Hello readers, it is Chef Dale here writing an FPL based article for the first time in months! I would like to thank the good folks here at Sportito for giving me the platform to write some FPL musings. So lets get down to business! The blank gameweek will soon be upon us and barring a herculean effort from Rochdale when they face Spurs at Wembley in the FA cup replay it will be a four-fixture affair.

So if like me, you are out of chips or you don’t want to use them on navigating a gameweek with only four fixtures, then this seems like the perfect opportunity to discuss blank gameweek preparation.

The Four Fixtures in question for gameweek 31 are:

Bournemouth vs West Brom

Huddersfield vs Crystal Palace

Stoke vs Everton

Liverpool vs Watford

With these fixtures in mind it is time to look at the assets we could pick in the blank gameweek and who also have value in the weeks before and after Gw31. One player I think I can safely omit from this article however is Mo Salah. Highest owned player in FPL and if you don’t own, simply get him.

Roberto Firmino (Liverpool)

Roberto Firmino is one of the most underrated players in the Premier League, from a pure footballing perspective he is absolutely key to the system Liverpool use. He can create, he can finish and he does the defensive pressing from the front which Jurgen Klopp loves. A player who can be frustrating to own from an FPL standpoint because he can be streaky when it comes to putting the points on the board. Since Coutinho has left the club Firmino has averaged 5.5 points per game which is a steady return.

When you look at the statistics, Firmino is a very economical striker, he is extremely unselfish and can create chances as well as finish them off. He has 12 goals and 6 assists this season, he has had 58 shots with 60% of those finding the target. He has also made 36 key passes and created 42 chances for his team mates. 

Virgil Van Dijk (Liverpool)

Since Van Dijk made the big money move from Southampton, we have only seen glimpses of the dominating centre-backs best form. Truth be told he looked as if he was short of match fitness after not featuring much for the Saints this season and Liverpool only managed to keep a clean sheet once in the league with him in the side since he signed. However, he is now looking like he is up to speed and is starting to be that piece of the defence that Jurgen Klopp always hoped he would be.

You can see why Klopp made Van Dijk his number one defensive target, one of the ways in which teams were able to beat the famous pressing from the front ethos Liverpool have is through the long ball. Before Van Dijk signed it was an easier tactic for opposition teams to employ as Lovren and Matip are not the type of ball attacking, dominant centre half Van Dijk is and it shows in his numbers since joining the club. He has made 5 interceptions and 23 clearances, he has also had 18 aerial duels winning 85% of those. With him now settling into the groove at Liverpool and only 2 relatively difficult fixtures left in the last ten games, this man may well be someone to keep the points ticking over at the back especially in the blank gameweek.

Theo Walcott (Everton)

Walcott is now 4 games into his Everton career and its four games that sums up his full career. Blanked in two of those games then also has bagged a brace and an assist in the other matches. The attraction of Theo is that he will finally be getting what appears to be guaranteed first football and with a place at the world cup at stake come the end of the season he may well prove to be a shrewd move. Everton have very winnable fixtures in the next 4 gameweeks (Watford, Burnley, Brighton, Stoke), the only problem that stops me loading up on Everton players for the blank gameweek is that they have Manchester City and Liverpool straight after.

The numbers for Theo Walcott since joining Everton are encouraging, in his relatively small sample size of league games he has managed 4 goals and 1 assist. He has had 9 shots, 6 of those coming inside the area and he has found the target with those 83% of the time. He has also created 3 chances and made 4 key passes which shows he is becoming a key part of the Everton attack.

Gerard Deulofeu (Watford)

This week Watford play Everton, Everton have been in indifferent form winning 2 of the last 9 matches, however in the last 7 of those matches Everton have conceded 16 goals which is not something you associate with a team managed by Sam Allardyce. With this in mind, it could be the gameweek to bring in former toffee Gerard Deulofeu, signed on a loan deal from Barcelona in the January transfer window Deulofeu announced his return to the Premier League a few weeks ago putting in a man of the match display against the champions Chelsea. He scored a goal and made an assist. If this man can find form he could be a great differential to have not only now but also in the blank gameweek.

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The post Fantasy Premier League – Blank Gameweek 31 Player Picks appeared first on Sportito Fantasy Sports Blog, Strategy, Picks, Tips and Advice.