We look to the waiver wire and free agent pool each week to highlight some under-the-radar players who could be a short-term or even long-term solution for your Fantrax EPL fantasy teams. Our Sleepers XI provides fantasy managers with a full squad of differential picks, and some high upside options to plug in if they are in the starting lineup. Don't sleep on these underappreciated gems as you put together your roster for Gameweek 3!
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 3 Sleepers XI
For this article, we use the % rostered from Fantrax. Our only rule is that each player we highlight is required to be rostered in 60% of leagues or less at the time of writing. Therefore there's a good chance some of these players will be free agents in your Fantrax Draft League! As always, we'll take form, fixtures, projected points, and a healthy dose of intuition into account to make our selections.
The less said about the team performance from Gameweek 2, the better, but suffice it to say you'd be justified in calling for me to be sacked if results like that one continue. Taiwo Awoniyi (17.5) was the only saving grace from the 40-point total, with red cards for Takehiro Tomiyasu and Matheus Nunes and a no-show for Jan-Paul van Hecke resulting in a single point between them. Moving on from that unmitigated disaster, I'm hopeful this week's selections can help to restore your faith in these low-rostered players as well as my ability to highlight the ones worthy of appearing on your roster.
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 3. Keep an eye out when lineups drop and pick them up if you see them starting and need to fill a spot on your roster. Read on below for the rationale behind each of the Starter selections.
Neto (G, Bournemouth v. Tottenham)
As someone who routinely looks to goalkeepers that make a lot of saves and aren't dependent on clean sheets for their points, I'm a huge admirer of Neto. The Cherries' captain wasn't his usual self against West Ham in GW1 when he only recorded a single save, but he was back to his shot-stopping best against Liverpool last time out, racking up 8 saves on his way to 18.25 points (despite conceding 3 goals). That discrepancy may be something to keep an eye on. With Andoni Iraola now in charge of Bournemouth, could we see the goalkeeper become much more fixture-dependent than he was last season? If the Cherries are more defensively solid and able to limit the number of shots their opponents take, Neto may not actually be a great fantasy option. Tottenham have been creating a lot of chances under their own new manager, however, and I expect more of the same this weekend even if James Maddison isn't fit to feature. Neto has great shot-stopping ability and should have his hands full (figuratively and hopefully literally) against Spurs.
Lucas Digne (D, Aston Villa @ Burnley)
The past few seasons have turned Lucas Digne from fantasy superstar into a player you should avoid at all costs. Despite rumors of him being moved on all summer, however, the French fullback has shown signs of life at Aston Villa to begin the new campaign. In addition to the 18.5 points he scored in last week's 4-0 victory over Everton (which earned him a call up from the Reserves), he also delivered a hat-trick of assists in the midweek Europa Conference League win over Scottish side Hibernian. The injury to Tyrone Mings and recent return to fitness of Diego Carlos (which would suggest he may not be ready to start twice in the space of a few days) should see Digne keep his spot on the left side of defense, with Pau Torres needed centrally. At least until Alex Moreno returns from injury or Digne is shunted off to Saudi Arabia, he can be considered a high-upside defender to plug into your starting lineup in favorable matches, which the weekend's contest against Burnley should be.
Malo Gusto (D, Chelsea v. Luton)
Make no bones about it, Chelsea were dreadful in defense against West Ham in GW2 (apologies to any of you who followed my Axel Disasi recommendation). Malo Gusto wasn't at fault for any of the goals, however, and he also managed to score well enough to keep himself out of the red, unlike his aforementioned compatriot. Mauricio Pochettino doesn't really have many other options at his disposal at right back with Reece James out injured, and with an early match against Luton I'm willing to give Chelsea players a chance to redeem themselves. Gusto should start again at right back this week, potentially in a back four that would likely result in some additional defensive stability to mitigate the possibility of conceding in the same manner the Blues did against the Hammers last week. The good news is that it shouldn't negatively impact Gusto's fantasy output; nearly all of his points last week came from defensive contributions with Ben Chilwell pushed high up the pitch. With the addition of Moises Caicedo to the lineup, Gusto could even have more opportunities to venture forward in this system. If for some reason he doesn't get the start, you've got all of the other GW3 fixtures to choose from to find a replacement.
Max Kilman (D, Wolves @ Everton)
I'm not generally one to rely on a clean sheet when I'm streaming defenders, but that doesn't mean I don't factor in the possibility. Everton have failed to score a goal in either of their first two Premier League matches and with a mounting injury crisis that means they'll be without Dominic Calvert-Lewin, Alex Iwobi, Jack Harrison and Dwight McNeil this weekend, it's not difficult to see them struggling to score again in GW3. Max Kilman took a bit of a beating along with the rest of his Wolves teammates against Brighton last week with a score of -4, but his potential to pick up some ghost points was on display in the 1-0 defeat to Manchester United when he scored 10.5 points. This isn't a pick with a ton of upside (Kilman is rarely involved in any of Wolves' attacking output; in fact he's only managed 1 goal and 1 assist in the Premier League since joining the club in 2018-19), but if you're looking for a player who can do a job and has the potential to add in the bonus of a clean sheet this week, Kilman should be among the safest picks to call on.
Micky van de Ven (D, Tottenham @ Bournemouth)
We're still at the stage of the season, particularly for teams with new managers, where it's not quite apparent whether certain new signings or new starters are going to be worth fantasy consideration. That's how I'm currently feeling about Micky van de Ven, who looks like he'll be a nailed-on starter for Ange Postecoglou's Spurs, but who may also end up being the less fantasy relevant of the center back pairing alongside Cristian Romero. The 10.5 points the Dutch defender scored with a clean sheet in GW2 would certainly suggest he's not going to set the world on fire from a ghost point perspective, but he did manage 9.25 points from peripheral stats in GW1. He's good in the air and has plenty of pace, which should be a good combo when dealing with Dominic Solanke. I'm not super confident that van de Ven will be a long-term fantasy option, but Spurs do have a good run of upcoming fixtures for their defenders so he is a good option to stash and see how his fantasy fortunes shake out.
Giovani Lo Celso (M, Tottenham @ Bournemouth)
With James Maddison almost certain to miss Saturday's early fixture at the Vitality Stadium as a result of an MCL injury sustained against Manchester United, there's a gap in Tottenham's central midfield that needs filling. There's been plenty of speculation around who will fill that role if Maddison isn't back in time, with the general consensus being that it'll either be Giovani Lo Celso or Dejan Kulusevski (with Manor Solomon likely coming in at RW in that case). Despite some (questionable) media reports that the Argentine midfielder is dissatisfied with his lack of playing time and wants to leave the club, I'd be surprised not to see GLC take up the mantle against Bournemouth. He put in a few promising displays in preseason to make his case for inclusion and if those reports turn out to be disingenuous, leaving him out would be a clear signal of intent from the manager that he's not trusted. We also haven't seen Kulusevski deployed as a central midfielder for Spurs in the past, which could be too much change to introduce to a squad that is still coming to grips with their new manager's expectations. I wouldn't expect Lo Celso to fully replace Maddison's fantasy output, but the system is geared toward getting plenty of attacking sequences through the middle of the pitch, so I think he's a good streaming option until Maddison is back fully fit (I wouldn't be surprised to see him wrapped in cotton wool until after the international break).
Jefferson Lerma (M, Crystal Palace @ Brentford)
If you're looking for a more secure, "Steady Eddie" type of player for your team this week, Lerma has come through with two promising performances so far for his new club. The former Bournemouth midfielder was rarely a great fantasy option last season, though he did have that one match against Leeds where he scored a brace. With Cheick Doucoure in the team to take on more of the defensive destroyer duties, Lerma has been able to play with a bit more freedom for the Eagles than he did for much of his time with the Cherries. He's contributed 3 Key Passes so far this season, which is an indication of his greater involvement in the attack for Crystal Palace. He also managed a frankly ridiculous 12 Aerials Won against Sheffield United, but I wouldn't bank on him repeating that feat any time soon. Still, the Colombian has shown he has the potential to be a more reliable fantasy asset so far this season and should be a safe, solid option if you're in need of a starter with a solid floor of points.
Ryan Giles (M, Luton @ Chelsea)
If not for Luton's blank in GW2, we'd likely be seeing a much higher roster percentage than 22% for Ryan Giles. The former Wolves man stepped straight into the starting lineup for the Hatters in GW1 and commanded the vast majority of set pieces for his new side, taking 7 of the 8 on offer against Brighton. A debut score of 8.5 points in a 4-1 loss for a newly promoted side is a great indicator that Giles has the potential to be a fixture-proof fantasy asset and a season-long hold. Given his output against a much better Brighton side (at least for the time being), I wouldn't be concerned about running him out against Chelsea this week.
Fabio Silva (F, Wolves @ Everton)
There's been a lot of attention on Matheus Cunha's bright start to the season, and rightly so, but I'll go out on a limb and say that if Fabio Silva establishes himself as a regular starter in this Wolves team, he'll be the Wolves forward you want on your roster. The 21 year-old had a breakout year across two loan spells last season and is a far more developed player than he was the last time he was playing in the Premier League. The Portuguese forward made an impressive cameo toward the end of the match against Manchester United in GW1, putting up 7.5 points in the space of 12 minutes. He was handed a surprise start ahead of Pablo Sarabia against Brighton in GW2 and was very unlucky not to open his goalscoring account for the campaign, notching 6 points before being replaced fairly early on the second half after Wolves had fallen 4-0 behind. With Matheus Nunes suspended, there should be a place in the team for both Sarabia and Silva this week against an out-of-sorts Everton side. An attacking return would go a long way toward building the young striker's confidence, and this week represents a good opportunity for him to make his mark.
Leon Bailey (F, Aston Villa @ Burnley)
It really feels like I'm tempting fate by including both Lucas Digne and Leon Bailey in this article, but it's a case of needs must; somehow the pool of even remotely attractive fantasy options feels more shallow this season than it did in 22/23. Similar to Digne, Bailey offers the potential to put up gameweek-winning scores (case in point: his 21 points last week), but comes with an extensive history of injuries and of generally letting fantasy managers down after building up their hopes that his time has finally arrived. The Jamaican was even taken off early against Everton in GW2 with a supposed knock, but was included in the starting lineup midweek where he scored his second goal in as many matches. Be aware that a third game in the space of a week may be a challenge for an injury-prone striker like Bailey, though, and also know that with this match falling on Sunday, you'll have limited options to pivot to if he does drop out of the starting eleven. An in-form forward with a match against a newly promoted side is too much temptation to avoid, even if I know the potential for disappointment is high. Keep your expectations low so you can be pleasantly surprised if Bailey keeps his streak going.
Zeki Amdouni (F, Burnley v. Aston Villa)
Another player who probably would have been more widely rostered had his team had a fixture in GW2, Zeki Amdouni made a good first impression in the Premier League opener against Manchester City. The summer signing was deployed as a second striker by Vincent Kompany, and looked very much at home in the role. With only one match of data to go on, it's not a guarantee that the Swiss attacker starts this week against Aston Villa, but if his impact on the pitch is anything to go by he should have a very good chance of keeping his place. Amdouni was lively in his 60 minutes against the defending champions and earned 5 points for his endeavors. He should find time on the ball a bit easier to come by this weekend. Given the lack of depth in the forward pool, he could even end up being a long-term FWD3/4 for your team. The upcoming run of fixtures for the Clarets isn't ideal, though, so don't be afraid to drop him and use the spot to stream other players with more favorable match-ups if he doesn't make a case for being undroppable this gameweek.
For all the latest from The Draft Society, follow @Draft_Society on Twitter!
And for more in-depth and exclusive resources, become a member of The Inner Circle.
Comments