DPLCommLeague have brought the concept over to Fantrax, and it is sensational. We're here to provide Draft Premier League managers with our very own Perfect XI tips for each gameweek. Details of the concept and rules can be found here!
Check out DPLCommLeague for further information on the format, regular updates on the latest standings, as well as information on how you can enter.
Fantasy EPL Gameweek 18 Perfect XI
So, what is Perfect XI? Similar to Official Fantasy Premier League game, all managers have full access to the entire player pool each week, meaning multiple teams within the league could be completely identical. The main departures from OFPL are the Fantrax Default Scoring, unlimited transfers each week, no budget/salary cap, and live lineup changes available. This means that each week you can select a dream team of Fantrax assets who you think will score the most points on a given gameweek, and have the added bonus of being able to see the real life lineups before your players lock in. Magic.
Check out our Perfect XI tips below. These are our recommendations for the best eleven players this weekend! Picks are now accompanied by our weekly projections, which our Inner Circle members can exclusively access. Due to the tight scheduling, these will be a bit abridged for a couple weeks.
GK: Aaron Ramsdale
Team: Arsenal
Opponent: Norwich (Home)
Projected Fantasy Points: ~9 (GK projections to come)
Well not much to analyse here. The most in form GK against the worst team in the league.
Pivot: Ederson or de Gea
DEF: Joao Cancelo
Team: Manchester City
Opponent: Leicester City (Home)
Projected Fantasy Points: 13.8
Trent isn't playing this week and you know what that means. Lock in the next best fantasy defender: Cancelo. He scores phenomenally well offensively, has the 2nd most points of any Fantrax defender, and has a 55% chance of keeping a clean sheet, 25% chance of assisting and 15% chance of scoring. If he doesn't start for some reason, I'd likely go straight to Zinchenko who will assume the offensive defender duties.
Pivot: Oleksandr Zinchenko or Takehiro Tomiyasu/Cedric Soares
DEF: Reece James
Team: Chelsea
Opponent: Aston Villa (Away)
Projected Fantasy Points: 14.0
Our other favorite in this article, the tried and trusted Reece James. After a cool patch, the Blues right wing back came alive the last 2 weeks for a combined 37.5 fantasy points. This week, James has a 45% chance of a clean sheet, 21% chance of assisting, and 13% chance of scoring.
Pivot: Marcos Alonso or Diogo Dalot
DEF: Alex Telles/Luke Shaw
Team: Manchester United
Opponent: Newcastle (Away)
Projected Fantasy Points: 12.8/10.7
Mixing it up this week, we'll be taking whoever wins the United left back battle this week and starts. In a reinvigorated side lead by Ralph Rangnick, the full backs are vital pieces of their attacking firepower. Either one of these 2 will have plenty of chance to get forward against the struggling Newcastle. Shaw or Telles will also likely have a healthy share of the set pieces, so a few free Key Passes or even Shots on Target are on the cards. This week, the pair has a 42% chance of a clean sheet, 22% chance of assisting, and 11% chance of scoring.
Pivot: Each other or Diogo Dalot/AWB
MID: Kevin De Bruyne
Team: Manchester City
Opponent: Leicester City (Home)
Projected Fantasy Points: 16.5
KDB came storming back the last few weeks, and last week he had 14 ghost points alone. The man is one of the best midfielders in the world, is playing a defensively poor Leicester side, and has the highest assist odds at 42% of any player this weekend. Throw in 39% goal odds in a game that City is expected to score around 2.5 goals by the oddsmakers, and I'll take that every day of the week from a player who should cruise to 10+ ghosts.
Pivot: Ilkay Gundogan or Martin Odegaard
MID: Bruno Fernandes
Team: Manchester United
Opponent: Newcastle (Away)
Projected Fantasy Points: 15.0
Bruno has fallen off quite a bit in recent times, scoring 6 or less in 5 of his last 6 starts. But, he's still an important cog in a United offense that's predicted to score more than 2 goals away to Newcastle. He's also likely to take half of United's set pieces, including direct free kick shots, of which Newcastle have allowed the 3rd most in a league (my crystal ball is seeing a Bruno top bins free kick). The oddsmakers him a 38% chance of scoring and a 33% chance of assisting.
Pivot: Jadon Sancho or Allan Saint-Maximin
MID: Mason Mount
Team: Chelsea
Opponent: Aston Villa (Away)
Projected Fantasy Points: 14.3
For the 3rd week in a row, we're picking Money Mase. After 4 weeks straight of attacking returns, Mount finally let us down scoring only 9.5 ghost points last week. Mount is about as locked on in the Chelsea attack as anyone can be under Tuchel, especially considering his fellow attackers' injuries. Hopefully, Lukaku is back to bang in some of Mount's Key Passes. He has a 32% chance to score and a 29% chance to assist.
Pivot: Callum Hudson-Odoi/Christian Pulisic or Jadon Sancho
MID: Gabriel Martinelli
Team: Arsenal
Opponent: Norwich (Away)
Projected Fantasy Points: 13.7
The Gunners youngster, Martinelli, is as red-hot as can be, scoring 37, 17, and 18 in his last 3 starts. Norwich are always a good team to target for goals, and Martinelli has the highest odds of any Arsenal player with a 45% chance of scoring. He also has 50% of Arsenal corners and a 25% chance of assisting. Any of the Arsenal attackers are good differentials this week, with none of them ever being very highly picked.
Pivot: Bukayo Saka or Leandro Trossard
FWD: Riyad Mahrez
Team: Manchester City
Opponent: Leicester City (Away)
Projected Fantasy Points: 16.6
Even though AFCON is quickly approaching, it is very much Mahrez season right now. He's scored a whopping 26 and 39 points in his last 2 weeks, and I don't see his streak ending this week unless Pep rotates. Leicester just gave up 3 goals to Liverpool's B team, so 3 or more goals for City is fully reasonable here. Mahrez has a 43% chance of scoring and a 33% chance of assisting this week.
Pivot: Gabriel Jesus or Michael Antonio
FWD: Cristiano Ronaldo
Team: Manchester United
Opponent: Newcastle (Away)
Projected Fantasy Points: 15.3
His floor tends to be non-existent and his upside very high. That's very much the case this week against Eddie Howe's relegation-threatened troops. He has the highest goal odds of any player this week, sitting at 57%, with 27% assist odds to boot. I think this is one of the better weeks to put him in your lineup cause the Liverpool boys aren't playing and there aren't any as high-upside forwards. He has a 7% chance of a hat trick..
Pivot: Marcus Rashford or Cavani
FWD: Raheem Sterling
Team: Manchester City
Opponent: Newcastle (Away)
Projected Fantasy Points: 14.9
Another week to roster City attackers with multiple return upside. If Sterling starts, I like his upside the most as the central attacker for City. He has the highest goal odds of any City player with 45% (and a 27% chance of assisting).
Pivot: Phil Foden or Alexandre Lacazette
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