Top Chelsea Picks for FPL Gameweek 18: Who to Sign or Drop

Welcome to the FPL insights for Gameweek 18! Which Chelsea stars should you trust for the London Derby? The Pride of London’s Fantasy Football expert, Alani, is back to deliver top-notch Premier League Fantasy tips and analysis for the upcoming Gameweek.

Review of GW17

Everton defended doggedly to shut out the Chelsea attacking machine at Goodison Park in GW17. Chelsea had the chance to take the lead in the first half, but Jackson's efforts were saved by the brilliant Jordan Pickford. That game marked the first time this season Chelsea have failed to score in a league match since GW1 against Manchester City.

Chelsea have slipped to second in Premier League goals scored, with 37 strikes to their name, tied with Liverpool.

In Fantasy Premier League (FPL), however, no Chelsea players made it into the Team of the Week for GW17. Robert Sánchez was Chelsea’s top performer with 9 points, followed by Tosin Adarabioyo.

Overall, Chelsea still remain the only team with two players in the top 10 for total FPL points this season: Cole Palmer (131 points) and Nicolas Jackson (91 points). This underscores the consistent contributions of Chelsea assets for FPL managers this season.

Chelsea's Opponent – Fulham

Fulham were frustrated by Southampton last time out at Craven Cottage, with a solid defensive performance from the visitors stifling Fulham's attack. The result marked the first time since game week one that Fulham would fail to score in a league match.

Fulham are currently sitting in ninth position in the league. Although Fulham sit 12th in goals scored this season, they have managed to score against strong defensive sides such as Liverpool, Arsenal, and Nottingham Forest.

Adding to the intrigue is the festive Boxing Day atmosphere at Stamford Bridge, which promises to make this Derby match even more exciting.

Head-to-Head

Chelsea and Fulham have clashed 34 times in league history, with Chelsea emerging victorious 21 times, Fulham winning 2, and 11 matches ending in draws. In those encounters, Chelsea have scored 55 goals, while Fulham netted just 23 goals.

Chelsea have won eight of the last 10 encounters with Fulham, keeping clean sheets on seven occasions.

GW18

Chelsea winning run came to an end against Everton last game week. It is not surprising as Everton have now kept five clean sheets in their last six league games.

Chelsea dominated possession but failed to find a way past a well-drilled Everton outfit. Despite failing to score in that encounter, Chelsea still lead the goalscoring charts along with Liverpool on 37 goals. Cucurella will be back for the Blues after missing the last game week due to suspension, and his ability to run into strategic positions in the final third was surely missed against Everton.

Manager Enzo Maresca may make changes to the starting XI for this midweek, as he demonstrated in the previous midweek encounter against Southampton, where rotation played a key role. Two players at risk of rotation are Jackson and Sanchez.

Player to Target

Cole Palmer
With the latest injury to Saka against Crystal Palace in GW17, Palmer has become an even more important asset for FPL managers. Although Palmer blanked against Brentford in GW16 and then Everton in GW17, he still leads the charts in many key metrics. He is the second player to be named Player of the Week twice, with only Salah earning more, with four Player of the Week awards.
Currently sitting on 131 points with over 65.9% ownership (as of writing), Palmer is behind only Salah (177 points, 66.4% ownership) as the most popular player in the league. Palmer has contributed 11 goals and 7 assists in 17 league games, underscoring his importance to Chelsea’s attack despite the array of talented players at Maresca’s disposal.
Palmer ranks third in goals scored (11), third in expected goals (xG) with 10.33, third in shots on target (25), and first in total chances created (44). With an expected goal involvement (xGI) of 14.31, Palmer is only behind Salah, making him a must-have asset in FPL.

Players to Monitor
Roberto Sánchez
Roberto Sánchez earned the highest points alongside Tosin—9 points for Chelsea in GW17. With 64 points this season, Sánchez ranks fifth among goalkeepers, despite playing one game fewer than many of his peers. He is now nine points behind the top goalkeeper.
Sánchez’s performances have come under scrutiny in recent weeks, but he stepped up with crucial saves to deny Everton the chance to inflict a damaging blow to Chelsea’s fantastic form. Sanchez has been super in the last two matches.
The only concern is Maresca’s rotation during this festive period. The last time Chelsea played a midweek league game, Sánchez was benched in favour of Filip Jørgensen.

Nicolas Jackson
Nicolas Jackson boasts 29.3% ownership in FPL this season (at the time of writing), behind the in-form Isak and out-of-sorts Haaland.

He has accumulated 91 points, making him the 10th highest-scoring player overall. Among forwards, Jackson has slipped down to fifth in total points after blanking twice in the last three GWs.

Jackson is at risk of rotation this gameweek and may start on the bench or be substituted early in the game. If you have him, start him. If you don’t, don’t buy him until after GW19, as he is currently on four yellow cards. 

Project Goals

Despite blanking in their last game against Southampton, Fulham have scored in every away game this season. The average number of goals in Chelsea’s games this season is 3.67 per match, and combined with the Boxing Day experience, a high-scoring encounter is on the cards here.
The projected goal for Chelsea in this game is 2.35, while Fulham’s stands at 1.13.

Deadline
The transfer window deadline for GW18 is Thursday, 26th December at 11:00 GMT.