Gameweek 31 best free hit team

With a new Gameweek upon us we take a look at the free hit chip. Using the Fantasy Football Scout members area we can utilise the season ticker and underlying stats to determine the Gameweek 31 best free hit team.

The free hit chip in FPL allows managers, within the same budget and formational limits, to select a team for one particular Gameweek. Managers can attack any given Gameweek with the free hit whether that be to utilise a good set of fixtures, in-form teams or players or a mixture of it all.

Fixtures

Who has the best fixtures?

Tottenham, Crystal Palace, Southampton, Brentford and Liverpool all make up the top five teams with the easiest fixtures according to the fixture ticker.

Who has the worst fixtures?

Leicester, West Ham, Leeds, Brighton and Bournemouth all make up the bottom five teams with the toughest fixtures according to the fixture ticker.

The best free hit team

Using the Live FPL website we can use one of its fantastic tools to plan transfers weeks in advance. Not just this, but we can also create team drafts to plan for using a chip. Take a look at the best free hit team for Gameweek 31:

Goalkeepers

Brentford rank fourth on the fixture ticker this week. They face a match against Wolves who rank joint second worst for goals scored this season (24). This could indicate investing in the Brentford backline a good move for managers. Because of that David Raya (£4.9m) could have solid potential in the round ahead.

Leicester’s Daniel Iverson (£3.8m) helps to enable the rest of the team and will only feature in the unlikely even that Raya fails to.

Defenders

Tottenham top the fixture ticker for Gameweek 31 with a match against Bournemouth. The Cherries rank amongst the worst three teams in the league this season for total attempts on goal (272), shots in the box (198) and shots on target (97). Taking that into account and the fact that Spurs play with a back-three system giving Pedro Porro (£4.8m) freedom to advance forward, Porro makes the cut.

Newcastle’s Kieran Trippier (£6.2m) and Liverpool’s Trent Alexander-Arnold (£7.3m) top every other defender in the game for key distribution stats like chances created and big chances created. Due to this and their fixtures, they ease their way into the free hit for Gameweek 31.

Manchester United face another of the leagues worst attacks, Nottingham Forest. Aaron-Wan Bissaka (£4.3m) has solid clean sheet potential if needed off the bench and he also helps to enable the rest of the squad. Joining Wan-Bassaka on the bench and very unlikely to feature is Sven Botman (£4.4m). He plays for one of the best defensive units in the league and helps to enable funds elsewhere in the squad.

Midfielders

Leeds rank amongst the worst teams in the league for big chances conceded where-as Liverpool rank second best for big chances total (93). With this in mind Mohamed Salah (£12.8m) should be an absolute shoe-in this week. The Egyptian takes his teams penalties and has picked up four returns in his last six games.

Brighton have been fantastic this season. More recently in the last six Gameweeks they rank joint third for goals scored (13), first for attempts on goal (112) and first for shots on target (41). They face an unsteady Chelsea backline and who better to include than midfielder Kaoru Mitoma (£5.7m). Not only is he reasonably priced but he has also collected seven returns in his last 10 matches.

This season amongst all teams in the league Arsenal rank second for goals scored (72), first for attempts on goal (484), joint first for shots in the box (332) and second for minutes per chance (six). One of the best cost-effective ways into the relentless frontline is Gabriel Martinelli (£6.7m). The Brazilian has bagged five returns in the last six games including two double-digit hauls.

Crystal Palace face a Southampton team who have conceded two or more goals in half of their last six matches. The Saints look like a team to target. The standout Crystal Palace attacker is Michael Olise (£5.4m) who edges his offensive teammates for non-penalty expected goal involvement in the last six matches. His potential was also reflected in his most recent game where he claimed a huge 14-point haul.

Fulham’s Andreas Pereira (£4.3m) sits as the first sub. As well as enabling budget elsewhere he also plays a poor Everton defence, takes penalties and plays in an advanced position.

Forwards

It could be very difficult to exclude the second highest scoring player in FPL this season. Harry Kane (£11.7m) has been one of the most consistent assets in the game. He will be hoping to extend his form against Bournemouth. The promoted side rank as the worst team in the league for shots in the box conceded (326), second worst for shots on target conceded (157) and the worst for headed attempts conceded.

Manchester City have been maintaining some of the best offensive stats in the league all season. The biggest contributing factor to that is Erling Haaland (£12.2m). The Norwegian sits as the highest scoring and highest owned player in the game. Against a poor Leicester defence, not only only is Haaland an absolute essential this week but he is also the standout captaincy option.

Nottingham Forest are on a really poor run. In their last six games they have conceded more two or more goals in five of their matches. This highlights them as a team to target. Marcus Rashford is highly likely to be out due to injury. However, one player who has returned from injury is Anthony Martial (£6.3m). The Frenchman bagged a goal in his 30 minute appearance in his most recent match.