With many FPL managers short of players in Blank Gameweek 31, is it time to use the Free Hit chip and if so, what is the best team?
In our weekly look at Hub AI&#8217;s teams of the week, we focus on the Free Hit, including analysis on the <a href="https://www.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/fixture-ticker">fixtures</a> and <a href="https://www.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/predictions">predicted points</a>.
The team in this article is an early snapshot. Hub members can exclusively <a href="https://www.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/my-team/ai-teams">see the latest squads in realtime</a> &#8211; they regularly change as new information is processed.
<h3>🤖 Hub AI quick summary 🤖</h3>
A brief round-up of what you&#8217;ll find below &#8211; and listen to an audio summary 👇
<ul>
<li>🗓️Fulham top the Hub&#8217;s fixture ticker, while up to four teams have no match this week</li>
<li>🔮Harry Wilson leads a congested predicted points chart</li>
<li>🍟Free Hit a back-up option for teams short of players &#8211; but saving it for future blanks could be helpful</li>
</ul>
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<h2>FPL Gameweek 31 fixtures</h2>
<h3>Which teams do not have a fixture?</h3>
Up to four teams will be without a fixture in Blank Gameweek 31 &#8211; and unusually given we&#8217;re close to the deadline, the schedule is not 100% confirmed.
The Carabao Cup final between Arsenal and Manchester City takes place on Sunday, meaning their league matches had to be rearranged.
Arsenal&#8217;s league fixture against Wolves was brought forward to Gameweek 26 &#8211; but the date for Manchester City v Crystal Palace remains uncertain.
If both City and Palace go out of Europe this week, the fixture could remain in Gameweek 31, however it is most likely to slot into Double Gameweek 33.
Four teams will be without a fixture in Blank Gameweek 31 if this is the case.
<ul>
<li><a href="https://www.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/fpl-blank-double-gameweek-guide">FPL Blank and Double Gameweek Guide</a></li>
</ul>
<div id="attachment_77617" style="width: 1034px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-77617" class="size-full wp-image-77617" src="https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/Rice-and-Gabriel.jpg" alt="" width="1024" height="683" srcset="https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/Rice-and-Gabriel.jpg 1024w, https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/Rice-and-Gabriel-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/Rice-and-Gabriel-768x512.jpg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" />Declan Rice and Gabriel. Picture by Getty Images</div>
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<h3>Who has the best fixtures this week?</h3>
Of the remaining teams, it&#8217;s Fulham who top the Hub&#8217;s <a href="https://www.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/fixture-ticker">fixture ticker</a>, hosting Burnley at Craven Cottage.
The Cottagers are favourites to score the most goals and keep a clean sheet, making both their attackers and defenders worth considering.
Newcastle host rivals Sunderland, whose poor away expected goals (xG) bodes well for the Magpies&#8217; chances of a shutout.
Aston Villa rank third, against West Ham (H), while Spurs are fourth for their relegation-battle clash with Nottingham Forest (H).
Leeds, Bournemouth, Everton and Brighton are the other home teams, although the ticker does not rate their match-ups as highly as the top four.
<div id="attachment_78389" style="width: 1034px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-78389" class="wp-image-78389 size-large" src="https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/GW31-fixtures-ticker-1024x352.jpg" alt="Blank Gameweek 31 fixtures" width="1024" height="352" srcset="https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/GW31-fixtures-ticker-1024x352.jpg 1024w, https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/GW31-fixtures-ticker-300x103.jpg 300w, https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/GW31-fixtures-ticker-768x264.jpg 768w, https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/GW31-fixtures-ticker-1536x528.jpg 1536w, https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/GW31-fixtures-ticker-1080x371.jpg 1080w, https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/GW31-fixtures-ticker.jpg 1603w" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" />Blank Gameweek 31 fixtures</div>
<h2>FPL Blank Gameweek 31 predicted points</h2>
With regular chart topper Erling Haaland out of the picture as things stand, it&#8217;s Harry Wilson who is currently the highest <a href="https://www.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/predictions">predicted points</a> scorer.
Bruno Fernandes is 0.1 behind Wilson, with his challenging away match against Bournemouth limiting his projection.
Cole Palmer takes third and could be a differential option. He travels to Everton.
Malick Thiaw and Anthony Gordon round off the top five, underlining the strength of Newcastle&#8217;s fixture.
<div id="attachment_78388" style="width: 850px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-78388" class="size-full wp-image-78388" src="https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Predictions-GW31.jpeg" alt="Predicted points for Gameweek 31" width="840" height="690" srcset="https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Predictions-GW31.jpeg 840w, https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Predictions-GW31-300x246.jpeg 300w, https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Predictions-GW31-768x631.jpeg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 840px) 100vw, 840px" />Predicted points for Gameweek 31</div>
<h2>Should the Free Hit be used in Blank Gameweek 31?</h2>
With no more time left to prepare for Blank Gameweek 34, the state of your team will dictate whether or not to use the Free Hit.
Ideally, the Free Hit should be saved.
Blank Gameweek 34 could be a trickier week to get through without the chip because more teams could end up without a fixture.
Double Gameweek 33 may also be an alternative option instead of the Bench Boost.
But if your team is maxed out on Arsenal and City picks and you have limited free transfers, the Free Hit may be hard to avoid.
Taking one or two hits could be preferable to using the chip this week &#8211; read our <a href="https://www.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/fpl-blank-double-gameweek-guide">Blank and Double Gameweek Guide</a> to see how your team currently shapes up for Blank Gameweek 34 and get <a href="https://www.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/my-team/transfers">personalised recommended transfers</a> in our My Team tool.
<div id="attachment_78396" style="width: 1034px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-78396" class="size-large wp-image-78396" src="https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/BGW31-transfers-1024x419.jpg" alt="AI-recommended transfers in our My Team tool" width="1024" height="419" srcset="https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/BGW31-transfers-1024x419.jpg 1024w, https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/BGW31-transfers-300x123.jpg 300w, https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/BGW31-transfers-768x314.jpg 768w, https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/BGW31-transfers-1536x628.jpg 1536w, https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/BGW31-transfers-1080x442.jpg 1080w, https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/BGW31-transfers.jpg 1658w" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" />AI-recommended transfers in our My Team tool</div>
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<h2>Best FPL Blank Gameweek 31 Free Hit team</h2>
Here are the AI&#8217;s current Free Hit selections, making up a 3-4-3 formation:
Emiliano Martinez &#8211; The joint highest predicted points for a goalkeeper this week (4.2) alongside Bernd Leno but the AI looks elsewhere for its Fulham coverage.
Malick Thiaw &#8211; Ranks third for xG among defenders (3.74) and has the joint most goals (four). Has recorded 2.2 expected goal involvements since Gameweek 25, the most of players in his position. Also has a good chance of a clean sheet.
<div id="attachment_78394" style="width: 850px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-78394" class="size-full wp-image-78394" src="https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Thiaw-gw1-30.jpeg" alt="Malick Thiaw's stats" width="840" height="690" srcset="https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Thiaw-gw1-30.jpeg 840w, https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Thiaw-gw1-30-300x246.jpeg 300w, https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Thiaw-gw1-30-768x631.jpeg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 840px) 100vw, 840px" />Malick Thiaw&#8217;s <a href="https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/opta/" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c="1" title="FPL Stats by OPTA - Player and Team Stats">stats</a></div>
&nbsp;
Joachim Andersen &#8211; Combines the best clean sheet potential of Gameweek 31 with strong defensive contribution returns. Only three players have earned more points this way than his 34.
Kenny Tete &#8211; Part of a Fulham defensive double up, the full-back also offers a chance of defensive contributions, having hit the target in seven of his 21 starts.
Harry Wilson &#8211; Nine goals and eight assists this season. Has over-performed his expected goal involvements (xGI) of 9.2 but has several routes to points, including set-pieces. A captaincy contender. Raul Jimenez has a strong xG but his minutes have been impacted by the return of Rodrigo Muniz, meaning the AI avoids him for now.
Bruno Fernandes &#8211; Seven goals and 16 assists, making him the league&#8217;s standout creator. No other player has reached double digits for assists.
<div id="attachment_78395" style="width: 850px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-78395" class="size-full wp-image-78395" src="https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Top-assists.jpeg" alt="Bruno Fernandes leads the way for assists" width="840" height="690" srcset="https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Top-assists.jpeg 840w, https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Top-assists-300x246.jpeg 300w, https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Top-assists-768x631.jpeg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 840px) 100vw, 840px" />Bruno Fernandes leads the way for assists</div>
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Cole Palmer &#8211; Seven consecutive league starts indicates the Chelsea star&#8217;s fitness has improved after earlier injury issues. Has quietly reached nine goals and two assists for the season.
Anthony Gordon &#8211; A differential captaincy option, playing up front lately and on penalties. Five goals and four assists marks an under-performance compared to his 11.4 xGI.
Joao Pedro &#8211; Last week&#8217;s top transfer target blanked in Gameweek 30 but the Chelsea forward has 14 goals and nine league assists, leading his teammates for xG.
Hugo Ekitike &#8211; Not the best fixture for the Liverpool striker but still among the best forward options in the absence of Haaland.
Igor Thiago &#8211; A real Golden Boot contender, now up to 19 goals &#8211; three behind Haaland.
<div id="attachment_78390" style="width: 743px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-78390" class="size-full wp-image-78390" src="https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/GW31-Free-Hit-AI.jpg" alt="Hub AI Free Hit team for Gameweek 31" width="733" height="778" srcset="https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/GW31-Free-Hit-AI.jpg 733w, https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/GW31-Free-Hit-AI-283x300.jpg 283w" sizes="(max-width: 733px) 100vw, 733px" />Hub AI Free Hit team for Gameweek 31</div>
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Best FPL Free Hit team for Blank Gameweek 31 according to Hub AI

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