Operation 'target Leicester' continues - FPL tips and team of week

It's business time in Fantasy Premier League, with double and blank gameweeks ahead.

There are only eight weeks left so transfers are precious, every week matters that little bit more and you don't want to leave anything on the table.

As a reminder...

Gameweek 31 - normal gameweek

Gameweek 32 - double gameweek for Newcastle and Crystal Palace

Gameweek 33 - double gameweek for Manchester City, Aston Villa, Arsenal and Crystal Palace

Gameweek 34 - blank gameweek for Manchester City, Aston Villa, Arsenal and Crystal Palace

If you're stuck for how to approach this period then don't worry, help is at hand.

FPL expert Gianni Buttice will be joining us on the BBC Sport website at 14:30 BST on Friday 4 April for a live question and answer session.

Want him to grade your wildcard? Need a differential for the rest of the season? Confused about chip strategy?

Get your questions in for Gianni on X using #bbcfootball.

In the meantime, here's our week 31 team of the week for some short-term inspiration.

The team of the week is selected based on current FPL prices to fit within a £100m budget, as if you were playing a Free Hit.

Manchester City held the team together with captain Omar Marmoush (18 points) and clean sheets for Josko Gvardiol and Ruben Dias.

Aside from that it was a lot of one and two-pointers for 43 points. Meh.

Listen to the latest Fantasy 606 podcast on BBC Sounds.

Emi Martinez, Aston Villa, keeper, £5m - Nottingham Forest (h)

The Argentine kept just his fourth clean sheet of the season in Wednesday's win at Brighton but he is a differential keeper option for this week and the rest of the season.

Villa face goal-shy Southampton next week before a double in 33.

Forest are not an easy opponent for Villa but they are definitely not as threatening without injured striker Chris Wood.

Virgil van Dijk, Liverpool, £6.4m - Fulham (a)

Liverpool's defence is rolling at the moment, with three clean sheets in their past four including keeping Manchester City and Newcastle out.

And Van Dijk has only scored once so far this season. He has not finished a season with just one goal since 2020-21, so the law of averages means he is due.

Djed Spence, Spurs, £4.4m - Southampton (h)

While Tottenham's form is nose-diving again, they face a Saints side with just 22 goals in 30 games - the league's lowest total.

Spence seems to be holding down that right-back spot and, if they do keep a clean sheet, has a great chance of bonus.

In Tottenham's recent back-to-back clean sheets, against Brentford and Manchester United, Spence earned the maximum three bonus points.

Kieran Trippier, Newcastle, £5.6m - Leicester (a)

Am I getting suckered in with memories of prime Trippier from the past two seasons, when he had nine and 10 assists? Possibly.

Is picking a defender against Leicester each week the most obvious call? Yes.

That makes Trippier worth a punt in my opinion, even if he is nursing a potential groin issue.

He took three set-pieces, made three crosses and two key passes in Wednesday's win over Brentford, so you're getting a defender who is pretty involved in attacking play.

Mohamed Salah (vice-captain), Liverpool, £13.8m - Fulham (a)

Salah has failed to score in two of his past three games and his expected goal involvement (xGI) of 0.17 against Everton on Wednesday was the Egyptian's lowest all season.

But this man has 44 goal involvements in 2024-25 so don't give up on him yet!

There could come a time - especially if you are chasing your rivals - where going without Salah makes sense in a few weeks, as Liverpool won't have a double gameweek this season.

But not yet.

Jacob Murphy, Newcastle, £5m - Leicester (a)

FPL players may be looking at Anthony Gordon as the best Newcastle midfield option, with a double gameweek next week for the Magpies.

But Murphy, at just £5m, can easily match Gordon.

He has nine assists now this season and has started every game since week 14. Bargain.

Bukayo Saka, Arsenal, £10.3m - Everton (a)

Saka has gone from 'player to watch' to essential in this column in the space of three weeks.

Your only worry is whether, with a Champions League quarter-final against Real Madrid coming up, the England man is rested for the odd game having just come back from injury.

But a start against Everton seems certain and Saka is still second on the assists chart with 11 this season, despite missing just over three months.

Gabriel Martinelli, Arsenal, £6.5m - Everton (a)

Saka's return is good for team-mate Martinelli, even though a trip to Everton isn't exactly easy on paper.

The pair had a combined 52 goals and assists two seasons ago, getting on the end of each other's crosses, and with a double gameweek in 33 of Palace (h) and Ipswich (a), why not double up on the Arsenal attack?

Alexander Isak (captain), Newcastle, £9.5m - Leicester (a)

The 20-goal striker is a slight injury doubt but you have to go with him against this Championship-bound Leicester side.

Captaining Manchester City's Marmoush against Leicester paid off last week so we go again!

Liam Delap, Ipswich, £5.6m - Wolves (h)

This is a must-win game for Ipswich and we're at the stage of the season where form goes out of the window a little.

Portman Road will be pumped up and if Town do pull off a victory, chances are Delap will be involved in some way.

The 11-goal striker has been involved in 43% of Ipswich's goals this season, a statistic bettered only by four strikers who have played more than 10 games - Isak, Erling Haaland, Wolves' Matheus Cunha (who is suspended for this one) and Jamie Vardy.

Dominic Solanke, Spurs, £7.3m - Southampton (h)

This is a pure gut-feel pick (you need one in every team right?) as Solanke has no form to speak of. He had an expected goals (xG) of zero in Thursday's defeat at Chelsea.

But the England striker was just getting motoring before an injury after gameweek 21 put him out for six matches. Solanke had three goals and two assists in the six games before that, and has the potential to go off against a doomed Southampton side.

Dean Henderson, Crystal Palace, keeper, £4.6m - Brighton (h)

Morgan Rogers, Aston Villa, midfielder, £5.5m - Nottingham Forest (h)

Rayan Ait-Nouri, Wolves, defender, £4.8m - Ipswich (a)

Aaron Wan-Bissaka, West Ham, defender, £4.5m - Bournemouth (h)

Team total cost: £94.4m

Jakub Kiwior, Arsenal, defender, £4.8m

Are we about to get a cheap entry into one of the Premier League's best defences, with a double gameweek on the horizon?

With Gabriel out for the season, Riccardo Calafiori injured, and Jurrien Timber and Ben White injury doubts, Kiwior could be the next man up.

He has performed before when called upon.

Aston Villa - Nottingham Forest (h), Southampton (a), DOUBLE GAMEWEEK - Newcastle (h), Manchester City (a)

It's just picking the right Villa player for this run of games - everyone apart from Morgan Rogers seems a bit of a punt, with the usually reliable Ollie Watkins having been benched for two consecutive games in all competitions.

With a Champions League quarter-final against Paris St-Germain crammed in between these games as well, it might be prudent to wait until the double before choosing your Villa assets.

But both Marcus Rashford (£6.6m) and Marco Asensio (£6.1m) could be amazing differential picks.