If you’re in a rush and need some last-minute Fantasy Premier League (FPL) advice, here’s a quick round-up of what you need to know about Gameweek 31.
WHEN’S THE FPL GAMEWEEK 31 DEADLINE?
All transfers and team selections need to be done by 11:00 BST on Saturday 5 April.
DOUBLE GAMEWEEK 33 CONFIRMED
There may only be four days between the Gameweek 30 and 31 deadlines but it’s still enough time for big news to land.
As expected, Double Gameweek 33 is now official, though only four teams will feature twice – Arsenal, Aston Villa, Crystal Palace and Manchester City.
That’s because Nottingham Forest v Brentford is simply moving to the midweek of Gameweek 34.
A BIG WEEK TO WILDCARD
This clears the way for many Wildcards to get used, as the Premier League schedule is known until Gameweek 36. Expect even more activations than the 659,000 of Gameweek 30.
FPL Family’s Sam is proceeding with hers, as is Tom Freeman.
We’ve provided some draft ideas, based around Bench Boost and Free Hit usage. Future chip strategy is something you need to give careful consideration to if you are Wildcarding.
Zophar’s Q&A goes deep into the chips, too.
GABRIEL, KLUIVERT + AINA INJURED
While Gameweek 30 Wildcarders will be pleased that the predicted fixture rearrangements were correct, the vast majority now have Gabriel Magalhaes‘ (£6.3m) season-ending hamstring injury to handle.
Furthermore, the next-most owned defender overall, Ola Aina (£5.3m), is also hurt.
Names like Josko Gvardiol (£6.1m), Nikola Milenkovic (£5.0m) and William Saliba (£6.4m) could replace these, with Lateriser liking Marc Cucurella (£5.3m) and Lewis Dunk (£4.2m).
Those considering Kieran Trippier (£5.6m) might be put off by his slight groin issue. It’s something that Newcastle United team-mate Alexander Isak (£9.5m) also has.
Eddie Howe remains hopeful about them facing Leicester City on Monday but Bournemouth boss Andoni Iraola thinks Justin Kluivert (£6.2m) could miss another match.
BEST FPL GAMEWEEK 31 CAPTAIN
Isak would’ve been a strong contender for captaincy but, instead, Mohamed Salah (£13.8m) remains the recommended armband recipient of our Rate My Team (RMT) algorithm.
In second place is Son Heung-min (£9.7m) at home to Southampton. Be careful with that, as Tottenham Hotspur having a big Europa League match straight after.
Cole Palmer (£10.7m) comes third. He’s goalless in eight matches but a promising midweek display versus Spurs brought an assist. He next makes the short journey to Brentford.
Salah leads our on-site captain poll, while
SCOUT PICKS + DIFFERENTIALS
Our weekly selection – which is essentially a Free Hit in all but name – goes for all of Salah, Palmer and Isak.
There is also a trio of intriguing differential picks to mull over, if you’re chasing mini-league rivals.
PREDICTED LINE-UPS
We’ve predicted the starting XIs of all 20 Premier League teams.
Whatever you decide to do, good luck with FPL Gameweek 31!
