FPL: Best Budget Players for Gameweek 18

We pick out the best budget players for Gameweek 18. With the help of the Fantasy Football Scout fixture ticker and underlying stats we provide some of the best cheap players, whether that be goalkeepers, defenders, midfielders or forwards for the round ahead.

Finding some of the best budget players for Gameweek 18 can be extremely useful to managers. Cheap players are vital when it comes to trying to fit in the more expensive options and can even be great standalone assets.

Fixtures

Below we can see the ticker in order of fixture difficulty. The teams at the top have the easiest fixtures and the teams at the bottom have the toughest fixtures.

Aston Villa

Aston Villa have been brilliant this season which has helped them to second in the league. A lot of that success has come at home where they have won all of their games so far and where they play this week.

Sheffield United are up next for Aston Villa. The Blades rank as the worst side in the division statistically both offensively and defensively. Because of this targeting Sheffield United with Aston Villa assets could be hugely rewarding.

For those looking into the Aston Villa backline then the safest player in terms of minutes could be Ezri Konsa (£4.5m). Although there could be interest in centre-back Pau Torres (£4.7m) the Spaniard picked up a knock in his most recent match.

In attack the favoured winger seems to be Leon Bailey (£5.6m). The Jamaican has produced at least one return in six of his last 10 matches – including a goal and an assist against Arsenal and Manchester City. Some could also look to fellow midfielder Douglas Luiz (£5.5m). He takes his sides penalties and has racked up seven returns this campaign.

Fulham

After a poor start to the season Fulham have improved recently. The Cottagers have won three of their last five matches. They didn’t just win those game though they won them with conviction – keeping two clean sheets and netting a huge 15 goals.

A lot of the Fulham appeal comes from their upcoming opposition this week. Burnley are up next and the promoted side are struggling for results as they sit 19th in the league. Not only do Burnley rank the second worst for total goals scored but they sit there for total goals conceded too.

Based on the above Fulham could be worth backing this week. In defence some could opt for full-back Antonee Robinson (£4.4m) who ranks ahead of his defensive teammates for non-penalty expected goal involvement. For managers looking for a new goalkeeper then Bernd Leno (£4.8m) could be a great pick. Leno ranks as the highest scoring goalkeeper in the game currently.

A great option in the Fulham frontline could well be Willian (£5.3m). The Brazilian midfielder takes corners and free kicks which provides him with extra routes to points. Willian also banked four returns in his last four matches.

Chelsea

Things haven’t been going smoothly for Chelsea this season. The Blues have been inconsistent throughout the campaign. Although that has been the case Chelsea can take confidence from their recent win against Sheffield United.

Wolves lay ahead for Chelsea who themselves have also been extremely inconsistent – losing three of their last five league matches. They also kept just one clean sheet in the same period. Wolves could be a great game of the Chelsea assets so investing could be rewarding.

The clean sheet could be on for the Blues. If goalkeeper Robert Sanchez (£4.7m) is still confirmed to be injured then back-up Djordje Petrovic (£4.5m) will start again. In defence Levi Colwill (£4.6m) could be another great budget pick. Colwill managed to score in one of his most recent matches so also offers some goal threat.

In the Chelsea frontline Cole Palmer (£5.6m) remains the standout pick. The former Manchester City midfielder takes his sides penalties and bagged a huge 14 points for his assist and open play goal in his latest match.