FPL Gameweek 18 Pod | The FPL Wire | Fantasy Premier League Tips 2024/25

[@TheFPLWireFantasyPremierLeague]

FYI - Jesus is on 4 yellow cards, we only found out after the pod

[@adamyaaggarwal3149]

it feels as if his yellow cards are more than the games he has played all season

[@hassanjaber2778]

0:00 Lobby 2:10 Start 9:45 Saka replacements 52:36 Forwards 59:13 Top 3 Saka replacements 1:11:45 Sleeper 1:13:05 Triple captaincy 1:20:15 Q&A 1:22:20 Zoph's team 1:26:50 Pras team 1:28:25 LR's team 1:29:15 Last words

[@harvey_h8]

goat

[@Pras_fpl]

🙏

[@TheFPLWireFantasyPremierLeague]

To clarify, my favorite non punty long term Saka replacements are Gordon followed by Bruno. My favorite punty replacements are Martinelli and Diaz. My favorite cheap replacement is Sarr. Zoph has made think about Foden too. If you guys don't like my opinion feel free to ignore it but I certainly won't hold back from giving it. - LR

[@codmaster456]

I honestly don't understand what is wrong with the Gordon shout and people turned it into such a big deal. Good xGI albeit underperforming it and good fixtures from an attacking perspective. Newcastle doesn't need to win those games for him to come good. I don't know if i will pick him but he's a solid choice. Great shouts overall by everyone.

[@FplGeorgios]

Foden's minutes when fit, recently: GW17: 90' , GW16: 90' , GW13: 78' , GW12: 90' , GW11: 90' , GW10: 90' , GW9: 90'. Not sure why there is any concern about his minutes... L.Diaz certainly does not get more minutes than this ✅

[@MaxxAvicii]

All those minutes = 1 goal

[@MDot97]

I really enjoyed this pod because of the increased rate of fixture upside / anti-template conversations revolving around midfielders and forwards. Thank you for a wonderful pod. Happy Holidays!

[@ramanujdas7109]

Excellent as always. Almost feels like I was sitting there alongside you.

[@GamboTheGent]

Best FPL pod by a mile ! This Saka injury will open up the game and potentially break the template

[@mridulshandilya5687]

Top quality content. I loved how you guys questioned each other when not convinced by what the other person was saying. (Example - Pras questioning LR on Diaz as a punt , Zophar questioning Pras on why Foden can't be in our teams long term ). Need more of this.

[@fploverthinkerjohnpointles4197]

Thanks guys, amazing as usual, really enjoy the different approaches and opinions.

[@shayne77]

These Saka replacements are hurting my head, not a single one stands out

[@GamboTheGent]

Agreed, its basically take ur pick and pray.

[@TimChew-qh5yu]

it’s a vibes pick lol

[@Z-Piece]

And that's a good thing imo

[@Adam-ut9nt]

Guys, don't boxed in by the idea to triple captain Salah either GW18 or (possible)DGW24. There are 2 more DGW where you can triple captain Salah and you can use ass man chip or other chips on DGW24.

[@TheFPLWireFantasyPremierLeague]

Also there's news now that potentially the double could be in 25 which is tastier

[@rohanp2156]

A nice chill pod with a great in depth content as usual. Happy holidays, guys!

[@strawhattedman]

Great pod as always - you guys are smashing it 👍👍

[@Sodnika]

Excellent guys, once again making the difference.

[@MDot97]

@47:32 Munoz and Robinson (starting in gw19) rotation gives you SOU(h), IPS(h), LEI(a), LEI(a), BRE(h) gw24 new(a) or mun(a), EVE(h), CRY(h), AVL(h) or WOL(a), IPS(h) and both CRY/FUL will feature in gw29 assuming LIV beat TOT in EFL Cup semis. Robinson is a transfer out in gw30 but Munoz plays SOU(a) in gw30.

[@TheFPLWireFantasyPremierLeague]

but with players who are as attacking as munoz and robinson, do you ever need to bench them?

[@MDot97]

@@TheFPLWireFantasyPremierLeague which attacking player under 5m is as attacking as Robinson and Munoz? Rotation wise those two look to be excellent until gw31 for 12 of next 13 gws. In a game of total pts I'll be happy with those two for sure. (EDIT: if it's L.Hall gw24,25,26,27 are not great) 0 or 1 defensive transfers from 19-31 is a real possibility with this rotation pair.

[@Pras_fpl]

Like it!

[@KCGOALS]

Thank you gents for the super content. Enjoy the festive holidays ahead!

[@varonbawa77]

Great pod guys

[@MDot97]

@19:04 And us regular viewers of the FPL Wire know what it's like to "go down" without any credit cards or any BS 🤣🤣

[@declan_23]

Starts 2:10

[@harryb1429]

Great pod and more clear discussion without people talking over each other which I really appreciated!

[@zzgrom]

Great show - I am thinking of triple captaining Salah this week. Just worried he may be rested or Liverpool conserve energy. What about Sarr v Mitoma to start? Brighton are in a slump and I feel with Chalobah and Munoz back, Palace will outmuscle Bournemouth especially with big Mateta up front.

[@jag_purwaha1]

Amazing Pod as always. Thank you all❤️

[@maccom8]

Absolutely Brilliant guys

[@santilamela3841]

Great convo guys, the fact that Saka is injured means that there are so many ways you can go

[@trakiets]

Great pod. You are giving me a lot of food for thought about whether I should bring in Jesus. But the 4 yellow cards and my desire for Jesus to prove himself over more than just 1 gameweek is putting me off at the moment. I would have to disaapoint Zoph nevertheless - we are not in the title race. It would be Liverpool or Arsenal.

[@speardrops]

LR, so you would pick Gordon (vs Villa then United and Spurs away) over: Fernandes/Diallo (Wolves and a Newcastle side who don't travel well - Fernandes on all set pieces) Diaz (Leicester coming off a huge away loss and 2 goals at Spurs) Bowen (Southampton and a 90 min talisman with form and quality) Odegaard/Martinelli (Ipswich then Brentford, no Saka for competition - Odegaard on all set pieces) Mbeumo (all set pieces and vs Brighton who are definitely weaker defensively than Villa) Foden (some form now, and a much easier fixture run) I'd pick every one of them over Gordon given their form and fixtures. Newcastle historically travel very poorly and go to Spurs and United after Villa. Gordon is fine but I wouldn't start him over any of the above, maybe Mbeumo or Diallo at a push. He's just okay if you own him, I wouldn't be pushing him as a top 3 Saka replacement, not even top 5 given the fixtures. Villas last 6 xGC: 1.03, 1.78, 0.33, 1.03, 0.82, 1.26.

[@TheFPLWireFantasyPremierLeague]

See the fixtures after Villa and United.

[@speardrops]

@TheFPLWireFantasyPremierLeague yeah fair, but that's in 3 weeks time, 2 gameweeks to go before then

[@TheFPLWireFantasyPremierLeague]

@@speardrops Yes hence the long term option I like is Gordon and the short term option I like is Diaz/Martinelli.

[@speardrops]

@TheFPLWireFantasyPremierLeague yeah but we are picking for right now, and Saka sellers can get to any pick in midfield, so it seems silly to go for someone with Villa, United and Spurs over the picks above. Especially given 2 are away and Newcastle don't travel well

[@hey_its_zae]

LR, I love the Gordon shout and I very much want to go there. I'm just a bit worried that he got benched a few weeks ago because of fixtures congestion, isn't that something that should be concerning considering the congested fixture schedule coming up?

[@TheFPLWireFantasyPremierLeague]

That was just fatigue and now they seem in rhythm. I wouldn't be worried about minutes

[@aesthetics9880]

Merry Christmas to all! What are ur views on Martenelli, is he a good option to buy?

[@TheFPLWireFantasyPremierLeague]

hes a decent pick, his versatility to play on the left and on the right works in his favour. there is a chance tho if martinelli has a couple of bad games that he goes with jesus on the right and trossard on the left. its all a bit of an unknown without saka really

[@AmerKhiami]

Long term wish: Chelsea to win the Premier league for 7 years in a raw

[@mudassiranwar8914]

You guys said Eze is on penalties, but Mateta has already taken one this season, and this was when Eze was on the pitch. It could be because he won it as well, but could also be that Glasner is embracing him fully as a striker, specially after Nketiah not working. Mateta on penalties does increase his appeal significantly I would say.

[@Pras_fpl]

Agree - base case now is that Mateta is on them.

[@mariobajada]

Great pod ❤ Pras is flying

[@AmerKhiami]

I am 100% with Z, foden is the right placement for Saka. Man City can not loose the easy matches

[@sharma13paras]

Waiting for a wildcard draft for some of us who still haven’t used the chip. With the fixture swings - it’s a great week to make this video guys

[@varunbehl1515]

LR thoughts on Saka Replacement trump to whatever is currently out there

[@APUK-d7r]

Great pod

[@getoffmywalrus]

Is Munoz next week still a good option if I have Henderson in goal? I love the attacking upside but not sure about doubling up on a non-elite defense

[@leenixon-x2z]

In completely unrelated news, i own the same t shirt LR is wearing

[@Aman_D_10]

Foden is the guy for me

[@MDot97]

Wouldn't it be hilarious this week if Jota starts LEI(h) but gets injured (not long-term) before 30min so L.Diaz comes on and gets 2 returns in 60+ min with a clean sheet 😂😂

[@ryanjames1575]

The other problem with 4.5 keepers is you convince yourself you can rotate them but the one you bench scores more points long term. Set and forget keeper is the play.

[@TimChew-qh5yu]

100%

[@TheFPLWireFantasyPremierLeague]

you can set and forget a 4.5 too tho

[@ryanjames1575]

​@@TheFPLWireFantasyPremierLeagueOnly if you are lucky enough to pick the right one

[@InformationalHub07]

Hey Pras, I have done kudus to dibling and Cunha to isak with my two free transfer. Now that Saka is injured should I take a minus to get Bruno this week? Also I want to upgrade dibling to another mid within 6.2 who do I get for the long term

[@nathansmith8898]

Those were daft early transfers. How's your bench? Don't like hits, but if you have a poor bench then do it.

[@InformationalHub07]

@@nathansmith8898I have a solid team, I have Sanchez,Fabianski, greaves, TAA,Gabriel,Lewis,Robinson,Palmer,salah,Roger’s,dibling, Bruno,Jackson isak and Joao pedro. My only problem rn is transfers and dibling. I need to save up transfers now. I have pretty good long term picks. I need a dibling replacement for next to next week

[@shikharmishra1137]

I will go for kulusevski but he is 6.3m

[@JPzizou]

Is bruno a utd fan biased pick?

[@MDot97]

for an any entry point of wolves(a), NEW(h), LIV(a) it's not a solid option especially if you own Amad already and you can't rely on MAN UTD 6-4-7 to consistently deliver.

[@SultanSaeed_99]

No I don’t think so. There is no bias in pure FPL points and since GW10, Fernandes is 2nd for mids with 60 points. Only Salah has scored more in that period.

[@MDot97]

@@SultanSaeed_99 What about since gw12 because Man Utd are not playing LEI and IPS until Feb 26. 9pt vs EVE (2 assists on 0.18xA), 2pt at ARS (0.14xA nothing for xG) 9pt v NFO (0.23 xG nice goal, 0.13xA) 9pt at MCI (penalty goal, from open play xG was 0.45, 0.13xA) 2pt v BOU (poor defending, good data in a 3-0 loss, 0.46xG, 0.40 xA) I don't like the next three matches for Fernandes, Liv(a) is likely a blank, wol(a) is good but MUN disappoint a lot, I would be surprised to see more than 3 goals in these next two matches as a team, B.Fernandes has a much better entry point in gw21 with SOU(h), BHA(h). Liverpool are flying, L.Diaz probably starts 2 of the next 3 matches, it's a solid entry point.

[@SultanSaeed_99]

@@MDot97 if your looking strictly since GW13 then he has got 3 returns in 5 with 4 bonus which is solid considering he has played arsenal (a) and Man City (a). You refer to the bad entry point, but the way I look at it is that between now and GW29, United have a decent run and guaranteed to play in the blank.

[@MDot97]

@@SultanSaeed_99 I'm not putting you off Fernandes, I'm just stating your pts since x gameweeks includes LEI and IPS when Man Utd are not playing those bottom tier teams until the end of February. Bruno for the next three matches is, for me, not optimal, I'll take L.Diaz who's expected to start (not 90% likely but maybe 65% likely) against LEI(h) instead, especially when Diaz plays for a functional attacking outfit. Liverpool are scoring more than 8 goals in these next three matches, wouldn't be surprised to see Man Utd score 4 goals in their next three matches. Wolves have a new manager and could give up just two goals, how many did Man Utd score on Ipswich away for instance?

[@MDot97]

As someone with Amad, Rogers, Salah, Saka, Palmer, J.Pedro, Isak, Cunha there's a lot of security in all of my 7 healthy attackers (not Saka) and so I'm more inclined to "risk" a mins uncertainty with a LIV midfielder when those xG for LIV are crazy good. LEI(h) had NEW scoring four times, BRE scoring four times, MUN scoring three times, BHA scoring two times, WOL scoring three times with Ruud as manager. TC is active on the midfielder who's likely getting 2/3 returns and 2/3 bonus in this fixture. Lots of points on offer this gameweek, hopefully the best two teams in England deliver for us engaged FPL managers. Singapore is a lovely country; I had the pleasure of spending six days in 2024 there, very safe, clean and home to the world's nicest airport imo (Doha is wonderful too).

[@shayne77]

Personally I could never use a free hit in a blank feels extremely boring and I’d rather take hits

[@AmerKhiami]

Wish for Christmas : foden Hatrick and Burno Red Card

[@zzgrom]

Zoph - play mykolenko over Robinson?

[@TheFPLWireFantasyPremierLeague]

thought about it but my general rule when both defenders are unlikely to keep cs is to play the more attacking one

[@zzgrom]

@@TheFPLWireFantasyPremierLeague City defence is far weaker than Chelsea's though.

[@Andy-f9g]

What do you think about Saka to foden, van de berg to Gabriel and cunha to Gabriel jesus for a -4?

[@ryanjames1575]

No offence but this is a really bad move. Foden and Jesus are not nailed over the bust festive period plus you are paying 4 points for it

[@Andy-f9g]

@ thank you brother. I appreciate your reply. I am just looking for a 2 week punt with jesus. In case of foden, if he finds form he would be a great pick (it’s also kind of a punt). If he does not perform in the next 2-3 fixtures, i can take him out

[@marvfpl]

I think Chiesa will get minutes in the second half vs Leicester

[@mycuriousfellows8096]

Who is going to be Arsenal penalty taker now in absence of saka?

[@TheFPLWireFantasyPremierLeague]

Very likely to be odegaard

[@davidddddddddd]

Lateriser fighting to buy Foden when he has scored 1 goal in 17 weeks is embarrassing! Love the pod but week after week he says this nonsense!

[@TheFPLWireFantasyPremierLeague]

tbf I was the one pushing foden more than LR - Zoph

[@XxXxFCPxXxX]

Lateriser has been very underwhelming this season, IMO. I only follow the show since last season and I loved some of his views, but he tries too much just to be different and has been saying a lot of bad takes this year. Saying Gordon is the best Saka replacement has to be a joke... C'mon man

[@TheFPLWireFantasyPremierLeague]

I'm perfectly entitled to my opinions. You can choose to watch, follow or ignore. Cheers and Happy Holidays!

[@XxXxFCPxXxX]

@TheFPLWireFantasyPremierLeague of course you are!! Just stating that I disagree with a lot of them this season, like this one today. Happy Holidays for all of you if you celebrate and wishing a big fat green arrow for all 3 this GW! Amazing pod once again. I'll be back at the end of the week for GW19 ❤️

[@FPLNyssa]

❤

[@Z-Piece]

Foden is not a.. definitely transfer out lol

[@andrewgriffiths4167]

i own amad and liverpool fan no chance i get bruno hes bad player ...united fans should want him gone hes such a cry baby on the field

[@AbhishekPrajapati-e1v]

Pras is getting annoying. Always sitting on the fence. Contradicting his own opinions. Sounding like a hypocrite.

[@gauraigaunekar9227]

Fantastic, big man b in this panel would be cherry on the cake.

[@rohangupta8630]

No

[@shayne77]

Why did he leave?

[@raghav_rvp]

Big man B wanks to spreadsheets and xG. Nothing else

[@MrJoeljoy]

I am 3K and I'm humble too.