You need to pick your FPL team carefully in gameweek 31. This quintet should not be part of your thinking…
FPL gameweek 31 is unforgiving. Arsenal, Manchester City, Wolves and Crystal Palace all blank, benches are stretched, and injury flags are everywhere. This is not the week to “hope for the best” with doubtful minutes or players who literally have no fixture. Cleaning out dead spots now lets you field an XI and still take a couple of calculated punts. Here are five players you should be looking to move on before the deadline.
Nordi Mukiele (4.5m)
Mukiele was originally pencilled in for a return this week, but the latest updates make that far from certain. In a blank gameweek where simply having players on the pitch is crucial, carrying a defender who might not even make the squad is asking for trouble. Even if he did scrape back, Newcastle away is hardly an appealing fixture for defensive returns. If you can move him on to a nailed defender with a good GW31 fixture, this is exactly the time to do it.
Marc Guehi (5.2m)
This one extends to all Manchester City defenders, but Guehi is the headline name. City don’t play in Gameweek 31 because of the EFL Cup final, so every one of their assets is guaranteed zero points this week. If you’re not Wildcarding straight after, things don’t get much friendlier: Chelsea and Arsenal are up next, two sides who are very capable of attacking them aggressively. Guehi has been a solid, consistent scorer since his move, but with no fixture now and two tricky games to follow, he becomes an easy sell. There are too many better options who actually play to justify holding.
Trevoh Chalobah (5.5m)
Chalobah being stretchered off with an ankle injury in the Champions League was the last thing FPL managers needed heading into a blank. Post-match comments confirmed a high ankle sprain, and even if the damage isn’t season ending, it’s bad news in the short term. In a week where four teams don’t play at all, you simply cannot afford to be fielding injured players and hoping your bench covers it. If you were relying on Chalobah for a GW31 start, that’s gone – and Chelsea’s defensive form and fixtures weren’t appealing enough to justify patience anyway. Cash him out and reinvest in someone fit and available.
Declan Rice (7.4m)
Rice is having a sensational season and has legitimately entered the “best in the world” conversation as a central midfielder for this season. But FPL doesn’t reward narrative – it rewards minutes and fixtures. Arsenal blank in GW31, then face Bournemouth and Manchester City immediately after. Neither of those are bad for Rice in isolation, but with so many mid‑priced midfielders offering kinder runs and a game this week, he quickly becomes a luxury. If you’re not stacked with transfers you can’t really justify carrying a non‑playing mid here. Selling Rice now to chase two weeks of stronger fixtures elsewhere is ruthless, but it’s also good management.
Eli Kroupi Jr (4.7m)
Kroupi Jr avoids the blank, but that doesn’t automatically make him worth keeping. Bournemouth’s attack is packed with options, and the rotation risk has become a constant headache. Yes, Manchester United’s defence is still capable of conceding that one sloppy goal, but relying on sporadic minutes from a forward who’s regularly hooked early or benched entirely is not the one in a blank gameweek. With so many nailed, low‑owned attackers available who actually have both minutes and fixtures on their side, Kroupi starts to look like dead weight. If you need a spot to sacrifice to get an extra starter or a high-upside punt, he’s near the top of the list.
