We’ve put together our Scout Picks ‘bus team’ ahead of Gameweek 31 of Fantasy Premier League (FPL).
In this early selection, we select a first draft of our regular picks before they are finalised and published much closer to Saturday’s deadline.
We are limited to an £83.0m budget for our starting XI, while our bench is also price-capped after a reader vote.
In the meantime, this ‘bus team’ article – a term coined by the duo behind the Always Cheating podcast – will discuss the players who are likely to be in the running.
GAMEWEEK 31 FIXTURES
Times given in BST
THE LIKELY LADS
Gameweek 31 is all about some tasty-looking home fixtures for Manchester City and Tottenham Hotspur. They face relegation-threatened clubs who have struggled defensively all season, so there’ll inevitably be representation from both. Five names from these sides currently feature in our Scout Picks bus team but more/others could follow.
The main nagging doubt regarding Man City is that they are in UEFA Champions League action on either side of Gameweek 31, so there is the very real potential for some minute management at the weekend.
- Tuesday 11 April: Champions League quarter-finals – Bayern Munich (h)
- Saturday 15 April: Gameweek 31 – Leicester City (h)
- Wednesday 19 April: Champions League quarter-finals – Bayern Munich (a)
- Saturday 22 April: FA Cup semi-finals – Sheffield United (n)
- Wednesday 26 April: Gameweek 33 – Arsenal (h)
Erling Haaland (£12.2m) is the stand-out premium pick – his tally of 8.1 points per start in 2022/23 ranks first among all players. For now, he’s joined by the in-form Jack Grealish (£7.0m). That’s because opponents Leicester City have conceded 55 chances from their right flank since the restart, more than any other side bar Bournemouth.
However, if the threat of reduced minutes spooks us, whichever attacker is benched on Tuesday could potentially come into the reckoning, be it Bernardo Silva (£6.7m), Riyad Mahrez (£7.3m) or Julian Alvarez (£6.0m). Defensive coverage is probably required, too, with goalkeeper Ederson (£5.4m) the safest route in.
As for Spurs, Harry Kane’s (£11.7m) 6.6 points per start this season ranks second among all players with meaningful game-time, only behind Haaland, while wing-back Pedro Porro (£4.8m) has a goal and assist in his last four starts. In that time, he has attempted five shots in the box and created seven chances.
IN CONTENTION
The rest of this article below is completely free to read but requires a Fantasy Football Scout user account for access – you can get yours at no cost here
