FPL expert Oscar, aka FPL Focal, reveals his approach for Gameweek 31 in FPL Challenge, with forwards scoring DOUBLE points.
With the first round of FPL challenge over, I’m even more excited for this week – Forward Focus. Double points to be had from our front three, and for the first time in FPL history - quadruple points from our captain if you put the armband on one of your forwards!
This promises to be a very fun round and I found this to be more "challenging" to pick a team given the £100m budget, having been able to select a squad with an unlimited budget last week.
Remember, we can also enter our team at ANY TIME up until 19:30 BST on Thursday, when there are only two fixtures left.
Forward focus
I’ve gone with Erling Haaland (£14.3m), Alexander Isak (£7.7m) and Darwin Nunez (£7.5m) as my three forwards, with the armband on Haaland. If you’ve got your eyes on the weekly prize, there’s a clear opportunity to back a different forward for captaincy and hope they can outscore Haaland. If not, we go again next week.
After an outstanding performance against West Ham in their 4–3 win, Isak is in the team. Two goals and one assist for his biggest score of the season, with 15 points. That makes it 14 goals and one assist in 18 starts! Anthony Gordon’s (£6.0m) red card was unfortunate for Newcastle. He’ll be a huge miss, but I’m expecting Harvey Barnes (£6.2m), who is a quality player himself, to start after his two goals off the bench.
My only concern with Darwin is possible rotation by Klopp with one eye on Man Utd v Liverpool on Sunday. If there was ever a game Klopp could afford to rotate a couple players, it’s Sheffield United at home. In the reverse fixture earlier in the season, Darwin came off the bench to register an assist. That could equate to a Cody Gakpo (£7.2m) start, and in that scenario, I’ll be transferring out Darwin for another forward.
Remember, in FPL Challenge, players only get locked in or locked out of your team when their match starts. You can add or remove them from your team right up until kick-off after seeing the line-ups.
There are some juicy fixtures for many forwards this week. Dominic Solanke (£7.2m) is home to Crystal Palace and was back on the scoresheet last weekend. He’s scored 16 times this season; only Haaland has more goals! Likewise over the season, only Haaland has a higher Expected Goals (xG) than Solanke among all players. He’s the focal point of their attack, on penalties and a huge threat at set-pieces.
Brentford are home to Brighton on Wednesday, so Ivan Toney (£8.1m) is another player that leaps out. Brentford were excellent against Man Utd on Saturday. He’s their talisman, on penalties and even direct free-kicks. With Bryan Mbeumo (£6.7m) back from injury, I can see that giving Brentford a much needed lift in attack, so Toney is definitely one to consider.
As a more left-field shout, Matheus Cunha (£5.5m) is cheap, although of course it is all dependent on whether he starts. With FPL Challenge, a quick transfer could fix the squad if he doesn't, though. Before his injury he was absolutely flying; no-one scored more FPL points than Cunha between Gameweeks 12-23 up until his injury, and of course he scored a hat-trick against Chelsea.
Go BIG on Arsenal & Liverpool
There are two fixtures that leap out, Liverpool home to Sheff Utd and Arsenal home to Luton Town. Two title contenders against two teams battling relegation.
With that in mind, I’ve doubled up in defence with Caoimhin Kelleher (£3.8m) and Conor Bradley (£4.2m), given Alisson (£5.7m) and Trent Alexander-Arnold (£8.4m) are expected to remain out. This opens the door for the two bargain picks.
I’ve also opted for William Saliba (£5.8m) and Gabriel (£5.3m) as my Arsenal defenders of choice. Ben White (£5.8m) is an excellent pick too, but I couldn’t find the budget for him. I have, however, left the door open for Jakub Kiwior (£4.4m) if he is named in the starting XI, as I have only selected four Arsenal players so far, when I could have five.
Wolves play at Burnley, so Rayan Ait-Nouri (£4.6m) is in. The wing-back, who has three attacking returns from his last seven outings, passes the eye test and pops up in really advanced areas. Only Sheff Utd have conceded more than Burnley’s 65 goals. After a red card at the weekend, Burnley will be without manager Vincent Kompany on the touchline.
It’s just as well we’re allowed five players per team in FPL Challenge because I’ve loaded up on Arsenal and Liverpool players - with Mohamed Salah (£13.3m), Bukayo Saka (£9.0m) and Kai Havertz (£7.2m) my midfield trio. Salah is a no-brainer pick, and thanks to a few enablers, I’ve managed to squeeze him and Haaland in.
What I really like about FPL Challenge is you’re able to make transfers during the Gameweek, so if Havertz doesn’t start then he’ll make way for Martin Odegaard (£8.5m), and I’ll free up money from the bench. Is there a worse feeling than when the line-ups drop and someone you own is benched?
Havertz has been on fire recently, and Luton are the only team yet to keep a clean sheet on the road this season. I’m expecting Arsenal to win this one comfortably.
It's a very cheap bench to keep myself under budget – Stefan Ortega (£3.7m), Jamaal Lascelles (£3.9m), Alejandro Garnacho (£4.9m) and Pape Matar Sarr (£4.4m). I’ve left myself with £0.5m in the bank as a bit of wiggle room in case of any surprise benchings. If Havertz is benched then Odegaard will come in, while if Kiwior starts, I’ll sell Lascelles for him and bench Ait-Nouri.
Good luck this week everyone!