion on the FFScout site this week – Charlie Austin (6.4), Matty Phillips (4.6) and Rob Green (4.5) would all appear to be attractive options for Gameweek 31.

Table-toppers Chelsea entertain Stoke City at Stamford Bridge in Saturday’s tea-time kick-off, with top-scorer Diego Costa (11.0) a 75% doubt with a muscular injury sustained in his side’s 3-2 victory at Hull on March 22 – however there are no other fresh injury concerns for Jose Mourinho’s side.

Stoke winger Victor Moses (5.2) is unable to feature against his parent club due to the conditions of his loan deal.

Burnley welcome Tottenham Hotspur to Lancashire on Sunday afternoon, as the Clarets continue to fight for their Premier League survival. Midfielder Dean Marney (4.3) remains unavailable for the home side with a knee injury that has kept him out of the side since early February, while Matty Taylor (4.7) is still recovering from a long-term injury and is not yet fully match-fit.

As for Spurs, Hugo Lloris (5.6), Danny Rose (5.0) and Eric Dier (4.6) all have a 75% chance of being available for the coming weekend.

Sunderland entertain local rivals Newcastle in the Tyne-Wear derby, with Dick Advocat’s new side sitting just one point above the dreaded relegation zone, and desperate for points here. Defender Wes Brown (4.4) could be set to miss the remainder of 2014/15 due to a knee injury, while forward Steven Fletcher (5.0) will be on a high following his impressive hat-trick for Scotland, and will hope he can continue that kind of form on Sunday afternoon, after managing only 4 goals in the league so far this season.

For the Magpies, Fabricio Coloccini (4.5) is suspended until April 19, and Papiss Cisse (5.3) remains suspended until May 9 following his spitting incident with Jonny Evans, leaving his side visibly short of options going forward.

Crystal Palace play host to second-place Manchester City at Selhurst Park, with club captain Mile Jedinak (5.0) suspended until April 11 and strikers Frazier Campbell (5.0) and Marouane Chamakh (5.2) both out through injury.

Yaya Toure (10.7) could be unavailable for City with an Achilles injury, while James Milner (5.5) has a 75% chance of recovering from a knee injury in time for Monday night’s game.

Queen’s Park Rangers then make the trip to the West Midlands on Tuesday evening to take on Aston Villa as part of a double Gameweek for both sides, in the final fixture of Gameweek 31. Christian Benteke (7.5) and Gabriel Agbonlahor (5.3) offer a decent chance of returns for Villa and, as already mentioned, Austin, Phillips and Green seem like decent options for QPR.

Captaincy Contenders

Despite the double Gameweek for Villa and QPR, it is Harry Kane (6.4) who is currently topping this week’s FFScout captaincy poll with 25.16% of votes as his Spurs side prepare to visit Burnley, beating Charlie Austin (6.4) by a mere nine votes. Chelsea’s Eden Hazard (11.1), the top player in the entire FPL game, is in third place with 10.19% of votes as his side host Stoke, with City’s Sergio Ageuro (12.8), Arsenal frontman Olivier Giroud (8.5) and Villa’s Christian Benteke (7.5) all backed by around 7% of voters for the armband this week.

Best Punts/Ones to watch

Juan Mata (8.3) – Having rarely featured under Louis Van Gaal and selected by only 6.7% of FPL managers, the United playmaker is likely to start on Saturday following his heroics at Anfield, and offers a decent chance of returns as his side host struggling Aston Villa.

Christian Benteke (7.5) – The Belgian forward has looked a different player since the arrival of Tim Sherwood, with 3 goals and an assist in his previous three gameweeks. Selected by 1.8% of FPL managers, Benteke would appear to offer a decent chance of returns here, in light of his side’s double Gameweek. Also seems like a good captain differential as well, having being backed by only 7.62% of FFScout voters in the weekly pool.

David Nugent (4.9) – Selected by 0.4%, the Leicester frontman has enjoyed somewhat of an upturn in form of late, with goals away to Everton and Tottenham in his previous four gameweeks. Can he continue his recent resurgence as the Foxes welcome inconsistent West Ham to the East Midlands?

Abel Hernandez (6.6) – With top-scorer Nikica Jelavic out-of-action for the Tigers, the Uruguayan striker is likely to be given the nod once again – will be hoping he can build on his goal against Chelsea the other week as his side visit the Liberty Stadium.

Kelvin Davis (4.4) – With his counter-part Fraser Forster out for the rest of the season, Davis is highly likely to be given the nod once again. Played 77 minutes against Burnley in Gameweek 30, whilst also keeping a clean sheet – can the veteran keeper do the same again at Goodison Park on Saturday?