FPL Gameweek 18 and 19 Preview – It’s Christmas!!! Saka Replacements and More!

In the immortal words of Noddy Holder “It’s Christmas!” which means one thing for FPL managers ahead of gameweek 18: fixture congestion.

Here’s the deadline for the next few gameweeks:

• 18 – Thu 26th Dec
• 19 – Sun 29th Dec
• 20 – Sat 4th Jan

It is incredibly unlikely that we squeeze a piece out between 18 and 19 so this will have to do.

After that, we do get a nice 10 day gap before Gameweek 21 where we will do some more deep dives. Until then though… just assume there’s a new gameweek starting right after the last one finished.

Alright, let’s get into it!

Play Your Wildcard

If you still have it, you have to play your wildcard in the next two weeks. Don’t not use it even if you ‘underuse’ it.

If it were me, I would get Palmer, Salah and Gabriel and then start building the rest of the squad based on fixtures.

Why You Should Sell Saka

Normally I would tell you just to hold Saka. Arteta loves to run this guy into the ground and we never get useful news out of Mikel’s pressers.

However, this time I am pretty confident Saka does not start the next game or the game after that. It was clearly a hamstring injury which are hard to recover from AND it was clearly enough to stop him carrying on.

I do not think benching him is a good idea. He is sooooo expensive that you are wasting money 

So, I think the best thing to do is to sell Saka and replace him. If you don’t have Salah or Palmer then just get one of them. Simple.

Midfield Options

Otherwise I like these midfielders:

• B. Fernandes – He seems like the most logical choice. He is 100% nailed and has strong underlying numbers, although the upcoming fixtures are only mediocre.
• Odegaard – Excellent fixtures, but without Saka to pass to, his appeal is somewhat diminished.
• Mbeumo – Fixtures are somewhat hit-or-miss, but he plays for one of the most attacking teams in the league and is 100% nailed.
• Luis Diaz – There is a high risk of rotation, but he plays for the best team in the league and has the potential to return multiple points during this favourable run of fixtures.
• Gordon – His underlying per-90 stats are better than anyone else on this list. While he looks nailed, he may face rotation with Barnes or Murphy in the coming weeks, as seen recently.
• Foden – Obviously City suck at the moment so probably not a good idea but maybe Foden is worth the punt if you aren’t that fussed about your OR or are looking for a high risk/high reward option.

I would love if Maddison were an option but his minutes are just too inconsistent – particularly during the fixture pile up.

Restructure and Invest in Defence or Attack?

The alternative to buying these midfielders is to shift the money into defence or attack. 

Obviously this requires two transfers. I don’t mind taking a hit if you plan on keeping the players you bring in for the longer-term. Taking a hit and grabbing someone like Jesus or Trossard feels far too short-term.

In Defence

With Arsenal’s short-term defensive fixtures I wouldn’t rush to double up on their defence but if you don’t have one of their players then Timber, Gabriel or Saliba are all great options.

I would be focusing on Trent Alexander-Arnold. He has favourable fixtures and is capable of big point spikes in the next few weeks. He got 34 points in the first six weeks of this season which was his last good run of fixtures. That would be great if it was repeated.

Plus! Liverpool are likely to have a double gameweek in 24.

Personally I have been saving some money for the past few weeks to get Trent back so I had enough last night to move Saka and Greaves to Fernandes and Trent.

In Attack

As I said above, Newcastle have good fixtures. So, Isak is a good shout. He might even be a good shout in a bad fixture run because he is so damn good.

Jackson also remains a good option with good fixtures and good underlying numbers.

Finally, I wouldn’t recommend him but when I sold Haaland in gameweek 10 I fully intended to bring him back in for this run. He is still Haaland and he scored 8 goals against Brentford, West Ham and Ipswich earlier this year. His next five: EVE, lei, WHU, bre, ips

Enablers

To make this work, you will likely need a cheap enabler. You know most of these guys already: Enzo, Amad, Rogers or Semenyo. Although, I wouldn’t grab Amad if I got B. Fernandes. I don’t like being that exposed to United when they don’t have a great run.

The new guy to enter this debate is I. Sarr at Palace. He has good fixtures and has put up xGI numbers similar to Odegaard in the last 10 games. It is a small sample size and he has never performed at this level before in domestic league football. He also might not be nailed when Eze is fit. Still, he has the best attacking fixtures of all this lot.

Best Attacking Fixtures

Here are the five sides with the very best attacking FPL fixtures, from FPL Gameweek 18 to 22 and 19 to 23.

18-22

19-23

Over the next ten the following have the best fixtures:

1. Crystal Palace
2. Fulham
3. Arsenal
4. Liverpool
5. Aston Villa

Best Defensive Fixtures

Here are the five sides with the very best defensive FPL fixtures, from FPL Gameweek 18 to 22 and 19 to 23.

18-22

19-23

Over the next ten the following have the best fixtures:

1. Chelsea
2. Crystal Palace
3. Fulham
4. Aston Villa
5. Arsenal

Should I Buy?

Looking at the most-bought players in FPL, ahead of Gameweek 18, and don’t know whether you should buy one? We will tell you!

Isak – Yes. Great player, good fixtures.

Jesus – No. I am not sure he is nailed when Saka returns. Funny to get Jesus for xmas though…

Rogers – Yes. He’s fine as a 5th mid or bench player.

Luis Diaz – I wouldn’t because I don’t think he will start all of the next three games. You might grab him as a high upside pick.

Aina – No. Not ahead of Spurs. If you want a Forest defender get Milenkovic for 0.4 cheaper. I’d rather get Munoz though this week who has great underlyings and good long-term fixtures. Of course, this might all depend on your own defensive rotation.

Salah – Yes. He is the best asset in FPL and about to play against one of the worst teams.

Maddison – No. He’s not nailed when there is fixture pile-up.

Duran – No. He probably won’t keep the starting spot and the fixture next week is bad. If he keeps starting then we will need to think about him.

Amad – Yes. Cheap and looks good. The returns will slow but he can still offer value.

Gabriel – Yes. The best defence in the league.

Palmer – Yes. Despite a poor run of form he is class.

Cunha – No. Good fixtures are over and it looks likely he will be banned for a long while.

Wood – Yes. The fixtures are very hit and miss but there are very few options in this price bracket at the moment so I like him.

Kulusevski – No. His underlying numbers are only okay and you get better for cheaper.

Murphy – No. He isn’t nailed and never makes 90 mins. We like 90 mins here. (It’s in the name).

Should I Sell?

And now let’s take a look at the most-sold players in FPL, ahead of Gameweek 18.

Saka – Yes. We think he is injured.

Haaland – Yes. City suck.

Cunha – Yes. Fixtures have turned and he is about to get banned.

Joao Pedro – No way. Yes he has been disappointing but he plays Brentford at home this week. Thats one of the best fixtures in the league.

Watkins – Yes. No longer nailed.

Smith Rowe – Wait for information. If injured then sell.

Wood – No. Who are you buying for him!?

Gvardiol – No. If you have him I would probably wait a couple of weeks until after the West Ham game.

Jackson – No. Why would you? He is great. Moving to Isak is only really a marginal move I would not do.

Wissa – Yes. Fixtures have turned.

Mbeumo – Maybe. As above fixtures have turned so there might be a better option but he is bloody brilliant.

Vardy – Yes. Leicester are awful.

Fernades – No. Definitely not ahead of Wolves.

Captaincy Corner

I’ve updated the captaincy matrix with the options below. For me, I find it hard to look past Salah at the moment. He is on great form and so are Liverpool and they obviously have great fixtures.

Captaincy Matrix

That’s It.