If you’re in a rush or panicking over last-minute Fantasy Premier League (FPL) transfers, here’s what you need to know about Gameweek 18 in brief.
WHEN’S THE GAMEWEEK 18 DEADLINE?
There’s a lesser-spotted Thursday deadline this week – so don’t get caught out!
Get your transfers and team selection in before 18:30 GMT on Thursday 21st December.
WHICH TEAMS DO NOT PLAY?
Gameweek 18 is a blank for Manchester City and Brentford due to the champions’ participation at the FIFA Club World Cup.
The case for a Free Hit is entirely team-dependent, of course, but it’s probably best to save the chip and bench rather than sell assets from these sides if possible.
That’s because Man City and Brentford have good fixtures after Blank Gameweek 18.
WHAT’S THE LATEST ON GORDON AND PAU’S INJURIES?
Gameweek 18 has the potential to cause a few headaches when it comes to injuries and team news, with many of the pre-match press conferences set to take place on Friday, post-deadline.
We’ve only heard from half of the top-flight managers, indeed, with four pressers taking place on Wednesday and another five media gatherings being staged on Thursday.
Eddie Howe is one of the head coaches yet to speak, so we have to rely on what the Newcastle boss said earlier this week about Anthony Gordon (£6.2m).
Pau Torres (£4.7m) is definitely out of Friday’s clash with Sheffield United, however.
WHAT TO DO WITH DARWIN?
Darwin Nunez (£7.5m) has failed to score in his last seven Premier League games and faces difficult fixtures against Arsenal and Newcastle over the next three Gameweeks.
It’s also worth noting Cody Gakpo (£7.2m) was subbed off in the 78th minute of Liverpool’s 5-1 win over West Ham United in the Carabao Cup on Wednesday, with Mohamed Salah (£13.2m) and Luis Diaz (£7.4m) coming off the bench in the second half.
Darwin played the full 90 minutes, meanwhile, so he ‘might’ not start v Arsenal.
Ollie Watkins (£8.7m) and Dominic Solanke (£6.8m) look like the best replacements if you do choose to sell.
WHO SHOULD I CAPTAIN?
Ollie Watkins is the standout armband option in Gameweek 18, with Aston Villa hosting Sheffield United under the lights on Friday.
The England forward has 10 attacking returns in home matches this season and is backed by just under 60% of users in our Captain Poll.
Son Heung-min (£9.8m) and Mohamed Salah are his closest rivals, with 11% and 9% of the vote respectively.
Hibbo took a detailed look at all the armband candidates in Captain Sensible.
WHO IS SUSPENDED?
Destiny Udogie (£4.8m) and Frank Onyeka (£4.9m) were the only two players to reach five bookings at the weekend and will serve their bans in Gameweek 18.
There was a flurry of red cards in Gameweek 17, however.
Ben Mee (£4.8m), Raul Jimenez (£5.3m) and Boubacar Kamara (£5.0m) will serve three match-bans as a result of their dismissals, while Yves Bissouma (£5.0m) has been handed a four-game suspension as his sending off was his second of 2023/24.
Diogo Dalot (£5.1m) will only have to sit out Gameweek 18, as his dismissal was for two bookable offences.
TOP TRANSFERS IN THIS GAMEWEEK
| Player | Cost | Ownership | Points | Fixtures |
| Ollie Watkins | £8.7m | 49.6% | 108 | SHU, mun, BUR |
| Dominic Solanke | £6.8m | 19.7% | 73 | nfo, FUL, tot |
| Cole Palmer | £5.6m | 22.9% | 73 | wol, CRY, lut |
| Pedro Porro | £5.5m | 22.8% | 68 | EVE, bha, BOU |
| Son Heung-min | £9.8m | 42.9% | 115 | EVE, bha, BOU |
GAMEWEEK 18 SCOUT PICKS + DIFFERENTIALS
Our weekly ‘Free Hit’ XI features double-ups on Newcastle United and Tottenham Hotspur and three picks from Aston Villa.
Meanwhile, our three differentials – owned by fewer than 5% of managers – are Pascal Gross (£6.4m), Michael Olise (£5.8m) and Dan Burn (£4.4m).
PREDICTED LINE-UPS
We can’t offer you ‘in the know’ team leaks but we do have predicted line-ups for each Premier League side here.
HOW MANY POINTS WILL MY TEAM SCORE?
And we’re no soothsayers, either, but we can at least point you towards our projected points for Gameweek 18 and beyond.
