FPL GW18 Tips – Hold or Sell Pedro?, Robinson + Rogers & More

Welcome to StatsmanFPL’s Weekly Tips & Preview for FPL GW18 of the FPL 2024/25 season. This blog will provide FPL GW18 Tips and advice to address key dilemmas and maximize your FPL points.

This blog is written by @StatsmanFPL. Be sure to follow his Instagram and Twitter for daily content and news. 

Link to all our FPL GW18 blogs including scout picks, players to target, buy, hold, sell analysis, differentials, captaincy metrics, transfer targets, and more. Completely free to access as well!

FPL GW18 Tips & Preview

Hold or Sell Joao Pedro Ahead of FPL GW18?

Joao Pedro has blanked the past three gameweeks but don’t let this distract you from the value he offers going forward. 

Back to regularly playing 90 minutes in a Brighton side that is attacking and willing to push forward at any stage of the game is a big positive. 

His penalty duties are a plus given the likes of Mitoma & Minteh are great dribblers who could bring defenders unstuck during this busy christmas fixture period.

The Brazilian forward records shots and key passes in almost every fixture and pops up in attacking fixtures inside the box.

If we look across his season totals, he is averaging almost 1 goal involvement per 90 minutes and his upcoming run of fixtures is good enough to hold him. He may get benched in the next run of fixtures but nearly all assets have this risk rather than a select few premium assets. Pedro is also up against a Brentford side at home in GW17 who have a very poor defense record away from home.

Brentford Away Defense Rank:

Shots Inside the Box Conceded	20th
Expected Goals Conceded	18th
Big Chances Conceded	16th
Goals Conceded	18th

Thoughts on Antonee Robinson Ahead of GW18

Robinson is one of my pre-season picks which I have been happy to see perform very well. Coming off the back of a clean sheet and only marginally missing out on bonus points, he is quietly racking up a good total of points this season.

Coming off a 23/24 campaign that saw him record 6 assists and be unfortunate not to have added a goal to that tally, Robinson has already recorded 6 assists this season before Christmas and has improved his underlying attacking numbers by nearly 25%. 

He has taken 10 shots and provided 17 key passes which are solid numbers, especially for a fullback playing for a defensively solid team. Fulham are in the top six defences for underlying data and have only conceded 22 goals from 17 fixtures which is a very respectable total. 

Top Defensive Teams this season- Ranked based on xGC:

• Liverpool- 15.62
• Arsenal- 16.02
• Forest- 18.96
• Fulham- 20.01
• Newcastle- 20.6
• Everton- 20.77

Although Robinson is overperforming his underlying data (6 assists for approximately 3 expected assists), you can see the class in his overall play and delivery. Combining this attacking output with a solid defensive base makes him a great pick.

Morgan Rogers a Hold for the Rest of the Season?

Rogers is a man who is unlikely to leave my team this season unless he gets injured.

At a very budget price of £5.3m, he provides both goal and assist potential. He is also surrounded by international-level players who can both provide opportunities to him and finish opportunities that he provides to them. 

His underlying data of 0.48 expected goal involvements per 90 minutes is elite for his price range and his returns of 5 goals and 3 assists so far show that. He plays 90 minutes in almost every fixture and spends most of his time on the pitch in attacking midfield or inside the box. He averages approximately 2 shots per match and 1-2 key passes per match. 

Aston Villa’s upcoming fixtures are mixed but due to the way Aston Villa perform and the price that he costs, he is an easy hold and a potential transfer target to anyone who does not own him. 

If Aston Villa are scoring goals, Rogers is likely to be involved in them.

FPL GW18 Key Fixture Analysis

Liverpool v Leicester

Liverpool remain in red hot form and face Leicester who are one of the worst form teams of the competition. 

Another poor showing from Leicester against Wolves saw them lose 3-0 to Wolves and now they face Salah & friends at Anfield on a quick turnaround. 

New manager Ruud Van Nistelrooy is averaging 3 goals conceded and almost 20 shots conceded per match in fixtures that aren’t against the traditional big six. 

Salah should have a field day against a CB pairing of Vestergaard and Coady and is a legitimate triple-captain option if you do not want to wait for a double gameweek or plan to use other chips in those weeks.

Arsenal v Ipswich

Arsenal host Ipswich without their main man Bukayo Saka. Saka was injured in their matchup against Crystal Palace and is expected to be out for weeks.

Arsenal’s defence continues to tick along with points and they also welcome back Calafiori from injury which will help with keeping their defence fresh and solid.

Expect a clean sheet with multiple goals scored by Arsenal. Timber could profit by being more attacking against a weaker Ipswich side while Odegaard & Havertz will look to pick up the attacking responsibility that Saka has left behind. Odegaard will also likely be the interim penalty taker. 

Ipswich have conceded the highest xGC(19.17 in 8 games) & most big chances(33 in 8 games) in away games so far this season & have only one away clean sheet!

Further reads from ALLABOUTFPL ahead of FPL GW18:

FPL GW18 Tips – Hold or Sell Pedro?, Robinson + Rogers

Link to all our FPL GW18 blogs including scout picks, players to target, buy, hold, sell analysis, differentials, captaincy metrics, transfer targets, and more. Completely free to access as well!

Thanks for reading the “FPL GW18 Tips & Preview” blog. Keep checking allaboutfpl.com for regular blogs. Also, follow our 200,000+ community on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter to stay updated on regular Posts and FPL updates.

What’s next from ALLABOUTFPL ahead of FPL Gameweek 18 of the 2024/25 FPL Season?

We’ll be covering differential picks, transfer targets, Buy, Hold, Sell analysis, Scout picks, Gameweek preview, Captaincy metrics, FPL GW18 tips, and more. Keep checking allaboutfpl.com for all our blogs. We’ll also be posting regularly about the same on our social media accounts so follow us on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook and keep our notification ON.