Premier League fantasy football tips: Erling Haaland, Mohamed Salah, Ollie Watkins

Don’t get caught out by Thursday’s 18:30 GMT deadline for gameweek 18 which kicks off with Crystal Palace against Brighton.

If you sold Erling Haaland last week or are planning to do so this week then one of the big decisions over this period is when you’re going to bring him back into your squad and what to do with the money in the meantime.

Manchester City don’t have a fixture in gameweek 18 and we wait to see whether he’ll be fit for their game at Everton on 27 December and then the home game against Sheffield United three days later when he would obviously be a prime candidate for captaincy.

One of the strategies to buy him back for that Sheffield United game will be to sell Mohamed Salah before Liverpool’s game at home to Newcastle before he then departs to represent Egypt in the Africa Cup of Nations.

You’ll obviously need two transfers if you’re doing it that way so you might want to try and hold off on any moves in gameweek 19 to give you two free ones the following week.

This way also allows you to spend the Haaland money in the meantime and Statman Dave was recommending in this week’s Fantasy 606 podcast that you consider investing in Trent Alexander-Arnold or Kieran Trippier.

Alexander-Arnold is the more expensive at £8.2 million but he’s outscored his team-mate Salah over the last six gameweeks with two goals, two assists, three clean sheets and twelve bonus points.

Liverpool host Arsenal in gameweek 18 which makes Trippier the more attractive prospect in the short-term with Newcastle’s next two fixtures away at Luton and at home to Nottingham Forest but then they face a run of games against Liverpool, Manchester City and Aston Villa.

Don’t forget you’ll probably want to find a way to buy Salah back when he returns from Afcon so you need to factor that into your planning too.

Captaincy

Ollie Watkins looks like the best bet for captaincy in gameweek 18 with Aston Villa at home to Sheffield United.

Son Heung-Min is probably his closest rival this weekend for Tottenham’s home game against Everton but Sean Dyche’s team haven’t conceded a goal in their last four Premier League outings.

Salah will be a popular choice in gameweek 19 for Liverpool’s trip to Burnley – Alexander-Arnold could also come into contention there if you fancy doing something a bit different – and then we’ll have to see if Haaland is ready for Manchester City’s game at home to Sheffield United in gameweek 20.

If there’s some doubt over that or if you’re not planning to buy him back then it may be you turn to Watkins or Son again with Villa at home to Burnley and Tottenham hosting Bournemouth.

Equally you could go with one of Haaland’s Manchester City team-mates like Julian Alvarez, Phil Foden or even Jeremy Doku if he’s fit again hoping you might get lucky and hit the jackpot like his owners did in gameweek 11 when he racked up 22 points against Bournemouth.

Fixtures to target

Over the next three weeks I like the look of the fixtures for Aston Villa, Tottenham and Chelsea, and once Arsenal have got past their trip to Anfield this weekend then you’ll definitely want three of their players in your squad.

Villa’s Emi Martinez could be your man if you’re looking for a goalkeeper although he’s a relatively expensive choice at £5.1 million. Ezri Konsa is a solid value pick in the defence at £4.5 million, Alex Moreno looked great in the win at Brentford and would be the more exciting selection but I imagine he’ll be rotated with Lucas Digne.

Douglas Luiz or Leon Bailey, if he’s fit, would be my choices in that Villa midfield but Ollie Watkins is your priority if you don’t already own him.

Doubling up on the Tottenham attack is tempting and in Richarlison you have a player who is classed as a midfielder but who is playing as a centre-forward which is gold dust in FPL. He seems to be back to full fitness and looks set for a run in the team particularly with Son heading off in gameweek 21 to represent South Korea in the Asian Cup.

Cole Palmer remains the standout pick at Chelsea, still an incredible bargain at just £5.6 million, but that also leads us nicely onto this week’s differential suggestion.

Differentials

It might be slightly early to jump on Christopher Nkunku given the fact he’s only just played his first 20 minutes of football for Chelsea this week but you’ll certainly be ahead of the crowd and we know what he’s capable of having seen what he can do for Paris St-Germain and RB Leipzig.

Watkins and Dominic Solanke are the top two forwards to have in the game at the moment but if you want to have a bit of fun and take a punt on a third striker then have a think about Nkunku.

Gamble of the week

A very short-term suggestion but I would say sign Callum Wilson and captain him for Newcastle’s game at Luton. He’s also a differential at just 4.7% ownership.