The international break is all over and that means we’re coming to the business end of the season – the next two months are going to be filled with non-stop football and as FPL managers we’re going to need to keep up.
To start off the first gameweek after the international break, we’ll be getting into our team selection and gameweek 31 captain picks.
Pros and Cons of some FPL Gameweek 31 captain picks
Let’s take a look at which FPL assets we should be giving the captain’s armband ahead of gameweek 31.
There are a lot of good captaincy options ahead of gameweek 31. The likes of Mo Salah, Andy Robertson, Kevin De Brunye, Riyad Mahrez, Kai Havertz, and Harry Kane are all good captain picks ahead of gameweek 31. We’d now be looking at some pros and cons of captaining these players.
Riyad Mahrez

Pros of captaining Mahrez in gameweek 31
- Mahrez has been City’s top scorer in the Premier League this season – he has scored 10 goals for them so far this season.
- He’s a man in form right now. He has produced five double-digit hauls in his last eight starts for City.
- Burnley is Mahrez’s favorite opponents he has averaged 9.7 points per match over his six outings for Man City against Burnley, including a career-high haul of 21 points in Gameweek 10 last season.
- Man City face a Burnley side who have been leaking goals in recent weeks. They’ve conceded eight goals in their last three games
- Riyad Mahrez could also be a good differential pick this gameweek – he’s selected by just 4.2% of FPL managers.
Cons of captaining Mahrez in gameweek 31
- Mahrez is a huge rotation risk especially after being involved in Algeria’s World cup qualifiers.
- While Burnley might be Mahrez’s favorite team, the Algerian has only scored one goal out of his eight at Turf moor.
So with Riyad Mahrez, you’re getting a player who scores goals, plays against his favorite opponent and is a differential who is a huge rotation risk.
Kevin De Brunye

Pros of captaining Kevin De Brunye in gameweek 31
- Kevin De Brunye is fit and has had a two week break – the Belgian didn’t join the Belgium National team during the International break.
- Just like Riyad Mahrez, Kevin De Brunye is facing a Burnley side that has conceded eight goals in their last three games.
- De Brunye is also a man on form – he has picked up 36 points in his last five games, scoring three goals and assisting one in that period.
- Would be a good differential captain pick in gameweek 31 – he has been selected by just 7.3% of FPL managers.
Cons of captaining Kevin De Brunye in gameweek 31
- Kevin De Brunye could also be rested this Saturday because Man City have a big UCL game coming up against Athletico Madrid.
- Kevin De Brunye hasn’t produced any double-digit hauls in away games so far this season. He has only turned up three times away from home this season with a goal against Liverpool and two assists against Southampton and Brentford.
If you choose to captain De Brunye this week, you’re getting a fully rested De Brunye who faces a leaky Burnley defense and could also be rested as City face Atleti later in the week.
Andy Robertson

Pros of captaining Andy Robertson in gameweek 31
- Andy Robertson has been in good form. In fact, Robertson (£7.4m) has scored more points than Salah and Alexander-Arnold over his last four games at Anfield.
- Andy Robertson and Liverpool have been solid at the back in their last four games, they’ve kept a clean sheet.
- On other good advantage of captaining Andy Robertson is he gets you a guaranteed six points if Liverpool keep a clean sheet.
- Andy Robertson has not blanked in his last eight starts for Liverpool. In that period he has picked up 73 points.
Cons of captaining Andy Robertson in gameweek 31
- As it is with every defender, if he concedes a goal you are looking at a two pointer if he doesn’t get any attacking returns.
With Andy Robertson you’re getting a man in form – a man who hasn’t blanked in his last eight games and a player who could get you six points easily should Watford fail to score.
Kai Havertz
- Kai Havertz is one of the most in-form players in the game right now he has scored four goals in his last three games.
- Chelsea also have a really good fixture in gameweek 31, they face Brentford.
Cons of captaining Andy Robertson in gameweek 31
- Kai Havertz is a big rotation risk as Chelsea have a to play in the UEFA Champions League later on in the week.
If you decide to captain Kai Havertz in gameweek 31, you’d be going with a player who has scored four goals in his last three starts, a man in form but is also a huge rotation risk.
Harry Kane

Pros of captaining Harry Kane in gameweek 31
- Harry Kane plays Newcastle in gameweek 31 a team that he has scored eight goals against in fourteen games.
- Harry Kane has been in scintillating form – he has scored five goals and has picked up four assists in his last five games in the premier league.
- The Englishman has also picked a total of 51 points in his last five games producing three double-digit hauls in that period.
- Harry Kane is also a nailed-on starter for Spurs and is guaranteed to start.
Cons of captaining Harry Kane in gameweek 31
There really isn’t any disadvantage of captaining Harry Kane in gameweek 31.
Harry Kane is a man in really good form, he has been involved in nine goals in his last five games, he has produced three double digit-hauls in his last five games as well and he is a nailed-on starter for his club.
Mo Salah

Pros of captaining Mo Salah in gameweek 31
- Mo Salah faces relegation threatened Watford in gameweek 31. A team that he has scored nine goals against in his last seven starts.
- Mo Salah already performed really well against Watford earlier this season – he scored, assisted and picked up two bonus points.
- Mo Salah has also been in good form – he has returned 31 points in his last five games scoring four and assisting one.
- Mo Salah has also been the most consistent FPL asset so far this season. He top the Premier League chart for most goal involvement with 31 goal involvements, he also is the player who has picked up the most FPL points so far this season.
Cons of captaining Mo Salah in gameweek 31
The only scare with Salah this week is that he could be rested. Salah was involved in Egypt’s world cup qualifier and played a total of 210 minutes. He also was on the losing end of the qualifiers so maybe Jurgen Klopp might want to give him a chance to recover from all of that before playing him.
The Best Gameweek 31 captain pick
We’ve looked at some really good gameweek 31 capatain picks and honestly if you put the captain’s armband on one of them it shouldn’t go that bad. That being said there really is an ideal player to captain in gameweek 31 and that player has to be Harry Kane.
Harry Kane has been in top form scoring goals and assisting goals as well. He has produced three double digit hauls in his last five games. He is a nailed on starter and plays against one of his favorite teams Newcastle. He would our. gameweek 31 captain.
I know everyone might be saying Salah but honestly do think Salah might be rested in gameweek 31.
The best differential captain pick
From the pros and cons, Kevin De Brunye looks like he’d be the best differential captain pick. He has had a two week break and he plays against Burnley who have been concedeing goals.
Another good differential captain would be Andy Robertson. Robertson has been in good form lately he has been assisting and has also been keeping clean sheets. Liverpool face Watford and you’d expect Robertson to at least keep a clean sheet.
Gameweek 31 Team Selection

This is how we’d be setting up our team in gameweek 31 – we’d be going with a 3-5-2 formation this week. We’ve also decided to go with two Man city assets, two Liverpool, two Arsenal, two Burnley one Everton, One Leeds and one Spurs asset.
This team would be good enough to see you from now until the end of the season if you’re on wildcard you might want to see our GW31-38 wildcard draft.
Redeyedrae, is an FPL content writer with years of experience in playing and writing about FPL. He has written for major FPL blogs like ALLABOUTFPL, Fantasytipsters, FF Titans, and nevermanagealone. With his deep knowledge of the game, he has become a trusted source for FPL fans worldwide. His content is well-researched and always up-to-date. He’s passionate about helping FPL managers gain an edge in their leagues by sharing insights and analysis about everything fantasy football on raensports.
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