Another gameweek awaits, with fixtures coming thick and fast over Christmas and huge matches await.

The rational thinking behind this (hopefully/to an extent!) is to strike a balance between getting on the attack and maintaining a core of template players and looking ahead to the medium term.

4 match days are set to take place from Thursday to Sunday, so in a sense there is a semi Sky Sports Fantasy Football approach adopted to FPL here.

Aston Villa duo Alex Moreno (numerous goal attempts against Brentford) and Ollie Watkins feature – for a very much in form Aston Villa side – both were on the score sheet in GW17.

Chelsea attacker and budget option Cole Palmer continues to shine after a double figure haul against Sheffield United (2-0) – Wolves is not necessarily an easy fixture given their home victories against Manchester City and Tottenham this campaign but at a fairly low price the midfielder is capable of delivering in any match at the moment given the numbers he is producing and the confidence, courage and maturity that Palmer is displaying.

Michael Olise very much appears to be passing the eye test and is quietly in a bit of form – this is a bit of a free swing pick in a sense – the French youngster’s direct dribbling skills could cause a Brighton side problems as they are seemiglngly short on out and out fit and available left backs (or wing backs) at present.

Sweden have produced numerous talented groups such as The Concretes, Peter, Bjorn and John, Viagra Boys, The Hives, Goat and ABBA – they also produce quality footballers too – so former Juventus attacker Dejan Kulusevski makes the XI as he may be utilised as a number 10/or as a winger cutting in on his stronger left foot, plays for a really attack minded side effectively playing with 4 attackers and looks good for minutes this month and in January with James Maddison out injured, Son (likely to be) soon to be off to the Asian Cup in January and Brennan Johnson currently a doubt and Manor Solomon is out injured.

Kulusevski is a fantastic dribbler, can open sides up and is capable of getting goals/assists when on form (momentum/eye test pick) – 3 of Tottenham’s next 5 matches in the Premier League are at home.

Pedro Porro comes off the back of another return in the form of a clean sheet and 2 bonus points, and looks like a threat in open play and on set pieces as a defender with broadly speaking good fixtures and an xGI (Total) of 5.25 this season (11 returns overall in terms of clean sheets and assists).

Optimal picks are normally preferred, with ideally just 1 player in each match, however given that is it is a top 3 clash in GW18 between Liverpool and Arsenal players – their players absolutely do feature.

David Raya (potentially a way in to the side with the best defence in terms of least goals conceded in 2023/24 and leaving slots of open for attack minded defenders such as full backs/creative defenders on set piece/getting in to advance positions in or around the opposition’s penalty area) and Bukayo Saka (partly for ownership reasons) represent Arsenal, with relatively kind fixtures from GW19-GW22 (set to face *mainly* teams that are 11th or lower in the table), so in this sense the pair are selected with the aforementioned fixtures in mind, as well as playing for side that are currently top of the Premier League.

Trent Alexander-Arnold has returned (clean sheets/assists/goals) in 5 of his previous 6 GWs (maximum bonus points received in GW17), is getting on the ball in different areas of the pitch (especially in home matches), and also offers potential returns from set pieces as such an influential player (next 3 fixtures are at home or away at Burnley).

Mohamed Salah continues to be the highest points scoring midfielder in the game, the former FC Basel 1893 player is vice this gameweek and has returned in the majority of his matches at Anfield this season.

Dominic Solanke is selected once again given his general and impressive form, presence for Bournemouth, positive underlying numbers and high ownership.

Bench options include Everton’s Jordan Pickford, Sheffield United’s Cameron Archer, fit again Wolves full back/wing back Rayan Aït-Nouri and Chelsea’s Levi Colwill.

*** Manchester City and Brentford to not feature in GW18 (due to the FIFA Club World Cup)

* This post was partly produced by memory but also in thanks to the use of official Fantasy Premier League (website).