#FPL Gameweek 31 Preview

Written by @CraigHazell

 You can also listen to Craig, Tom and Ash on their Fantasy Football Podcast – The Gaffer Tapes

DEFENDER: Ashley Williams, Swansea

After a crazy (or cray cray depending on what level douche you are) gameweek 30 it is normal service resumed for gameweek 31. Well I say normal service….Leicester about to win the Premier League, Spurs are going to beat Arsenal, both North East clubs are getting relegated, and a reality TV star is in the running to become American president. But there’s a full fixture list. That’s what I meant. Obviously, doubling down on Spurs defenders this week is a tempting proposition with Bournemouth at home, but if you’re looking for something different then why not plump for one of my regular outside tips, Ashley Williams. He’s got excellent previous for bonus points, faces a woeful Villa at home and is the only man in the country more disappointed than Roy Hodgson that Wayne Rooney might miss the Euros. He’s got a reputation for giving strikers a tough afternoon and I don’t see Remi Garde’s semi hard strikeforce troubling him. Has anyone used and/or patented Remi Garde Semi Hard yet? If not, please do. You’re welcome.

MIDFIELDER: Michail Antonio, West Ham

It absolutely baffles me that Michail Antonio could still be classed as an outsider at 3.8% picked. He has 3 goals in 3 games meaning a cool 28 points. Some might say that playing Chelsea this week, it’s not a good time to bring him in, I would say it’s the perfect time. That picked percentage isn’t increasing by deadline and he’s just as much of a goal threat as he was last week. With Payet pulling the strings, Antonio will get chances and West Ham are not a team that will be scared at the Bridge. Double bonus. If he scores, it means Chelsea are suffering. Wins all round!

FORWARD: Jermain Defoe, Sunderland

As much as I would like to for the abhorrent level of football that will be on show, I can’t possibly ignore the massive derby happening in the North East this weekend. Sunderland and Newcastle are in legitimate trouble and much to the delight of channel 5, they could genuinely both go down. Big games like this need big players and on nothing other than love of these occasions I fancy Jermain Defoe to deliver something magic and do the job he was brought in to do. He’s proved many of us wrong this season by proving he has still got it and he can write himself into Mackem folklore here.

CAPTAIN: Harry Kane, Spurs

As much as I think Bournemouth will grab a goal against Spurs, that doesn’t mean I think they will get a result. Harry Kane has now levelled Jamie Vardy in the Golden Boot this season with 19 goals (I may or may not have £20 staked on him) and is hitting form at the perfect time. As a side note the fact that the top two scorers are English and there’s a possibility neither of them start in France takes more piss than a footballer’s pint glass at Cheltenham. I wager that Harry hits his 20th at White Hart Lane this weekend and having been rested in the dead rubber vs Dortmund, it is very apparent that Spurs still very much fancy this title tilt.

OUTSIDER: Craig Gardener, West Brom

I have a few rules in life. Never order off the all you can eat buffet, never watch a film with Jennifer Lopez as the lead and never pick a West Brom midfielder in your FPL team. I’m breaking one of them today and it’s not because I’m watching Maid in Manhattan and chowing down on Mr Wing’s £4.99 lunchtime deal. Craig Gardner has done literally nothing all season then turned into a set piece wizard and notched up 23 points in his last 3 games. He’s in the top 5 form midfielders in the game and it’s foolish to ignore that. Norwich are another team in real bother and if he’s scored points against United and Leicester then there’s no reason he can’t do it against the Canaries.

Written by @CraigHazell

 You can also listen to Craig, Tom and Ash on their Fantasy Football Podcast – The Gaffer Tapes

Craig Hazell is a television professional, writer and Heart of Midlothian fan who makes up one third of the popular FPL podcast The Gaffer Tapes. As a student, Craig won the BBC Sports Broadcaster and Comedy Broadcaster of the year, before going onto to be a regular on the London open mic comedy circuit. He now writes about anything from TV & Movies, to food and of course football, providing he can shoehorn a 90s pop culture reference into just about anything.

Check out The Gaffer Tapes Podcast Here