The theme of this week's Fantasy Challenge is "Out of the Box". In this Gameweek, all players who score from outside the box will earn seven EXTRA points. There is an unlimited budget for your nine-a-side team. When deciding which players to invest in, it is important to look at how they rank in the key stats, as well as the fixtures.
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Here, FPL expert Sam Bonfield (@FPLFamily) identifies some of the best Fantasy Challenge picks for Gameweek 18.
Standout attackers
As with all rounds in Fantasy Challenge, there is a temptation to go all in on assets who have scored from outside the box so far this season. Or indeed for those who take shots regularly from outside the box.
However, it is important to marry the desire to exploit the additional points with both form and fixtures. This is especially true in Gameweek 18 which, starting on Boxing Day, often sees some player rotation as Premier League managers manage their squads.
Matheus Cunha (£7.1m) and Cole Palmer (£11.3m) have scored the most goals from outside the box this season. Both have returned three goals.
Palmer and Chelsea face Fulham in a London derby on Boxing Day, with the Cottagers having conceded 69 goal attempts from outside the box so far this season. Meanwhile Cunha and Wolves face Manchester United, who have conceded 65 attempts from outside the box. Both of these players make my team, but I will be keeping a close ear to see if Cunha is suspended and will move him out if he is not named in the Wolves starting XI on Boxing Day.
After Cunha and Palmer, there are 10 players who have scored two goals from outside the box. Aston Villa's Jhon Duran (£5.9m), Spurs' James Maddison (£7.7m) are two on that list.
Attackers to have scored from outside the box
| Player | Goals |
|---|---|
| Bruno Fernandes | 2 |
| Jhon Duran | 2 |
| Erling Haaland | 2 |
| Callum Hudson-Odoi | 2 |
| Mateo Kovacic | 2 |
| James Maddison | 2 |
| Bryan Mbeumo | 2 |
| Dwight McNeil | 2 |
| Thomas Partey | 2 |
| Morgan Rogers | 2 |
However, when you look in to the stats of some of these players they become less attractive because of the amount of their attempts that they produce from outside the box.
For example, 64 of Haaland's 71 attempts on goal so far this season have come from inside the box. This means that just 10 per cent of Haaland's goal attempts have come from outside the box and of his goals this season, 84 per cent have come from inside the box.
When you add this to a solid opposition defence such as Everton, the appeal of Haaland is weakened especially when you compare him with Fernandes, who has produced 27 of his 50 attempts on goal this season from outside the box.
And with set-piece responsibility too, he and Maddison could be great picks for their fixtures against Wolves and Nottingham Forest respectively.
Standout defenders
Seven defenders have scored from outside the box this season.
Defenders to have scored from outside the box
| Player | Goals |
|---|---|
| Ola Aina | 1 |
| Riccardo Calafiori | 1 |
| Josko Gvardiol | 1 |
| Tariq Lamptey | 1 |
| Emerson | 1 |
| Fabian Schar | 1 |
| Ashley Young | 1 |
Young is not an option in FPL Challenge this week as he picked up his fifth yellow card of the season in Gameweek 17 and is therefore banned.
However, Gvardiol against Everton looks like a great option. Everton have scored just 14 goals this season, with only Southampton scoring fewer so far this campaign so therefore the Croat has good potential for a clean sheet this week.
He has also had 23 attempts on goal this season, with only Pedro Porro (£5.5m) producing more among all defenders. However, it should be noted that only four of his attempts this season have come from outside the box, which isn't hugely encouraging when it comes to this challenge, especially with Everton holding both Arsenal and Chelsea to goalless draws in the last two matches. In contrast only seven of Porro's 25 attempts have come from inside the box.
Team Reveal
My goalkeeper is based purely on the likelihood of a clean sheet. This week Arsenal face Ipswich Town, Liverpool play Leicester City and West Ham United take on Southampton. Therefore David Raya (£5.6m), Alisson (£5.4m) and Lukasz Fabianski (£4.1m) are my preferred goalkeeper options.
Doubling up on the Arsenal defence, like in the main game, feels sensible and therefore Raya is my goalkeeper of choice. I did also consider Jordon Pickford (£4.9m) given that Everton have now played out four 0-0 draws in their last six Premier League matches and Pickford has kept five clean sheets in six of those games. However, playing away to Man City has put me off.
I have tried to exploit the challenge bonus in defence and will be picking Trent Alexander-Arnold (£7.1m) and Calafiori, who both have a good opportunity for a clean sheet this week.
The former has had 14 attempts on goal this season of which only one has come from inside the box. Alexander-Arnold also has good threat from set-pieces should Liverpool get one in the right area of the pitch where it will meant that he can shoot.
Calafiori is a minutes risk and therefore I will be keeping a close eye on Arsenal's team news. If he doesn't start then I will move to another defender. Unofortunately, with the Arsenal fixture being the last match of the Gameweek, I would not be able to select Porro who would have been my replacement. Instead I will have to opt for one of the other Arsenal defenders who, sadly, take most of their shots from inside the box.
My final defender is West Ham's Emerson. Emerson has scored a goal from outside the box already this season and Southampton have conceded 102 goal attempts from outside the box in 2024/25, with only Brentford giving away more chances from outside their area.
Mohamed Salah (£13.5m) has had 58 attempts on goal this season, however 55 of them have come form inside the box. There is very little chance of the seven-point bonus with Salah, however with his form and the perfect fixture against Leicester, he feels like an essential pick and will wear the armband.
The other three picks of Palmer, Fernandes and Maddison are all made with the intension of getting the most points from the challenge. If any of them aren't in the starting XI's then I will likely opt for Jarrod Bowen (£7.5m) to try and maximise the returns based on the number of attempts on goal opponents Southampton give away.
The final slot in my team goes to Cunha. If he is unavailable then other options I will look at include Duran, if he is starting, and Cody Gakpo (£7.1m), who looks promising.
Of Gakpo's 25 attempts on goal only 18 have come from inside thee box, meaning that 28 per cent of his shots have come from outside the box which is much higher than most of the other forwards in the game.
Alexander Isak (£9.0m) is another good option here with 20 per cent of his goal attempts coming from outside the box. The news on Cunha will be really important in deciding on this final pick.
