Free Hit drafts for FPL Blank Gameweek 18: 4-5-1 and a De Bruyne punt

******Please note that this feature was written before the postponement of Aston Villa v Burnley on Saturday afternoon******

With Covid ripping through the festive fixture list, many of us will be left struggling to get a full playing XI out in Gameweek 18 of Fantasy Premier League (FPL).

Hits will be taken here and there, while there’ll be a small but not insignificant number of Fantasy managers who will deploy the Free Hit chip this week.

Indeed, among the site readers polled on our site, around one in five of responders said they were “considering” the use of the Free Hit in Gameweek 18.

With many FPL squads already containing the likes of Mohamed Salah, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Diogo Jota, Joao Cancelo, Aaron Ramsdale, Reece James and Bernardo Silva, all of whom currently have fixtures this weekend, the question has to be asked over how much could be gained by using the Free Hit chip this weekend.

There is also the risk of a match or two being called off after Saturday’s Gameweek 18 deadline has passed, thus throwing even the most carefully constructed Free Hit sides into disarray.

Nevertheless, 20% is still a considerable number, even if a percentage of that crowd will maybe have second thoughts closer to the weekend.

With that in mind, we’ve asked a number of familiar Scout faces/names for their own Free Hit drafts for Blank Gameweek 18 should they be in the position of activating the chip.

The editorial department’s Scout Picks selection is, of course, a ‘Free Hit’ side of sorts, but we’ve opened the concept up to other contributors for this piece, particularly as many FPL managers with high team values will have a lot more money to play with than our rigid £83.0m starting XI budget.

Zophar

My Free Hit team is a 4-5-1 with Matty Cash as first sub.

Kevin De Bruyne features: he had nine shots, four of them on target, and created four chances against Marcelo Bielsa’s beleagured troops in midweek.

With Gabriel Martinelli cramping on Wednesday and Emile Smith Rowe out of the side in the last three matches, I’ve gone with Bukayo Saka against a Leeds side who have just 11 fit senior players and conceded seven goals to Man City on Tuesday.

Ollie Watkins should have plenty of opportunities this week: Burnley have allowed 154 shots in away matches, with only Leeds (158) faring worse. And, at the very least, we’re likely to know whether Aston Villa’s game will go ahead!

Az

Aston Villa and Arsenal seem the obvious teams to target as we should know if the games are going ahead by the deadline.

Villa have been good defensively lately and the double-up on their defence could be a shrewd move as the majority of teams don’t even have one defender from the Villains.

The Arsenal attack is tough to predict: I’d love to keep faith in my own player, Gabriel Martinelli, but feel he could miss out this week with Emile Smith Rowe coming in. Bukayo Saka is the obvious attacking midfielder who should start, while Kieran Tierney has been very impressive in Arsenal’s upturn of form. Alexandre Lacazette is someone who I wouldn’t want long term, but any striker playing against a patched-up Leeds should be considered.

I’m expecting Wolves v Chelsea to be tight but Newcastle v Manchester City could be any score. Kevin De Bruyne looks a fun punt, as does Raheem Sterling, but I’ve played it safer with just my one midfielder of choice. Who knows what team Pep Guardiola will put out, so it’s all a bit of a lottery! 

FPL Partridge

If I was to Free Hit in Gameweek 18, I would definitely pick 15 ‘playable’ players including two goalkeepers from separate matches, just to be safe.

With the lack of inspiring forward options I’d be tempted to go 4-5-1, with Ollie Watkins the line forward.

A rested Raheem Sterling would be a hopeful differential with a huge upside at just 2% owned – if he plays!

ElFozzie

*I think* I’ve talked myself out of a Free Hit and instead towards a -4 or -8. If I do switch back to the Free Hit, then loading up on Manchester City, Chelsea, Liverpool and the Arsenal defence plus Ollie Watkins is the obvious way to go.

I have also considered switching Ilkay Gundogan to Emile Smith Rowe, and then Joelinton to Callum Wilson, but I feel City can score more against Newcastle than Arsenal will versus Leeds.

Formation-wise, I’m thinking 4-5-1 and having Marcos Alonso or Kieran Tierney first sub, with Joelinton and Joe Gelhardt filling out the bench.

This isn’t very Covid-safe, admittedly, and it’s high-risk, high-reward territory given that another postponement could befall us at any time!

Sam (FPL Family)

I’m not a big fan of the Free Hit in Gameweek 18. The lack of games mean that, especially in the forward slots, we are really limited on who we can go for. However, if you do decide to play the chip this weekend then there is the opportunity to own a few key differentials as well as target the in-form teams and players.

After his performance on Wednesday evening, Phil Foden should be in every Free Hit team, likewise Ollie Watkins. In fact with Villa playing on Saturday afternoon, I would triple up on them with Watkins, Jacob Ramsey and Matt Targett.

I also was really impressed with Alexandre Lacazette in Gameweek 17 and with the situation with Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang remaining unchanged, I would be investing in the Frenchman if playing my Free Hit this weekend.

Sergio Reguilon is flagged because of a muscle injury but he implored Fantasy managers not to sell him, reassuring us that he would be fine. With Spurs now having missed a couple of Gameweeks, Reguilon should be fully fit for the weekend. Whilst the clean sheet may not look likely, I could see attacking retuns for the wing-back with Liverpool missing Virgil van Dijk.

FPLMarc88

I will not be using Free Hit this week because there is still too much unpredictability but, if I did, the bench would have four playing players just in case of further postponements or undeclared positive Covid tests.

In truth, the only striker that appeals to me is Ollie Watkins but I don’t like 4-5-1, so I would go 4-4-2 with Chris Wood – another player to feature in the early kick-off, thus handing us likely appearance points in this uncertain Gameweek at the very least – up top.

City-wise, I’ve plumped for Raheem Sterling, fully-rested from Tuesday night, alongside Phil Foden.

The only main surprise is not choosing Diogo Jota but I wonder if it’s time for Roberto Firmino to start, with the Brazilian having made a cameo on Thursday.