The FPL Banger boys are back with their Fantasy Premier League tips for Gameweek 18, outlining their top picks and best captain selection.
Welcome to a new series for the 2024/25 season, provided by Siva & Sam, the twisted minds behind the FPL Banger Podcast.
Robinson, Isak and Salah (C) all made our selection the last time out. Let’s see if we can do even better this week.
FPL Banger Gameweek 18 Tips
BEST CAPTAIN
Mohamed Salah (£13.5m) – Fixture: Leicester (H)
In 2017/2018, Mohamed Salah set the record for total FPL points (303 points). At this stage of that season, he was sitting on 127 points. Right now, Salah is on 177 points. In other words, Salah is on track to score 50 points more than his all-time FPL record.
He’s having a very special season. The kind where you just captain him every week and focus on your other 14 players.
TOP PICKS
David Raya (£5.6m) – Fixture: Ipswich (H)
The jokes about Arsenal’s ability concede at least 1 goal a week write themselves at this point, but they are surely due a clean sheet, and an Ipswich side that has lost 4 of their 5 games (including a 4-0 loss to Newcastle last week), scoring just once in those 4 defeats is about as good a defensive matchup as you can ask for.
Trent Alexander-Arnold (£7.1m) – Fixture: Leicester (H)
There is plenty of legitimate debate over whether Trent is worth his price this season. On the one hand, Liverpool are the joint best defence in the league with 7 clean sheets (alongside Everton). On the other hand, Trent has zero goals and 4 assists in 14 starts. That is the same as Nathan Collins, and 2 less than Antonee Robinson, both of whom cost about half the price.
But past points are not wholly predictive of future points, and Trent against a Leicester side who have already used their New Manager Bounce Chip and continue to start Connor Coady and Danny Ward in 2024 is the kind of opportunity that I do not want to be missing out on.
Bryan Mbeumo (£7.6m) a.k.a. the Saka replacement – Fixture: Brighton (A)
There are just 3 midfielders who have scored 10 or more goals this season. Mo Salah, Cole Palmer and… Bryan Mbeumo. Many FPL managers have soured on the Brentford man, mostly due to his “tough” fixtures – Brentford play Arsenal, Man City and Liverpool in their next 5.
However, all 3 of these “tough” games are at home, where Mbeumo has only blanked twice this season. And unlike all of the other potential Saka replacements that you will read about this week, Mbeumo is the only pick who you can count on to play every single minute, even in this congested period. The Cameroon international has played more minutes than any other midfielder in the league, missing just 5 out of a possible 1,530 minutes so far. More minutes equals more opportunities for points.
Once you include penalties, set pieces and a game against leaky Brighton who haven’t kept a clean sheet since GW8, you have to ask yourself how this isn’t the most obvious Saka replacement.
Gabriel Jesus (£6.8m) – Fixture: Ipswich (H)
Last week I picked Alex Isak in this slot, who returned a hattrick against Ipswich. No sense in fixing what isn’t broke. Jesus is fresh off scoring 5 goals in 2 games against Crystal Palace, back in form just when Arsenal need him the most. Arteta doesn’t have many options to choose from with Saka injured and Trossard out of form. All signs are that Jesus will return at Christmas.
Thanks for reading the article in this new series for SportsCasting. Be sure to follow @FPL_Banger for more FPL tips and hints including their weekly podcast and team reveals.
