Skipper Ekitike and a Three-Pronged Arsenal Backline – The FPL Team of the Week
What number of The Reds players can you squeeze in your lineup for this round?
The Merseyside club have secured a pair of triumphs , with a red-hot attacker in their French frontman preparing for a fixture with Wolves currently on course for one of the worst Premier League seasons on record.
Should you have retained a portion of your Africa Cup of Nations wildcards , with the budget to spend following the injury to the injured Manchester United's playmaker, in that case assets from Anfield options must be the primary focus.
This ideal squad is constructed using latest FPL costs to comply with a 100 million pound spending limit, as if activating a one-week wildcard.
What Was the Performance of The Previous Selection?
Captain Manchester City's striker (32 points) , alongside the in-form duo of Antoine Semenyo (10 points) plus Liverpool's frontman led the squad to a solid 82 points – with a bonus a 10-point performance from Fulham's defender as a substitute.
Our FPL Ideal Squad for Matchday 18
Goalkeeper & Defence
David Raya, Arsenal, keeper, £6m – vs Brighton & Hove Albion (H).
Arsenal's defence had a minor wobble in the wake of an injury to Gabriel, but they have kept two clean sheets in their past four , with nine to their name before the campaign's midpoint played.
Mikel Arteta's side have let in goals in just a handful of fixtures at the Emirates this season. The strikes they conceded came from a Manchester City superstar, a wondrous effort from Richarlison , plus a late header from Tolu Arokodare.
Jurrien Timber (£6.5m) and Piero Hincapie (£5.5m), the Gunners – vs the Seagulls (H).
This week features a triple selection from the Arsenal defence.
As well as being the strongest defence in FPL, with a clean sheet in over 50% of their fixtures, they take on a Roberto De Zerbi's side who have drawn a blank in two consecutive matches.
The South Coast club have only managed 9 strikes in eight away games.
The Dutch defender remains a solid pick every week and has more offensive potential since returning to the full-back role.
Hincapie has registered 'defcon' points over his last four starts, which included two clean sheets.
Virgil van Dijk, the Reds, £5.9m – vs Wolves (H).
Managers would love six Anfield players this week if allowed.
Gary O'Neil's team failed to score for the 10th time in 17 games in Saturday's 2-0 defeat at Molineux to Brentford.
The Midlands side have only managed 9 goals all season, with only a couple away from home. This is one of the safest clean sheet prospect imaginable.
Omar Alderete, the Black Cats, £4m – vs Leeds (H).
Despite Leeds United's better goalscoring upturn – including the performances of Dominic Calvert-Lewin – the pick is a Stadium of Light shutout on home soil.
It would be a third in a row and the Paraguayan defender establishing himself as a prime low-cost defensive pick. You can select him with assurance in most games, due to his regular defensive contribution points.
Midfield
Mason Mount, United, £5.9m – vs Newcastle United (H).
Mount should play a bigger responsibility at Manchester United in the next few games, with Bruno Fernandes out injured.
Recently, Erik ten Hag's team have generated the greatest expected goals (xG) in the league by a comfortable distance – 8.78 compared to second-best Leeds United's 5.68.
They welcome a Newcastle side who have not excelled away from home – with just a single victory in seven.
The former Chelsea man is likely to take over a large share of Fernandes' creative responsibilities, especially on set-pieces, potentially play as an attacking midfielder.
Florian Wirtz, Liverpool, £8.1m – vs Wolverhampton Wanderers (H).
The German playmaker is due a significant score and a fixture at Anfield against Wolves being an ideal scenario for it.
Wirtz has delivered returns across his last four fixtures – a pair of assists plus a 'defcon' performance.
Over that time his chance creation stands at 10 chances, the highest of any his teammates, and his xG is 0.88.
Morgan Rogers, Aston Villa, £7.2m – vs the Blues (A).
After recording 30 points over two matches, Rogers' current form is impossible to ignore.
He's Villa's key attacker, with an ability to scoring a strike from half a yard of space inside the area.
An away trip at Chelsea may appear a difficult assignment, but Villa have emerged victorious at that ground twice during the past three seasons.
Strikers
Hugo Ekitike (Captain), the Reds, £8.9m – vs Wolverhampton Wanderers (H).
Due to facing an abysmal Wolves side, having no rivalry for his place, and having scored five goals in three games, the French striker receives the captain's armband this week.
Erling Haaland, City, £15.1m – vs Nottingham Forest (A).
There's no benching Haaland, however because he has a tougher away game in this round, the choice is to look elsewhere for the armband.
Jarrod Bowen, West Ham, £7.6m