3 Players to drop and pick for Gameweek 18

The first truncated gameweek of the season is upon us with Liverpool’s fixture against West Ham being postponed due to the Reds’ Club World Cup commitments. If you don’t have much value tied up in Mane, it could be a good idea to sell him this week and buy Salah the next. The Egyptian has looked lethal in the last few weeks and is probably the best Liverpool asset to hold going forward.

Captaincy is particularly tricky this week with Chelsea facing Tottenham and Leicester facing Man. City. Fixtures will be coming thick and fast after this gameweek, so make sure you bolster your bench as the entire squad will be needed over the festive period.

3 Players to Pick

1. Raul Jiménez (NOR)

Wolverhampton Wanderers v Tottenham Hotspur - Premier League

Wolves were unlucky to lose against Spurs in last week and there are plenty of reasons to be optimistic about Jimenez’s potential against the Canaries. With six goals this season, Jiménez (54) trails only Rashford (57) for shots amongst forwards and is ranked sixth for shots on target (SoT) with 20. However, the creativity numbers are where the Mexican has no equal.

No forward has attempted more assists (29) or created more ‘big chances’ (10) than Jiménez. Wolves have scored 24 goals, only six teams have scored more. They are also ranked ninth for ‘big chances’ (70). Norwich have conceded 35 goals this season, only Southampton (36) have been leakier. No team has allowed opponents more SoT than their 101 and only West Ham (55) have conceded more ‘big chances’ than their 43.

2. Marcus Rashford (WAT)

Manchester United v Colchester United - Carabao Cup: Quarter Final

Rashford scored and assisted in Man. United’s midweek win over Colchester and the forward looks to be in the form of his life with five goals in the last six gameweeks, only Vardy (six) has scored more. No striker took more than his 27 shots over this period and he trails only Vardy for SoT 12 to 13.

He has been afforded eight ‘big chances’, only Wood (10) and Vardy (12) fared better. Man. Utd have scored 13 goals over the aforementioned period, only Spurs (15) and Liverpool (17) were more prolific. No team landed more SoT than their 44. Watford have conceded nine goals in the last six gameweeks, allowing opponents 26 SoT. Only seven teams allowed opponents more ‘big chances’ than their 12.

3. Heung-Min Son (CHE)

Son has been on fire since Mourinho’s appointment, scoring three goals in the last six gameweeks. Only De Bruyne, Salah and Richarlison (all four) scored more amongst midfielders. He is ranked fourth for shots (17), only Pulisic (21) and De Bruyne (23) fared better. He is also third for shots on target (SoT) with eight, trailing only Salah (nine) and De Bruyne (10).

No player created more ‘big chances’ than his six. Spurs have scored 15 goals in the last six gameweeks, only Liverpool (17) were more prolific. They landed 33 SoT with only Liverpool, Man. City (both 36), Leicester (40) and Man. Utd (44) landing more. They are also ranked third for ‘big chances’ (18), only Burnley (20) and Leicester (22) fashioned more.

Chelsea have conceded eight goals in the last six gameweeks and are yet to keep a clean sheet on the road this season. They conceded 21 SoT and nine ‘big chances’. Mourinho has had a whole week to work on tactics with his new club and Son is likely to be his main weapon on the counter against Chelsea’s high press. A great captain option this week.

3 Players to drop

1. Trent Alexander-Arnold (no fixture)

Liverpool FC v Watford FC - Premier League

Liverpool have no fixture this week due to their participation in the Club World Cup, meaning your Liverpool assets will earn zero points. After they return, they play Leicester, Wolves and Sheffield United in the space of seven days, and then play Tottenham and Man. Utd. Liverpool also have an FA Cup game against Everton so its pretty much a game every 3 days, which means that Trent could get benched for Gomez anytime.

The fixtures are not too promising for clean sheets, and you would largely be depending on attacking returns from Trent.

2. Christian Pulisic (TOT)

Chelsea FC v Aston Villa - Premier League

Chelsea’s slump is probably best symbolized by Pulisic’s dip in form. The American has landed just two SoT in the last four matches, and these have been games against Bournemouth, Everton, Aston Villa and West Ham, all teams that are in the bottom half of the table.

He looks fatigued from his exertions and his dip in form means that he now has to compete for the left-wing role with Hudson-Odoi. Chelsea have a very busy Christmas schedule with games every three days from now till the new year, so it’s probably a good time to get rid.

3. Mason Mount (TOT)

Chelsea FC v AFC Bournemouth - Premier League

As you can tell, I am not very optimistic about Chelsea’s prospects in the next few games. Like Pulisic, Mount’s form has dropped since a promising start to the campaign. Kante’s return to fitness means that Mount’s place in the team is no longer secure, he has to compete with Kovacic and Jorginho for those spots.

He is the second most sold player this week, with over 100,000 sales at the time of writing and like Pulisic, faces a congested fixture schedule where he is not a nailed-on starter. Further price drops are imminent, and with players like Jack Grealish doing the business at a similar price point, it makes sense to drop him.

3 Players to drop and pick for Gameweek 18 | FPL Tips 2019