Our Gameweek 22 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 22 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.
After a season shattering score in GW20 for our Sleepers XI, GW21 made us humble ourselves again with a respectable 84.25 FPts score. Not the worst but it could have been better. There were a couple of unlucky and unexpected moments in our gameweek, so let's quickly unpack the result to see what how we can learn and improve on this.
Standing in net for us was the new Ipswich first-team shot stopper Christian Walton. As we had predicted, it appears Muric has lost his spot in the starting XI. Walton faced a Brighton team that were eager to put their winless streak to an end with a 2-0 win for the Seagulls, which left Walton with a meek 6.25 FPts score. Not the levels we're used to with Muric but it could have been worse. We went with 4 defenders, all playing 90 minutes. Botman and Lacroix kept cleansheets and put up 14 FPts and 13 FPts respectively. While Castagne did the complete opposite and conceded 3 goals with a yellow card, thereby ending on -1.75 FPts. It seems as though Potter and West Ham are having their bounce. Our final defender, Matthijs de Ligt, also managed 10.5 FPts in his slightly different CB role, despite conceding once versus Southampton. In midfield we also had 4 picks, which was the source of our bad luck. Lerma was substituted after 19 minutes due to illness and left the pitch with 1FPts to his name. Alternatively, Adingra (6.25 FPts) , Mateus Fernandes (9.75 FPts) and Harry Wilson (9 FPts) also got substituted but after 62 mins, 72 mins and 84 mins respectively. The silver lining was that Fernandes actually registered double digit ghost points as his final score included a booking. Lastly, we had 2 FWDs. Both Broadhead and Mavididi played 90 minutes each, with the latter scoring 11.5 FPts, easily double of Ipswich Town's Broadhead, who finished with a timid 4.75 FPts.
So not a bad total in the end given the actual story behind a couple of our picks. However, we may have found our stride now, so let's see how close our GW22 team can get to that 100 FPts mark.
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 22. 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.
Antonin Kinsky (G, Tottenham)
There's a new face at Spurs and it's definitely not the most exciting transfer we thought we'd be discussing during this January 2025 window. The young Czech goalkeeper has had a very exciting start to his Spurs career with a win over Liverpool in the EFL Cup, a win in the FA Cup versus National League's Tamworth and a loss versus Arsenal in the league (no surprise). In his first two matches, he kept 2 clean sheets but what's more promising is that he was still able to score 10 FPts in his league debut versus the Gunners, despite conceding twice. Spurs visit Goodison Park as they take on the toothless Toffees. Over the last 6 games, Everton have scored the fewest goals (1) in the league and there's no signs of that changing anytime soon with McNeil, one of their main creators, still ruled out of action for the foreseeable future. So, this seems like an easy chance for a clean sheet, even for Spurs.
Emerson (D, West Ham)
According to our fixture difficulty tracker, West Ham DEFs have the 2nd best rated fixture out of all the defenders in GW22. This comes as a slight surprise given Crystal Palace's commendable form in the league, with only 1 loss in their last 10 games. However there is a slight doubt over the fitness of Ismaïla Sarr, one of the Eagles' best attackers in recent weeks, which could contribute to a possible clean sheet for the Hammers. Potter's first league game saw him beat Marco Silva's Fulham 3-2 using the most bizarre lineup that had 4 defense first CMs. There's surely some dark magic involved here. Nevertheless, if you think West Ham are now on the up, then Emerson is a good and very easy entry point to their backline. The Italian left back scored 8.75 ghost points in GW21, with the majority of his points comprising of defensive actions and a couple of successful dribbles. He does have some attacking upside with his direct FK threat, so there's always a possibility of a haul on both ends of the pitch.
Harry Maguire (D, Man Utd)
As it has been for most of this season, managers and clubs have been using the fixture against Southampton as an opportunity to rotate some of their main assets given the south coast club is one of the lesser, if not least, threatening sides in the league at the moment - hence Maguire's benching in Man Utd's last league match. It was also probably because of the 104 minutes that he played in the FA cup tie versus Arsenal only a few days before their match against the Saints. However, we expect Slabhead to be back in the starting XI to face Brighton (likely for Leny Yoro who struggled badly vs Sulemana last week). From GW16 to GW20, Maguire started every game and played 90 minutes in each match. Although United did not keep a single clean sheet during said period, Maguire was averaging just over 9 gPPS, which is great as a DEF3. It's quite clear that Amorim highly favours the English CB in the middle of his back-3 formation, so while this system continues to be rolled out, we'd definitely suggest going with Maguire in almost any matchup.
Maxence Lacroix (D, Crystal Palace)
Lacroix repaid the faith we placed in him as part of our GW21 selection, so we've decided to trust him again, despite the Eagles losing one of their best defenders, Chalobah. In spite of this change to Crystal Palace's consistent back-5, Richards slotted in perfectly and it was business as normal as they kept a clean sheet against Leicester with Lacroix scoring 7 ghost points, perfectly in line with his 7.5 gPPS for the season. This is now the 2nd highest of all Crystal Palace defenders. Sure, West Ham scored 3 against Fulham, but Fulham have been conceding a lot of goals recently! West Ham are still without some of their best attackers like Bowen, Summerville and arguably Füllkrug, so this could be a low-scoring game which makes Lacroix a dependable DEF-3/4 for any roster this gameweek.
Timothy Castagne (D, Fulham)
Another player we're trusting again for GW22 is Castagne. After three consecutive scores of 14, 14.25 and 13.75 FPts, managers were then brought back down to earth with a 3.75 FPts score and most recently, a -1.75 score. Grim. His first and hopefully last negative score of the season. On the plus side, this negative score came on the backend of a 3-2 loss as well as a yellow card. Technically, Castagne still scored a few ghost points. Alas, the only reason we're suggesting him again is because Fulham are up against relegation candidates Leicester City, a team who have gone off the boil completely (if they ever simmered). In their last 6 games, Leicester have been the worst team in the league and the only club to have not gotten a single point from any of their matches, only scoring 2 goals in the process. So this is a great fixture for a possible clean sheet. We've already seen Castagne get a few attacking returns in his last few appearances as well, so let's hope he is able to punish his old employers with defensive AND attacking returns.
Bilal El Khannouss (M, Leicester City)
So now after completely lambasting Leicester City and their attacking prospects, I'm here to offer up "The Canoe" as a potential punt for one of the midfield spots in your roster. For those managers scraping the barrel for a reliable MID, Bilal might offer some respite. Despite playing 856 minutes this season, which is less than some of his teammates who are mostly above the 1000 mark, Bilal still has the 3rd most key passes (15) of all of the Foxes. This is a decent indication of his attacking potential to the Foxes team and despite the 65th minute sub versus Crystal Palace in GW21, he still managed to score 8 FPts. Bilal has the 2nd highest ceiling (15.8) of all Leicester MIDs and his 8.1 PP90 is kind of hard to ignore. So if you fancy going a MID-4 instead of a DEF-4 for this gameweek, Bilal is a great option versus a Fulham team that has conceded 8 goals over the past 4 games.
Carlos Baleba (M, Brighton)
After a run of 8 games without a win, Brighton finally won those highly-sought-after 3 points versus Ipswich Town in GW21. Despite not getting a clean sheet or an attacking return, Baleba was one of the standout performers from the Brighton contingent. The highly-rated Cameroonian midfielder scored 10 ghost points, a feat he has not managed since GW17 against West Ham. However, we've got a good feeling for his potential output versus an unpredictable Man Utd team. Baleba has already shown that he can score a goal, so his 15.3 FPts ceiling should come as no surprise, as well as his 7.8 PPS, which is one of the best out of the current lot of Brighton MIDs that are fit and available for GW22. This is a steady-eddy pick for your roster and a great backup option incase one of your studs is benched during this slightly congested fixture period.
David Brooks (M, Bournemouth)
Bournemouth have been somewhat ravaged by injuries to their forward line and so Iraola and his team have had to shift a few things around. This resulted in "flavour-of-the-festive-period", Dango Ouattara, playing as an unorthodox FWD for the Cherries. Naturally this opened up a spot in the midfield, which provided the perfect opportunity for David Brooks to get more playing time. After such a lengthy spell on the sidelines, Brooks is finally starting to regain his peak fitness and has now started 2 of the last 3 games for Bournemouth. In these 2 starts, Brooks managed to score 7.5 and 8 ghost points in 63 minutes and 82 minutes respectively. These are pretty decent numbers if you need a MID-4/5. The only worry is that Bournemouth now face an away trip versus Newcastle, the best team in the league over the last 8 games.
Matheus Nunes (M, Man City)
Matheus Nunes has been such an unpredictably frustrating asset to trust this season. In GW21, Nunes played in the RB spot for the first time in the league this season, with most of his appearances either being on the left side or center of the pitch for the Cityzens. Despite an unimpressive eye-test performance, the Brazilian "swiss army knife" still came up trumps with 14 FPts. This haul included 3 key passes, a couple of ACNCs and a sprinkling of defensive numbers. Seeing as Kyle Walker has chosen to abandon his club and teammates, Nunes might now be relied upon to do a regular job in the Man City defence and GW22 is another great fixture to roster him. Over the last 8 home games, Ipswich have one of the worst home records having conceded 13 goals in that time. Even if Liam Delap and his teammates manage to score against Man City, the beauty of Nunes is that he's a midfielder, so the worst he's missing out is 1 FPt. He still has a 19.3 FPts ceiling, which is the 2nd highest of all Man City MIDs, as well as his 8.4 gPPS, which is probably a closer reflection of what he should score against Ipswich. Still a good score for a MID-4/5. Be warned of possible Rico Lewis-induced rotation risk.
Mathias Jensen (M, Brentford)
Another player who has had a tumultuous time this season is Mathias Jensen. The Danish MID has only started 8 games this season, which is a bit unexpected given he started 27 games last season and 37 the one before that. However, let's focus on the positives and that's the fact that he's now started back-to-back games for the first time since GW13. Jensen has always been one of Brentford's most creative players but with Damsgaard finally fulfilling his potential, Jensen's efforts were not as badly missed. However in his last 2 games, scores of 7.25 and 12.75 FPts, in approximately 70 minute cameos, are proof that Jensen is just as reliable as we've known him to be. Liverpool is certainly a tough fixture for the Bees, but how can you bet against one of the teams with the best home forms in the league. Lest we forget, the Bees have scored 23 goals in their last 8 home games, the most of all teams in the league.
Keane Lewis-Potter (F, Brentford)
On the KPC podcast, one of the things we discussed was the lack of dependable FWDs in our leagues, especially the ones that don't get many shots on target. We shouted out assets like Rodrigo Gomes, in our GW22 Waivers article, who are able to score their points through a combination of various categories. This is mainly due to the fact that assets like Gomes and KLP are being deployed in an OOP role, which is providing the opportunity to rack up defensive numbers that they typically wouldn't gather while playing further forward. In addition to this, we've seen that fullbacks tend to produce a lot of ACNCs. Case in point, the top 4 assets for ACNCs for the season so far are all fullbacks. So even though Brentford are playing the title favourites, the Bees will have their work cut out for them in restricting Salah and co. as much as they can. This should convert to ghost points for KLP and make him a viable FWD-3 for any roster this week.
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