Who are the best under-the-radar players to add to your Fantasy Premier League team for Gameweek 31 of 2025-26? We assess the Opta data to reveal our top picks.
The Carabao Cup final this weekend means we only have 16 teams in action in Gameweek 31. With an international break and upcoming FA Cup quarter-finals, this is your last dose of Fantasy Premier League for three weeks. How will you cope?
We’ve crunched the Opta data to identify five players you should consider bringing into your team, despite them currently being picked by fewer than 10% of FPL managers.
GK – Matz Sels | 4.6m | 4.8% Ownership
The tension in the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium will be all-encompassing this weekend when Spurs host Nottingham Forest. Nothing will be decided in terms of relegation whatever the outcome, but given Tottenham are on the longest run in the Premier League without a victory (12 games) with Forest (seven) next in those standings, a win will be huge should either team get it.
Neither club have averaged even one goal per game across their previous six matches, so picking one of their goalkeepers might make sense. But which way to go?
Guglielmo Vicario let in a soft free-kick at Anfield last week (and it’s safe to assume we won’t see Antonín Kinský), while only West Ham (12) have conceded more goals in their last six away league games than Forest (11).
You could avoid this match altogether and see who else is facing low-scoring teams. But are those options even that strong? It’d be a brave bet to take a Newcastle goalkeeper in a derby, which is one such option. Can you even be certain which goalkeeper Liam Rosenior will select for Chelsea in another?
With avoiding defeat the number one priority for Vitor Pereira, we suggest you pick Matz Sels. He kept a clean sheet last week and has more FPL points than Vicario in the three gameweeks since he returned from injury (9-5). Forest are at home to an Aston Villa side in freefall and Burnley in their following two games so Sels might be a decent choice beyond this week too.
DEF – Malick Thiaw | 5.0m | 7.0% Ownership
As much as it’s sensible to avoid a goalkeeper playing in the mayhem of a derby, they will almost certainly only earn FPL points at one end of the pitch. A defender can deliver in attack too, which brings us to Malick Thiaw.
The Newcastle centre-back will be up against a Sunderland side that have scored just eight goals in their 15 away matches in the 2025-26 Premier League. Magpies fans won’t need reminding of the Black Cats’ good record at St James’ Park, but a clean sheet looks far from impossible. They’ll be desperate for it after conceding seven in Barcelona on Wednesday.
Sunderland should also give Thiaw opportunities to score. They have conceded 10 goals from set-pieces this season, which isn’t too bad. However, Newcastle have scored that many at home alone, a tally that not even Arsenal can top.
Thiaw has amassed a very decent 3.7 non-penalty expected goals this season. Jurriën Timber (4.7) and Nico O’Reilly (4.0, having often played further forward) are the only defenders to have generated more. A goal on Sunday will ensure Thiaw never has to buy a drink in the Bigg Market ever again.
MID – Harvey Barnes | 6.1m | 1.2% Ownership
We’ll stay with the Tyne-Wear derby as we head into midfield. Our pick is Harvey Barnes, for a similar but different reason to Thiaw.
The former Leicester man offers a serious threat on the counter. He has scored two goals in Opta-defined fast break situations in the Champions League this season. Only Julián Alvarez and Kylian Mbappé (both three) have more. That’s not bad company to be keeping, is it?
Barnes can put this skill to good use against Sunderland, who have conceded six goals to opposition fast breaks. It’s the joint-most in the Premier League, along with Manchester United.
Even if counter-attacks don’t prove to be a factor, Barnes is in decent form. He has two goals and three assists in his last nine appearances, having scored against Manchester City and Barcelona (also assisting against the latter). Perhaps most pertinently this weekend, 11 of his 14 goals in all competitions have come at St. James’ Park.
Barnes is also Eddie Howe’s top man for non-penalty xG in the Premier League in 2025-26 (6.1). With matches against Crystal Palace and Bournemouth to follow after the international break, there are multiple opportunities for Barnes’ form to continue.
MID – Casemiro | 5.7m | 3.2% Ownership
Bournemouth are having such a weird season defensively. They have conceded 31 goals in their 15 away games, the second worst tally behind Burnley (35). Yet they have only allowed 15 opposition goals at the Vitality Stadium; just three teams have conceded fewer in home matches.
The Cherries host in-form Manchester United on Friday night. The teams played out a classic 4-4 draw in the reverse fixture, and even with their decent defensive record at home, Bournemouth have conceded three goals per game against the current top five.
This therefore seems a good opportunity for Casemiro to remain on a roll. The veteran has amassed 133 FPL points this season, the joint-most by a midfielder who costs less than £6.0m (alongside Elliot Anderson and James Garner).
Casemiro has scored in each of United’s previous two matches. He is running hot against his 4.7 xG by bagging seven league goals, but is perhaps due an assist. The Brazilian has set up two goals from 2.88 expected assists, with the latter being the fourth highest tally among the United squad.
He scored the only goal of this fixture in May 2023 and also found the net against Bournemouth earlier this season.
FWD – Tammy Abraham | 6.0m | 0.2% Ownership
The final section of our gameweek 30 article noted there were not many in-form forwards in the Premier League. We selected Dominic Calvert-Lewin, who proved the point by missing a penalty in a goalless draw at Crystal Palace. Cheers, Dominic!
Our pick this week, Tammy Abraham, is a bit of a gamble but it’s one with some logic behind it. His one Premier League start this season came in a home game on a Sunday after Aston Villa had been at home in Europe three days earlier. A repeat could easily occur this week given the circumstances.
With two goals in his last six appearances prior to the clash with Lille this week, Abraham was Unai Emery’s top scorer in this period. The 28-year-old striker is also adept at getting on the end of high value chances.
Abraham has averaged 0.58 non-penalty expected goals per 90 minutes in the English top flight this term. Among players with at least as much playing time, only Erling Haaland (0.66) and Callum Wilson (0.59) are ahead of him. We’ll need Emery to put Abraham in his XI for us, but if he does then he should do well against the second-worst defence in the Premier League this season.
Villa face Wilson’s side West Ham this week. Among likely starters in the division this weekend, Abraham is rated as the joint-likeliest to score in Opta’s Premier League Player Stat Predictions Table.
He happens to be level with Harvey Barnes, which could work out very nicely for us indeed.
*FPL player values and ownership data accurate as of 19 March 2026
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