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Welcome to Blank Gameweek 18, RotoBallers! This is our third year covering FPL, and we are bringing you more coverage than ever. We publish two weekly articles: a staff roundtable preview and our weekly rankings. Then, once a month, we have our newest report, The Watchlist, a review of the previous month and a look ahead to the upcoming fixtures.
17 gameweeks down, 21 to go. Due to commitments with the Club World Cup, Man City will not feature in Gameweek 18. As a result, neither will their scheduled opponent, Brentford. FPL managers have some headaches regarding who to bench or transfer out ahead of Gameweek 18. And to top it all off, we've got a Thursday deadline to remember. So stay on top of those lineup locks!
The Fantasy Premier League Blank Gameweek 18 deadline is 1:30 PM ET on Thursday, December 21, when Crystal Palace entertains Brighton. Also, look out for the rest of our excellent soccer coverage as the squad gets you all set for every English Premier League, Major League Soccer, and UEFA Champions League slate from a DFS and betting perspective.
Fantasy Premier League - Blank Gameweek 18 Rankings
Our weekly rankings highlight players who could be worth a punt in your Fantasy Premier League squad. While the rankings will be filled with familiar names, a low-owned player with an easy fixture will rise up the one-week charts. For each gameweek, we will provide our top-15 goalkeepers, defenders, midfielders, and forwards. These can also be applied as DFS rankings for your weekend contests.
Gameweek 17 Fantasy Premier League High Scorers
- Goalkeeper: Andre Onana, Manchester United - 10 points
- Defender: Michael Keane, Everton & Dan Burn, Newcastle - 14 points
- Midfielder: Mohammed Kudus, West Ham - 16 points
- Forward: Jean-Philippe Mateta, Crystal Palace - 12 points
FPL Goalkeepers - Blank Gameweek 18 Rankings
- Vicaro has been fantastic for Spurs in his debut season. He is tied for the Premier League lead with five clean sheets after his Friday night shutout against Nottingham Forest. Everton is a stricter test, but the 27-year-old has a 27 percent chance at a clean sheet. He should be in consideration for anyone with a Wild Card chip remaining.
- With Robert Sanchez on the shelf, Dorde Petrovic has stepped up to handle the posts for Chelsea. It was an excellent start to his Stamford Bridge tenure with a clean sheet against Sheffield United. Wolves is playing attacking football for the first time in a few seasons, but if Chelsea can play up to its quality, Petrovic will have a great chance at back-to-back shutouts.
| Ranking | Name | Team | Opp | Pred. Pts. | Clean Sheet % |
| 1 | Martinez | AVL | SHU | 4.43 | 50% |
| 2 | Leno | FUL | BUR | 4.16 | 38% |
| 3 | Dubravka | NEW | LUT | 3.96 | 38% |
| 4 | Vicario | TOT | EVE | 3.74 | 27% |
| 5 | Neto | BOU | NFO | 3.53 | 26% |
| 6 | A.Becker | LIV | ARS | 3.53 | 23% |
| 7 | Petrovic | CHE | WOL | 3.47 | 32% |
| 8 | José Sá | WOL | CHE | 3.37 | 19% |
| 9 | Raya | ARS | LIV | 3.26 | 20% |
| 10 | Pickford | EVE | TOT | 3.18 | 13% |
| 11 | Foderingham | SHU | AVL | 3.13 | 6% |
| 12 | Trafford | BUR | FUL | 3.06 | 14% |
| 13 | Kaminski | LUT | NEW | 3.04 | 14% |
| 14 | Areola | WHU | MUN | 2.92 | 22% |
| 15 | Turner | NFO | BOU | 2.74 | 23% |
FPL Defenders - Blank Gameweek 18 Rankings
- As you can see, you'll want a piece of the Aston Villa defense this weekend. Our model has five of their defenders inside the top 14 for Gameweek 18 thanks to a 50 percent chance of a clean sheet against Sheffield United. Despite Matty Cash not making the top 15, he's worth holding onto in case he gets a surprise start on the weekend and ends up with a six-point effort.
- Kieran Trippier returns from his Gameweek 17 suspension to face Luton Town. Newcastle has looked on its last legs for a while, so hopefully, the mandatory rest helped Trippier recover. The England right-back has the highest upside of any defender on the board this weekend, considering the opponent and chances of a clean sheet. Trippier is an excellent buy if you are shopping for a premium defender.
| Ranking | Name | Team | Opp. | Pred. Pts | Clean Sheet % | Assist % |
| 1 | Trippier | NEW | LUT | 4.89 | 38% | 25% |
| 2 | Pedro Porro | TOT | EVE | 4.27 | 27% | 21% |
| 3 | Konsa | AVL | SHU | 4.25 | 50% | 8% |
| 4 | Pau | AVL | SHU | 3.95 | 50% | 6% |
| 5 | Diego Carlos | AVL | SHU | 3.77 | 50% | 5% |
| 6 | Robinson | FUL | BUR | 3.57 | 38% | 14% |
| 7 | Alexander-Arnold | LIV | ARS | 3.53 | 23% | 18% |
| 8 | Schär | NEW | LUT | 3.40 | 38% | 6% |
| 9 | Romero | TOT | EVE | 3.38 | 27% | 4% |
| 10 | Burn | NEW | LUT | 3.31 | 38% | 7% |
| 11 | Colwill | CHE | WOL | 3.20 | 32% | 4% |
| 12 | T.Silva | CHE | WOL | 3.19 | 32% | 4% |
| 13 | Digne | AVL | SHU | 3.16 | 50% | 24% |
| 14 | Alex Moreno | AVL | SHU | 3.14 | 50% | 23% |
| 15 | Davies | TOT | EVE | 3.06 | 27% | 11% |
FPL Midfielders - Blank Gameweek 18 Rankings
- Richarlison has three goals in the last two games and has already seen a price rise in Gameweek 18. The Brazilian striker fit right back into the Tottenham side and benefited from excellent service from teammates Dejan Kulusevski and Son Heung-min. With Son off to the Asia Cup in January, Richarlison offers a discounted avenue into the Spurs attack.
- Another week, another Cole Palmer masterclass. The budget midfielder came away with a goal, an assist, and all three bonus points versus Sheffield United. He arguably should've had more with an assist ruled out for offside and a fantastic Wes Foderingham safe preventing a second goal from a free kick. If you don't have Palmer, he has to jump on your holiday wishlist.
| Ranking | Name | Team | Opp | Pred. Pts. | Goal % | Assist % |
| 1 | Son | TOT | EVE | 6.06 | 45% | 28% |
| 2 | Salah | LIV | ARS | 5.30 | 34% | 21% |
| 3 | Douglas Luiz | AVL | SHU | 4.77 | 31% | 25% |
| 4 | Richarlison | TOT | EVE | 4.64 | 41% | 20% |
| 5 | Andreas | FUL | BUR | 4.60 | 31% | 32% |
| 6 | B.Fernandes | MUN | WHU | 4.34 | 25% | 24% |
| 7 | Bowen | WHU | MUN | 4.25 | 28% | 20% |
| 8 | Gibbs-White | NFO | BOU | 4.16 | 28% | 24% |
| 9 | Palmer | CHE | WOL | 4.09 | 24% | 19% |
| 10 | Saka | ARS | LIV | 4.06 | 23% | 22% |
| 11 | Sterling | CHE | WOL | 4.04 | 23% | 23% |
| 12 | Kulusevski | TOT | EVE | 4.03 | 19% | 24% |
| 13 | Bailey | AVL | SHU | 3.94 | 37% | 34% |
| 14 | Olise | CRY | BHA | 3.88 | 15% | 22% |
| 15 | Gordon | NEW | LUT | 3.86 | 24% | 24% |
FPL Forwards - Blank Gameweek 18 Rankings
- While Darwin Nunez slots in as the third-best forward option, he's not a buy in FPL. The Uruguayan has been poor during his recent run of starts, and it wouldn't be surprising to see him end up on the bench for the top-of-the-table clash with Arsenal. You can hold Nunez for now if you have other fires to put out. But I'm trying to sell him as soon as possible.
- Jean-Philippe Mateta has goals in back-to-back tilts for Crystal Palace and is crawling his way onto the FPL radar. Bringing back Erling Haaland is a high priority for FPL managers in Gameweeks 19 and 20, but having budget-forward options will make that easier. If Palace gets back to full strength sooner rather than later, then Mateta's roster percentage will rise.
| Ranking | Name | Team | Opp | Pred. Pts | Goal % | Assist % |
| 1 | Watkins | AVL | SHU | 6.48 | 53% | 28% |
| 2 | Solanke | BOU | NFO | 4.33 | 37% | 14% |
| 3 | Darwin | LIV | ARS | 3.80 | 33% | 15% |
| 4 | Calvert-Lewin | EVE | TOT | 3.39 | 37% | 12% |
| 5 | G.Jesus | ARS | LIV | 3.32 | 26% | 16% |
| 6 | Cunha | WOL | CHE | 3.25 | 27% | 13% |
| 7 | Mateta | CRY | BHA | 3.09 | 30% | 13% |
| 8 | Ferguson | BHA | CRY | 3.05 | 29% | 14% |
| 9 | Wilson | NEW | LUT | 3.01 | 49% | 24% |
| 10 | N.Jackson | CHE | WOL | 2.99 | 33% | 16% |
| 11 | Højlund | MUN | WHU | 2.98 | 28% | 13% |
| 12 | Nkunku | CHE | WOL | 2.97 | 35% | 25% |
| 13 | Semenyo | BOU | NFO | 2.86 | 27% | 15% |
| 14 | Archer | SHU | AVL | 2.54 | 20% | 9% |
| 15 | McBurnie | SHU | AVL | 2.48 | 17% | 7% |
Is there anything else you would like to cover for FPL every week? Hit us up on X @RotoBaller. We would love to hear your feedback and ideas!
