FPL
18 March 2026 354 comments
FPL Marc FPL Marc
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Joe’s highly popular ‘Goals Imminent’ table from the Members Area is the basis for this weekly article.

Heading towards Gameweek 31 of Fantasy Premier League (FPL), we try to identify some more underachieving players who look ‘due’ for a goal and/or assist.

Naturally, we’ll attempt to assess whether they’re unlucky, suffering a rare blip, or just aren’t particularly good.


LAST WEEK’S SUCCESSES

Newcastle v Liverpool team news: Szoboszlai at left-back

Two of Gameweek 30’s names got themselves on the scoresheet. Highly-owned Igor Thiago (£7.3m) tapped in against Wolverhampton Wanderers and missed two big chances, while Anthony Gordon (£7.3m) made himself a leading transfer target for this Blank Gameweek.

Known for his Champions League antics, the Newcastle United midfielder is regularly playing as a centre-forward, and added an open-play goal at Chelsea to his penalty-taking duties.

As for assists, none of the small table were able to get one. But Dominik Szoboszlai (£7.0m) decided to go one better by scoring!

GOALS IMMINENT

 

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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

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defensive contributions

FPL Marc Broadcaster, writer and overthinker. Hoping that ‘differential potential’ will catch on.

354 Comments Login to Post a Comment
  1. PartyTime
    • 4 Years
    1 month, 4 days ago

    Make PL Great Again

  2. Over Midwicket
    • 14 Years
    1 month, 4 days ago

    Thiaw having a mare

  3. lilmessipran
    • 13 Years
    1 month, 4 days ago

    Rest your players for the derby already.

  4. CoracAld2831
    • 5 Years
    1 month, 4 days ago

    Newcastle getting absolutely mauled by Barca.

    1. PartyTime
      • 4 Years
      1 month, 4 days ago

      They're getting mullered over there

      1. Riverside Red
        • Fantasy Football Scout Member
        • 6 Years
        1 month, 4 days ago

        It's a total embarrassment 7-2 and counting

  5. Jafooli
    • 14 Years
    1 month, 4 days ago

    PL teams getting pumped in UCL…..

    1. Jafooli
      • 14 Years
      1 month, 4 days ago

      And still Spurs to go 😮

    2. Jafooli
      • 14 Years
      1 month, 4 days ago

      They’ve conceded 27 goals between them so far…yikes

    3. Moon Dog
        1 month, 4 days ago

        Newcastle looked decent in the 1st leg, and the 1st half of this one.

        Wonder why this capitulation keeps happening...

        1. CoracAld2831
          • 5 Years
          1 month, 4 days ago

          The late penalty goal in the 1st half sealed their fate. After that they just losed faith on themselves.

    4. boc610
      • 14 Years
      1 month, 4 days ago

      Holy moly 20 plus goals put past Chelsea City and toons alone. embarrassing..."but dad didn't you say this was the best league in the world?? Dad???remember what you said dad?????

      1. Jafooli
        • 14 Years
        1 month, 4 days ago

        27 for all of them and Spurs still to go….will be 35 or so in total

        1. Jafooli
          • 14 Years
          1 month, 4 days ago

          *28 Barcelona just scored another lol…

      2. Sir Michael Taker
        • 11 Years
        1 month, 4 days ago

        Dad what happened. Chelsea won the XG match. You promised me this XG was better than the real thing.

    5. Sir Michael Taker
      • 11 Years
      1 month, 4 days ago

      Barca and Atletico Madrid have plenty about them to make me feel its not a foregone conclusion Arsenal make the final. Lots of wonderful players on show who can do a lot of damage

      1. Jafooli
        • 14 Years
        1 month, 4 days ago

        Agreed, just that Man City, Chelsea, Liverpool, Newcastle & Spurs are miles off the pace this season

      2. Nightcrawler
        • 6 Years
        1 month, 4 days ago

        not a foregone conclusion for sure but arsenal favs. barca vs atletcio shd be interesting cuz arsenal play like a better version of atletico with same tactics

        1. Sir Michael Taker
          • 11 Years
          1 month, 4 days ago

          I havent seen a lot of Atleti this season but I gather they are not your typical Simeone side from yesteryear. Lots of firepower with Julian Alvarez, Sorloth etc

    6. Capocannonieri
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 7 Years
      1 month, 4 days ago

      Newcastle is being Trucked on global TV.

      These dudes are an embarrassment

      Go Get Your Shine Box!

      1. CoracAld2831
        • 5 Years
        1 month, 4 days ago

        They have stopped trying

    7. CoracAld2831
      • 5 Years
      1 month, 4 days ago

      That 7-2 goal was abysmal playing from Newcastle.

      Nothing is going their way in the 2nd half.

    8. WVA
      • 9 Years
      1 month, 4 days ago

      Is Thiaw essential this game week?

      1. Jafooli
        • 14 Years
        1 month, 4 days ago

        Yes, if you’re captaining a Sunderland player…on tonight’s showing

      2. Gazwaz80
        • 6 Years
        1 month, 4 days ago

        Yep, he’s got his crap game out of the way…

      3. Mr. O'Connell
        • 13 Years
        1 month, 4 days ago

        I'm captaining

        1. WVA
          • 9 Years
          1 month, 4 days ago

          Not got triple captain left?

    9. Jimmers
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 15 Years
      1 month, 4 days ago

      Chelsea beaten 8-2 on agg
      Man City beaten 5-1 on agg
      Newcastle losing 8-3 on agg
      Spurs lost 5-2 in first leg

      PL has been over-hyped as the best league in the world.

      1. Riverside Red
        • Fantasy Football Scout Member
        • 6 Years
        1 month, 4 days ago

        Chelsea World Champions and Arsenal still in the competition.....let's wait and see before casting aspersions

      2. Nightcrawler
        • 6 Years
        1 month, 4 days ago

        Spurs and Newcastle are bottom half teams this season. Chelsea not even top 4 going against the reigning UCL champions

        Strength if the league isn't measured by the best team in the league. The fact other league's similar ranked teams aren't even in contention makes pl the best overall

      3. The Mandalorian
        • 13 Years
        1 month, 4 days ago

        It's not overhyped, people spend their money on watching the league because it's more competitive.

        Madrid, Barca, PSG field the bench players for their weak leagues and save the best ones for the UCL.

        You can look at player minutes, PSG rotated heavily last season. Their best forwards only did 2000 mins in the league meanwhile Saka and Salah previously averaged 3000 mins.

        1. PartyTime
          • 4 Years
          1 month, 4 days ago

          Tbh the quality of the PL has dropped. Especially when compared to the early 2000's imo

          1. Scapegoat Salah
            • 9 Years
            1 month, 4 days ago

            Even back to 5-10 years ago

    10. Captain Mal
      • 1 Year
      1 month, 4 days ago

      Lewandowski is the oldest player to score a brace in a UCL game. Any guesses whose record he broke?

      1. Goro Majima
        • Fantasy Football Scout Member
        • 6 Years
        1 month, 4 days ago

        Born offside.

        1. Captain Mal
          • 1 Year
          1 month, 4 days ago

          Correct

      2. The Mandalorian
        • 13 Years
        1 month, 4 days ago

        Ronnie

    11. Gazwaz80
      • 6 Years
      1 month, 4 days ago

      Premier league awful this year, probably last year also. Don’t know it anybody watches Premier League classics on Sky but the difference between then and now is vast…

      1. Jafooli
        • 14 Years
        1 month, 4 days ago

        The standard has definitely dropped in recent years….no marquee players about these days…just AI bots of a template…

      2. -GK22-
        • Fantasy Football Scout Member
        • 13 Years
        1 month, 4 days ago

        Peps fault

      3. Nightcrawler
        • 6 Years
        1 month, 4 days ago

        Premier league were the best league in Europe last season. In fact, Apart from 23-24 season and the season interrupted by COVID id say premier league has had the best showing in Europa for every season since 2017

        1. Nightcrawler
          • 6 Years
          1 month, 4 days ago

          In Europe*

        2. El Presidente
          • 6 Years
          1 month, 4 days ago

          You gotta be joking. For the level and the HUGE difference in money spent and wages paid the ROI of the Premier League is very very poor.

          1. Nightcrawler
            • 6 Years
            1 month, 4 days ago

            The money spent is irrelevant when Ur only comparing the quality of the league. Villa are doing better than man city all things considered but city are still the better team

            Pl has the most number of competent teams. Villarreal are 4th in la liga, 11 clear of 5th, and could only manage 1 point in 8 UCL games this season

      4. JuanTP
        • 6 Years
        1 month, 4 days ago

        Maybe its just more competitive?

        I'd prefer more PL games having meaningful outcomes rather than a couple of teams killing it in the euro leagues and the rest of the league wash rinse repeat.

    12. Capocannonieri
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 7 Years
      1 month, 4 days ago

      Newcastle spend 200M more on transfers than Barca.

      Elanga for 55M? This dude is barely worthy of an EPL roster spot.

      Woltemade is 75M? This dude is a straight bum. NW is a player for a farmer league.should be on a Anderletch roster at best.

      Just shows that more money just makes your transfers more expensive, not better.

      1. Nightcrawler
        • 6 Years
        1 month, 4 days ago

        Premier league clubs simply have to pay more. That's just how it works

    13. JBG
      • 7 Years
      1 month, 4 days ago

      Hahah totally forgot that they play the early match tonight, what a result. Hahah, expected them to lose, but not like this.

    14. Sir Michael Taker
      • 11 Years
      1 month, 4 days ago

      Soblanke not in the Spuds squad tonight. Is he crocked again? Amazing how he managed pretty much full seasons at Bournemouth then got the move and hes never fit

    15. Camzy
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 15 Years
      1 month, 4 days ago

      Was planning to bring in Thiaw. This ain't ideal...

      Any other Chalobah replacements worth considering?

      1. Stranger Mings
        • 5 Years
        1 month, 4 days ago

        Is hall a better option?

        1. Steavn8k
          • 3 Years
          1 month, 4 days ago

          I like Hall better too, going forward quite a bit today. Pundits just seem stuck on Thiaw for whatever reason

          1. Stranger Mings
            • 5 Years
            1 month, 4 days ago

            Cool.cheers

      2. JBG
        • 7 Years
        1 month, 4 days ago

        Brought him in, learned early this season, don't look or care what PL teams do in CL this season. It does not reflect their ability in the PL. Case in point Spurs throughout the season or Newcastle up until now or even Chelsea.

      3. Scapegoat Salah
        • 9 Years
        1 month, 4 days ago

        What’s wrong with Thiaw?

      4. El Presidente
        • 6 Years
        1 month, 4 days ago

        Newcastle ain't playing Barcelona again...

      5. Mr. O'Connell
        • 13 Years
        1 month, 4 days ago

        Makes me want to captain him more tbh

      6. WVA
        • 9 Years
        1 month, 4 days ago

        Anderson?

    16. The Mandalorian
      • 13 Years
      1 month, 4 days ago

      Chelsea and Spurs getting rid of the managers who did well in the UCL has backfired.

      NEW should have played deep like they do in the PL. Poor tactics favoured Barcas slick counterattack.

      1. Qaiss
        • 10 Years
        1 month, 4 days ago

        Newcastle haven’t played really deep for about 2/3 seasons

        1. The Mandalorian
          • 13 Years
          1 month, 4 days ago

          Away from home they seem more compact and solid.

    17. Steavn8k
      • 3 Years
      1 month, 4 days ago

      After that performance I'm not convinced of any Newcastle assets for the weekend..

      1. Sir Michael Taker
        • 11 Years
        1 month, 4 days ago

        The Gordon talk is hilarious. He was the ultimate troll for nearly 30 games. Went an entire year without scoring a goal in the league. Models love him because xmins and xpens.

        1. Steavn8k
          • 3 Years
          1 month, 4 days ago

          Agree. Would not at all be surprised to see him blank this week and Newcastle loose to Sunderland.

    18. PartyTime
      • 4 Years
      1 month, 4 days ago

      Let's go Kane! The ballon d'or is yours.

    19. Jet5605
      • 11 Years
      1 month, 4 days ago

      Cunha to Gordon for free or roll?

    20. The Mandalorian
      • 13 Years
      1 month, 4 days ago

      The PL and FPL needs some talisman next season. Could be a while before we see another Mo Salah.

      1. Scapegoat Salah
        • 9 Years
        1 month, 4 days ago

        This. All proof the prem is no longer the best league, it’s laughable what you can as an fpl team these days, moves are limited to what budget mid to switch between 😆

        1. Scapegoat Salah
          • 9 Years
          1 month, 4 days ago

          *can build

        2. Nightcrawler
          • 6 Years
          1 month, 4 days ago

          Which league is the best?

          1. Scapegoat Salah
            • 9 Years
            1 month, 4 days ago

            Bundesliga imo

            1. Sir Michael Taker
              • 11 Years
              1 month, 4 days ago

              Bundesliga is fun but the teams cant defend including Bayern. We keep getting mega expensive imports like Wirtz who have been inflated by the dog turd defending. Kalimuendo looked a donkey for Forest but hes quite good in Germany. That Diomande lad will go for crazy money in the summer. Top talent but inflated numbers in Germany

              1. Scapegoat Salah
                • 9 Years
                1 month, 4 days ago

                Yeah I think that could be right to an extent, I also think the attacking play is so strong that seems the way.

                Most teams in the prem cannot breakdown a low block, which makes it appear more competitive, but in reality there just isn’t the attacking quality there was once was

              2. The Mandalorian
                • 13 Years
                1 month, 4 days ago

                Good points

      2. Nightcrawler
        • 6 Years
        1 month, 4 days ago

        Tough to see after an arsenal league title this season. Might be the new blueprint

      3. Moon Dog
          1 month, 4 days ago

          I've read rumours Real Madrid are sniffing around Enzo and Bruno. Internet rumours are never wrong so maybe Jude is on the move...

      4. Sandy Ravage
        • 10 Years
        1 month, 4 days ago

        Brutal

      5. marpy016
        • Fantasy Football Scout Member
        • 14 Years
        1 month, 4 days ago

        Have 1FT and $7.8 ITB, any upgrades (will WC 32) or just roll:

        Dubravka
        VVD - Senesi - Thiaw
        Bruno - Szoboslai - Dango - Wilson
        Pedro - Ekitike - Thiago

        Raya - Gudmundsson - Gabriel - Semenyo

      6. The Mandalorian
        • 13 Years
        1 month, 4 days ago

        The best league is the most entertaining league.

        It has nothing to do with domestic teams dominating in the UCL.

        1. Nightcrawler
          • 6 Years
          1 month, 4 days ago

          Best league is the one with most competent teams in Europe. The coefficient used to determine which teams get the extra UCL spots is a good barometer

          1. Nightcrawler
            • 6 Years
            1 month, 4 days ago

            Pl will get the highest score again. U have all 6 teams making it into the knock outs

            On the other hand U have Villarreal, 4th in la liga 11 points clear of 5th, could only manage 1 point from 8 games in UCL. Shambles

          2. Sir Michael Taker
            • 11 Years
            1 month, 4 days ago

            There were no English teams in the final last year.

            1. Nightcrawler
              • 6 Years
              1 month, 4 days ago

              Quality of the best team in the league doesn't determine he quality of the league. Psg win UCL but are the only decent side from ligue 1. Rest if their league was awful in Europe. That's why they don't get the extra spots

      7. Jordan.
        • Fantasy Football Scout Member
        • 16 Years
        1 month, 4 days ago

        terrific player ,pedri,enjoyed watching him tonight

      8. The Mandalorian
        • 13 Years
        1 month, 4 days ago

        Pep keeps changing tactics.

        He seems to have abandoned the counterattacks that Haaland scored from at the start of the season.

        Seriously looking at selling Haaland and building a strong 15 for the final run.

      9. Scapegoat Salah
        • 9 Years
        1 month, 4 days ago

        Why the hype over Newcastle this week in fpl?
        They lost the return fixture…

        1. Scapegoat Salah
          • 9 Years
          1 month, 4 days ago

          Sunderland

        2. Sir Michael Taker
          • 11 Years
          1 month, 4 days ago

          I dont get it either. I think its more a Sunderland have cheated XG and have a crap attack thing more than anything positive about Newcastle. Its a Derby, anything can happen. They might score. Particularly if Woltemade returns

      10. SomeoneKnows
        • 10 Years
        1 month, 4 days ago

        With 1FT + 5.5itb which should I do?

        A) Chalobah > Virgil
        B) Gudmundsson > Andersen
        C) Rice > Gordon
        D) Take a -4 hit

        Dubravka
        Hill, Chalobah*, Gudmundsson*
        Bruno, Enzo, Wilson, Rice*
        Eketike, Pedro, Thiago

        (Roefs, Gabriel*, Timber*, Semenyo*)

      11. Jafooli
        • 14 Years
        1 month, 4 days ago

        Fair play to Spurs…equal to Athletico for first 10mins