It's time to prepare for another week of the Fantasy Premier League season.
It's important to note that this week the action will start on Tuesday!
Gameweek 17 was marred by postponements due to COVID-19, resulting in an average of 56 points.
If you're in need of a scout for the seventeenth gameweek, look no further than our guide here.
Here are our FPL 2020/21 gameweek 18 tips.
Fantasy Premier League 2020/21 Gameweek 18 Deadline
The deadline for Gameweek 18 in the 2020/21 Fantasy Premier League is Friday 12th January 2021 at 16:30pm GMT.
FPL Gameweek 18 Fixtures
Here is the full list of fixtures for the opening gameweek of the Premier League:
- Sheffield United vs Newcastle (18:00 GMT - 12/1)
- Burnley vs Man United (20:015 GMT - 12/1)
- Wolves vs Everton (20:15 GMT - 12/1)
- Man City vs Brighton (18:00 GMT - 13/1)
- Spurs vs Fulham (20:15 GMT - 13/1)
- Arsenal vs Crystal Palace (20:00 GMT - 14/1)
Gameweek 18 Fixture Difficulty
With Gameweek 18 Kicking off on Tuesday and running into Thursday, there's only 6 fixtures available.
Using a fixture difficulty tracker, we can see how difficult a team's fixture list is. Ideally, you should be working at a minimum of one game week ahead, ideally two.
Let's take a look at the top 5 teams going into the next three gameweeks.
- Man City: Brighton (H), Crystal Palace (H), West Brom (A)
- Man United: Burnley (A), Liverpool (A), Sheffield United (A)
- Newcastle: Sheffield United (A), Arsenal (A), Leeds (H)
- Arsenal: Crystal Palace (H), Newcastle (H), Southampton (A)
- Spurs: Fulham (H), Sheffield United (A), Liverpool (H)
In this gameweek, there are only 6 games. These teams are not competing this week:
- Burnley
- Leicester
- Leeds
- Liverpool
- Manchester United
- West Ham
- Fulham
- Chelsea
- Southampton
- West Brom
That means these teams will be playing twice in the following week.
My advice is to use your free-hit this week and Wild Car in the following week to maximise the opportunity.
Who To Pick In FPL Gameweek 18?
Harry Kane (11.1 million)
Probably the number one pick for this week is Harry Kane against the whipping boys' Fulham.
It would be a surprise to see this man not bag a goal this week and one of the top options.
KANE IN: Selected by over 45% of managers, he's sure to add more goals to his tally
Photo via @OfficialFPL
Heung-Min Son (9.4 million)
And Harry Kane's partner in crime is another shoo-in for this week - he's got to be in your team.
Almost 65% of managers have picked him this week and there's no doubt you should too.
Sergio Aguero (10.3 million)
It's time for a return to form and what better team to do it than Brighton?
The Argentinian hitman should have an easy game on what I anticipate will be his full-game debut since injury.
Callum Wilson (6.5 million)
It's not been a great time for Newcastle recently, but they've got a good game against Sheffield United.
Their #1 striker Callum Wilson is a sure-fire pick for this week as he should be getting in the goal action and costs so little.
Riyad Mahrez (8.1 million)
An easy day out calls for a Riyad Mahrez appearance.
He's cost-effective and I expect him to be involved in the goals.
Who Else?
While I don't want to highlight the same players every week, there are some that you should already have in your squad and will likely provide good options this coming week.
If none of the above players take your fancy, why not try these:
- Bruno Fernandes
- Sergio Reguilon
- Wan-Bissaka
- Michael Keane
- Raheem Sterling
- Gylfi Sigurdsson
- Chris Wood
- Marcus Rashford
- Kevin De Bruyne
Who To Avoid In Gameweek 18?
Alexander Lacazette (8.2 million)
Despite hitting a hot streak, I expect that to come to an end.
Arsenal has a habit of getting your hopes up before letting them down.
LACA-FRET: It's time to ditch the Frenchman
Photo via @OfficialFPL
Gabriel Jesus (9.1 million)
I expect Aguero to start the next game for City and anticipate Jesus to be benched.
Probably one to avoid this week.
Michael Keane (5.1 million)
My gut says that Everton won't have a successful time in their next fixture against Wolves.
I think Wolves will win, but I am confident Everton will concede.
Chris Basham (4.6 million)
The defender hasn't kept a clean sheet all season and I'd be surprised if that starts now.
Ademola Lookman (5.0 million)
A good player, but Spurs are going to run riot on Fulham this week so avoid them at all costs.
Who To Captain In Gameweek 18?
There are some tough fixtures and it's hard to pick out many candidates.
Here are some of my favourite candidates for captaincy this week:
- Bruno Fernandes
- Harry Kane
- Heung-Min Son
- Sergio Aguero
- Raheem Sterling
- Riyad Mahrez
- Marcus Rashford
- Callum Wilson
- Kevin De Bruyne