FPL GW31 Wildcard Team- Tips, Players to Target and Best Drafts

GW31 presents a good Wildcard window with fixture swing for lots of teams and the Upcoming Double and Blank Gameweek season also starting up in FPL. In this blog, we take a look at the Pros & Cons of the FPL GW31 Wildcard, the Ideal FPL GW31 Wildcard Team, Drafts, and the Players to Target in your Gameweek 31 Wildcard team. We also look at a potential GW33 Bench Boost plan for those planning to use it.

Link to all our FPL GW31 blogs including scout picks, players to target, buy, hold, sell analysis, differentials, captaincy metrics, best forwards, and more. Completely free to access as well!

FPL GW31 Wildcard Guide

Understanding of Upcoming Double and Blank Gameweeks:

• DGW32: Confirmed double with Crystal Palace & Newcastle doubling in GW32
• DGW33: Confirmed Double Gameweek with Four teams Doubling(Man City, Aston Villa, Arsenal, & Palace)
• BGW34: Confirmed Blank Gameweek with four teams confirmed to blank((Man City, Aston Villa, Arsenal & Palace)
• DGW36: Potential double with teams involved in FA Cup finals likely to have their GW37 game preponed into GW36
• BGW37: Potential blank with teams involved in FA Cup finals likely to have their GW37 game moved into GW36

If you are looking for a detailed article explaining the upcoming Double and Blank Gameweeks, do check this out.

Upcoming FPL Double/Blank Gameweeks | 24/25 FPL Season

Pros & Cons of Wildcarding in FPL GW31:

Pros of GW31 Wildcard:

• You can attack Triple Newcastle- Isak, Gordon/Murphy, Burn/Livramento, Pope(3 among them) for the Leicester fixture in GW31 and Newcastle also Double in GW32.

• You could also Double/Triple up on City- Marmoush, Gvardiol, Savinho/2nd defender for the good fixtures from GW31-GW33 including the confirmed Double in GW33.

• Crystal Palace are the only team to Double in both GW32 and GW33.

• Palace, City, Villa and Arsenal are likely to confirmed to Double in GW33. If you don’t have many assets from these teams you can Wildcard in GW30 and load up on them heavily to target DGW33 Bench Boost with 12 DGW players+ Salah(vs LEI).
• If you still have Free Hit chip left, Wildcard 31 with Bench Boost GW33 and Free Hit GW34 is a solid Chip Strategy. FH34 will help you navigate the Blank Gameweek 34.
• You can clear up up your team if your team has lot of injured players.

Key FPL Players who are injured and ruled out:

• Haaland- Will be back only towards the end of the season
• Gabriel- Ruled out of the season
• Aina- Ruled out for GW31, Doubtful for GW32 as well.
• Trent Alexander Arnold

Cons of GW31 Wildcard:

• Blocks out using the Assistant Manager Chip in GW31-GW33 if you still have it. GW31-GW33 might be the best time to use it as it gives you 5 matches with this powerful chip due to back-to-back Double Gameweeks. You can’t use another chip if you Assistant Manager chip is in play.
• If you don’t have Free Hit, you can’t attack DGW33 to target 11-12 DGW players. This is because the Teams that Double in GW33 do blank in GW34.
• No chips to navigate the Potential DGW36 and BGW37(if it happens). You must plan that effectively with Free Transfers.
• Less Clarity on Saka’s minutes(due to return from injury) and UCL Real Madrid fixture around that time.
• Not enough clarity on Timber, Kluivert and Gordon injuries- Could be good picks if confirmed fit on Wildcard.

Other Windows to Wildcard:

• GW34– Make a team for BGW34 also with an eye on the potential DGW36 and BGW37
• GW35– Target GW36 Bench boost with 12 DGW players and 3 Single Gameweek players.

As mentioned above, there are advantages of going either ways- Using Wildcard now or saving it up for later. It totally depends on your team composition and you Chip Strategy to navigate the Doubles and Blanks till the end of the season.

Further Read: Impact of FA Cup on FPL Blank Gameweek 34 | FPL BGW34

Potential Chip Strategy for GW31 Wildcard:

Wildcard	GW31
Bench Boost	GW33
Free Hit	GW34
Triple Captain	DGW32/DGW36*

Players to Target on FPL GW31 Wildcard:

Goal Keepers: Raya, Martinez, Henderson, Areola, Pope

Defenders: Saliba, Timber(if fit), Gvardiol, Munoz, Burn, Livramento, Kerkez, Konsa, Aina/Milenkovic/Williams, Wan Bisakka

Midfielders: Salah, Palmer, Saka, Gordon(if fit), Kluivert(if fit), Eze, Sarr, Murphy, Merino, Rogers, Asensio, Rashford, Elanga, Minteh

Forwards: Marmoush, Isak, Mateta, Evanilson, Joao Pedro

Further Read: 2024/25 FPL Chip Strategy Guide – Best Windows and Analysis

FPL GW31 Wildcard Drafts

All the Drafts/Team Screenshots are from FPL Team. Do check out their website for Planning the Upcoming Double and Blank Gameweeks.

FPL GW31 Wildcard Draft 1:

• 6 Double Gameweek players for GW32– Mateta, Sarr/Eze, Munoz, Isak, Murphy, Burn
• Triple Palace- Mateta, Sarr, Munoz as they are the only team to DOUBLE in both GW32 and GW33. Even though the fixtures in the DGW32 and DGW33 are slightly difficult for Palace, They are in decent form barring the 1-1 draw vs Southampton in GW30.

• Mateta(£7.5m): 8 goals & an assist in the last 9 games
• Munoz(£5.1m): Goal, 3 assists, 5 clean sheets in the last 9 games, Only 1 blank
• Sarr(£5.6m): 3 goals in the last three games, 3.9 xGI
• Eze(£6.7m): Goal & assist in the FA Cup QFs vs Fulham just before GW30

• Tripe Newcastle of Isak, Murphy and Burn– Newcastle have a confirmed home Double GW32 vs MUN(H), CRY(H). They also have the tempting LEI(A) fixture as the entry point in GW31 which makes them a great option on Wildcard.
• City Double up of Marmoush and Gvardiol with the confirmed DGW33(vs EVE, AVL) in mind. Marmoush should lead the line as Haaland is ruled out which makes him a no-brainer. He also got a Goal, 9 points in GW30 vs Leicester but could have had more. Gvardiol is one of the most nailed(Can play both CB and LB) and most attacking City Defender, so he does not require much justification.
• Double Arsenal Defense of Raya and Saliba– Arsenal have the conceded the 2nd least xGC, Least Big Chances and Least Goals in the league this season. So a Doubling up on the league’s best defense with a confirmed DGW33(vs IPS, BOU) is an excellent option. Even with Gabriel’s injury(Out for the season), Arsenal’s defense is still a strong force to reckon with and Defense Double up becomes more differential.
• Back-up keeper of Areola to target the SOU(H) in GW33 Bench boost. He is also really cheap at just £4.2m and West Ham defense have really improved since Potter took over.

Projection and Plan for GW33 Bench Boost:

Planned Transfers made in GW33(2 Free Transfers used from GW32-GW33):

• Burn OUT, Khusanov/City DEF IN
• Murphy OUT, Asensio/Rashford IN

• Asensio is a great option even if there is a risk around his minutes. Asensio has 3 goals, 1 assist from 5 appearances in the league since his debut. He has started only two of these games which makes this even more better. He is pushing for a starting place and should get more minutes going forward.

Top Players for Goal Involvement/90 since Asensio’s Debut: (Minimum 200 minutes)

• Asensio- 1.56
• Rashford- 1.35
• Salah- 1.34
• Marmoush- 1.27
• Bruno Fernandes- 1.17
• Luis Diaz- 1.07

• After doing these transfers, you will have 12 DGW players for GW33(Maximum)+ Salah(vs LEI) + Isak(vs AVL) + Areola(vs SOU) on Bench Boost. All the Single Gameweek players are also in-form excellent FPL assets and can haul making it a really strong Bench Boost.
• There might be second thoughts with Double City DEF considering their form this season but there are good chances that City Double in GW36(vs SOU, BOU) as well if they reach the FA Cup final. So it might not be a bad idea at all. With Foden/KDB’s minutes also a concern due to Pep Roulette, Doubling up on defense could work out.

Further Read: FPL GW31 Tips & Ultimate Guide: Differentials, Captaincy & More

FPL GW31 Wildcard Draft 2

In this draft, we have gone with the Henderson-Martinez combination in Goal. This is a good combination if you are BB33, FH34 strategy. By going for this, You are sorted for all the DGWs and Blank GWs till the end of the season.

DGW32- Hendo vs MCI(A), NEW(A)

DGW33 (Bench Boost):

• Hendo vs BOU(H), ARS(A)
• Emi vs NEW(A), MCI(A)

BGW34- Free Hit

DGW36: (Possible DGW)

• Hendo vs TOT(A), WOL(H) if Palace beat Villa in FA Cup
• Emi vs BOU(A), TOT(H) if Villa beat Palace in FA Cup

BGW37: (Possible BGW)

• Hendo vs WOL(H) if Villa beat Palace in FA Cup
• Emi vs TOT(H) if Palace beat Villa in FA Cup

• This draft also has a Double Arsenal Defense with Timber coming in place of Raya. Timber was taken off injured in GW30. So have an eye on the latest press conference before confirming him in.
• Savinho also makes this draft as an exciting Differential option. Savinho got an assist, 3 bonus points vs Leicester in GW30 but could have easily made more. He is among the Top Midfielders in the league in terms of creating chances this season. Savinho has 11 assists this season- Only Salah(17) has more assists than him in the league.

Top Midfielders for Assists per 90 in Premier League this season:

• Saka- 0.76
• De Bruyne- 0.65
• Savinho- 0.60
• Salah- 0.57

Projection and Plan for GW33 Bench Boost:

• GW33 Bench Boost with 12 DGW players and Salah.

Planned Transfers made in GW33(2 Free Transfers used from GW32-GW33):

• Murphy OUT, Asensio/Rogers IN
• Isak OUT, Watkins IN

Further Read: Upcoming FPL Double/Blank Gameweeks | 24/25 FPL Season

FPL GW31 Wildcard Draft 3

This is similar to the first draft- the only change is that Merino comes in as the third Arsenal asset over Double Defense. If you are not sure about Arsenal defense with Gabriel ruled out of the season due to the injury, Merino is more than a good punt to consider as he is listed as a Midfielder playing as a Forward for Arsenal.

Projection for GW33 Bench Boost:

GW33 Bench Boost with 12 DGW players and Salah.

Planned Transfers made in GW33(2 Free Transfers used from GW32-GW33):

• Murphy OUT, Rogers IN
• Isak OUT, Watkins IN

Further Read: 2024/25 FPL Chip Strategy Guide – Best Windows and Analysis

FPL GW31 Wildcard Draft 4(BB32, Free Hit GW34):

• This is a slightly Different Draft for managers who are planning to Bench Boost in GW32 over GW33.With the Newcastle and Palace Double in GW32, You can bench Boost in GW32 with 6 DGW players+ 9 good Single Gameweek players.

Projection for GW32 Bench Boost:

Projection for GW33 Team:(Without making any transfers)

• With no transfers made in GW32 and GW33 in this strategy, you can even try to navigate GW34 without Free Hit if you have few more transfers saved from before. If you are on FH34, these saved transfers can come in handy for the potential DGW36 and BGW37.

FPL GW31 Wildcard Draft 5(No Free Hit left):

• This is a Draft for those managers who don’t have Free Hit to navigate GW34. Firstly if you don’t have Free Hit we would suggest you to use Wildcard in GW31. But if your team is in shambles and surely needs a Wildcard, this is a draft for those.

GW33 Projection(No Transfers used):

• 9 Double Gameweek players for GW33+ Salah+ Isak without making any transfers.

GW34 Projection: (4 FTs used)

Planned Transfers made in GW33(4 Free Transfers used in GW34, saved from GW31):

• Mateta OUT, Evanilson IN
• Sarr OUT, Bowen IN
• Munoz OUT, Kerkez IN
• Saka OUT, Palmer IN

• You can reach upto 9 players for GW34 just with Free Transfers. With a hit or two, you can get to 10-11 players for GW34
• The transfers listed about are just place holder transfers just to get give you an idea that you can get close to a full 11. Use these transfers in GW34 based on the DGW36, BGW37 announcements we get and based on your prediction of who will win the FA Cup semis.

Further reads from AllAboutFPL ahead of FPL GW31:

2024/25 Ultimate Chip Strategy Guide- Best Windows to play all Chips & Combinations
FPL GW31 Wildcard Team- Tips, Players to Target and Best Drafts
FPL GW31 Tips & Ultimate Guide: Differentials, Captaincy & More 
Upcoming FPL Double/Blank Gameweeks | 24/25 FPL Season

Link to all our FPL GW31 blogs including scout picks, players to target, buy, hold, sell analysis, differentials, captaincy metrics, transfer targets, and more. Completely free to access as well!

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