We have chosen our best Fantasy Premier League (FPL) players for Blank Gameweek 31 ahead of Friday’s deadline.
As ever, we are limited by certain restrictions:
- An £83.0m budget for our starting XI
- An overall squad limit of £100.0m
- No more than three players per team
GAMEWEEK 31 SCOUT PICKS
GOALKEEPER
Three of our Scout Squad pundits selected Aaron Ramsdale (£4.8m) as the best goalkeeper option for Blank Gameweek 31. Sunderland come to St James’ Park with just eight goals in 15 away matches this season, the second-fewest in the division. If they do find the net in the Tyne-Wear derby, the fact Ramsdale has received a save point in each of his last two outings could come in handy.
DEFENDERS
Virgil van Dijk (£6.3m) is our chosen representative from a Liverpool defence that has kept three clean sheets in their last five away matches. The Dutch centre-back also carries plenty of points potential at the other end of the pitch: he’s delivered four attacking returns since the turn of the year. Just one other defender has had more big chances in that period, too. Additionally, van Dijk has banked defensive contribution (DefCon) points in 40% of his away games in 2025/26.
The only defender ranked above van Dijk for big chances in 2026 is Newcastle United’s Malick Thiaw (£5.1m). His threat in the opposition box has already seen him score five times in all competitions this season, while he’s also delivered DefCon points in four of the last five Gameweeks. At home to a blunt Sunderland attack, albeit in a fierce Tyne-Wear derby, there was never any doubt that Thiaw would be in the Scout Picks.
Rounding off the picks at the back is budget defender Joachim Andersen (£4.6m). Clean sheets look difficult to predict in Blank Gameweek 31, but on paper, Fulham just about look like favourites to shut out the opposition. Notably, all six of the Cottagers’ clean sheets this season have come against teams currently in the bottom half of the table. Andersen is a DefCon magnet, too, having produced extra points in 17 of his 27 starts.
MIDFIELDERS
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