The current stage of the Fantasy Premier League season has never been more unprecedented. Three postponed games have threatened recent fixtures as teams fight to contain the spread of the second strain of Covid-19.
Therefore, there are only six fixtures in Game Week 18 with Man City, Man United, Aston Villa, Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur presented with good fixtures. The blank game week precedes a double game week 19 with Villa, Burnley and both Manchester sides set to face three games overall.
However, the recent trend of fixture postponement and the weather conditions begs caution for investing in specific teams. It would be wiser to target differentials and good fixtures, as this guide to utilizing free hit or wildcard chips for GW18 and 19 suggests. Personally, I would be using the free hit but that is subjective depending on the situation of your available players.
Football Castle assesses the fixtures and brings the differentials and captain picks for the quickfire game weeks 18 and 19.
Goalkeepers
Emiliano Martínez(£5.1m) is the surprise highest-scoring goalkeeper this season(83 points) and sits on top of the clean sheets standings. The Aston Villa net-minder is set to play three fixtures over the next two game weeks and his consistency should see him register some points despite the difficulty of the fixtures (Tottenham, Everton and City).
Ederson(£6.0m): The Brazilian has kept the second-most clean sheets (seven) this season to remain the reliable custodian who guided the Cityzens to consecutive Premier League titles in the last three seasons. Ederson is set to enter a run of good fixtures and would look to increase his clean sheets tally.
Joining the City goalkeeper is Portuguese fullback João Cancelo(£5.8m) who has been in imperious form this season. The 26-year-old has filled in at both fullback positions but he remains an important aspect of City’s play. Cancelo faces a good run of fixtures against Brighton, Crystal Palace and Aston Villa with a couple of clean sheets very likely.
Defence
West Ham face games against Burnley and West Brom and it is wise to invest in their full-backs Vladimir Coufal(4.7m) or Aaron Cresswell(£5.4m) for potential returns at both ends of the pitch. They play two of the three worst attacks in the league as well as the leakiest defence in consecutive games.
Kieran Tierney(£5.4m) has registered 28 points in his last three games, notching a goal and two assists alongside two clean sheets. The left-back’s imperious form looks set to continue against struggling Crystal Palace and Newcastle.
Midfielders
No team has scored more (eight) or had more attempts (47) than Arsenal in the last three game weeks. Bukayo Saka (£5.3m) has three goals and two assists this season and is Arsenal’s biggest attacking asset when they face games against Crystal Palace and Newcastle. Alongside him, Emile Smith-Rowe (£4.4m) has three assists in the last three games, averaging six points per game. Both young attackers have been firmly behind the Gunners’ turnaround in form and are set to continue after another morale-boosting win in the FA Cup third round.
Marcus Rashford(£9.6m): The Man United attacker is a brilliant differential given United’s run of fixtures over the next week (Burnley, Liverpool, and Fulham). Rashford has been in steady goal scoring form recently and pertinently has a decent record against Liverpool in their upcoming top of the table clash.
Jamie Vardy(10.2m): While the 34-year-old is the league’s highest away goalscorer, he faces a double-whammy of home fixtures against Southampton and Chelsea. The Saints are coming off the high of a win over Champions Liverpool and Vardy would back himself against their high defensive line, as well as Chelsea who have lost the solidity they showed earlier in the season.
Captaincy picks
Harry Kane(£11.0m): The England captain and strike partner Heung-Min Son(£9.8m) have the potential to outscore most double game week players despite only two fixtures across Game weeks 18 and 19. Son is currently the highest points scorer in FPL(132) and Spurs play Aston Villa and Sheffield away, with the likelihood of points even higher against the critically off-form Blades in the latter fixture.
Bruno Fernandes(£11.3m) has been the most consistent performer in FPL this season with only two points behind Son from midfield. The Portuguese maestro is set to add more in Man United’s three fixtures and is a dependable captaincy choice.
Kevin De Bruyne(£11.7m): Man City face three matches over the double game week, making KDB one of the prime assets alongside Raheem Sterling(£11.4m). Brighton are one of the poorest defensive sides in the league, followed by games against Crystal Palace and Aston Villa. Pertinently, the Belgium international is a wise early choice with good fixtures even after game week 19
Do you have any Fantasy Premier League GW18 & 19 questions ahead of the deadline on Tuesday, 13th January at 04:30 PM (GMT)?
Let us know in the Comments section below, Looking forward to what you have to say!
