FPL Gameweek 18 Preview - Bruno Replacements, Best Fixture Runs, and More

Greetings all, and welcome to your Gameweek 18 FPL preview.

James and I (Joe) are slightly pressed for time right now… it being the holidays. So, this will be a relatively slimline edition of our usual preview.

(I’m sure you’re all weeping into your mince pies, at the prospect of such brevity).

Without further ado, then, let’s crack on!

Et Tu, Bruno?

Everyone and their dog had bought Bruno Fernandes in the past few weeks. So, of course, he got injured.

Now, every content creator and their dog is writing about Bruno replacements!

Franky, I don’t love any of the main options. In fact, I think midfield is pretty poor right now.

I’m on my wildcard, this week, and will probably be looking to just run a three-man midfield, with either five defenders or three forwards.

The replacement I have actually gone for is Cunha. Newcastle at home is fine, then he gets Wolves at home, Leeds, then Burnley in a row. Not bad! His underlying stats have also been incredible recently, and he’s converted that into two goals and an assist in his last three games.

And, with Bruno and Mbeumo both missing, he’s just going to take all the shots. Perfect!

Lots of people have Foden already. He’s certainly been overperforming his underlying numbers… but sometimes really good players just do that. Some of the goals have been difficult, but still legit – they’re not bouncing in off his backside.

I don’t love the fixtures, to put it lightly – Dyche away, Sunderland away, then Chelsea. Also he’ll definitely be rotated at least once in the upcoming fixture crunch. Still, for the upside, I still like him second-best as your Bruno replacement.

If you sold Semenyo when he was struggling a bit, meanwhile, this could be the perfect opportunity to bring him back. He’s scored two games in a row, we know he’s class, and his fixtures are… fine, if not brilliant.

And… that’s about it! I wouldn’t bother upgrading to Saka right now. Rogers is in great form but who knows if that lasts (and has mixed fixtures).

I’d either just get one of the aforementioned, or – perhaps preferably – save a load of money here, and reinvest in one of the many good defensive runs coming up (see below), or a three-man forward line – e.g. Haaland / Ekitike / Woltemade.

Best FPL Fixtures – Gameweek 18

These best fixture runs are, as always, brought to you by our beautiful, completely free fixture ticker.

Up front, let me just say that I much prefer the defensive fixture runs here over the attacking ones. If – like me – you’re on your wildcard, I’d definitely go big at the back right now, and just make the best of the midfield/forward options.

Best Attacking Fixtures

For Man City, you’ve got Haaland already, and you’ve likely got Foden too. If not, as noted above, I’m still fine jumping on board. I’d use my third City spot on a defender/GK, though
Newcastle are… inconsistent going forward, to put it lightly. I’d probably wait out the Man U game, but the four fixtures after that are fantastic (yes, including Palace right now)
Liverpool continue to present us with annoyingly few options, for these amazing fixtures. Ekitike looks borderline must-own, between this run and his form, but it’s hard to feel confident in anyone else
Arsenal’s attack continues to look… uninspired. I’d hold Saka if you’ve got him, but I wouldn’t rush to get anyone else in after another dull attacking display against Everton
Palace are just bang out of form, as a collective. I don’t want any part of their attack right now
Everton’s attack looked rubbish at the weekend, but that was against Arsenal. They haven’t got much actual attacking talent right now, but I’d keep at least half an eye on Grealish, heading into that Brentford/Wolves home double
Chelsea, like Arsenal, are a very good team with a very dull attack. If we knew JP was actually going to play striker every week, he’d be interesting… but we don’t, so he’s not
Man U have a so-so home game against Newcastle, but then get Wolves and Burnley… with a trickier away game at Leeds in-between. As noted above, I do like Cunha right now, but that’s about it

Best Defensive Fixtures

Arsenal just keep on being the best defence in the league. Another clean sheet for the collection, and now they have a couple of home games, a so-so Bournemouth side, Liverpool at home (tricky, obviously), but then Forest away. I continue to be fine with at least a double-up, and will likely keep my own triple-up at the back.

Everton have been in good defensive form, defended well again versus Arsenal, and have excellent fixtures. I like having at least one defender, and a defender+Pickford double-up also feels good to me

Newcastle are a tricky proposition. These fixtures look very good on paper, but they’ve let us down already this season with easy fixtures. Oh, and they haven’t kept a clean sheet in the league since October 5th. That’s a problem. Thiaw was initially in my wildcard team, but – looking back at their dire defensive record – I’m probably going to reconsider

Liverpool are also a bit hard to trust. They clean against West Ham… then concede three to Leeds. They clean against Inter and Brighton… then concede to 10-man Spurs. These fixtures are so good, however, that I’ll probably give them the benefit of the doubt regardless, and get at least one defender in – if you get VVD, you at least get DC’s, even if the cleans are less trustworthy

Man City have been in brilliant form defensively – four cleans in their last five games, in all competitions. After Arsenal, I probably trust them the most of any defence right now, and Pep finally seems to have learnt the error of his Rouletting ways

Chelsea’s actual defence is fine. I just don’t actually love these fixtures, and would much rather have Arsenal, Everton, or City defenders right now

Palace currently stink. I’m not trusting their defence against anyone, after shipping four goals to Leeds

Gameweek 18 Transfer Tips

Here, as always, we’ll take a quick look at the most-bought and sold players among the FPL public right now, and determine whether or not we should also follow the crowd.

Should I Buy?

Ekitike – Yes. Between fixtures and form, he’s pretty essential right now
Rogers – No. Not before Chelsea away then Arsenal away – they’re two of the toughest fixtures in the league. Look again for the easier games after that
Calvert-Lewin – Maybe. I definitely wouldn’t, personally – he’s got a pretty horrible run of fixtures coming up, and this is completely out of keeping with his performances for… like five years. If you want a cheap striker who you’re actually starting, however, he’s the pick right now
Harry Wilson – Maybe. I still prefer my darling Minteh at around this price, but he’d probably be my second pick of the budget mids
Rice – Maybe. I continue to prefer spending your Arsenal spots on defenders. If Saka’s going to be handing off penalties, however, there’s an argument to Rice jumping him in your third-Arsenal-spot rankings, since he costs a hefty 3.2 less. All that said… his FPL returns have been pretty comparable to Stach (they’re both at 5.3 form, actually) at Leeds, who costs 2.3 less than him
Semenyo – Maybe. Obviously you’re holding him if you’ve got him, and starting him this week. I can see not wanting to buy him in before the Chelsea/Arsenal double, however (and with the transfer rumours continuing to swirl)
Cunha – Yes. He’s in form, has excellent underlying stats, and I like his fixtures
Woltemade – Yes. Good fixtures, has been pretty consistent across the season, and has kept his place despite Wissa’s return
Foden – Maybe. The fixtures aren’t great, and he’s obviously pricey… but he’s also one of the most explosive players in FPL, playing for the best attack around right now
Wirtz – Maybe. I am tempted, for the first time since he arrived at Liverpool. He’s had a few months to bed in, has two assists in his last four games, and – after Ekitike – is the only reliable way into these excellent attacking fixtures
Cherki – No. He looks good, and is cheap… but his starts have been inconsistent across the season, and he’s a prime candidate to get rotated during the packed schedule

Should I Sell?

Bruno F/KDH/Munoz/Mbeumo – Yes, all injured/at AFCON
Thiago – Maybe. He’s still the second-highest scoring player in the league, but he’s blanked in his last three starts, and his underlying stats have been dire recently – 0.01 xGI in his previous two games… home to Leeds, and against Wolves. I’m moving him out on my wildcard, but – with regular transfers – I probably would still just hold him for the decent home fixtures against Bournemouth and Spurs. That is, unless moving him is literally your only way to get up to Ekitike
Eze – Yes. No guarantee of starts or minutes
Mateta – Yes… reluctantly. I like the Spurs and Fulham home fixtures, but after that the games get tougher, he’s got a long-term injury, and Palace are rubbish right now
Welbeck – Yes. Lingering injury, and plenty of better options
Bruno G – Maybe. I wouldn’t read too much into blanking in tough games against Sunderland and Chelsea, particularly with nice fixtures coming up. I’d probably just hold him
Saka – Maybe. He’s obviously a quality player, but if he’s not guaranteed pens any more then he’s just too expensive – you can’t justify the extra cost over Rice right now, for example
Van de Ven – Yes. Should’ve been gone months ago!
Joao Pedro – Yes. Again, if we knew he was going to play as the striker, that’d be one thing. But he’s a non-factor when he plays as the 10, the fixtures aren’t great, and Ekitike and/or Woltemade are easily worth the extra money