Shrewd Moves and Differentials: Gameweek 31 FPL Tips – Fantasy Premier League Tips

With the Fantasy Premier Double Gameweeks now announced, here are this weeks Shrewd Moves for you to consider when planning your next moves

Aaron Lennon – Everton

Price/Ownership: £5.6m / 0.7%

Next 3 Fixtures: Arsenal (H), Man United (A), Watford (A)

Last 3 Gameweek points: 10, 8, 0

There’s been no greater player in form for Everton recently than Aaron Lennon. He’s struggled to get into the starting XI for the majority of this season, but has recently cemented his place in the Toffees lineup. In his last 5 games, Lennon has scored five goals and assisted once. He’s averaged a whopping 8.2 points per game in this time frame. The man is certainly on fire and appears to have caught the attention by quite a few FPL managers on Twitter.

Everton are one of a handful of teams with a double gameweek in GW34, which makes the Toffees a great team to invest in. Lennon provides a good alternative to Ross Barkley in your FPL midfield and at a price of just £5.6m, he may be the player you need to cover yourself for the double gameweeks and free up some well-needed cash in the process.

Fixtures aren’t the greatest for Everton immediately, but they look like promising options to own going into the end of the season playing Bournemouth, Sunderland and Norwich in the final four weeks. If you’re without your wildcard, I think that Lennon is your man for a differential.

Michail Antonio – West Ham

Price/Ownership: £5.4m / 3.5%

Next 3 Fixtures: Chelsea (A), Crystal Palace (H), Arsenal (A)

Last 3 Gameweek points: 11, 6, 0

West Ham don’t have the best upcoming fixtures, playing Chelsea and Arsenal in their next three. But Antonio has proven this season that he can score against the top sides as well as the bottom-dwellers. He’s managed to score 11 points against Spurs and 8 points against Liverpool already this season. With his ownership still at only 3.6%, he’s a sneaky way into a West Ham side with huge FPL potential on the horizon.

There’s always an upside to a player who has two blank gameweeks in a season: two double gameweeks to follow. West Ham are coming off a blank in Gameweek 30, which means they will be well rested and ready to take on Chelsea.

Antonio is proving to be one of the best budget midfielders in FPL, still priced at only £5.4m. He’s cheaper than the popular West Ham midfielder Dimitri Payet. Interestingly enough, since Payet has returned from injury, Antonio has scored more points per week on average. West Ham are a good team to invest in and Antonio is the perfect differential for your team.

Roberto Firmino – Liverpool

Price/Ownership: £8.2m / 15.4%

Next 3 Fixtures: Southampton (A), Spurs (H), Stoke (H)

Last 3 Gameweek points: 12, 9, 0

Firmino has without doubt been Liverpool’s best player of the season. Coming into the new club this year, he’s adjusted well and has flourished under Jurgen Klopp. He’s been in excellent form with 7 goals and 4 assists in his last 10 games. Still reasonably priced at £8.2m, he offers unrivalled value amongst Liverpool players.

Although his ownership is just above what I would consider to be a ‘differential’ (15%), I felt it would be important to include him in this list. Liverpool are one of a few Premier League teams to have two double gameweeks with a chance of still playing in Gameweek 35.

This makes Liverpool a great team to invest in when planning for the double gameweeks. Firmino is playing out-of-position as a striker for the Reds, which in my opinion, adds to his value. I think Firmino is going to be absolutely essential when we approach the double gameweeks, so I would advise developing a plan to get him in your team while his ownership is still relatively low.

Salomon Rondon – West Brom

Price/Ownership: £6.5m / 1.1%

Next 3 Fixtures: Norwich (H), Sunderland (A), Man City (A)

Last 3 Gameweek points: 6, 9, 0

The sleeper pick this week is West Brom striker, Salomon Rondon. In the past 5 gameweeks, he’s scored 3 goals and 1 assist. He’s flown under the radar due to low ownership, but I’ve watched him play and he looks to be firing on all cylinders. He’s a true target man; he knows how to hold up play and use his strength to get by defenders.

West Brom have a good couple of games against Norwich and Sunderland that I can see Rondon scoring in. Neither Norwich nor Sunderland have been in great form, despite the Canaries holding Man City to a 0-0 draw in Gameweek 30.

I would be hesitant to hold onto Rondon for the remainder of the season because West Brom’s fixtures do toughen up. But if you need a differential striker for the next few weeks before you play your wildcard, Rondon should do the trick nicely.

Article written by Luke Thunberg

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