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            <p>Wondering who are the best FPL players for Blank Gameweek 18? Expert Fantasy Premier League manager Abdul Rehman (<a href="https://twitter.com/FPL_Salah">FPL Salah</a>) has it covered.</p>
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<h2><strong>Best FPL players for Blank Gameweek 18</strong></h2>
<h3><strong>Kieran Trippier (£6.9m) – Newcastle United</strong></h3>
<p><strong>Fixture: Luton (A)</strong></p>
<p>Trippier has seven assists this season with an expected assists (xA) of 5.32 - the second highest overall - and has been one of the best defensive options this season.</p>
<p>Newcastle have a great fixture this week for both defensive and attacking purposes. They play Luton who have scored 18 goals (fourth least) with an xG of 15.55 (second worst).</p>
<p>The Magpies have had one of the best defences this season, conceding only 21 goals (third) with an expected goals conceded (xGC) of 22.23 (fifth).</p>
<p>They are also the third favourites to both keep a clean sheet (40%) and score 2.5-plus goals (31%).</p>
<p>They are great going forward too, which of course means Trippier has a fair chance of both attacking and defensive returns.</p>
<p>With him being on plenty of set-pieces, he should be the best defender to own in Gameweek 18.</p>
<p>Trippier is the predicted to be the highest-scoring defender (4.7 points) for Gameweek 18 according to <a href="https://www.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/predictions">Hub AI.</a></p>
<div id="attachment_60545" style="width: 808px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img aria-describedby="caption-attachment-60545" class="wp-image-60545 size-full" src="https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/Kieran-Trippier-Stats.jpg" alt="Kieran Trippier's stats" width="798" height="650" /></p>
<p id="caption-attachment-60545" class="wp-caption-text">Kieran Trippier's stats</p>
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<p><strong> </strong></p>
<h3><strong>Ollie Watkins (£8.6m) – Aston Villa</strong></h3>
<p><strong>Fixture: Sheffield United</strong></p>
<p>Watkins is having a phenomenal season, having managed nine goals and nine assists in 17 starts. He has accumulated an expected goals (xG) tally of 8.4 and an xA of 1.89.</p>
<p>He has been one of the best options in the game and is the second-highest scoring forward in the game.</p>
<p>Villa have their best fixture of the season as they welcome bottom side Sheffield United to Villa Park.</p>
<p>The Blades have conceded the most goals (43) and also have the worst xGC (36) in the league.</p>
<p>Villa have scored the second most goals (37) with an xG of 31.02 (sixth) and have scored 25 goals (first) at home. They are averaging three goals a game at their home ground, so on paper it doesn’t bode well for the Yorkshire side.</p>
<p>Watkins has both goal and assist threat and is absolutely nailed to start while playing for one of the best attacking teams in the league.</p>
<p>He is also the favourite to score at any time in Blank Gameweek 18 at 53%, which is no surprise.</p>
<p>He ranks third for predicted points (5.9) according to <a href="https://www.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/predictions">Hub AI.</a></p>
<div id="attachment_60546" style="width: 808px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img aria-describedby="caption-attachment-60546" class="size-full wp-image-60546" src="https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/Ollie-Watkins-Stats.jpg" alt="Ollie Watkins Stats" width="798" height="650" /></p>
<p id="caption-attachment-60546" class="wp-caption-text">Ollie Watkins' stats</p>
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<p>&nbsp;</p>
<h3><strong>Son Heung-min (£9.8m) – Tottenham Hotspur</strong></h3>
<p><strong>Fixture: Everton (H)</strong></p>
<p>Son has an impressive 10 goals and four assists this season with an xG of 6.3 and xA of 3.6.</p>
<p>Spurs have a good fixture in Blank Gameweek 18 - they play Everton at home.</p>
<p>The Toffees rank in the top five for both goal conceded and xGC but Spurs are a fantastic attacking side and the visiting team will do very well to keep them out.</p>
<p>Spurs have scored 35 goals (fourth) with an xG of 29.29 (eighth) and we know Ange Postecoglou’s style of play is to attack no matter who the opposition is.</p>
<p>Son has shifted to the left wing in the last two games but that still hasn’t stopped him from scoring, assisting and getting plenty of chances.</p>
<p>The South Korean is nailed to start and is also the first-choice penalty taker for the North London club.</p>
<p>The 31-year-old is the third favourite to score at any time (45%) in Blank Gameweek 18 and Spurs are also the second favourites to score 2.5-plus goals (33%).</p>
<p><strong><a href="https://www.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/predictions">Hub AI</a> </strong>also ranks Son as the highest predicted scorer (7.3 points) for next gameweek.</p>
<div id="attachment_60547" style="width: 808px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img aria-describedby="caption-attachment-60547" class="size-full wp-image-60547" src="https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/Heung-Min-Son-Stats-2.jpg" alt="Heung-Min Son Stats" width="798" height="650" /></p>
<p id="caption-attachment-60547" class="wp-caption-text">Son Heung-min's stats</p>
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<h3><strong><br />
Richarlison (£6.7m) – Spurs</strong></h3>
<p><strong>Fixture: Everton (H)</strong></p>
<p>Richarlison is back as an option now and has three goals in his last two games. The Brazilian has started the last two games and played as the number 9 in both.</p>
<p>Judging by Postecoglou's comments, it looks like he will stay as Spurs’ frontman for the foreseeable future. He explained after their last game: “</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Richy is a goalmouth predator, definitely in the air. He’s got different attributes to Son Heung-min. I thought we’d struggle to get space in behind and I’m really pleased with Richy.’’</p>
</blockquote>
<p>This makes Richarlison a fantastic option, especially given his price and favourable fixtures coming up.</p>
<p>With Son going to the Asian Cup after Gameweek 20, this further solidifies Richarlison’s prospects of long-term minutes in the centre-forward role, which makes him very attractive.</p>
<p>Spurs will create plenty of chances and with Richarlsion leading the line he is bound to get a fair few chances too. His underlying numbers are good too - he has an xG of 4.1 and an xA of 0.7 in nine starts.</p>
<p>The 26-year-old is the fourth favourite to score at any time (41%) in Blank Gameweek 18.</p>
<div id="attachment_60549" style="width: 808px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img aria-describedby="caption-attachment-60549" class="size-full wp-image-60549" src="https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/Richarlison-Stats.jpg" alt="Richarlison Stats" width="798" height="650" /></p>
<p id="caption-attachment-60549" class="wp-caption-text">Richarlison Stats</p>
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<h3></h3>
<h3><strong>Jarrod Bowen (£7.7m) – West Ham</strong></h3>
<p><strong>Fixture: Manchester United</strong></p>
<p>The West Ham talisman is well on his way to his best-ever season. He has 10 goals and one assist so far, with an xG of 6.8 and an xA of 1.7. His best season came in 2021/22 when he scored 12 and registered 17 FPL assists.</p>
<p>West Ham play Manchester United in Blank Gameweek 18, which is a good fixture for the Hammers. They are at home and United have been poor this season.</p>
<p>David Moyes’ side have been good going forward, scoring 29 goals (sixth) with an xG of 25.06 (12th) and Bowen is their top scorer and talisman.</p>
<p>He is absolutely nailed to start and has played 90 minutes in every game he has started in the league. There aren’t many players in the league with his expected minutes and his stats are great too.</p>
<p>Bowen has also been playing up top, which makes him an out-of-position player, which is a huge plus FPL-wise.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/predictions">Hub AI</a> predicts him to be the fourth-highest scoring player (5.6 points) for Blank Gameweek 18.</p>
<div id="attachment_60550" style="width: 808px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img aria-describedby="caption-attachment-60550" class="size-full wp-image-60550" src="https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/Jarrod-Bowen-Stats.jpg" alt="Jarrod Bowen Stats" width="798" height="650" /></p>
<p id="caption-attachment-60550" class="wp-caption-text">Jarrod Bowen's stats</p>
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<h2><strong>Hub Power Rankings</strong></h2>
<p>I will now rank these options, exclusively for Hub <a href="https://www.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/join">members</a>.</p>
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