This article is part of our Fantrax Waiver Wire series.
In what has been an abnormal past few days, I'll try and make sense of the Premier League schedule ahead. After Arsenal and Manchester City's midweek match was postponed, there's no telling what the future holds. As of Wednesday, all signs appeared to be full go for the weekend, but there seems to be a lot of things happening that no one knows about and that's why there's confusion. For the most part, I'll try and decipher the league normally, but I wouldn't be surprised if another match or two is cancelled within hours of this article posting.
FPL DIFFERENTIALS
Virus or not, there are still eight teams competing in the FA Cup, which means there are just four matches set to take place in Gameweek 31. If you're looking to make a move in this unpredictable time, it's best to focus on one of the teams who is no longer in the FA Cup because there's no use wasting a transfer on a player who won't play the following week. Either way, injury concerns remain for Kevin De Bruyne, who may have missed Wednesday's match even if it wasn't postponed. The midfielder is the most popular player at the Premier League's official fantasy game and his status will be the most monitored in the coming days.
If you want to make a move now, it's slim pickings for the teams tht don't have a bye in Gameweek 31. Neither Mohamed Salah nor Sadio Mane qualify as differentials, while
In what has been an abnormal past few days, I'll try and make sense of the Premier League schedule ahead. After Arsenal and Manchester City's midweek match was postponed, there's no telling what the future holds. As of Wednesday, all signs appeared to be full go for the weekend, but there seems to be a lot of things happening that no one knows about and that's why there's confusion. For the most part, I'll try and decipher the league normally, but I wouldn't be surprised if another match or two is cancelled within hours of this article posting.
FPL DIFFERENTIALS
Virus or not, there are still eight teams competing in the FA Cup, which means there are just four matches set to take place in Gameweek 31. If you're looking to make a move in this unpredictable time, it's best to focus on one of the teams who is no longer in the FA Cup because there's no use wasting a transfer on a player who won't play the following week. Either way, injury concerns remain for Kevin De Bruyne, who may have missed Wednesday's match even if it wasn't postponed. The midfielder is the most popular player at the Premier League's official fantasy game and his status will be the most monitored in the coming days.
If you want to make a move now, it's slim pickings for the teams tht don't have a bye in Gameweek 31. Neither Mohamed Salah nor Sadio Mane qualify as differentials, while none of the other teams are all that intriguing, at least in the midfield. Wolverhampton have the most favorable upcoming slate, but stocking up on Joao Moutinho and Ruben Neves doesn't seem like the best strategy. If anything, I'd either wait it out with De Bruyne or get someone cheaper like Ismaila Sarr, who at least has opportunities to make the score-sheet with Leicester City, Burnley and Southampton on the slate next.
However, I'd rather try and get Diogo Jota in the squad and hope he can continue his form. He's more of an upside play because it's not like Wolves have been reliable in the most favorable situations this season, so while upcoming contests against West Ham, Bournemouth and Aston Villa are nice, they could be held scoreless in any of those. Other than that, Troy Deeney and Chris Wood are plenty viable even if the schedule isn't perfect. At this point, you're looking to drop someone who has been struggling and doesn't play in GW31, and those two forwards are definitely worth a look. This may not be a popular opinion after a recent brace off the bench, but in addition to not playing GW31, Jamie Vardy is away three of the next four matches and as it is, you're not making up much ground in the standings with him.
The best route at defender is once again Wolverhampton since more clean sheets should be ahead. Willy Boly and Conor Coady remain two of my favorite value options and this week is as good of a time as any. Tottenham also deserve a look even if they aren't securing clean sheets, mainly because Japhet Tanganga is as cheap as they get.
FANTRAX FINDS
I haven't talked much about the current gameweek because FPL is more about the long game, but there is a full slate this weekend. Edward Nketiah's ownership is slowly creeping up at Fantrax, and he's about to surpass Mbwana Samatta, which shouldn't be the case. Samatta is playing close to a full 90 every match, and while Villa are struggling, he's at least getting shots, which is all you can ask from a forward who is free on waivers. Billy Sharp continues to start and doesn't have an overly difficult matchup against Newcastle, but other than him, the cupboard is bare of forwards.
Fortunately, midfielder is plentiful, whether you want a defensive midfielder like Will Hughes or Jefferson Lerma, or a youngster who is making headlines like Billy Gilmour. You probably can't rely on Gilmour for consistent starts, but he could be a viable fantasy option against Aston Villa. And if you're in a massive league, James McCarthy and Alexander Tettey may not make the score-sheet, but they should start in favorable matchups.
As usual, there should be numerous defenders available in your league who all have good chances clean sheets. Bournemouth are at the top of the list at home against Crystal Palace, with Adam Smith and Jack Stacey available in the majority of leagues. You could also roll with Ben Godfrey, Jamal Lewis and Grant Hanley against Southampton, or Javier Manquillo, Ezri Konsa and Jeremy Ngakia, who are all at home. I'd also keep my eye on James Justin for Leicester after he got rave reviews from the manager following Monday's performance in place of the injured Ben Chilwell (hamstring).
CAPTAIN DEEP DIVES
The Merseyside derby takes place Monday and that means it gets the most time for the league to decide to postpone it. Because of that, I'd be wary of giving the armband to Salah or Mane, and their current form doesn't help either. I'd rather get captaincy over with in the Saturday matches, with Sergio Aguero probably the best choice at home against Burnley. You could also captain De Bruyne and hope he returns, and if he doesn't, just make sure your vice captain is set. This isn't a terrible spot for Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang at Brighton, while Sarr and Deeney are bigger stretches at home against Leicester. If you really want to go for it, there should be goals between Norwich City and Southampton, which leads me to Teemu Pukki and Danny Ings. I guarantee one of those guys will score Saturday. The problem in backing Chelsea players for their trip to Aston Villa is you don't know who will start and even if you go with prior lineups, Pedro is on fewer teams than Christian Pulisic and Ross Barkley.
