FPL Gameweek 31 preview: News, injuries, suspensions, fixtures, picks and analysis

The Premier League run-in is in full swing as the business end of the football season approaches with Liverpool edging ever closer to the title.

The Reds are 12 points clear of Arsenal with eight games remaining and while the Premier League race may well be over, it's crunch time in Fantasy Premier League (FPL) as managers search for that all important edge in the closing stages.

There are a lot of things to think about on the horizon, especially with two consecutive double gameweeks coming up, immediately followed by a blank one, but fear not - we've got you covered.

Ahead of each FPL Gameweek, we'll be keeping you up-to-date with all the latest that's going on, including injury news, suspensions, who's playing who and our in-depth analysis of what you need to be thinking about.

Here's indy100's preview for FPL gameweek 31.

Aston Villa's Marco Asensio was the top FPL points scorer in Gameweek 30 with 12 for a goal and assist off the bench against Brighton / Warren Little, Getty Images

FPL gameweek 31 picks - what to think about

There are two consecutive double gameweeks coming up followed by a blank one for some so there's plenty to keep in mind when planning what to do.

Gameweek 31 is a regular one but in GW32, Crystal Palace and Newcastle United both have double gameweeks.

In GW33, Arsenal, Aston Villa, Crystal Palace and Manchester City all have double gameweeks before not featuring at all in GW34.

A reminder the assistant manager chip is available now and managers have a monetary value between £0.5m and £1.5m which players need to budget for.

Crystal Palace have two double gameweeks in the next three before a blank one so Oliver Glasner could be an option here but the Eagles do have some tough fixtures. Newcastle United's Eddie Howe could also be a good option.

Looking at the fixtures each club has in more detail, Liverpool have two green and two neutral within their next four before two red games in a row.

FPL has four difficulty rankings of fixtures - green (2) is the so-called 'easiest' with this then going through neutral (3), light red (4), and dark red (5), which is what is referred to through this analysis.

Arsenal similarly have two red green and two neutral fixtures in their next four fixtures, with one of each in GW33, but have been plagued by defensive injuries. Third-placed Nottingham Forest have a great run with four green and three neutral in their run-in.

Chelsea have had Cole Palmer and Nicolas Jackson among those returning from injury and the Blues have two green and two neutral in their next four. Manchester City have four neutral in their next four fixtures, including the GW33 double, but are without Erling Haaland for a little while. Omar Marmoush could be an option up front.

Newcastle United have two green and four neutral in their next six fixtures, including the GW32 double, so Magpie assets could prove fruitful. Aston Villa have a mixed run in their next four, including in double GW33, and Brighton have three green and three neutral in their next six.

Fulham have a tough run with two red in their next three and Bournemouth, who have been falling down the table, have a green gameweek up next before a run of three neutral in a row.

Brentford have three red fixtures in their next four and Crystal Palace have a tough run but have two consecutive double gameweeks coming up as previously mentioned. The Eagles were in good form before leaving it late to pick up a point at Southampton last time out.

Manchester United have two red fixtures up next with Spurs having two green. They'll be hoping to end a run of four without a win in the league.

Everton have four red fixtures in a row, West Ham United have a neutral, dark red and green in their next three and Wolves have two green and two neutral in their next four. Matheus Cunha will be back from suspension after GW31.

Ipswich Town have a green gameweek before three consecutive red fixtures, Leicester City have two neutral before a dark red and Southampton have two green and three neutral in their next five.

Arsenal's Gabriel is out for the rest of the season / Shaun Botterill, Getty Images

FPL injuries

Each gameweek, this is a comprehensive guide to players who are out or are a doubt for each club in the order they appear for their club in FPL.

If they have a knock and a chance of playing, this will be reflected (if they have a 75 per cent chance of playing, the number will be by their name in brackets, the same for 50 per cent chance and so on), otherwise they are ruled out.

This is correct at the time of writing.

• Arsenal - Gabriel, Jurrien Timber (75), Riccardo Calafiori, Ben White (75), Tomiyasu Takehiro, Kai Havertz, Gabriel Jesus
• Aston Villa - Leon Bailey (75), Ross Barkley (75)
• Bournemouth - Justin Kluivert (50), Ryan Christie, Marcus Tavernier, Luis Sinisterra, Enes Unal
• Brentford - Rico Henry (75), Aaron Hickey, Fabio Carvalho, Mathias Jensen (75), Josh Dasilva, Gustavo Nunes, Igor Thiago
• Brighton - Jason Steele, Joel Veltman, Tariq Lamptey, Adam Webster, Ferdi Kadioglu, Igor Julio, Georginio Rutter, James Milner
• Chelsea - Wesley Fofana, Romeo Lavia, Omari Kellyman, Marc Guiu (25)
• Crystal Palace - Chris Richards (75), Chadi Riad, Cheick Doucoure, Jean-Philippe Mateta (50)
• Everton - Dwight McNeil (75), Jesper Lindstrom, Orel Mangala, Dominic Calvert-Lewin
• Fulham - Kenny Tete (50), Harry Wilson, Reiss Nelson
• Ipswich Town - Leif Davis (75), Omari Hutchinson (75), Sam Szmodics, Wes Burns, Chiedozie Ogbene
• Leicester City - Abdul Fatawu
• Liverpool - Alisson (75), Trent Alexander-Arnold, Conor Bradley (75), Joe Gomez, Tyler Morton (75)
• Manchester City - Manuel Akanji, John Stones, Nathan Ake, Rodri, Erling Haaland
• Manchester United - Lisandro Martinez, Matthijs de Light (75), Jonny Evans, Luke Shaw, Ayden Heaven, Amad Diallo, Kobbie Mainoo (75)
• Newcastle United - Lewis Hall, Kieran Trippier (75), Sven Botman, Matt Targett (75), Jamaal Lascelles, Anthony Gordon (75), Joelinton (75), Alexander Isak (75)
• Nottingham Forest - Ola Aina, Chris Wood (75)
• Southampton - Ryan Manning (75), Juan Larios (50), Lesley Ugochukwu (75), Will Smallbone, Albert Gronbaek (75), Ross Stewart (50)
• Spurs - Radu Dragusin, Kevin Danso, Dejan Kulusevski, Richarlison (75)
• West Ham United - Mohammed Kudus (75), Crysencio Summerville, Michail Antonio, Niclas Fullkrug
• Wolves - Yerson Mosquera, Enso Gonzalez, Leon Chiwome, Sasa Kalajdzic

FPL suspensions

Some players have picked up suspensions or are ineligible to face their parent club after joining a different team on loan.

Again, this is correct at the time of writing.

• Chelsea - Mykhailo Mudryk
• Nottingham Forest - Alex Moreno
• Southampton - Flynn Downes
• Wolves - Matheus Cunha

Nottingham Forest's Ola Aina will not be for the trip to Aston Villa but could be back for the Reds in time for the Everton game next weekend / Mike Hewitt, Getty Images

FPL gameweek 31 fixtures

These fixtures kick-off on Saturday (April 5) at 3pm GMT unless stated otherwise.

• Aston Villa v Nottingham Forest (Saturday, 5.30pm)
• Brentford v Chelsea (Sunday, 2pm)
• Crystal Palace v Brighton
• Everton v Arsenal (Saturday, 12.30pm)
• Fulham v Liverpool (Sunday, 2pm)
• Ipswich Town v Wolves
• Leicester City v Newcastle United (Monday, 8pm)
• Manchester United v Manchester City (Sunday, 4.30pm)
• Spurs v Southampton (Sunday, 2pm)
• West Ham United v Bournemouth

When does the next FPL gameweek start?

The next one gets underway on Saturday, April 12 with Manchester City v Crystal Palace at 12.30pm.

Players can still join in and play and if you've missed it, indy100 has put together some tips and strategies to get you started:

• How to get started in Fantasy Premier League
• The best Fantasy Premier League names and how to change it
• Fantasy Premier League: When is the best time to use chips?

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