FPL Milanista’s Gameweek 31 team, transfers + chip strategy

In the latest article from our team of Hall of Famers and guest writers, Fantasy all-rounder Obay Eid/FPL Milanista – who has risen to 18th in our Live Hall of Fame – discusses his Gameweek 31 plans and chip strategy.

Coming straight after the Manchester City v Arsenal game, it’s time to revisit our chip strategies and transfers over the next few rounds. The Gameweek 31 deadline is less than 48 hours away!

Gameweek 30 was not a good Gameweek for me. A total of 57 points were not enough to maintain my top 10k status, so I drop to 10.4k. The round’s top clash ended scorelessly and that was basically the worst outcome from a Fantasy perspective, as I had Phil Foden (£8.1m), Erling Haaland (£14.3m) and Bukayo Saka (£9.0m) in my starting XI. I also had Nathan Ake (£5.1m), who managed to play only 26 minutes before leaving the field injured. Anyway, Gameweek 30 must now be put behind us as we switch our focus towards Gameweek 31, as well as the approaching big Double Gameweek 34.

MY CHIP STRATEGY

My intentions are to keep the Wildcard until after the Double Gameweek 34 matches. Without a Free Hit, I don’t see it possible to attack both remaining big Double Gameweeks with one Wildcard given the fact that teams that double in Gameweek 34 are completely different from those that double in Gameweek 37.

Another major factor is Tottenham Hotspur. The Lilywhites blank in Gameweek 34 but then have two doubles between Gameweeks 35-38. Therefore, it is much easier to move them on over the next few rounds with an eye to triple up on them come Gameweek 35.

Some may be in a better place with a Free Hit also to play, and that is a scenario where I do believe that a Wildcard now is quite valid. The Free Hit chip can be used in Double Gameweek 34 and hence all transfers from this point can be focused on Double Gameweek 37 instead. I’m sure there are plenty of top managers who will discuss this approach. Given that it is not valid in my case, I’ll switch back to my preferred option: target Double Gameweek 34 with my free transfers, before hitting the Wildcard button as soon as Gameweek 34 is gone.

The FA Cup results were kind to us Gameweek 29 Free Hitters as it resulted in teams we are already heavily invested in doubling in Gameweek 34 instead of Gameweek 37, ie Arsenal and Bournemouth. All that is needed now is to invest in Liverpool as a priority and then throw a couple of assets from the likes of Crystal Palace and/or Wolverhampton Wanderers to have a very competitive side in Double Gameweek 34 that can even challenge those on a Free Hit that week.

LIVERPOOL + ARSENAL

After watching Liverpool v Brighton on Sunday, Mohamed Salah (£13.3m) must be the priority buy for anyone at this point. The Egyptian had 12 shots and could’ve easily had 3-4 goal involvements, so to find out that he ended this Gameweek with seven points only was a major relief for us non-owners.

Darwin Nunez (£7.5m) and Virgil van Dijk (£6.6m) seem to be the two next-best assets from the Reds but they are still some distance from Salah’s importance, in my opinion. Darwin’s minutes are always at risk and Liverpool’s defence hasn’t been at its best recently.

The other team that we must triple up on very soon (if not already tripled up) is Arsenal. The Gunners have a very enticing fixture on Wednesday, hosting Luton Town at the Emirates. The Arsenal attack should be firing on all cylinders once again: be reminded that they scored 21 goals in their four fixtures during Gameweeks 24-27, and there is no better fixture than this to return to winning with style. I’m happy to have my Arsenal triple-up in place, with Saka, Gabriel Magalhaes (£5.3m) and Martin Odegaard (£8.5m).

GAMEWEEK 31 TRANSFERS

My main target this Gameweek is of course Salah, and I have rolled my transfer last week to make the switch to him easier.

Ollie Watkins (£8.9m) is a player who will certainly leave to make funds, with Matheus Cunha (£5.5m), Jean Philippe Mateta (£4.9m) and Rodrigo Muniz (£4.7m) all in contention to replace the top FPL scorer. I’m slightly favouring the former two as they double in Gameweek 34, although Muniz’s form must not be ignored.

The big question is who leaves from midfield to accommodate the Egyptian king. The announcement of Arsenal’s double cemented both Saka’s and Odegaard’s places in my side. Cole Palmer‘s (£5.9m) price is way too low to be considered, too. So, this leaves only Son Heung-min (£10.1m) and Foden as options to be sacrificed.

If Foden was to leave, then I’ll need to make a third transfer for a hit to accommodate Salah, as I have £0.0m in the bank as it stands. Son leaving is the easier choice, especially that I slightly favour the Cityzens’ fixtures over the next three. To conclude, Salah will most certainly be in my side come Tuesday, but the route to him is still quite undecided.

Best of luck everyone, enjoy the successive Gameweeks!