FPL Gameweek 18 preview: News, injuries, suspensions, fixtures, picks and analysis

The Christmas Premier League table is set with Liverpool four points clear, and with a game in hand, over chasers Chelsea; Arsenal are close behind in third and surprise package Nottingham Forest complete the top four.

The shocks don't end there - Bournemouth sit fifth with Manchester City in free fall in seventh and Manchester United are all the way down in 13th.

Liverpool's Mohamed Salah was the standout performer in Fantasy Premier League (FPL) Gameweek 17 with a whopping 21 points from his side's thrilling 6-3 win at Spurs.

The action is coming thick and fast over the festive period and for each FPL Gameweek, we'll be keeping you up-to-date with all the latest that's going on, including transfers while the windows are open, injury news, suspensions, who's playing who and our in-depth analysis of what you need to be thinking about.

Here's indy100's preview for FPL Gameweek 18.

Liverpool's Mo Salah was the top scorer in FPL Gameweek 17 with 21 points Alex Pantling, Getty Images

FPL Gameweek 18 picks - what to think about

Liverpool impressed once again during their 6-3 win at Spurs and have two green fixtures next before two neutral ones; Mohamed Salah continues to show he's the player needed in FPL teams with his return of 21 points.

FPL has four difficulty rankings of fixtures - green (2) is the so-called 'easiest' with this then going through neutral (3), light red (4) and dark red (5), which is what is referred to through this analysis.

Chelsea were held to a goalless draw against a stubborn Everton side and the difficulty of their fixtures has now changed to two green and three neutral in the next five - it was previously five green.

Arsenal's Bukayo Saka is out for "many weeks" said Mikel Arteta in a recent press conference. He was substituted with a hamstring injury during the Gunners' 5-1 win at Crystal Palace - some managers may need to do some shuffling if they've got him in their squad.

Nottingham Forest once again showed what they can do with a 2-0 win at Brentford, who have been incredibly strong at home, with Ola Aina getting another good points haul and Anthony Elanga on the scoresheet for the second game running.

Bournemouth were once again mightily impressive with a 3-0 win at Manchester United - Justin Kluivert was among the goals again with another penalty and Antoine Semenyo found the back of the next too.

Jhon Duran started and scored again for Aston Villa in the 2-1 win over Manchester City with Morgan Rogers netting FPL managers 14 points.

City's slump amazingly continues but they have three green fixtures coming up.

Newcastle United's Alexander Isak continued his fine form with a hat-trick at Ipswich Town with Lewis Hall getting a decent return for the second consecutive Gameweek - the Magpies have two neutral and a light red fixture in the next three though.

Wolves picked up just their third win of the season with a 3-0 win over Leicester City in Vitor Pereira's first game in charge and Matheus Cunha was back among the goals.

Southampton also proved stubborn with a 0-0 draw at Fulham - the Saints do not have a dark red fixture from now until the end of February and will be hoping for a new manager bounce under Ivan Juric.

Ivan Juric has a decent run of fixtures when he takes charge of Southampton, starting with the visit of West Ham United on Boxing Day / Ryan Pierse, Getty Images

FPL injuries

Each Gameweek, this is a comprehensive guide to players who are out or are a doubt for each club in the order they appear for their club in FPL.

If they have a knock and a chance of playing, this will be reflected (if they have a 75 per cent chance of playing, the number will be by their name in brackets, the same for 50 per cent chance and so on), otherwise they are ruled out.

This is correct at the time of writing.

• Arsenal - Ben White, Oleksandr Zinchenko (25), Tomiyasu Takehiro, Bukayo Saka, Raheem Sterling
• Aston Villa - Diego Carlos (75), Jacob Ramsey
• Bournemouth - Marcos Sensei, Julian Araujo, Marcus Tavernier, Luis Sinisterra, Alex Scott
• Brentford - Ethan Pinnock (25), Sepp van den Berg (25), Mads Roerslev (75), Kristoffer Ajer (75), Rico Henry, Aaron Hickey, Mathias Jensen, Josh Dasilva, Gustavo Nunes, Igor Thiago (25)
• Brighton - Ferdi Kadioglu, Jack Hinshelwood, Mats Wieffer, James Milner, Solly March (75), Danny Welbeck (25)
• Chelsea - Wesley Fofana, Benoit Badiashile, Reece James, Romeo Lavia (50), Omari Kellyman
• Crystal Palace - Chadi Riad Dnanou (75), Eberechi Eze (75), Adam Wharton, Matheus Franca, Franco Umeh-Chibueze (25)
• Everton - Dwight McNeil (50), Tim Iroegbunam, James Garner, Youssef Chermiti (25)
• Fulham - Kenny Tete, Emile Smith Rowe (75), Reiss Nelson, Sander Berge (75), Sasa Lukic (75), Harrison Reed
• Ipswich Town - Axel Tuanzebe, Chiedozie Ogbene, George Hirst
• Leicester City - Mads Hermansen (75), Jakub Stolarczyk (75), Ricardo Pereira, Wilfred Ndidi, Abdul Fatawu
• Liverpool - Ibrahima Konate, Conor Bradley
• Manchester City - Ederson (50), Ruben Dias, John Stones (75), Matheus Nunes (75), Rodri, Oscar Bobb
• Manchester United - Matthijs de Ligt (75), Victor Lindelof (25), Luke Shaw, Mason Mount
• Newcastle United - Nick Pope, Emil Krafth, Sven Botman, Jamaal Lascelles, Callum Wilson
• Nottingham Forest - Murillo (75), Ibrahim Sangare, Danilo (25)
• Southampton - Gavin Bazunu, Juan Larios, Will Smallbone (25), Ross Stewart
• Spurs - Guglielmo Vicario, Cristian Romero, Micky van de Ven, Ben Davies, Wilson Odobert, Mikey Moore, Richarlison
• West Ham United - Michail Antonio
• Wolves - Yerson Mosquera, Mario Lemina (75), Pablo Sarabia, Boubacar Traore, Enso Gonzalez, Sasa Kalajdzic

Arsenal's Bukayo Saka was taken off injured during the Gunners' 5-1 win at Crystal Palace and is now out for "many weeks" according to head coach Mikel Arteta / Julian Finney, Getty Images

FPL suspensions

Some players have picked up suspensions or are ineligible to face their parent club after joining a different team on loan.

Again, this is correct at the time of writing.

• Chelsea - Mykhailo Mudryk
• Everton - Ashley Young
• Ipswich Town - Sam Morsy
• Nottingham Forest - Nicolas Dominguez
• Southampton - Maxwel Cornet
• West Ham United - Lucas Paqueta

FPL Gameweek 18 fixtures

These fixtures kick-off on Thursday (Boxing Day) at 3pm unless stated.

• Arsenal v Ipswich Town (Friday, 8.15pm)
• Brighton v Brentford (Friday, 7.30pm)
• Bournemouth v Crystal Palace
• Chelsea v Fulham
• Liverpool v Leicester City (Thursday, 8pm)
• Manchester City v Everton (Thursday, 12.30pm)
• Newcastle United v Aston Villa
• Nottingham Forest v Spurs
• Southampton v West Ham United
• Wolves v Manchester United (Thursday, 5.30pm)

Nottingham Forest's Nuno Espirito Santo will be hoping his Reds can continue their brilliant form against an injury stricken Spurs / Clive Rose, Getty Images

When does the next FPL Gameweek start?

The next FPL Gameweek starts on Sunday, December 29 with Leicester City v Manchester City at 2.30pm.

Players can still join in and play and if you've missed it, indy100 has put together some tips and strategies to get you started:

• How to get started in Fantasy Premier League
• What's new in Fantasy Premier League as 2024/25 season starts
• The best Fantasy Premier League names and how to change it
• Fantasy Premier League: When is the best time to use chips?
• Which teams have the easiest starts to the season in Fantasy Premier League?
• Fantasy Premier League: Who to pick ahead of the new season starting

How to join the indy100's free WhatsApp channel

Sign up to our free indy100 weekly newsletter

Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.