Welcome to Insanely Football’s Dilemmas blog for Gameweek 31 of the FPL 2022/23 season. This blog will break down all the popular Dilemmas FPL managers have this week and offer FPL GW31 tips which help you address the key dilemmas and maximize your FPL points.
The blog is written by Insanely Football. Do subscribe to his YouTube channel Insanely Football for more FPL-related content. You can also follow him on Instagram for daily FPL updates.
Let’s dive right into it. We will start with the first one.
Link to all our FPL GW31 blogs including GW31 Wildcard Drafts, Fixtures to target, Double and blank game-week news, Predicted GW31 Lineups, Captaincy metrics, Differentials, and more. Completely free to access as well!
FPL GW31 Tips – Key Questions/Dilemmas Answered
1) How to gain rank from now till the season end?
There are only 8 weeks left in the Premier League season, and now is when you start thinking about how to make rank gains to end your 2022/23 FPL season on a high. There are a few ways to do this.
To start, if you are far from where you want to be, you must go for aggressive combinations until the end of the season. That means you must take a few chances and go against the crowd. That doesn’t mean you go against Haaland for the whole time, but you can jump on certain players earlier than most managers.
For example, you can get Mohamed Salah this week when his ownership is still low. You can double up on the advantage with Trent Alexander-Arnold in defence. This works well if you are looking for replacements for Chilwell. You can even go triple City with a defender alongside Grealish and Haaland as an alternate strategy. Another combination is going with 3 Brighton MIDs in attack and removing Rashford/Maddison. There are many options among forwards. One can jump on to players like Isak and Jesus despite having no double gameweeks in the near future.
Depending on your final goals for the season, you can target 2-4 differentials. We should look at teams with something left to play for in the season. The idea is to look for alternate picks from these teams and try to gain as much rank as possible.
Another way of rank gain is through captaincy. But be careful, don’t go different just for the sake of it. It’s essential to understand which battles to pick and fight. In GW31, Mohamed Salah and Harry Kane are excellent alternate captaincy options. GW32 is another chance to differentiate and gain rank when Haaland blanks. Pick the weeks where you feel some players can match or outscore Haaland and go for it.
Further Read: Best FPL GW31 Midfielders | Rashford & Maddison Replacements
2) When to use the Wildcard chip? (GW31 vs 33)
Gameweek 31 Wildcard
- The Wildcard chip is beneficial if you want to dead-end your team in GW30 and set up a new team from GW31-38. Using the Wildcard now can help you set up a balanced squad for GW32 and GW34, especially when you don’t have the Free Hit available.
- Generally, if you are not happy with your overall team, in that case, you can make multiple moves simultaneously, transferring out players like Chilwell, Rashford, Maddison etc. and getting in players from Man City, Liverpool and even Arsenal.
- Using the Wildcard this week is risky. This is especially the case with a bench boost in GW34. GW34 is still a few weeks away, and by that time, your bench players may lose form/get injured, leaving you with a not-so-ideal bench that week.
Gameweek 33 Wildcard
- On a Wildcard in GW33, you will still target teams like Brighton, Chelsea, Liverpool, Man City, and Man Utd players. With the Free Hit out of the way and playing it in GW32, you can do proper squad planning till GW38.
- Wildcard in GW33 + Bench Boost in GW34 is a lot closer, and the chances of players becoming unavailable/out of form are significantly lesser.
- Ultimately, GW30 vs 33 Wildcard is team dependent. If your team has more flagged players or is just not the ideal option for the run-in, use the chip right now; otherwise, save it for a later time in GW33.
Further Read: Top FPL GW31 Differential Picks to Consider Ahead of Deadline
3) What players to target with/without Free Hit in GW32?
If you are Free Hitting in GW32, targeting teams like Brighton, Man Utd, and Man City looks like the right play.
Jason Steele from Brighton is still the best budget pick for goalkeepers this week. He has only blanked twice since starting from GW26 onwards, picking up 28 points. Man City’s Ederson is nailed for minutes compared to others in the Man City defence. Ederson ranks 5th for clean sheets (10) and 9th for overall FPL points. David De Gea is also a decent option, he is ranked 5th overall for FPL points but is joint top for clean sheets for the season.
Luke Shaw was taken off because of a hamstring injury against Brentford. By what has come out, Shaw is expected to return soon as early as the game against Forest(GW31). Now that we have a clear update it’s worth holding him for GW31 instead of selling. It’s risky investing in a Man City defender, considering the high rotation risk. Still, Nathan Ake and Manuel Akanji are the most regular defender picks since the FPL restart. John Stones is playing in an out-of-position midfield role and can be a regular feature in the Man City lineups for the upcoming games.
Doubling up on the Brighton MIDs is a safe strategy, as they possess great value. Solly March has been the best player wrt to stats. Kaoru Mitoma looks great on the eye test, and Alexis Mac Allister is on penalties. You can get any two of these 3 picks. Mitoma + March looks like the safer combination to go for. You can even look at March + Mac Allister if you are chasing.
Going for one of the Man City MIDs can be great if you are chasing rank. At the time of writing, Jack Grealish is the most-bought midfielder ahead of the GW31 Deadline. He has been in great form since GW17 scoring 4 goals and getting 7 assists.
Marcus Rashford can be held/sold depending on what other players you have in your FPL team. If you can bench him and play a different option other than Maddison, the viable strategy is to hold and wait for more info till GW33.
If you are not Free Hitting in GW32, the priority teams are Arsenal, Liverpool and Newcastle.
Trent Alexander Arnold is a great differential right now if you are willing to go against the crowd to gain rank. Liverpool’s defence is still leaky, but there is potential for attacking returns. He gives you a game in GW32 and a Double Gameweek in GW34.
Kieran Trippier is an excellent player to own if you are looking to protect rank, and it’s worth investing in at least one Newcastle defender despite no doubles in GW34. Sven Botman provides excellent value at around £4.5m price point. Fabian Schar at £5.1m is much better if money is not an issue.
Coming to midfield, Mohamed Salah is the 4th highest-scoring MID in the game. He has 13 goals and 8 assists for the season. Only Erling Haaland has bettered Salah this season for non-penalty expected goal involvement. He is the most nailed attacker in the Liverpool team and a great alternate captaincy shout for GW34.
Another player to get in midfield is an Arsenal midfielder. Arsenal is still a premium team. In fact, in the last 6 matches, they rank 1st for goals scored, goal attempts, shots in the box and big chances. Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Martinelli are perfect picks on paper. Martinelli enables you to have extra cash and has done better in recent games.
If you look at differentials in attack, Alexander Isak is another great pick from Newcastle. He is the first choice and starting ahead of Callum Wilson, having scored 5 goals in his last 5 games.
Gabriel Jesus is another differential you can consider. The Arsenal forward was out because of injury since GW16 and only made a comeback in GW27. Since then, he has been getting more minutes every game and has been doing well, scoring 19 points in the last two games. Jesus offers an alternative route if you have sold your Arsenal attackers like Saka, Martinelli, and Odegaard.
Further Read: FPL GW31 Scout Picks Based on Stats, Analysis, and Heatmaps
4) Who are the best Rashford replacements?
Marcus Rashford has been a massive part of Man United’s success in attack, getting 20 attacking returns for the 2022/23 season. He is the 2nd highest-scoring MID, only 1 point behind Martinelli from Arsenal.
The issue with Rashford is he is out with a groin injury. Here is the latest on him.
Latest on Rashford’s Injury :
“Assessment of the injury suggests that Marcus will be unavailable for a few games, but is expected to be back for the season run-in.
As mentioned earlier, Rashford can be held/sold depending on what other transfer you have planned and whether or not you are using the Free Hit in GW32.
If you want value, you can double up on the Brighton MIDs. Brighton is an elite attack right now. They have a double in GW34 and 37 and a potential double in GW35/36 to accommodate the Newcastle game. If you have one of Mitoma/March, you can get in the other player as Brighton cover in attack. You can even double up with Mac Allister if you are trying to play aggressively.
Jack Grealish is the obvious replacement if you are playing FH in GW32. At just £7.1m, Grealish provides excellent value and a cheap entry point in the Man City attack. His minutes look secure, especially in the short term, and he is a great 2nd Man City to punt on. Riyad Mahrez may look attractive this week because of his benching in the CL game against midweek. But Grealish is a more secure pick wrt minutes on the pitch over the long run.
Mohamed Salah is a great option if you are not playing the Free Hit and have the money to upgrade. Salah has scored 5 goals and got 2 assists in Liverpool’s last 6 matches, averaging just under 7 points—his 20 shots in the box across a similar time rank top among midfielders.
You can move towards Gabriel Martinelli from Arsenal if no additional money is available. This is especially true if you don’t have any Arsenal MIDs in your team. Martinelli is the highest-scoring MID in the game right now and has been playing well since the return of Gabriel Jesus. He has 5 attacking returns in the last 4 matches (3G+2A)
If you are trying to gain rank and are looking at differentials, Crystal Palace can be an exciting team to target. Michael Olise has 2nd highest xGI, the most big chances created & key passes amongst all Palace attackers in the last two games (since Hodgson took over). He is taking corners and is also on set pieces for the team.
That will be all from my side for this week! All the best for FPL Gameweek 31, and I will see you all next week.
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FPL GW31 Odds Preview: Goals, Clean Sheets & Predicted Points
FPL GW31 Tips & Preview – Breaking Down The Key Dilemmas
FPL GW31 Scout Picks Based on Stats, Analysis, and Heatmaps
Top FPL GW31 Differential Picks to Consider Ahead of Deadline
Best FPL GW31 Midfielders | Rashford & Maddison Replacements
FPL GW31 Wildcard Team & Drafts to Consider | Wildcard Guide
FPL Chip Strategy Guide with Key Notes for All The Chips
FPL GW31 Ultimate Guide: Tips, Differentials, Captaincy & More
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