Our Gameweek 26 Sleepers XI / Streamers article provides Fantrax managers with a lineup of Fantasy EPL hidden gems. Our starting eleven of Draft Premier League differential picks will help you find a golden ticket to a big score this weekend! These hints and tips will give you a better chance of picking up an all-important victory, as one of our picks could easily make the difference in a Head-to-Head game! We have added Streamers who are structured based on kick-off times and are even less rostered than are Sleepers for even more differential value!
We'll be focusing on players that will bring us not only attacking returns or clean sheets, but also those players that score Ghost Points in the sophisticated and statistics based Fantrax Scoring System!
Fantasy EPL Gameweek 26 Sleepers XI
For this section, we use the % rostered stat from Fantrax. Our only rule is that each player we highlight is required to be rostered in 60% of leagues or below at the time of writing. Therefore there's a good chance these players will be free agents in your Fantrax Draft League!
GK: Vicente Guaita
Team: Crystal Palace
Opponent: Chelsea (home), Watford (away)
Rostered: 39%
Points Last Gameweek: 12
Prospects: The only sub-40% rostered DGW goalkeeper. Enough said, we move! Saves against Chelsea + potential Clean Sheet against Watford could put him over 20 points.
DEF: Cristian Romero
Team: Tottenham Hotspur
Opponent: Manchester City (away), Burnley (away)
Rostered: 40%
Points Last Gameweek: 7.25
Prospects: Bear with us here. Cristian Romero does play Manchester City away in the first of his two games this GW. But the Argentinean defender has scored fairly well during his two games back from injury. Despite Tottenham conceding three against Southampton, he scored 3.5 points, and Romero followed this up with 7.25 points whilst conceding two against Wolves. Romero gained these points due to a solid backbone of core defensive stats: Tackles Won, Interceptions, Clearances, and Aerials Won. If Romero can escape the City game with somewhere around 5 or 6 points, he has a good chance of scoring 20+ points once Tottenham's second game (against Burnley) is added in.
DEF: Charlie Taylor
Team: Burnley
Opponent: Brighton (away), Tottenham (home)
Rostered: 32%
Points Last Gameweek: N/A
Prospects: Contrasting reports are coming out about the availability of Burnley's ghost point master, Charlie Taylor. The only thing we know is that he is "touch and go", so essentially we know nothing. But it's simple - if he starts, he is a must add. If he is on the bench for the Brighton game, I am not starting him, but I am not dropping either. You'll want him for the DGW that is coming next week.
DEF: Hassane Kamara
Team: Watford
Opponent: Aston Villa (away), Crystal Palace (home)
Rostered: 38%
Points Last Gameweek: -4.75
Prospects: This is the last straw. Give him this double and drop him if he disappoints. But shout it from the rooftops if he gets back to his ghosting ways. Two weeks ago, before this most recent dip, Kamara would be projected to score close to 40 points in a DGW. Fingers crossed.
DEF: Tyrick Mitchell
Team: Crystal Palace
Opponent: Chelsea (home), Watford (away)
Rostered: 37%
Points Last Gameweek: 12
Prospects: Double Palace D, we went there... God, I hope this works.. Honestly, I would probably start any of the available Palace defenders, in addition to Mitchell. I doubt knackered and goal-shy Chelsea beat them to a pulp. And plenty of defensive ghost points should be up for grabs. Hodgson's Watford is only marginally worse than Ranieri's or Xisco's Watford, so anything can happen in the second game.
MID: Michael Olise
Team: Crystal Palace
Opponent: Chelsea (home), Watford (away)
Rostered: 58%
Points Last Gameweek: 0 (from 12 minutes of action)
Prospects: He was benched for the Gameweek 25 match against Brentford, as Vieira took advantage of Ayew's return from AFCON and gave Olise a well-earned rest. The young Frenchman scored incredibly well during his four appearances prior to Gameweek 25 (57.5 points), showing his potential with a mixture of attacking returns and ghost points. We're backing the Palace youngster to start against Chelsea and Watford, with a projected 21 points as per our Weekly Player Projections. Don't be put off by the Chelsea fixture; he scored 12 points without any attacking returns against a similarly difficult opponent (Liverpool) on January 23rd.
MID: Rodrigo Bentancur
Team: Tottenham
Opponent: Manchester City (away), Burnley (away)
Rostered: 31%
Points Last Gameweek: 10
Prospects: He isn't a sexy pick. But with Skipp confirmed out for the City game and the new transfer receiving high praise from Conte, I expect Bentancur to have 2 starts, with a decent floor and most likely a LOT to do vs City (defensive mids, unlike most other assets, can thrive against more difficult/attacking opponents). He is projected to score around 18, which would be beyond amazing. If he gets 15, I am happy.
MID: Naby Keita
Team: Liverpool
Opponent: Norwich (home), Leeds (home)
Rostered: 28%
Points Last Gameweek: 5.5
Prospects: Keita is the midfielder most likely to get 2 starts in the DGW from heaven for Liverpool (two poor opponents at home). Keita had a very productive AFCON and came back with a point to prove. He has impressed since his return and I hope he can kick on and get a few attacking returns in these two great matchups.
FWD: Nicolas Pépé
Team: Arsenal
Opponent: Brentford (home), Wolves (Away)
Rostered: 39%
Points Last Gameweek: N/A
Prospects: We usually relegate such outlandish punts to the streamer section, but Pepe is surprisingly highly rostered, which disqualifies him. One of his rivals for game time, Gabriel Martinelli, is serving a red card suspension this week, leaving the door just slightly ajar. Be that as it may, he is still unlikely to start (Smith Rowe is probably ahead of him in the pecking order). And there is no way I would start him if he is on the bench in the first game. Having said all that, stranger things have happened, so why not believe? Early game, easy drop if he doesn't start. Ryan has been dealing with complaints from his neighbours due to the noise he has been making in his apartment willing this Pepe start into existence. The official police record states that he has been singing an ancient Voltaiques wealth chant every day this week at exactly 21:21. No idea what that is about... Lets hope it works though.
FWD: Anthony Gordon
Team: Everton
Opponent: Southampton (Away)
Rostered: 43%
Points Last Gameweek: 34
Prospects: He had a sublime Gameweek 25, and we're expecting his strong form under new manager Lampard to continue. The Everton youngster was featured in Totti's Waivers article, the Chaps' Hot/Cold article, and Ryan's Ghost Point Hunters article. There isn't much to add other than noting how absurd it is that Gordon is still a free agent in so many leagues! Go get him if you can!
FWD: Leon Bailey
Team: Aston Villa
Opponent: Watford (home)
Rostered: 40%
Points Last Gameweek: -2
Prospects: Yes, we are going with 2 SGW guys up top. Changes are rumoured to be afoot in the Midlands, and healthy again Leon Bailey might be a beneficiary. He always looks very bright when he plays, but based on his injury history, you have to play him in the limited minutes he will get, because in a New York minute, he'll be seeing the physio again. Watford is a pretty tasty matchup anyways, so I would run him out pretty confidently.
Stream your Way Through the Gameweek
For this section, we use the % rostered from Fantrax. Our only rule is that each player we highlight is required to be rostered in 25% of leagues or below at the time of writing. These players, as opposed to the Sleepers highlighted above, are only worth "streaming" meaning that while the above XI all have their argument for being held mid- to long-term, the players highlighted below have much longer odds of starting this week or regularly, but offer a higher chance of high scoring point return.
Saturday 12:30 GMT
WHU vs NEW
With plenty of DGW streamers available later, I wouldn't stream anyone from this matchup.
Saturday 15:00 GMT
ARS vs BRF (ARS vs WOL), BHA vs BUR (BUR vs TOT), LIV vs NOR (LIV vs LEE), SOU vs EVE, AVL vs WAT (WAT v CRY), CRY vs CHE (WAT v CRY),
James Milner - Always. Stream. Milner. He won't start both? Dont care. If he starts the one against Norwich, which he is rumoured to be, start him and hope for a successful cameo in the second. But you probably won't need him to score much more after demolishing Norwich.
Joao Pedro - The wonder boy has been harshly benched in a sacrifice to the 44-bloody-2 with Woy's arrival. If he gets back in there (or Cucho for that matter), start him.
Jeff Schlupp - Not the high upside play he used to be, he is still capable of putting in a good shift.
Jay Rod - If you believe in the McNeil-Cornet on the wings system, a spot opens up up top next to Weghorst until Ashley Sauerkraut (Barnes) returns and takes his spot in the XI.
Saturday 17:30 GMT
MCI vs TOT (TOT vs BUR)
Palmer - After his one start and decent score, he has earned himself the title of perennial City upside streamer.
Sunday 14:00 GMT
LEE vs MUN (LEE vs LIV)
Klich - If you are desperate, he will probably start both.
Sunday 14:30 GMT
WOL vs LEI (WOL vs ARS)
At this point, you are probably pretty desperate...
Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall - He seems to be a season keeper, so it is likely that he is already rostered in active leagues. He will get you a decent score.
Hwang Hee-Chan - He tailed off a bit before his injury, but he did start very well at the beginning of the season. Unlikely that he starts the first, but if he does, he is a decent punt for 100 minutes over the 2 games. Just hope he nicks an attacking return as he is very goal/assist dependent.
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