What should FPL managers do with Leeds, Arsenal and Man City assets in GW31?

Pro Pundit Seb Wassell took your questions in this week’s Question and Answer session with the Gameweek 31 deadline looming large.

As a large number of Fantasy Premier League managers scramble to prepare their Wildcards in time for Friday’s deadline, Leeds, Arsenal and budget forwards were all up for discussion.

We have collated Seb’s answers below…

Naturally, this is going to depend on the rest of your team. If you cannot afford to hold him on the bench, losing him until the fixture swing in Gameweek 34 is acceptable. I would want him back for the final three at the very least, when Leeds face Burnley (away), Southampton (away), West Brom (home). He is Bielsa’s main man (12 attacking returns from 11.2 xGI over the season) and with Bamford’s gentle decline (from third for xGI for the whole season to 17th in the last six) he is the one for exposure to attacking returns. However, if you can afford to keep him on the bench I think he provides a great sub and saves you a transfer for when you want him back for those aforementioned fixtures.

At the time of writing, Arsenal are lining up for their Thursday night fixture in the Europa League. Aubameyang is on the bench. Given the opposition and the rest of the line-up, I think it is fair to say this gives him a good chance of starting against Sheffield United. The Blades have the worst defence in the last six; 12 goals conceded from a massive 14.5 xGC and Aubameyang himself boasts the second best mins/xGI amongst midfielders over the same period with 136.9 (this is an improvement on his whole season total of 188.4 mins/xGI).

Sheffield United concede chances from everywhere, but recently league high numbers from the left and centre, notably the positions we would expect Aubameyang to occupy. Salah is of course a tempting pick, and may well be worth it next week, but if you’re desperate for Liverpool involvement against Aston Vila, consider Jota or a defender: Trent Alexander-Arnold or, on a budget, Nathaniel Phillips (if Grealish does not return, Villa’s attack is likely to continue being unremarkable at best).

Dunstan Bonnici – Wildcard team in place , do you see any major improvements that can be made?

Strong team.l I like the planning that has clearly gone into the bench (avoiding unnecessary future transfers I presume?). I would want to know what I was doing with Son beyond the Double Gameweek, be that a replacement or otherwise, and then I would ensure I am covered for both the fixture swing in Gameweeks 34 and 35 (Leeds, West Ham, Leicester, Chelsea) and the possible Double/Blank in Gameweeks 35/36. The big miss is a Liverpool defender (perhaps for one of the Chelsea defenders?) but you can’t have it all.

Will Capstick: Thoughts on Aguero or Jesus?

Honestly, I’m not sure you can rely on either. Aguero’s minutes are clearly being heavily managed, and even when playing his numbers are not those of the Kun we know and love (185 mins/xGI, compared to Kane on 124 and even Werner at 177). Jesus is similar, perhaps more likely to see minutes but possibly off the left (he has a mins/xGI of 182). A City midfielder is the play if you want attacking exposure in the medium term for me.

Michael Lynch: Thinking of Aubameyang and Watkins/Bamford to Jota and Vardy/Iheanacho for a four-point hit. Is it worth it to do both or do I keep Aubameyang for Sheffield United?

Personally, I think you save the minus-four and retain Aubameyang for this week at least. Leicester attack could perhaps wait until next week (West Ham is hard to call, two well-matched sides), you would also get more information on how Maddison is going to affect the two strikers. Have you considered Alexander-Arnold or Phillips, especially given the uncertainty over City starts?

Everythin EPL&FPL: Watkins to Iheanacho or Gundogan/Raphinha to Jota? For a hit. Already set on Antonio to Vydra

Both are attractive. I would want to keep Gundogan for this week if I could. I think he can hurt Leeds if he starts. This will depend on the rest of your team and chip situation, but if you need to start them this week, it’s Jota for me.

Declan: Should I wildcard this week do you think or save it ? If so save for which Gameweek?

So, no Liverpool is the big omission. But you could solve that with a transfer. I think the team is strong for this week. How about holding off on the Wildcard for one more week or even until after Spurs’ Double Gameweek 32? You may miss out on a few points, but if the team is strong enough, until then, you’ll have the advantage of more information. Perhaps Raphinha to Jota, Dallas to Phillips/TAA or even KDB (it breaks my heart) > Salah for now?

Alex: What would you do here?

A.Gundo-> Jota
B. Auba-> Salah
C. Both of them for a -4 hit

For me, keep Gundogan. We cannot guarantee his start, but he was rested in the last Premier League match and so is more likely to start this one than some others. If he does play, I think he can hurt Leeds. We’ve seen runners from deep (McTominay, Son, etc.) do well against Leeds’ man-marking system so far this season and we know Gundogan loves a late arrival into the box for a tap-in. If he doesn’t start, he likely stays on the bench. Aubameyang is also an attractive option (and captain) this week. I would be tempted by Fernandes to Salah personally, or Raphinha to Jota if that suits your available funds better.

Abbad99:

1- Does Saka score four plus points more than Coufal?
2- Do you start Raph and Bamford and hope for the best or do you start double Spurs defence and hope for a Jose masterclass?

1 – Arsenal are sixth for xG in the last six (8.48) and while Saka’s numbers have dropped off recently his threat is still present against the poorest defence in the league (14.5 xGC in last 6). I think this trumps Coufal in a match involving two well-matched, and thus harder to predict, sides in Leicester and West Ham.
2 – I think the lesser evil is Raphinha and a Spurs defender. Man City’s defence is excellent and Bamford’s numbers have dropped off recently. If Leeds score, Raphinha is likely to be involved. Manchester United are third for xG over the season but have dropped to mid-table in the last six. Spurs’ defence is middling over both time periods.

Jordan: Any thoughts on this Wildcard? I am 3.5k overall.. Sterling one week punt then to Son for Double Gameweek?

Firstly, awesome rank and solid team. I do think you will get more point out of a Liverpool defender (Alexander-Arnold if you can afford him, Phillips otherwise) and a goalkeeper such as Leno than Alisson plus one.

I see the attraction of Sterling, but booking in a transfer is always a risky move on the Wildcard. I would be tempted to hold Son (funds for Alexander-Arnold) and perhaps upgrade Davis for some more reliable cover.

Deane Lawson: Do you think Bruno is an essential? I’m thinking of transferring him out and going with Salah until the end of the season.

I do not. Joe made some strong arguments for him this week on the Scoutcast. He is highly owned and a steady returner of points but fundamentally I think he you need to captain him to take full advantage, something I might only do in Gameweek 37 against Fulham. I think right now, Salah has the greater prospects of the two.

John Chappell: Have you ever been in the position to win FPL overall? Any advise to give people that are doing quite well.

I finished 389th last season. I was around 800th going into the final Gameweek and used my Free Hit pretty aggressively (and with the advantage of team news). I was probably a little too far back to actually win it but my strategy has always been ignore ownership until the last few weeks, simply picking the players I think have the best chance of points, and then move decisively once I know if I need to defend a mini-league position or attack the leader.  That time is probably now, especially with a Wildcard.

Aashay Mehta: Still have my Wildcard, not sure if I should do it this week. Salah and Iheanacho only notable absentees at the moment. Would need three moves to get them both (while keeping Bruno and Son).

Your team looks strong enough for this week, the real question is how will it look in a few weeks? If you can put out a strong team with transfers only until Gameweek 34/35, it may be worth saving. If not, use it to take advantage of the fixture swings and potential double to come. Try the transfer planner tool here to help work it all out.

FPL Mourinho: I’m thinking of changing Lingard (because no Antonio) and Dias (rotation risk) to Maddison and Castagne on my Wildcard. Thoughts?

I think keep Lingard for now. The potential loss of Antonio hurts West Ham, but they’ve been successful without him before (see Soucek) and Jesse has that combination of fixtures and form. Dias could be the one City defender to not be rotated, so that may depend on if your bench can handle a rest. You’ve identified Leicester, their fixtures get even better in a few weeks. If Lingard/Dias don’t work out, you’ve still got that option.

Joe Gifford: Best £7.0m midfielder to go for?

Of course, this will depend on the rest of your team, but all else being equal it’s got to be Lingard hasn’t it? Despite my reservations over his recent ‘overperformances’, he still has an xGI of 3.14 in the last six (that’s almost identical to Bruno Fernandes). Even with some regression he’s a strong pick for West Ham’s good end of season fixtures.

Marcus Chia:

Moves I will be looking to do in the next few GWs are:

Martinez to Mendy
McCarthy to Forster
Dallas to Saiss
Raphinha to Jota
Watkins to Iheanaco

Which moves should I make first for Gameweek 31? I have one free transfer.

I actually think this non-Wildcard team looks better than most this week. I would want to be careful about planning too many transfers, as we know how things can change! With those points in mind, you probably only need one change for a strong XI. I would prioritise players that you’re less likely to want back, so Watkins to Iheanacho or the goalkeeper change.

Thank you to Seb for answering the questions in this week’s Twitter Q&A.