The best Fantasy Premier League (FPL) goalkeepers, defenders, midfielders and forwards for Gameweek 31 are debated by our regular panel.

ABOUT THE SCOUT SQUAD

Fantasy Football Scout contributors Az, Sam, Neale and Tom each propose an 18-man squad of Fantasy players with the focus solely on the upcoming Gameweek.

Their selections serve as a long list for the Scout Picks, as the players nominated will then be narrowed down to a squad of 15 (with the starting XI not exceeding a total cost of £83.5m) for our final weekly selection ahead of Saturday’s deadline.

Each writer must meet the following requirements:

• At least one goalkeeper costing £5.0m or less
• At least one sub-£5.0m defender
• At least one midfielder listed at £6.5m or below
• At least one forward priced at £7.0m or lower
• No more than three players from the same club

*If you didn’t see it previously, we’ve started doing a ‘bus team’ Scout Picks earlier in the week in order to share our initial selection thoughts with Fantasy managers who perhaps couldn’t be around closer to the deadline – but we’ll still be publishing our final squad as we were before.

SCOUT SQUAD’S PICK OF THE BEST FPL PLAYERS FOR GAMEWEEK 31

Most popular picks: Nick Pope, Robert Sanchez, Andrew Robertson, Joao Cancelo, Mohamed Salah, Harry Kane, Wout Weghorst (four), Jordan Pickford, Kevin De Bruyne, Son Heung-min, Anthony Gordon, Roberto Firmino, Dominic Calvert-Lewin (three)

AZ SAID…

FPL is *back* and it seems like a bumper Gameweek. Despite the poor-looking double for basement dwellers Everton and Burnley, the top six all have fantastic-on-paper fixtures, with points potential at both ends of the pitch.

Players from Liverpool, Manchester City and Chelsea of course dominate, with games against Watford, Burnley and Brentford respectively. Over the last four Gameweeks, City have the highest minutes per non-penalty expected goal (36.2) average, with Liverpool not far behind in second (37.2). Chelsea fall some way behind in seventh (55.4) but play a Brentford side who have been conceding two big chances every match over this time period; only Brighton and Norwich are worse in this respect.

With Trent Alexander-Arnold a major doubt for the game, Andrew Robertson is surely an absolute lock-in for the Scout Picks this week, with Joao Cancelo running him close in my selection given the lack of threat that Burnley provide (only Everton have a worse minutes per non-penalty xG over the last four weeks).

In midfield, my selections reflect these attractive games for the league’s best sides.

Mohamed Salah is the obvious captain pick this week, while I’ve gone for Riyad Mahrez as my City player of choice: he has a fantastic record against Burnley, with eight goals and two assists in 14 games. Kai Havertz is someone who I am majorly coveting for my own side. His rate of FPL points over the last six Gameweeks (10.3 minutes per point) is only bettered by Salah (10.2) and his clinical finishing is proving to be invaluable to a Chelsea side who are struggling to create as many chances as you would expect from a side of their quality.

Up front, something has to give with a poor West Ham defence playing an awful Everton attack. While Harry Kane is an obvious choice, selecting potentially explosive strikers is a difficult task. If anyone is going to deliver for Everton, it surely has to be Dominic Calvert-Lewin, who got a smart assist in Everton’s 1-0 win over Newcastle back in Gameweek 29. His rate of expected goal involvement (xGI, one every 365.7 minutes) is the best of the Everton assets, and I would back him over the talented Anthony Gordon if price is of no concern.

SAM SAID…

After a few past precedents, this could be another Gameweek where managers have to be careful not to go in too heavy on the Double Gameweek players. There is definitely an opportunity to own a couple of assets from Burnley and Everton but there are a lot of fantastic fixtures for our key single Gameweek players, so they should remain our focus.

With Trent Alexander-Arnold’s fitness up for debate, especially with important fixtures in Europe, the league and the FA Cup to follow the game against Watford, I’ve gone for Andrew Robertson. One of Robertson’s biggest FPL returns came against Watford back in 2018 where he registered 13 points, and the Scot has returned in five of his seven Premier League meetings with the Hornets, averaging 6.29 points per match.

Alongside Robertson, Joao Cancelo looks a great pick for this week: he has kept a clean sheet in every Premier League meeting he has played against Burnley.

If Thomas Tuchel confirms that Reece James is available for Gameweek 31 then he gets the nod for me. Only Matt Doherty has a better rate of xG per 90 minutes than James, while the Chelsea man is third for both expected assists (xA) and xGI.

With the exception of Anthony Gordon, none of the midfielders I have chosen has a Double Gameweek – but they all have an attractive fixture.

Son Heung-min has three goals in his last six v Newcastle and Kevin De Bruyne has back-to-back double-digit hauls in his last two meetings with Burnley in the league. Meanwhile, Mohamed Salah‘s biggest ever FPL return came against Watford back in 2017, where he racked up a whopping 29 points.

Chelsea’s Mason Mount also makes it as he has an excellent record at home against newly-promoted teams, returning in all four of his previous meetings in clashes with clubs fresh up from the Championship. He is also Chelsea’s highest-scoring player and only four midfielders in the game have created more big chances than him this season.

Up front, in-form Harry Kane looks the best pick. He has returned in all of his last four Premier League meetings with Newcastle, including three double-digit hauls. Wout Weghorst looks a promising pick: I don’t expect anything from him against Manchester City but the second fixture against Everton could be promising, as the Toffees have only kept two clean sheets since Gameweek 11.

TOM SAID…

Considering that forwards are so unpopular in the FPL community at present, there were plenty that caught my eye for this week’s Scout Squad. Che Adams is up against a Leeds United defence that have conceded seven goals in four matches under Jesse Marsch, while Neal Maupay takes on the division’s second-leakiest backline at the Amex. However, neither made my picks, as I opted for Harry Kane, Cristiano Ronaldo, a fully rested Roberto Firmino, plus ‘doublers’ Wout Weghorst and Dominic Calvert-Lewin. The latter duo hardly inspire confidence, yet two matches should mean four appearance points at the very least. Weghorst has just one goal and two assists in his first nine Burnley appearances but faces an Everton side that has shipped 14 goals in four away matches under Frank Lampard, while I’m hopeful Calvert-Lewin will have used the international break to get up to speed.

Watford’s trip to Liverpool will surely see Andrew Robertson and Mohamed Salah make the Scout Picks, yet Firmino is an intriguing forward differential, given that he was left out of the Brazil squad. It’s been a frustrating campaign for the 30-year-old, who has missed games through various injuries and Covid. However, despite that, he has scored five goals and assisted three more in his 16 Premier League appearances, eight of which were as a substitute.

I’ve gone with Antonio Rudiger over Reece James, meanwhile. Chelsea defensive representation seems like a must given the opposition, and despite the wing-back’s obvious upside, I’m slightly concerned Thomas Tuchel may look to ease him back in gently. The German’s prior comments around his last return, when he said that he had only planned to give James 20 minutes before the match, are also worth noting. Elsewhere, I’ve opted for Mason Mount in midfield, although rotation could also be an issue further forward with a home tie against Real Madrid to follow.

Finally, Raphinha has banked just two attacking returns in his last six matches, yet his -1.57 xGI delta suggests he has been unfortunate not to produce more. Now, he takes on a Southampton side that has lost their last four matches in all competitions, while only Norwich City and Brighton and Hove Albion have allowed more big chances in that timeframe in the league.

NEALE SAID…

The Gameweek that looked too good to be true? I’m not even talking about the underwhelming ‘double’ for Everton and Burnley here but more the fact that four teams with very appealing-looking fixtures, Liverpool, Chelsea, Manchester City and West Ham United, have big European nights to come in the days that follow Gameweek 31.

I’ve got doubts over Mohamed Salah’s game-time, for example, after his 210 minutes of World Cup qualifying action in a morale-sapping international window for the Egyptian. Assets like Trevoh Chalobah, Hakim Ziyech, Kevin De Bruyne and Roberto Firmino consequently make my picks off the back of a fortnight’s breather (Firmino was the only one of Liverpool’s fab front five who didn’t represent his country in the March break, while the uncapped Chalobah has started immediately after every international window this season) but they are in on their own merit too.

Firmino banked his highest-ever FPL score against the same opposition earlier in 2021/22, while Chalobah’s average of 7.0 points per match in home games this season is one of the best among defenders. Ziyech, meanwhile, could profit from a Brentford backline that has allowed more crosses from out wide not just in the last six matches but in the entire campaign – if selected, of course.

Assets from Burnley and Everton are thin on the ground in my long-list, with the Clarets’ weekend clash with Manchester City and the Toffees’ league-worst away record key reasons for shying away. Still, Nick Pope could easily couple save points with a potential midweek clean sheet, while Wout Weghorst and his dismal underlying stats will be hoping that Everton’s aversion to shut-outs on the road (none since Gameweek 3) can boost his meagre points tally. With the way things are going for forwards this season, four appearance points from the Dutchman may not be bettered by many FPL strikers this Gameweek anyway!

As usual, there is a surplus of midfielders that I covet and a dearth of forwards that I’d genuinely want. Weghorst and Michail Antonio are examples of this, mostly making the cut due to opposition weaknesses, while players like Said Benrahma – top among West Ham assets for big chances over the last six matches and starting to rediscover some of that early-season form – fail to make it.

With Southampton on a four-match losing streak in league and cup and Leeds United without a clean sheet since Gameweek 14, there should be chances aplenty for two players who are boasting some strong underlying numbers of late: Che Adams and Raphinha are both among the top 15 FPL assets for expected goal involvement (xGI) in their last six matches.

It’s hard to know what to expect from the battle between the two sides on six-game losing runs, meanwhile – a goalfest or another goalless draw, as was the case in the reverse fixture? Brighton and Norwich have stunk the place out of late but something’s got to give at the Amex and I’m punting on a Lewis Dunk haul, as the Canaries are not only the division’s lowest scorers but have also allowed more headed chances and set-piece opportunities over their last six matches than any other club. Dunk, as we have seen in previous campaigns, has a goal in him from dead-ball situations.

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