<p><em>FPL GW31 Wildcard special! In this edition of his regular article series, <a href="https://twitter.com/Hibbo_FPL">@Hibbo_FPL </a> focuses on options for Gameweek 31 and beyond given the fixture swing and expected large-scale deployment of wildcards. </em><em>This article will provide FPL tips to help managers to break the template and get ahead of the curve to make a late charge towards the top 10k.</em></p>
<h3></h3>
<h3>Goalkeepers:</h3>
<p>Whilst <strong>Edouard Mendy (£5.2m)</strong> shipped five goals in a crushing defeat by West Bromwich Albion Chelsea have been the form defence. The Frenchman sits in 10% of elite teams and I expect to Chelsea tighten up with some plum fixtures in the next four (cry, BHA, whu, FUL).</p>
<p><strong>Fraser Forster (£4.0m)</strong> is the cheapest starting goalkeeper in FPL and provides those on a wildcard with the opportunity to maximise their budget outfield. Furthermore, according to @BenCrellin Southampton could have a Double Gameweek 35, which would cover Man City away for Chelsea.</p>
<h3></h3>
<h3>Defenders:</h3>
<p>The stale defensive template represents an opportunity ripe for differentiation and I&#8217;m bullish on <strong>Marcos Alonso (£5.7m)</strong> who is owned by just 9% of elite teams. The Spaniard can count himself unlucky not to record two attacking returns and his numbers since Gameweek 21 beggar belief.</p>
<p>Despite reduced minutes over the period amongst defenders, Alonso ranks top for shots (16), shots in the box (12), and shots on target (8) as per the <a href="https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/opta/">Hub&#8217;s OPTA Stats tool</a>. The start for <strong>Ben Chilwell (£5.8m)</strong> starting in the Champions League against FC Porto bodes well for successive league starts for Alonso.</p>
<div id="attachment_33779" style="width: 1549px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-33779" class="wp-image-33779 size-full" src="https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/Alonso-GW31.png" alt="fpl wildcard tips" width="1539" height="270" srcset="https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/Alonso-GW31.png 1539w, https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/Alonso-GW31-300x53.png 300w, https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/Alonso-GW31-1024x180.png 1024w, https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/Alonso-GW31-768x135.png 768w, https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/Alonso-GW31-1536x269.png 1536w, https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/Alonso-GW31-610x107.png 610w, https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/Alonso-GW31-1080x189.png 1080w" sizes="(max-width: 1539px) 100vw, 1539px" /><p id="caption-attachment-33779" class="wp-caption-text">Shots for defenders since Gameweek 21</p></div>
<p>I&#8217;ll triple on Chelsea defence and select value option <strong>Antonio Rudiger (£4.7m). </strong>Rudiger was rotated against WBA but owners lost nothing by missing the five-goal drubbing. Furthermore, a training ground spat with Kepa has been downplayed by Tuchel. Ideally, have a good sub in case the German misses out.</p>
<div id="attachment_33031" style="width: 1034px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-33031" class="wp-image-33031 size-full" src="https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/GettyImages-1229473728.jpg" alt="fpl wildcard defender tips" width="1024" height="683" srcset="https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/GettyImages-1229473728.jpg 1024w, https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/GettyImages-1229473728-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/GettyImages-1229473728-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/GettyImages-1229473728-610x407.jpg 610w" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /><p id="caption-attachment-33031" class="wp-caption-text">Rudiger has played a key part for Chelsea since his new manager&#8217;s arrival</p></div>
<p><strong>Trent Alexander-Arnold (£7.3m)</strong> is the stand-out pick given Liverpool&#8217;s wonderful fixture run and shoots of form for the West-Derby man. Since Gameweek 25 Trent ranks top amongst defenders for key passes (16), big chances created (4), and successful crosses (13) as per the <a href="https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/opta/">Hub&#8217;s OPTA Stats tool</a>.</p>
<div id="attachment_33780" style="width: 1541px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-33780" class="wp-image-33780 size-full" src="https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/Trent-GW31.png" alt="wildcard fpl tips defenders" width="1531" height="266" srcset="https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/Trent-GW31.png 1531w, https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/Trent-GW31-300x52.png 300w, https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/Trent-GW31-1024x178.png 1024w, https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/Trent-GW31-768x133.png 768w, https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/Trent-GW31-610x106.png 610w, https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/Trent-GW31-1080x188.png 1080w" sizes="(max-width: 1531px) 100vw, 1531px" /><p id="caption-attachment-33780" class="wp-caption-text">Defenders Key Passes since Gameweek 25</p></div>
<p>Recently snubbed by England manager Gareth Southgate, Alexander-Arnold was like a man possessed against Arsenal recording his first attacking return since Gameweek 20. I&#8217;m backing the ultra-differential premium defender with the premium fixtures to finish the season with a bang.</p>
<h3></h3>
<h3>Midfielders:</h3>
<p><strong>Diogo Jota (£6.9m)</strong> has scored six goals in five games for club and country since returning from injury. The former Wolves attacker is the community bandwagon this week looking likely to triple price rise. It is noteworthy that per appearance Jota ranks fourth amongst all players for goals this season.</p>
<div id="attachment_33647" style="width: 1034px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-33647" class="wp-image-33647 size-full" src="https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/FPL-Jota.jpg" alt="fpl gw31 wildcard tips" width="1024" height="683" srcset="https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/FPL-Jota.jpg 1024w, https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/FPL-Jota-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/FPL-Jota-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/FPL-Jota-610x407.jpg 610w" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /><p id="caption-attachment-33647" class="wp-caption-text">Jota&#8217;s goals per appearance record has been superb for Liverpool this season</p></div>
<p>A question in the FPL community this week brought a smile to my face: does <strong>Mo Salah (£12.4m)</strong> cover Jota? I think as much as that&#8217;s complimentary towards Jota it&#8217;s a fair assessment of Mo Salah’s under-performance.</p>
<p>It&#8217;s safe to say he hasn&#8217;t set the heather ablaze lately but Salah is a premium player with hugely favourable fixtures and I back him for another golden boot. Furthermore, the presence of Jota sparked the Egyptian into life with Salah producing some impressive numbers against Arsenal.</p>
<div id="attachment_33781" style="width: 1547px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-33781" class="wp-image-33781 size-full" src="https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/Salah-GW31.png" alt="fpl wildcard tips ge31" width="1537" height="167" srcset="https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/Salah-GW31.png 1537w, https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/Salah-GW31-300x33.png 300w, https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/Salah-GW31-1024x111.png 1024w, https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/Salah-GW31-768x83.png 768w, https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/Salah-GW31-610x66.png 610w, https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/Salah-GW31-1080x117.png 1080w" sizes="(max-width: 1537px) 100vw, 1537px" /><p id="caption-attachment-33781" class="wp-caption-text">Salah seems to found his sharpness back recently</p></div>
<p><strong>Bruno Fernandes (£11.6m)</strong> has endured a dip in form but still tops the scoring charts in FPL this season. The Portuguese international has eight games to put up a score that rivals the FPL greats. United play Leeds, Villa, and Leicester in the run in – three teams that Bruno posted double-digits against in the reverse tie.</p>
<div id="attachment_32614" style="width: 1034px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-32614" class="wp-image-32614 size-full" src="https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/Premier-League-Fantasy-Football-Gameweek-25.jpg" alt="gameweek 31 fpl tips" width="1024" height="576" srcset="https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/Premier-League-Fantasy-Football-Gameweek-25.jpg 1024w, https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/Premier-League-Fantasy-Football-Gameweek-25-300x169.jpg 300w, https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/Premier-League-Fantasy-Football-Gameweek-25-768x432.jpg 768w, https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/Premier-League-Fantasy-Football-Gameweek-25-610x343.jpg 610w" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /><p id="caption-attachment-32614" class="wp-caption-text">Bruno is the top scoring FPL player this season to date</p></div>
<p><strong>Jesse Lingard (£6.3m)</strong> has pulled up trees since sealing a loan move to West Ham notching five double-digit hauls. Lingard’s over-performance has been subject to huge debate this week. Whilst he isn’t a volume shooter he has been incredibly accurate.</p>
<p>Since moving to West Ham, Lingard ranks joint second amongst all players for shots on target (14). Motivated by a Euro 2020 England squad place I back the former Man United midfielder to continue his purple patch and make hay in the favourable West Ham fixtures to come.</p>
<div id="attachment_33782" style="width: 1542px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-33782" class="wp-image-33782 size-full" src="https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/Lingard-GW31.png" alt="fpl gw31 wildcard midfielders" width="1532" height="417" srcset="https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/Lingard-GW31.png 1532w, https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/Lingard-GW31-300x82.png 300w, https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/Lingard-GW31-1024x279.png 1024w, https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/Lingard-GW31-768x209.png 768w, https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/Lingard-GW31-610x166.png 610w, https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/Lingard-GW31-1080x294.png 1080w" sizes="(max-width: 1532px) 100vw, 1532px" /><p id="caption-attachment-33782" class="wp-caption-text">Shots on target for all players since Lingard joined West Ham</p></div>
<p>Whilst Spurs can hardly be described as on-form and firing it would be extremely difficult on a wildcard for me to swerve <strong>Heung Min-Son (£9.4m).</strong> A Double Gameweek 32 against Everton &amp; Southampton appeals and beyond the Blank Gameweek 33 lie some juicy fixtures till the season end.</p>
<p>Furthermore, the South Korean is becoming more differential by the minute and is experiencing negative net transfers ahead of Gameweek 31 with many in the FPL community debating his merit for wildcard inclusion.</p>
<h3></h3>
<h3>Forwards:</h3>
<p><strong>Harry Kane (£11.7m)</strong> is on course this term to better his record FPL point-scoring season tally of 224 points. The underlying numbers confirm the Englishman’s status as a wildcard lock with Kane ranking top amongst all players since Gameweek 26 for shots (27), shots on target (12), shots in the box (15), big chances received (8), xG (4.75), and goals scored (6).</p>
<div id="attachment_33783" style="width: 1544px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-33783" class="wp-image-33783 size-full" src="https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/Kane-GW31.png" alt="FPL Tips Gameweek 31" width="1534" height="267" srcset="https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/Kane-GW31.png 1534w, https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/Kane-GW31-300x52.png 300w, https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/Kane-GW31-1024x178.png 1024w, https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/Kane-GW31-768x134.png 768w, https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/Kane-GW31-610x106.png 610w, https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/Kane-GW31-1080x188.png 1080w" sizes="(max-width: 1534px) 100vw, 1534px" /><p id="caption-attachment-33783" class="wp-caption-text">Shots since Gameweek 26</p></div>
<p><strong>Kelechi Iheanacho (£5.8m)</strong> has hit a purple recent patch of form just as Leicester’s fixture turn very favourable (whu, WBA, CRY, sou, NEW). Since Gameweek 22 the Nigerian international ranks second amongst all players for goals (6) and third amongst forwards for key passes (10). Furthermore, Harvey Barnes is expected to be out of action for another 3-4 weeks which lessens the rotation threat somewhat.</p>
<h3></h3>
<h3>Bench:</h3>
<p>In defence, I will opt for <strong>Rob Holding (£4.2m)</strong> who represents value as bench fodder given Arsenal’s fixture run. While doubts remain over Wolves’ ability to keep clean sheets <strong>Conor Coady (£4.8m)</strong> is a guaranteed starter with favourable fixtures. In attack, <strong>Matej Vydra (£4.8m)</strong> has notched three attacking returns and regular minutes in the last six gameweeks.</p>
<p>For those struggling budget-wise to replicate this team <strong>Nathaniel Phillips (£4.0m)</strong> is a bargain route into Liverpool’s backline. Three clean sheets since Gameweek 26 shows that the Kabak-Phillips partnership is tightening Liverpool’s defence.</p>
<div id="attachment_33784" style="width: 895px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-33784" class="wp-image-33784 size-full" src="https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/Hypothetical-WC.png" alt="best fpl wildcard team" width="885" height="775" srcset="https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/Hypothetical-WC.png 885w, https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/Hypothetical-WC-300x263.png 300w, https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/Hypothetical-WC-768x673.png 768w, https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/Hypothetical-WC-610x534.png 610w" sizes="(max-width: 885px) 100vw, 885px" /><p id="caption-attachment-33784" class="wp-caption-text">&#8216;Breaking the Template&#8217; Wildcard Team</p></div>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<h3>Conclusion:</h3>
<p>Whilst my article series might be entitled “Breaking the Template” this wildcard team might appear firmly template with a few differentials. However, sometimes the majority of the best picks are obvious and selecting obscure options just to be different would be a fallacy.</p>
<p>For the 40% of elite FPL managers that still hold their second wildcard the differentiation is being able to commit early and in full to this fixture swing. Moreover, breaking free from highly owned options from Leeds and Aston Villa for fixtures reasons is a calculated risk worth taking.</p>
<p>Opting not to carry players from champions-elect Man City isn’t an easy decision and but has merit given possible large-scale rotation. However, those looking to smash the template might one game punt on <strong>Raheem Sterling (£11.3m)</strong> captain against Leeds.</p>
<p>For those that have read, thank you. Keep an eye for more articles in the near future and good luck for the coming Gameweeks. Drop me a follow on Twitter <a href="https://twitter.com/Hibbo_FPL">@Hibbo_FPL</a>.</p>
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FPL Tips – Breaking the Template – Gameweek 31

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