Spot The Differential – Gameweek 31

While we have a limited pool of players to choose from this week, we are still confident our trio of differentials can deliver once again.

A returning Crystal Palace attacker tops the bill, while a West Brom forward and a Liverpool defender are also backed to produce.

Wilfried Zaha

After supplying an assist on his return from injury in last weekend’s 2-1 defeat to Chelsea, Crystal Palace’s Wilfried Zaha could be a powerful differential in Gameweek 31.

The Ivory Coast international is expected to return to the starting XI for this afternoon’s trip to Huddersfield Town.

Eagles boss Roy Hodgson is likely to continue with a 4-4-2 formation and Zaha could be handed a start alongside either Christian Benteke or Alexander Sorloth up front.

Despite injuries limiting him to just 20 starts this season, Zaha sits second for penalty area shots (36), shots on target (15) and chances created (38) among Palace players.

He may have managed just four goals and as many assists so far, but Zaha’s minutes per shot (61.7 to 41.6) and minutes per chance created (80 to 48) are both up from last season, when he supplied seven goals, 11 assists and a career-high 149 points.

Owned by just 6.0% of Fantasy Premier League managers, Zaha promises to be a key influence against Huddersfield.

The Terriers kept a clean sheet at home to 10-man Swansea City last weekend, but they had conceded eight goals across their previous three matches at the John Smith’s Stadium.

Zaha’s 3.6 points per match is superior to any other Palace attacker and, at just 6.8 in FPL, he represents a stand-out differential option.

Salomon Rondon

With two goals from his last five Gameweek starts, and faced with a favourable trip to Bournemouth, West Bromwich Albion’s Salomon Rondon is worth a look.

The Cherries have mustered a single clean sheet from their last 17 encounters, while they rank first for the most shots conceded inside the box (43) and big chances allowed (16) over the last four Gameweeks.

Eddie Howe’s side have also conceded the most headed chances this season with 82, which is a weakness the 6.0-priced Rondon can exploit.

The Venezuelan’s numbers in recent weeks underline his status as the Baggies’ main attacking threat.

His nine shots inside the box over the last four Gameweeks put him fourth among players with a Gameweek 31 fixture, while no team-mate has registered more than three penalty area attempts.

With an ownership of only 1% in FPL, Rondon can be a real difference maker in Gameweek 31 for those maverick managers amongst us.

Virgil van Dijk

Liverpool’s star-studded attacking trio are garnering much of the interest ahead of this evening’s home meeting with Watford, but Virgil van Dijk is unfortunate to be on the periphery of our thinking.

The centre-back has been brought in by just 29,000 managers since Saturday’s deadline, which is less than a tenth of the interest there has been in team-mate Roberto Firmino.

Indeed, he is only the fifth most transferred-in Reds player.

But with the potential to deliver points at both ends of the pitch, the 7.7%-owned defender is worthy of taking up one of our three Liverpool slots.

Jurgen Klopp’s side boast the third strongest home defence, having conceded just 10 goals at Anfield.

Eight of their 12 clean sheets have come in front of their own fans.

Today’s opponents Watford travel to Merseyside having scored just two goals in their last eight away matches.

So the omens for defensive returns appear strong, while van Dijk has offered a real set-piece threat after joining from Southampton in January.

Since making his Reds debut in Gameweek 24, van Dijk has produced nine shots, with eight of those coming from inside the penalty area.

Only Leicester City’s Harry Maguire (11) and Burnley’s Ben Mee (nine) have registered more penalty area attempts among FPL defenders.

Offering arguably the best chance of both defensive and attacking returns of any defender in the reduced Gameweek 31, the Dutch international makes the decision on the three Liverpool slots a difficult one.