FPL GW31 Tips - Best players to buy for Gameweek 31

There are just eight gameweeks remaining in the current FPL season which means we are well and truly at the business end of the 2022/23 Fantasy Premier League campaign.

So, now is the time for FPL managers to take it up a notch and leapfrog their mini-league opponents in Fantasy.

Gameweek 31 will see the league leaders Arsenal travel across London to face West Ham whilst Manchester City take on Leicester at the Etihad Stadium.

With plenty of PL action coming our way, let's get into the very best players to target for GW31 in Fantasy.

Be aware, the Gameweek 31 deadline is on Saturday, 15 April at 11am BST / 6am ET.

GW31 fixtures

The next round of FPL fixtures is as follows:

Saturday, 15 April

Aston Villa v Newcastle

Chelsea v Brighton

Everton v Fulham

Southampton v Crystal Palace

Spurs v Bournemouth

Wolves v Brentford

Man City v Leicester

Sunday, 16 April

West Ham v Arsenal

Nott'm Forest v Man Utd

Monday, 17 April

Leeds v Liverpool

Defenders

Manchester City's home fixture against struggling Leicester makes Ruben Dias (£6.0m) and Nathan Ake (£5.1m) good options in defence.

Ake and Dias seem to be the most nailed-on starting defenders in Pep Guardiola's side, making them the safest City options in Fantasy.

Unai Emery's Aston Villa have kept three clean sheets in their last four PL outings and will hope for another in their home fixture against Newcastle in GW31.

Tyrone Mings (£4.5m) offers a cheap route into the Villa defence and usually manages to get in the bonus points when the team doesn't concede.

Lisandro Martinez (£4.5m) has averaged 5.75 points per gameweek over the past four matches, with an away fixture against Nottingham Forest coming up.

Spurs' home match against struggling Bournemouth makes wing-back Ivan Perisic (£5.3m) a great option.

The Croatian international played 90 minutes in Tottenham's last two matches and provided an assist in GW30.

Midfielders

With Marcus Rashford (£7.2m) ruled out for GW31 after he suffered a groin injury against Everton at Old Trafford, FPL managers will need a new man in midfield.

A switch to Arsenal winger Bukayo Saka (£8.6m) is sensible, if you do not on the England international already.

Saka, who has 12 goals and 10 assists in the league this season, will be facing a West Ham defence that conceded five goals the last time they played at the London Stadium.

If Bukayo Saka is out of your price range then Gabriel Martinelli (£6.7m) and Martin Odegaard (£6.7m) are both solid choices.

If you are looking for a way into the Manchester City attack, Jack Grealish (£7.1m) offers great value and a differential with just 8.8% ownership.

The England international registered one goal, one assist and two bonus points in each of his last two matches, totalling 24 points in GW29 and GW30.

Son Heung-min (£11.6m) will hope to kick on in Spurs' home match v Bournemouth after he scored a wonderful goal against Brighton in GW30.

Forwards

The Premier League's top scorer Erling Haaland (£12.2m) is once again the standout captaincy choice for FPL GW31.

A fully fit Haaland is a frightening prospect for a Leicester side that has not kept a clean sheet since way back in Gameweek 16 against West Ham.

If you are looking for a captaincy differential then Harry Kane (£11.7m) is your man.

The England number nine has produced attacking returns in each of his last four PL matches, totalling 35 points in that time period.

Ollie Watkins (£7.5m) is in fine form at the moment. The English striker has blanked just once over the course of the past 11 gameweeks.

Watkins has amassed 79 points in that time, scoring nine goals and picking up two assists.

Ivan Toney (£7.8m) will look to continue his run of form against Wolves at Molineux Stadium in FPL GW31.