Which Arsenal and Man City players should you keep for Blank Gameweek 31?

The Scout analyses the home and away data in Fantasy Premier League to show which players you should keep ahead of Blank Gameweek 31, who you should sell and who the best long-term replacements are.

The upcoming Blank Gameweek 31 (BGW31) in Fantasy is set to cause chaos for managers across all positions in Fantasy due to the popularity of Arsenal and Manchester City assets.

Arsenal and Man City are among the four clubs who don't have a Premier League fixture in BGW31, so their players will score zero points in FPL. 

Man City's Erling Haaland (£14.6m) and Antoine Semenyo (£8.3m) are the most-selected players overall: just under 62 per cent own forward Haaland, while midfielder Semenyo can be found in almost 57 per cent of squads.

Arsenal's David Raya (£6.0m) and Gabriel (£7.2m) are the most-selected goalkeeper and defender respectively, found in 34.3 and 43.3 per cent of squads.

The table below also shows Man City's Marc Guehi (£5.2m) and Arsenal pair Declan Rice (£7.4m) and Jurrien Timber (£6.3m) are each picked by over 28 per cent. 

Most-selected BGW31 players

Scroll across to see the full table on mobile

The problem facing Fantasy managers, of course, is that you can only bench four of your combined Arsenal and Man City assets if you are planning to field a full starting XI for the reduced round of matches.

Here, we look at home and away data to show which players you should keep ahead of BGW31, who you should sell and who the best long-term replacements are.

Arsenal

The Gunners' remaining schedule shows why managers should consider tripling up on their resilient defence for the run-in.

Mikel Arteta's side have just three away matches left on their schedule, with the leaders playing five of their final eight fixtures at Emirates Stadium.

Arsenal have kept seven clean sheets in their 14 home matches so far and are yet to entertain Everton, AFC Bournemouth, Newcastle United, Fulham and Burnley, a run which suggests Raya and Gabriel can retain their places as the top-scoring goalkeeper and defender respectively by the end of the season.

As you can see from the table below, the pair have both been similarly consistent in home/away fixtures this season: Raya has averaged 4.1 points per start (pps) in home and away matches, while Gabriel has produced 7.2pps at home and 7.0pps on the road.

The numbers also help to show the contrasting output of Timber and Rice according to match location.

Right-back Timber has averaged a team-high 7.3pps at Emirates Stadium, but that drops substantially to 4.0pps in away matches.

Midfielder Rice, on the other hand, is the top-scoring player in away matches in Fantasy this season, amassing 102 points at an average of 6.4pps. But he's managed just 4.8pps at home, significantly less than Timber's 7.3.

Arsenal home/away comparison

Man City

A recent move to a 4-2-2-2 formation by Pep Guardiola has clearly hampered Haaland's goal threat and, added to his reduced minutes due to an injury niggle, his ownership and price continue to drop.

The Norwegian's blank at home to Nottingham Forest in midweek means he's averaged just 4.8 points per match (ppm) in his last four starts at the Etihad Stadium, down markedly from his seasonal average of 7.3.

Similarly, Haaland's away average of 7.1 points per start has slipped to 5.0 across his last four outings on the road, which coincides with the signing of Semenyo ahead of Gameweek 22.

As you can see from the table below, the Ghanaian has averaged 8.3 points per match over his first four home outings under Guardiola, while more or less matching Haaland's output on the road. 

Crucially, Semenyo has now played up front in each of Man City's last two matches and scored on both occasions, suggesting he could continue to play as a forward for the rest of 2025/26.

Similarly to Semenyo, Nico O'Reilly (£5.1m) has also been boosted by a change of position of late. Listed as a defender in Fantasy, he has played as a central midfielder in his last three appearances, scoring three goals. 

Impressively, O'Reilly's average of 7.7pps is more than any other Man City player this season. But a meagre 2.9pps on the road makes him far from essential, bearing in mind Man City's next two matches are away to West Ham United in Gameweek 30 and Chelsea in Gameweek 32. 

Guehi, meanwhile, has averaged 4.0pps both home and away since joining from Crystal Palace. While that is more consistent that O'Reilly, it fares poorly when compared with the home form of Arsenal pair Gabriel and Timber, who look far more appealing holds.

Man City home/away comparison

So, which Arsenal and Man City players should managers hold for BGW31?

Arsenal's run of home matches looks too good an opportunity to ignore for clean-sheet potential.

Gabriel is an obvious must-have due to his potential at both ends of the pitch, while Raya appears to be the goalkeeper who is most likely to reward you with clean sheets over the rest of 2025/26.

Timber's output at the Emirates, combined with Semenyo's new role up front for Man City, should earn them the final two spots on your bench.

Providing Man City continue with two up front, Semenyo's midfielder status in Fantasy, which earns him extra points for goals and clean sheets, gives him the edge over Haaland.

It's also worth noting here that Man City's home match with Crystal Palace has yet to be rescheduled, which is likely to give them a Double Gameweek later in the season.

A Double Gameweek is when a club play TWO Premier League fixtures in a round of matches, and their players get two chances to score points.

Certainly, if you've already played most or all of your chips, it would be wise to also hold Haaland here and play with just 10 starters in BGW31, as he will be a great captain option if he gets a Double Gameweek.

O'Reilly's seasonal form shows he has to be among the best captain picks if the Palace match is moved into a Gameweek where Man City already have another home match.

Who are the best replacements?

Chelsea's Joao Pedro (£7.7m) is by far the best Haaland replacement. The Brazilian is the top-scoring player in Fantasy since Liam Rosenior was appointed as head coach in Gameweek 22, scoring eight goals and supplying six assists in eight matches.

Joao Pedro blanked just once - away to Arsenal - and amassed 76 points, a huge 44 points more than the 32 of Haaland.

West Ham's Jarrod Bowen (£7.5m) and Liverpool's Hugo Ekitike (£9.1m) are the other forwards to better the 5.2pps of Haaland from Gameweek 22 onwards.

As you can see from the table below, Bowen has been far more consistent, with just one blank across his last eight appearances.

Notably, as evidenced by his converted spot-kick against Brentford in the FA Cup last Monday evening, Bowen now appears to be on penalties for the Hammers following the departure of their previous first-choice taker Lucas Paqueta.

Ekitike has been a far more frustrating pick, blanking in six of his last eight matches. The Frenchman produced all his attacking returns in this period - three goals and two assists - across two home matches against Newcastle United and West Ham.

Best forwards for points per start, GW22-29

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Similarly to Timber, Ekitike is another player whose output is far superior when playing in home matches. From a captaincy perspective alone, he's produced four double-figure hauls at Anfield, compared with just one on the road.

And that could prove crucial in how we view his potential, with Liverpool among the nine sides who have five home matches and four away matches remaining.

Clubs' remaining number of home matches

The table below shows that both Ekitike and his Liverpool team-mate Florian Wirtz (£8.3m) are among the 11 regular starting players who have averaged at least 6.0 points per start in home matches this season. Wirtz - with four double-figure hauls over his last nine outings - is among the top midfielder replacements for Rice. 

Manchester United's Bruno Fernandes (£10.1m) is likely to have a big say on the captaincy debate over the run-in, with five home matches still to come. The Portuguese has produced a double-figure haul in seven of his 12 starts at Old Trafford this season, a remarkable 58.3 per cent success rate. 

Brentford's budget midfielder Dango Ouattara (£6.0m) narrowly misses out here, with an average of 5.9pps in home matches. Having blanked just once in his last four on the road, he could be a strong alternative to his more expensive team-mate, forward Igor Thiago (£7.2m).

At the back, Sunderland's Dan Ballard (£4.6m) has proven the equal of both Haaland and Timber, with an average of 7.3pps in home contests. The centre-back has just one blank in 10 outings at the Stadium of Light and is a great option to rotate on and off your bench.

Elsewhere, Virgil van Dijk (£6.1m) is a set-and-forget option for your starting line-up, with Liverpool's Dutchman delivering 36 points across the last four Gameweeks alone thanks to two goals, an assist and two clean sheets.

Best players for points per home start

Scroll across to see the full table on mobile. DD hauls = double-digit hauls