The Premier League is back from Boxing Day, and with it comes an action-packed Gameweek 18 of Fantasy Premier League action.
Following our midweek progression to the Carabao Cup semi-finals, our next encounter sees us host Brighton & Hove Albion at Emirates Stadium this Saturday afternoon, before a quickfire turnaround to take on Aston Villa in Gameweek 19 three days later.
DEC THE HAULS
We retained top spot for Christmas courtesy of last weekend’s 1-0 victory over Everton on our maiden visit to the Hill Dickinson Stadium. Viktor Gyokeres (£8.8m) once again showed his mettle from the penalty spot for the first-half winner, claiming a five-point match total.
Declan Rice (£7.1m) claimed the assist for the goal by FPL guidelines, as it was his corner delivery which culminated in the awarding of the spot-kick. This ensures he continues his excellent form with an 11-point haul from GW17, his second-highest Gameweek total so far this season.
The other player in red and white to secure a double-figure haul from the Everton clash was Piero Hincapie (£5.5m). The Ecuadorian’s excellent performance helped him to his first 10-point appearance, having claimed a clean sheet, DefCon bonus and two extra performance points. Piero remains selected by just 3.1% of managers, and has acted as a smart differential acquisition.
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The remainder of our defensive players - including David Raya (£6.0m) - to have started last Saturday’s win on Merseyside all earned a base total of at least six points.
Ahead of our successive home fixtures coming up, if you are planning to bulk out your squad with further Arsenal assets, be sure to keep an eye on price rises. For instance, Rice has already been brought in by over 220,000 new FPL bosses ahead of GW18, while Jurrien Timber (£6.5m) - already owned by over 33% of teams - is a new signing for over 73,000 sides. The increased demand will see prices soar, so it’s not always advisable to leave transfers until immediately before the deadline.
Saturday’s visitors Brighton will make the trip to north London for the second time this season, following our 2-0 win over the Seagulls in the Carabao Cup back in October.
Fabian Hurzeler’s team have been home to some impressive FPL performers in the first half of 2025/26 - none more so than Yankuba Minteh (£6.1m), a midfield budget enabler who has weighed in with a club-high 74 points to date. Jan Paul van Hecke (£4.6m) unexpectedly missed his side’s GW17 goalless draw with Sunderland through illness, having been in great form of late, stinging the many managers who had just brought him in after missing out on the clean sheet bonus.
Brighton continue to be somewhat overlooked in the Fantasy market this term, with Minteh’s 6.6% ownership the highest among their squad. Consequently, one gem has proven to be goalkeeper Bart Verbruggen (£4.4m). Our opponents’ No. 1 collected 11 points in GW17, and between Gameweeks 10 and 13, weighed in with a combined 26 points. Verbruggen is the third-cheapest first-choice ‘keeper in the game at present, behind Burnley’s Martin Dubravka (£4.0m) and West Ham United’s Alphonse Areola (£4.3m).
CHIPS TO SAVE INJURY WOES?
As extensively discussed over recent editions of FPL Focus, there are now just two remaining Gameweeks to use your remaining chips for the first half of the season.
If you’re in a position where you have two chips remaining, they must both be used in consecutive Gameweeks to avoid losing the advantage altogether.
Another key point which may disappear under the radar for some is that if your Free Hit is intact and you choose to save it for Gameweek 19 - next week’s midweek round of fixtures - then you cannot use your new Free Hit for the second half of the season in Gameweek 20.
While requiring two Free Hits in quick succession would be a contrived scenario for any FPL manager, the pressure has undoubtedly risen by the number of injuries to several Premier League stars in recent games.
Alongside popular assets such as Daniel Munoz (£5.9m), Dan Burn (5.1m) and Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall (£5.0m) on the treatment table, and numerous important players currently absent for the now-underway Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON), new injuries have come to the fore off the back of GW17.
Among them is Manchester United captain Bruno Fernandes (£9.4m), a player who between Gameweeks 13 and 16 rewarded his owners with an incredible 46 points. A huge blow for his 24.9% of managers, Fernandes is set for a spell on the sidelines after suffering a hamstring injury against Aston Villa last weekend.
Another high-profile injury case is that of Liverpool striker Alexander Isak (£10.3m), who sustained a fractured leg while scoring his opening goal in their victory over Tottenham Hotspur in GW17.
Isak’s setback is likely to cement the minutes of in-form forward Hugo Ekitike (£8.9m), whose side host back-to-back home matches with Wolves and Leeds United next up.
Another doubt is in-form Fulham midfielder Harry Wilson (£5.8m), who received on-field treatment for a knee issue which was initially feared to be a twist in his side’s victory over Nottingham Forest on Monday night. Fulham have played down the severity of the injury to Wilson, who has averaged just under nine points across his last five Gameweeks. The Cottagers visit third-bottom West Ham this weekend.
IN-FORM ENABLERS
As mentioned previously with Wilson at Fulham, much of the decisive factor across the marathon of an FPL campaign is how to identify and utilise differentials and cheaper picks.
While it’s pivotal to lay the foundations of your team with the likes of Erling Haaland (£15.1m), Rice and Timber, and this season players such as Antoine Semenyo (£7.7m) and Marc Guehi (£5.3m), the astute recruitment of bargain ‘enablers’ for these players is where the rewards are palpable in terms of regular points hauls.
The form table can be a red herring, as every manager considers the possibility that a well-priced player on a great run could immediately stop performing as soon as we sign him.
However, that feeling is inevitable and if a player is enjoying a purple patch, has favourable fixtures on the horizon and is certain to receive plenty of minutes, you shouldn’t waste any further time before their fee creeps up.
Leeds striker Dominic Calvert-Lewin (£5.8m) is currently the leading example, having averaged just under nine points across his last five matches and shown his ability to score against any calibre of opponent of late. While his team face a tricky run of matches over the festive period, Calvert-Lewin has already netted against Man City, Liverpool and Chelsea so far this season.
One player to have burst into life in GW17 is Brentford’s Keane Lewis-Potter (£4.8m), who scored a stunning 21 points in the Bees’ win at Wolves last weekend, courtesy of two goals, a clean sheet haul and three bonus points. Lewis-Potter is registered in this season’s game as a defender but has recently been positioned on the wing as an attacking outlet - potentially rewarding at both ends of the pitch with three home games in his next four.
A final in-form star still excellently priced for his form is the man of the moment in the Premier League, Aston Villa’s Morgan Rogers (£7.2m). Now exceeding an ownership of 18%, Rogers is a player being scrambled for by millions of managers. The England international’s 15-point wonder against Man United in GW17 is a back-to-back achievement, and the third time he has reached that total this season.
While the majority of this weekend’s games will be played across December 27-28, remember that Man United’s showdown with Newcastle will be played on Boxing Day. As a result, the team selection and transfer deadline is this Friday at 6:30pm. We’ll then be straight back in action with Gameweek 19 starting next Tuesday night!
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