Our Gameweek 10 Sleepers XI article provides Draft 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 any one of these under-the-radar picks could make the difference in a head-to-head game!
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 9 Sleepers XI
For this article, we use the percentage rostered calculation from Fantrax and Sleeper. Our only rule is that each player we highlight is rostered in 60% of leagues or fewer at the time of writing. Therefore, there's a good chance some of these players will be free agents in your Draft league! As always, we'll take form, fixtures, projected points, and a healthy dose of intuition into account to make our selections.
The GW9 boys came up with the usual boom or bust that we have gotten used to from this XI. We had 2 non-starters, one of which was expected as Stones (0) was Pep Roulette-d, the other more surprising, as Summerville (20.5) was not deemed first choice in Kudus' absence and thus had to come off the bench for his monster score. The latter benching resulted in arguably the worst half of football by West Ham in this season's EPL. The former Leeds man came on at the half (1-point Soler made way) to finally announce himself in the Premier League with a Man of the Match performance and scored the equaliser. Sels (11.75) was saved by an unlikely assist and Rutter (11.5) added the last return of the team. Ayari (10), AWB (7.25) and Fatawu (8.25) all had great ghost point performances. But the less said about the others, the better.
The Sleepers XI table below includes a full team of Starters, as well as 5 Reserves - high-upside players with some question marks around whether or not they'll start in Gameweek 10. So keep an eye out when lineups are announced and pick them up if you see them starting, especially if you need to fill a spot on your roster. Read below for the rationale behind each of the Starter selections.
Matz Sels (G, Nottingham Forest)
We are riding our luck with the Belgian shot-stopper as we are banking on him having a 4th double-digit return in a row. Impressively, he only had one clean sheet in that run. Forest are facing West Ham who are coming off a fortuitous win against Man Utd, but don't really look any better than they have in the past. Surprisingly, they have had the 5th most shots in the league so far, which bodes very well for Sels, even if Forest concede.
Cameron Burgess (D, Ipswich)
The lanky Scottish-born Aussie came into the team in Jacob Greaves' absence and has shown great ghost point potential, posting 6.75 with 4 goals conceded and 8 points with 2 goals conceded in back to back starts. He is a busy CB, who relies on clearances (19 in 2 games) and aerials (8 in 2 games) to get his ghost points. Although the Leicester attack has been a bit better than the usual promotion standard, this is a game Ipswich absolutely have to try and win as they look to get themselves out of relegation trouble.
Maxence Lacroix (D, Crystal Palace)
As discussed several times on the Key Pass Collective, we are somewhat perplexed about how the ghost points are divvied up between Palace defenders. It seems that every week there is a new player ghosting out of their mind only only to fall back into mediocrity the following week. The former Wolfsburg man seems to be the exception to this rule, as he has been the most consistent of all Palace defenders having not scored under 4.75 so far this season. And they are facing winless Wolves.
Yukinari Sugawara (D, Southampton)
This is potentially our last bet on Sugawara. While he has shown a lot of promise this season, playing very high up the field and appearing in great positions, he usually finishes with a putrid fantasy score. If there was ever a time to bet on Southampton defenders, it is this weekend, against potentially McNeil-less Everton. Yuki, make the most of your last shot in the Sleepers XI. Play for the badge.
Casemiro (D, Man Utd)
Wow! What can we say about Casemiro?! He lost his spot to new signing Ugarte, only to come back with a pretty big bang in the last few weeks. He scored two goals midweek in the cup, a goal at the weekend and finished with scores of 20+ in both of his last 2 games in the league. Again, what more can we say? He is not your typical DM, he scores for fun. He has been the top-scoring player overall in the last 2 weeks. Ride until the wheels fall off!!
Tyler Dibling (M, Southampton)
Dibling, along with Southampton's attack in general, has cooled considerably in the last few weeks. After early season hype, he was dropped in most leagues so should be an easy pickup before kickoff. Everton is always a decent opponent to target, and some injury worries for the Toffees mean that Southampton actually have a shot at getting their first win under their belt (famous last words) and Dibling should be instrumental if they do.
Mikel Merino (M, Arsenal)
I was surprised that his overall rostered percentage was still below 60% (community league has obviously been 100% for a good few weeks), so I jumped at the opportunity to have a bonafide big hitter in my team, if only just to highlight him for less active league members. He has been playing as the player furthest forward in the midfield 3 since his introduction into the team a few weeks ago. He is the newest addition into a team that is already boasting lanky lads to help with set pieces. And he has already delivered a set-piece goal against Liverpool and will continue to be a threat from corners and free kicks while offering great opportunities for attack from open play. Beware that if Thomas Partey does not have to play RB, he may supplant Merino in the midfield. But it's the first game of the GW and he's worth rostering regardless.
Yasin Ayari (M, Brighton)
The youngster has impressed for Brighton in the last 2 games with close to 10 ghost points per start performances in the last 2 games. Although Minteh and Pedro are supposedly getting close to being match-fit, I expect the lineup will still include Ayari as he has definitely done enough to earn the spot. He gets points from attacking and defensive ghosts, too, both sides of the ball, if you will. So whatever role he plays, he is likely to hand you a tidy 9-ish points from midfield.
Jesper Lindstrom (M, Everton)
The Dane started 2 games this season and got 10 and 5 points in the 2 starts even though he was subbed at 60' and 45'. With McNeil flagged as a doubt, Lindstrom should be the first player to come into the lineup. Everton face bottom-dwellers Southampton, one of the most promising fixtures on the calendar. If he starts, he is definitely one to plug in as a premium streamer in a position that has been largely barren this season.
Crysencio Summerville (F, West Ham)
Although he did not start last week, he was the highest scorer of our GW9 XI. Hopefully, he has finally done enough to earn a start. He was Man of the Match last weekend and it wasn't only because of his goal. He uplifted the whole team with his direct play and eye for goal. I hope that he has finally turned a corner and from now on, he can score like he did last season in the Championship. Fingers crossed.
Ismaila Sarr (F, Crystal Palace)
It has taken some time for the former Watford man to find his footing in south London, especially since Palace have had a torrid start to the season. Sarr started last weekend against Spurs and the team duly delivered the Palace's first victory of the season. Eze's injury in the mid-week cup fixture definitely tempers expectations from the attack, but it makes Sarr's spot a bit more secure. His 8.25 point score against Spurs is a great platform from which to build as Palace face relegation battling Wolves and hope to make it 2 wins on the bounce.
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