Welcome back to Hive FPL for game week 18 of the season!

Last week saw some big points scoring for the majority of teams lead in no small part by Haaland's 16 point haul at home to West Ham. Only 3 of the Hive FPL top 50 didn't have the City striker as their captain and it won't come as any surprise that all 3 have dropped between 9 and 12 places in the classic league as a result.

6 teams in the Hive FPL also had their triple captain chip in play for the week with all of them backing Haaland. The 48 point haul that it delivered helped all half a dozen managers but kudos to @damolexy whose Formidable Milano side breached the 100 point mark off the back of it.

It also helped both Formidable Milano and @sperosamuel15's Spero FC to important head to head wins in Division 1 which keep them in touch with the remainder of the table. By comparison, bottom pair of @samostically and @gvkanten are now 7 points adrift of safety and in need of a big 2nd half of the season to avoid relegation back to Division 2.

bottom third of the Division 1 table

In terms of the teams looking to replace them then it's a similar story in Division 2 where we have a couple of sides running away from the rest in Sutter Kane and Blue Mooners (1 and 2 in the Classic League as well). Below that however it is going to be a real scrap with the next 12 sides all knowing that a strong finish to 2025 could mean they start the New Year in the promotion places

Promotion chase in Division 2

As we alluded to a couple of weeks ago, it was interesting to see who would go all in with their 5 free transfers early and who would play the longer game knowing that the boost would set them up to be more flexible in the medium term.

In fact, the top 8 teams in the Hive FPL made just 5 transfers between them for GW17 despite the fact that top 2 @suttercane @leebennett both having 5 free switches to make.

On the flip side, some of the chasing pack have gone all in early on those transfers with the likes of @deniskj (7th place), @emeka4 (8th), @aditya-p (10th), @tengolotodo (11th), @arfa (12th) and @youngvic (13th) all down to just 1 free transfer for GW18. Time will tell if that tactic can pay off for them.

While exhausting your transfers or not as the case may be is a personal choice, surely every manager will want to have used all their chips before the end of GW19 when they reset for the 2nd half of the season.

With just 2 game weeks left to use them or lose them, here are the top Hive FPL sides who still have chips up their sleeve

It's possible of course that some of these guys simply didn't realise that all the chips will reset at the midway mark this season which is a new feature - in previous years it's just been the 2nd wildcard that sides have been able to get at a later part of the campaign.

Still, with just 54 points separating 30th place and 10th place (where the prize money begins) you can see that the next couple of game weeks could have a big bearing on the final standings whether that is down to free transfers being banked or because of chips in play.

Division 1

GW17 Results

GW18 Fixtures

Division 2

GW17 Results

GW18 Fixtures

GW18 Player Picks and Tips

Here are our tips and picks for GW18 of the season...

Ekitiké emerges but who else in Red do you back?

With 5 goals in his last 3 games, there was an argument that Ekitiké should have been in your thoughts prior to the injury to Isak which seems likely to keep him out for the remainder of the season.

However, given that he'd spent the 3 games prior to that on the bench, there was always the lingering doubt as to whether the former Frankfurt man would get a consistent run of games in this Liverpool side. With, no Salah until the New Year due to AFCON, Gakpo also out injured and Szoboszlai suspended for GW18 then it really feels as though it's Ekitiké or nothing both Slot and for FPL managers!

With Liverpool playing Wolves this weekend then you'd fancy that quite a few managers will pile in on the remaining players. If you are sitting on a good number of free transfers or better yet your free hit then the likes of Chiesa who has 2 goals and an assist from 151 mins of Premier League action might prove an explosive differential.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-cO9dTiJiwE

Jeremy Frimpong started the season in over 3 million fantasy teams but that ownership has dropped the just over half a million (4.6%) after an injury hit start to his Liverpool career which has delivered just 11 fantasy points to date. Connor Bradley was subbed at half-time (possible injury, possibly tactical) against Spurs so Frimpong might get a chance at right-back or he could be pushed further forward to help plug the aforementioned gaps.

The reigning champions versus the bottom placed side looks on paper like a very attractive fixture to target but let's not forget that this is a Liverpool side that struggled to see off 9 man Spurs on Saturday and a Wolves team that came within a whisker of knicking something from Arsenal on their last away trip.

Is it too late to bring in Villa players?

What a strange season it's been for Villa and for fantasy managers when it comes to picking their players. With what looked like a really appealing run of early games, I started the season with 3 Villa players in my side and they all disappointed as the midlands club found it very difficult to get going.

Morgan Rogers was one of my initial picks and rewarded me by blanking in the first 5 game weeks. Despite showing good form for the national side, he looked completely disinterested when pulling on a Villa shirt. His first 6 Premier League games got him a total of 0.22xG with 3 of those matches finishing without him even taking a shot at goal.

Fast forward and his most recent 6 Premier League matches have seen him net 6 times and get an assist. It's no surprise then that his price during that period his risen from a season low £6.8mil to a season high £7.2mil if you want to bring him in now.

However, is he or indeed any Villa player going to be able to maintain that form?

Villa's next 5 matches

Home matches against Forest and Everton look like decent bets but Villa's away games look particularly difficult at present. Beyond the 3 trips to London shown above they have an away game at Newcastle and then Bournemouth to round of a tricky winter which also sees them visit Spurs in the cup and travel to Fenerbahçe in the Europa League both in January.

Cunha to take centre-stage?

I don't think Cunha has been a poor signing for United by any stretch of the imagination but he has struggled to deliver where it most counts for a player of his nature - in front of goal! Still, that appears to be changing with the Brazilian having scored or assisted in his last 3 appearances.

Much like the situation at Liverpool that we described above, it's also becoming a case of FPL managers having very few other options when it comes to picking United forwards. Mbeumo and Amad are at AFCON and Bruno Fernandes who a lot of teams brought in to replace the former, looks set to be out for at least a few weeks with a hamstring injury.

That leaves Cunha, a man who almost single handedly kept Wolves in the league last season, as the main creative force in this United side. I think that kind of responsibility and status will get the best out of him and with a good run of fixtures to come it might very much be time to bring him into the equation. He's currently in 5.8% of teams but I'd fancy that to increase significantly once the full extent of Bruno's injury is revealed.

No midfielder has a higher xGI than Cunha Over the last 3 game weeks

As for other United players? Well with United facing Newcastle at home and then all 3 newly promoted sides in a row you'd fancy that there might be value in taking a punt on at least 1 other.

Sesko started his first league game since the 1st November against Villa and could prove to be a decent differential. Mason Mount is a player that the manager clearly trusts and could well fill a Bruno shaped hole or maybe we'll get to see the lesser spotted Kobbie Maino!

Semenyo to City!

Just as I was about to hit the publish button, credible news agencies are reporting that Semenyo is in advanced talks with Man City over a January move.

In immediate FPL terms that puts his chances of playing against Brentford this week in serious doubt as the player and clubs are unlikely to want to risk an injury that might scupper the move.

Longer term, is he going to get the game time at City that he does at Bournemouth? Almost certainly not.

Will he get the goal scoring opportunities he's had with the Cherries in a Pep system? We'll have to wait and see.

All in all though what a great story for the player!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sHwYt-D0Su0

I've watched him live plenty of times when he played for Bristol City and I think while it was obvious that he should be playing at a higher level, I don't think anyone expected him to do as well as he's done. Then again, this is a guy who was widely rejected in the youth system too so kudos for continuing to prove the doubters wrong and securing a once in a lifetime deal with one of the biggest clubs in Europe.

Merry Christmas from Hive FPL!

Who are you picking in your side this week?