Fantasy Premier League Blank Gameweek 31 Team Selection Guide (2025/26)
Fantasy Premier League managers face one of the trickiest moments of the season with Blank Gameweek 31, where smart team selection and a cool head can protect your rank or even power you into the top 5k.
Fantasy Premier League is the official fantasy game of the Premier League and now attracts over 11 million managers around the world each season, so every marginal gain matters when fixtures disappear from the schedule.
Table of Contents
GW30 recap
Key takeaways from last week:
- Defensive returns were mixed, with late goals wiping out some clean sheets but underlying numbers for premium defenders still looking strong.
- Bruno Fernandes justified patience and the captaincy armband with creative returns and a standout chance-creation profile.
- Some recent transfers such as João Pedro and Hugo Ekitiké underwhelmed on the scoresheet, but their underlying expected numbers still suggest future hauls.
With that context, the focus for Blank Gameweek 31 is to balance short‑term upside with long‑term structure.
Understanding Blank Gameweek 31
Blank gameweeks occur when Premier League fixtures are postponed due to cup competitions or rescheduling, leaving fewer matches and making it harder to field 11 starters in Fantasy Premier League.
In Blank Gameweek 31, some popular FPL assets are without a fixture, meaning your bench strength and previous planning are crucial to avoiding hits and red arrows.
Managers who already have close to 11 starters are often better off rolling a free transfer to gain flexibility ahead of upcoming doubles and further blanks later in the season.
Transfer strategy: Malick Thiaw or bank the transfer?
The key decision for many Fantasy Premier League managers this week is whether to bring in Malick Thiaw or simply save the free transfer.
Why Malick Thiaw is an appealing option
Thiaw has emerged as a powerful FPL pick thanks to:
- Strong attacking threat from set pieces
- Decent clean sheet potential in a favourable derby fixture
- Support from powerful data models and prediction tools
Other Fantasy Premier League sites also highlight Thiaw among the key defenders for Gameweek 31, often grouping him with players like Bruno Fernandes, Anthony Gordon and Harry Wilson as strong targets.
If you are light in defence, upgrading a weaker option (such as a rotation‑prone budget defender) to Thiaw can immediately raise both your floor and ceiling for this blank.
Why saving the transfer still makes sense
For managers already able to field 11 players, rolling the free transfer is a strong, often underrated play.
- Two free transfers for Gameweek 32 or 33 give you more flexibility once the rescheduled fixtures and double gameweeks are confirmed.
- You avoid locking yourself into a defender you may want to replace quickly if future doubles favour other teams.
- In a blank gameweek with limited upside, preserving chips and transfers often beats aggression.
In this setup, the sensible plan is to save the transfer, unless late injury news forces a move.
Defenders: leaning into underlying stats
Virgil van Dijk and attacking defenders
Premium defenders like Virgil van Dijk remain strong options, with recent gameweeks showing:
- Multiple big chances in the box
- Excellent xG among defenders, rivalled only by other attacking centre‑backs like Nico O’Reilly and Malick Thiaw
- Clean sheet potential against sides struggling for big chances
When a defender combines aerial threat with a solid clean sheet chance, they can be near essential in a low‑scoring blank gameweek.
Adrian Trufair and the reliable backline
Adrian Trufair continues to look like a solid pick:
- Recent clean sheets and improved defensive numbers for his side
- Creativity from wide areas, leading defenders for big chances created in the last few gameweeks
- A tough fixture on paper, but underlying xG conceded suggests the defence is over‑performing in real life
If you already own Trufair, there is no urgent need to sell for a hit or even for free this week, especially when you have 11 starters.
Goalkeeper: banking on save points
With Arsenal assets blanking, many managers will turn to alternative goalkeepers like Martin Dúbravka.
In blank gameweeks, keepers facing a moderate volume of shots can be gold:
- Higher potential for save points
- Bonus points if they combine saves with a clean sheet
- Cheap route into a reasonable defence without sacrificing outfield explosiveness
Opponents who generate shots but not clear‑cut chances are ideal; you get volume without huge xG conceded, which is perfect for Fantasy Premier League scoring.
Midfield dilemmas: Bruno, Wilson, Mbuemo and Rogers
Bruno Fernandes: the standout captaincy option
Bruno Fernandes has been the picture of consistency in 2026:
- Returns in eight of the last ten matches
- Double‑digit haul potential from a mix of goals, assists and bonus
- Dominance in key passes and chance creation, giving him multiple pathways to points
Even in a blank gameweek with several strong forwards available, it is “death by a thousand cuts” to keep betting against Bruno.
Harry Wilson: home specialist
Harry Wilson continues to shine at home:
- Multiple goals and an assist in his last few home appearances
- Set‑piece involvement, including corners and some direct free‑kicks
- High average points per home match, rivalled only by premium mids over the same span
In Blank Gameweek 31, a home fixture with favourable attacking metrics makes Wilson one of the best mid‑priced midfielders in Fantasy Premier League.
Bryan Mbuemo: form vs minutes
Bryan Mbuemo presents a classic headache:
- Three consecutive blanks raise questions about his security in the XI
- Competition from teammates who have looked sharp off the bench
- Yet, away numbers still show a healthy volume of shots, big chances and recent returns on the road
If you already own him and have 11 starters, holding Mbuemo for one more week is reasonable, especially when a rolled transfer can fix bigger issues later.
Morgan Rogers: shots but no goals
Morgan Rogers has been busy in front of goal:
- A steady stream of shots but no returns since his last away strike
- Plays in a side with low expected goals overall, which caps his ceiling
- Faces a disciplined defence that has recently restricted opponents to very few big chances
He is sellable medium‑term, but with Blank Gameweek 31 and limited fixtures, moving him now is not mandatory unless you have a clear upgrade like Anthony Gordon.
Forwards: Pedro, Ekitiké, Igor Thiago and the Haaland gap
João Pedro: still worth the faith?
João Pedro finally blanked at home after an impressive run, but his profile remains attractive:
- On penalties when on the pitch
- Central to his team’s attacking play, especially at home
- Big chance numbers that still compare well with other forwards
In a reduced fixture schedule, dropping a penalty‑taker for a hit rarely pays off.
Hugo Ekitiké: impact off the bench
Hugo Ekitiké’s recent cameo showed promise:
- Generated strong expected goals in limited minutes
- Continues to get into central, high‑quality positions
- Rotation risk remains, but his upside per minute is high
He is a better hold than a sell this week if you have cover on the bench.
Igor Thiago: captaincy challenger
Igor Thiago is emerging as a serious captaincy contender:
- A surge in big chances over recent gameweeks
- Multiple goals in a short span despite some wasteful finishing
- Plays against a defence on a poor run of form, conceding plenty of xG and failing to win in several matches
Some predictive sites and FPL content platforms rank Thiago close to Bruno Fernandes for projected points in Blank Gameweek 31.
Captaincy: Bruno vs Igor Thiago
Case for Bruno Fernandes (C)
- Elite consistency: rarely goes more than a game or two without returns
- Multiple routes to points through goals, assists and bonus
- Central to all set‑pieces and chance creation for his team
In a blank gameweek with chaos all around, Bruno’s reliability is incredibly hard to fade.
Case for Igor Thiago (C)
- Explosive haul potential against a leaky defence
- Strong expected goals numbers and multiple big chances per game
- Likely focal point for his side’s attack
Verdict: Bruno Fernandes remains the safer, more sensible captaincy choice, with Igor Thiago an excellent differential option if you are chasing rank.
Draft Blank Gameweek 31 team
Here is how a strong Blank Gameweek 31 setup could look without using a chip and while saving the free transfer:
- GK: Dúbravka
- DEF: van Dijk, Thiaw (if owned), Andersen / Trufair
- MID: Bruno Fernandes (C), Wilson, Mbuemo, Rogers
- FWD: João Pedro, Ekitiké, Igor Thiago (VC)
Bench: Any blanking Arsenal assets and low‑ceiling options who do not have a fixture.
This structure lets you:
- Field 11 players despite the blanks
- Keep Bruno and Thiago for captaincy/vice‑captaincy
- Retain flexibility with two free transfers after we get more clarity on doubles.
Chip strategy beyond Blank Gameweek 31
With rescheduled fixtures and double gameweeks still to be confirmed, it is risky to commit fully to a chip strategy right now.
General guidance:
- Wildcard: Best saved for when a large cluster of doubles or a fixture swing appears.
- Free Hit: Ideal for extreme blank or double gameweeks where your normal squad would struggle to field 9–11 strong starters.
- Bench Boost: Use when you can field 15 solid starters in a double gameweek.
- Triple Captain: Reserve for a premium attacker or Bruno‑level talisman in a soft double.
Preserving a transfer in Blank Gameweek 31 ensures your future chip usage can be built around confirmed fixtures, not guesswork.
Recommended tools and resources
Fantasy Premier League offers full rules and official guidance on the game’s scoring, transfers and chips on its help pages, which are essential reading for newer managers.
For advanced tools, Fantasy Football Hub provides AI‑powered team rating, optimal XI suggestions, transfer planners and predicted points for upcoming gameweeks, helping you squeeze extra expected value out of every move.
Other established FPL sites like Fantasy Football Fix and Fantasy Football Scout also publish Gameweek 31 scout picks and data‑driven articles that highlight popular players such as Bruno Fernandes, Thiaw, Gordon, Wilson and Igor Thiago.
If this Blank Gameweek 31 Fantasy Premier League guide helped you shape your team or settle the Bruno vs Igor captaincy debate, share it with your mini‑league rivals, drop a comment with your own GW31 draft, and bookmark this site for our upcoming double gameweek deep dives.