We check in with Gameweek 31 for the last time now, assessing the latest player, team and talking point to catch our attention.
Mohamed Salah’s relentless quest for Fantasy Premier League points gathers pace as Liverpool’s form has many thinking twice over parting company with their key assets.
Meanwhile, we offer our final word on the Gameweek 31 Free Hit chip in light of Saturday’s reduced set of fixtures.
The Player
So much Fantasy faith was pinned on Mohamed Salah and Liverpool’s attack to deliver over Gameweek 31’s four matches.
Yet even the Egyptian managed to surpass our lofty expectations with an extraordinary display against Javi Gracia’s hapless Watford.
A sublime first season at Anfield stepped into the realms of the ridiculous as Salah ran riot against the Hornets, delivering a season-high tally of 29 points thanks to four goals and an assist.
With seven Gameweeks remaining, his tally of 266 points has already surpassed last season’s top scoring player, Alexis Sanchez, who returned 264 points in his final full campaign at Arsenal.
That’s better than Riyad Mahrez’s 240 points on his way to finishing first in Leicester’s title-winning 2015/16 campaign. It also eclipses the career-high tallies of the likes of Eden Hazard (233 points), Harry Kane (224 points) and Sergio Aguero (216 points).
One of only five players to produce more than 6.0 points per match (ppm) this term, Salah’s average of 8.9ppm is well clear of second-placed Aguero (7.0).
Indeed, with just one top-eight opponent remaining (cry eve BOU wba STO che BHA), the only surprise would now be if he fails to add to his 14 sets of double-digits and breach the 300-point mark come the end of the campaign.
The Team
After suffering a 2-1 loss at Old Trafford, Liverpool bounced back emphatically to help FPL managers to a bumper Gameweek.
The 5-0 victory over Watford also saw Sadio Mane and Roberto Firmino in the points again, while at the back, the Reds delivered a thirteenth clean sheet of the campaign – just two less than the best defences, Man United and City, with fifteen apiece.
At a point when many are now eyeing up Wildcards to profit from the impending double Gameweeks, Salah’s ability to score big – and consistently do so – now surely makes him undroppable, regardless of the Reds’ lack of a double Gameweek.
Although many are keen to show Mane and Firmino the door, Klopp’s side served a timely reminder that getting rid doesn’t come without risk.
Saturday’s romp now means that Liverpool have scored three or more goals on 15 occasions – seven times at home and eight away showcases their consistency.
Firmino, meanwhile, has earned bonus in 11 of the 12 league matches he has scored in. As well as firing a hat-trick past Porto in the Champions League, Mane has hit his most consistency Fantasy form of the season, producing points in each of the last four Gameweeks.
Should Klopp’s men continue to rack up the goals and buck the growing exodus, those without Wildcards could profit if they keep faith in the Reds’ front three for those favourable remaining matches.
The Talking Point
This season’s first set of Gameweek postponements persuaded many – almost half a million managers – to unleash their Free Hit chip for Gameweek 31.
Although just four matches took place, Salah’s huge haul helped Free Hit chip managers average a hefty 95.5 points, gaining just over a 25-point margin on their rivals (70.1).
However, that margin could, and should, have been greater – only 80.6% of them decided to captain Salah.
On Sunday, Ragabolly’s look into the impact of the Gameweek 31 Free Hit chip also pointed out that planning for this round of fixtures cost, on average, a further three points for rivals.
Essentially, then, over 444,000 FPL managers chose the Free Hit chip as a means of navigating Gameweek 31’s four matches, with a lofty 94.7% earning a climb in ranking.
While that clearly can be chalked up as an undoubted success, it’s also worth pointing out that, despite just four fixtures taking place, Salah was the only player in the most transferred in XI for Gameweek 31 to claim double-digits.
Six others – James Tomkins, Andrew Robertson, Junior Stanislas, Jordon Ibe, Luka Milivojevic and Cenk Tosun – achieved this but were largely ignored.
Granted, while Stanislas and Tosun both went into the weekend in fine form, the likes of Tomkins, Robertson, Ibe and Milivojevic all chose the perfect time to deliver season-high returns.
While that only serves to highlight the unpredictability of such occasions, it’s worth bearing in mind that Liverpool were the only top-eight team in action in Gameweek 31.
Those retaining Free Hit chips will be hoping that Gameweek 35 is a little easier to pinpoint the key names and big scorers, with the Merseysiders, Man City and Arsenal all set for favourable fixtures in the six-match slate.
