Fantasy Premier League: What we learnt from Gameweek 31 – Arsenal, Chelsea rotations pose questions

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Gameweek 31 will conclude once Leicester and Newcastle have faced off on Monday (8pm UK/3pm ET). 

However there is already plenty to talk about from the weekend’s action with Arsenal, Aston Villa and Chelsea all playing rotated line-ups and Mohamed Salah (£13.8m) blanking for the second consecutive game as Liverpool lost away against Fulham. 

Here, we highlight the main Fantasy Premier League talking points from the Saturday and Sunday matches. 

Arsenal and Chelsea rotate

Bukayo Saka (£10.4m), Martin Odegaard (£8.2m) and Gabriel Martinelli (£6.5m) all began on the bench for Arsenal away against Everton.

It was perhaps a bit surprising that none of those three midfielders made the starting XI but their collective absence goes to show how important this week’s Champions League quarter-final first leg at home to Real Madrid is for the club and manager Mikel Arteta.

Seeing as the second leg is played in Madrid in the midweek after Gameweek 32, we may well see some rotation from Arteta at home against Brentford too. 

This basically means we should avoid buying Arsenal assets next gameweek and wait for Double Gameweek 33. Arteta’s side have a double against Ipswich (A) and Crystal Palace (H) there, so it would be wise to go into that week with three Arsenal players. 

Also, waiting another week means we get to see their line-ups for both legs against Madrid and Brentford’s visit, which will give us some much-needed information. Saka’s fitness is going to be key here as he looks a prime candidate for your armband in Double Gameweek 33.

With Gabriel (£6.3m) out for the rest of the season because of a hamstring injury, it’s going to highly important to see which back four Arteta prefers. William Saliba (£6.4m) is nailed-on and Jurrien Timber (£5.6m) is the next best option, but if Jakub Kiwior (£4.8m) starts against Madrid and Brentford, he could be a steal at that price. 

Chelsea coach Enzo Maresca also rotated quite heavily for Sunday’s game against Brentford, which was a lot more surprising. They visit Legia Warsaw in the first leg of a Conference League quarter-final on Thursday but also have Champions League qualification still to fight for on the run-in.

None of Cole Palmer (£10.7m), Levi Colwill (£4.4m), Marc Cucurella (£5.3m) and Nicolas Jackson (£7.7m) made the starting line-up and for similar reasons to Arsenal, we might see Maresca rotate again in Gameweek 32 at home against Ipswich, which is one of Chelsea’s kindest fixtures of the season. 

Chelsea assets are an easy avoid as they don’t have any double gameweeks left this season but if you own Palmer, I would just hold him and hope he starts that match with Ipswich.

That goes for any other Chelsea assets too. You may want to look to get rid after Gameweek 32 or 34, when they are at home against Everton. Their fixtures get really difficult from there, the schedule finishing: Liverpool (H), Newcastle (A), Manchester United (H), Nottingham Forest (A),  and all with a potential two-leg European semi-final and final to slot in too.

Could Bukayo Saka be rested again versus Brentford? (Glyn Kirk/Getty Images)

What to do about Aston Villa assets?

Unai Emery rang the changes too with Villa defensive regulars Ezri Konsa (£4.4m) and Lucas Digne (£4.5m) demoted to the bench against Forest (Konsa played the second half, Digne was unused) and midfielder Marcus Rashford (£6.7m) also only appearing as a second-half substitute.

Villa go to Paris Saint-Germain on Wednesday for the first leg of another Champions League quarter-final, so some rotation from Emery wasn’t a huge surprise. They are in a similar situation to Arsenal, as they have a double gameweek coming up in 33, but a very nice fixture in Gameweek 32, when they travel to freshly-relegated Southampton.

It’s going to be very hard to predict the starting line-up there, but midfielder Morgan Rogers (£5.5m) looks to be their most nailed-on attacker, and also looks to be in form. He played 90 minutes against Forest and has started every game he has been available for in the league. The England international has only missed Leicester’s visit in Gameweek 20, and that was due to suspension for an accumulation of yellow cards.

I would also hold off buying Villa assets this week and then investing in Double Gameweek 33. The fact the likes of Konsa were rested before this first game with PSG tells me nobody is safe from rotation against Southampton before the return leg next week, not even Rogers.

We should also see how Emery lines his team up in Paris and Southampton, with Ollie Watkins (£8.9m) nearing full fitness again. He was benched against Preston in the FA Cup and Brighton in Gameweek 30, playing only 34 minutes of those matches, after picking up a knee injury during Villa’s 3-0 win over Club Brugge before the March international break, which led to his omission from Thomas Tuchel’s first England squad.

The manager said he didn’t want to take any risks with Watkins, who is “feeling better” after that injury. He will be a key player for Double Gameweek 33 if fully fit.

Time to invest in Newcastle and Palace

With an imminent double gameweek for both Newcastle and Palace, their assets should be at the top of our buying list. 

Newcastle only have the league to focus on and Palace’s FA Cup semi-final isn’t until April 26, so both teams should play close to their strongest XI in the two games. Eddie Howe’s Carabao Cup winners play Manchester United and Palace, both at St James’ Park, and Oliver Glasner’s side also travel to Manchester City. 

My top three options for Palace are forward Jean-Philippe Mateta (£7.7m) and midfielders Eberechi Eze (£6.8m) and Ismaila Sarr (£5.7m). Mateta has been subbed early in the past three games since returning from that nasty head injury, but with Eddie Nketiah (£5.9m), who replaced him on all three occasions, suspended for the first match of the double after his red card against Brighton, the Frenchman should see increased minutes. 

For Newcastle, forward Alexander Isak (£9.5m), midfielder Jacob Murphy (£5.1m) and defender Tino Livramento (£4.6m) look the best options when you take into consideration their prices. Isak is almost essential next week and if you have your Triple Captain chip left, then he’s the best option to play it on. We might not get a better opportunity for that one in what’s left of this season. 

(Top photo: Chelsea’s Cole Palmer; Zac Goodwin/Getty Images)

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