Our Gameweek 12 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 12 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.
In GW11, we tried the rarely-rolled-out 5-3-2 system in an attempt to breach the holy land of 100+ FPts. Alas we fell short with 83.75 FPts but there were some very promising signs. In net we went with the inform Verbruggen on the chance that he would have a lot of shots to save versus champions Man City. Despite conceding once, the Dutch shot-stopper scored 10.25 points. The backline was a bit of a mixed bag. All of our defenders started but 2 were surprisingly early substitutions, both on the 66th minute mark - uncanny. Senesi scored -0.5 after conceding 3 goals with a yellow card, whereas Wan-Bissaka scored 8.75 after locking in a clean sheet, which is pretty shocking given how well the latter has been ghosting recently. Nottingham Forest had the unexpected 3-1 loss at home versus Newcastle, which resulted in Aina scoring 0 but the defence's grace was saved by Semedo's 13.75 haul (which included a clean sheet) and Chalobah's 12.75 score (during a 2-0 loss) which bodes quite well for any Chalobah owners in gameweeks to come. In midfield, there were 2 Brighton assets, Kadioglu who missed out entirely, and Ayari, who was subbed at half-time with a -1, which included a booking. Shambolic. On the brighter side, Doucoure managed a fumble 6 points while Kluivert got 14.5 FPts, which included a goal. We also had a goal scored by our lone FWD Evanilson, who put up 19.25 points, which was his highest ghost point gameweek score for the season! Nevertheless, the weekly aim to break the 100 FPts barrier continues as we now enter one of the most gruelling periods of the football season.
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 12. 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.
Bart Verbruggen (G, Brighton)
If it ain't broke, why fix it? Since GW8 Verbruggen has been the top scoring GK in the game (50 FPts, 12.5 PPS). It's quite impressive that he managed this feat while only keeping 1 clean sheet in 4 games. During this 4 gameweek period, Verbruggen conceded the 3rd most shots (27), which is a good indication for potential save points in the future, even more so against a trigger happy Semenyo in GW12, who has attempted the 2nd most shots in the league so far.
Sepp van den Berg (D, Brentford)
Brentford's home and away form have been the perfect definition of Jekyll-and-Hyde. When looking at a league table that just considers their home form, they sit top of the table, undefeated having conceded 11 goals in 6 games. Whereas in the away table, they sit 19th, having lost all their games and conceded 11 goals in 5 games. So you must be wondering, why would we even suggest a Brentford DEF in an away fixture! The answer? Everton. Dyche and his boys have been woeful in front of goal. In fact, they have scored the 2nd fewest goals (5) over the last 6 gameweeks, tied with Southampton. So if there's ever a chance for the Bees to improve their away form, it's versus Everton in GW12. Even if Brentford concede a goal, van den Berg's 9.1 gPPS should be enough to earn a respectable score.
Vitalii Mykolenko (D, Everton)
According to our fixture difficulty tracker, Everton DEFs have the 3rd best rating in GW12. This makes sense since Everton are hosting Brentford, who have one of the worst away forms in the league having lost all their away games and only scored 4 goals in the process - which is a stark contrast to the 18 that they have scored at home. It also helps that Branthwaite is back for the Toffees to partner Tarkowski in the heart of their defence. Any chance of another 0-0 for Everton? Maybe.
Wesley Fofana (D, Chelsea)
In our first game back after the International Break, Fofana and the Blues visit the King Power stadium in Leicester, in what is a bit of a reunion for the French DEF since leaving the Foxes in 2022. Although he has had a very tumultuous career at Chelsea, mostly being plagued by injuries, he seems to have found some form and consistency to his playing time under Maresca. Fofana's 7.5 gPPS is the best of all Chelsea defenders this season and the Blues will be licking their lips at a possible clean sheet given Leicester's poor form at home having only scored 5 goals in 5 games. Not to mention the massive blow to their attacking ranks with Fatawu being the latest to have surgery.
Carlos Baleba (M, Brighton)
In GW11, Baleba was subbed on for the 2nd half versus Man City and basically changed the outcome of the tie singlehandedly. In 45 minutes, Baleba scored 4.5 FPts, which might not seem THAT impressive but he currently has the 2nd highest gPPS (8.1) of all Brighton MIDs which is also the 3rd highest of all outfielders for the Seagulls. Baleba also has the highest points ceiling (18.8) of all Brighton MIDs, having attempted the 4th most shots (16) for them, with 1 goal to his name. If Baleba is fit, we think he is an automatic starter under Hürzeler. An asset with multiple avenues to points. Solid MID-4/5 pick.
Curtis Jones (M, Liverpool)
Since his 30 FPts haul versus Chelsea in GW8, Jones has had a very sinusoidal form of late with scores of 1.25, 8.25 and 2. That being said, Jones is now coming up against the worst team in the league, Southampton, so this could be a no-brainer punt for a midfield option. It should also be noted that Jones scored for England during the International Break, which means he has had 3 attacking returns in his last 5 appearances for club and country, one was even off the bench. So we're hoping that Jones is part of the goals when Liverpool resume their title charge in GW12.
Jesper Lindstrom (M, Everton)
Lindstrom has had a very odd start to life at Goodison Park, as he only started 4 games out of 7, with the first 2 being cut short after 45 and 60 minutes. However, in his last 2 games, Lindstrom played nearly 90 minutes . So we're hoping that this is finally his spot to lose. It helps that Harrison has done absolutely nothing during his games as well. The numbers don't lie either. Lindstrom currently has the 3rd best gPPS (8.9) of all Everton outfielders whereas Harrison is scoring at a meagre 5.6 gPPS. So given Brentford's terrible away form, Lindstrom should be a shoo-in pick.
Joe Willock (M, Newcastle United)
Before the International Break, Willock finally managed to string together consecutive starts for the Magpies, having put up ghost point scores of 8 and 6.75 over an average of 66 minutes per appearance. Assuming he has not gone and managed to get himself injured again, Willock could be a very cheeky start against a West Ham team who have been woeful this season. Although this play is a bit risky given it's the Monday night fixture, the reward could be as high as the risk. Even our fixture difficulty tracker says that Newcastle MIDs have the best rated fixture in GW12. Go wild with Willock!
Justin Kluivert (M, Bournemouth)
After his heroics in GW11, Kluivert gets the call-up once again. After netting against Brentford, the Dutchman has now racked up 3 attacking returns in his last 4 games. He even got a start for Netherlands during the IB break! Although Kluivert is not known for his ghost point production, he still has the 3rd best PP90 (12.9) production of all the Cherries' outfielders and has penalties in his locker.
Evanilson (F, Bournemouth)
Over the past 4 gameweeks, the Cherries have been one of the best teams in the league, having beaten the likes of Arsenal and Man City at home. So Bournemouth will surely be relishing a 3rd consecutive home win as they host the Seagulls in a South Coast clash. Therefore Evanilson has been recalled after his goal in GW11, which was also his best ghost point performance for the season so far. Brighton have not kept a clean sheet in their last 3 games and Evanilson is one of the most in-form strikers in the league with 4 goals and an assist in his last 6 appearances.
Reiss Nelson (F, Fulham)
No one expected Adama Traore to lose his spot after a run of 9 consecutive starts. I mean rotation is expected for one or 2 games but in Fulham's last 2 fixtures, Reiss Nelson was awarded back-to-back starts in the league, pushing Adama to the bench. However it does come as a blessing because Nelson is currently outperforming his teammate. Reiss' 18.4 PP90 and 11.8 gPPS is actually the highest for the Cottagers. Nelson might have stolen the starting spot because Adama's impact off the bench is almost second-to-none. Marco Silva is living a blessed life! So if you already own Adama, this is a no-brainer cuff. Or you could grab Nelson and trade him to the Adama owner before the fixture congestion ruins the party.
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