Our Gameweek 10 Sleepers XI 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'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 10 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 sooner we move on from GW9, the better. Not only did the Sleepers squad put up the lowest score of the season (a paltry 47.5), but nearly half those points came from a single player (thank you Illan Meslier for at least ensuring my intuition still works). That pittance of points brings the Sleepers XI to 718 points for the season, still amounting to a respectable 89.75/week average. A few more performances like this, though, and I may be following in the footsteps of Scott Parker and Bruno Lage. Let's hope it doesn't come to that, and that this week's selections come through for you if you decide to draft them into your team in Gameweek 10.
GK: Vicente Guaita
Team: Crystal Palace
Opponent: Leeds (Home)
Rostered: 11%
Points Last Gameweek: 1.5
Prospects: The boom or bust approach in goal worked wonders last time out, so like a degenerate gambler I'm taking another hit and hoping lightning will strike twice with Guaita coming up with the goods at home against Leeds. While they currently sit just outside the relegation zone in 17th, Palace have the feel of a side on the cusp of hitting their stride, and their run of fixtures up until the World Cup is as good as any team in the league. The Spanish keeper has just the one clean sheet to his name so far but has also only recorded two negative scores against Arsenal and Man City. Leeds' attacking contingent isn't quite as prolific as those opponents, so Guaita and co. will be hopeful of keeping them at bay in this one.
DEF: Timothy Castagne
Team: Leicester City
Opponent: Bournemouth (Away)
Rostered: 40%
Points Last Gameweek: 11
Projected GW10 Points: 7.3
Prospects: It's been a long time since I felt like recommending a Leicester defender was a good idea, and even though I believe their 4-0 victory in GW9 was more down to Nottingham Forest being abject than the Foxes turning a corner, I like their chances of getting a second consecutive win over similarly poor Bournemouth. Castagne has the benefit of playing on the same side of the pitch as James Maddison, who loves a pot shot from distance for some easy potential key pass points. I also believe the Belgian is the better crosser of the Leicester fullbacks, so I like his potential for attacking contributions even if the defensive side of the game suffers a reversion to the mean.
DEF: Luke Shaw
Team: Man United
Opponent: Everton (Away)
Rostered: 29%
Points Last Gameweek: -1.75
Projected GW10 Points: 9.0
Prospects: The last few weeks have been good to Shaw, who earned a call-up to the England national team to keep his World Cup hopes alive and then returned to Manchester to watch his left back competitor suffer a horror show against their cross-town rivals. The former fantasy stalwart replaced Malacia for the second half of the contest (if you can call it that) against City and helped stem the tide. His performance wasn't great, but it likely earned him a start in at least one of the next two fixtures this week (including the Europa League match that had not yet taken place at the time of writing). If he performs well, he could wrestle the starting role back and re-establish himself as a fantasy relevant player. There is only one fixture following the match against Everton, so be sure you have another option to pivot to in the event he doesn't get the start on Sunday evening.
DEF: Ashley Young
Team: Aston Villa
Opponent: Nottingham Forest (Away)
Rostered: 3%
Points Last Gameweek: 21.25
Projected GW10 Points: 8.6
Prospects: With first Matty Cash, then Lucas Digne and finally Ludwig Augustinsson picking up injuries, Young has been called upon more than he or anyone else would have expected at the start of the campaign. The good news for Steven Gerrard and Villa fans alike is that he's been playing like a 27-year-old rather than the 37-year-old he is. While the man advantage in the second half against Leeds certainly worked in his favor, Young was the most creative player on the pitch last time out, amassing 5 key passes on his way to a massive score. I don't expect him to have quite so many opportunities this week, but Villa are facing bottom-of-the-table Nottingham Forest, so the potential is there for him (and many of his likely available teammates) to contribute positively to your fantasy team to close out the gameweek on Monday.
MID: Mikkel Damsgaard
Team: Brentford
Opponent: Newcastle (Away)
Rostered: 28%
Points Last Gameweek: 9
Projected GW10 Points: 10.1
Prospects: The initial excitement around Damsgaard's transfer to Brentford this summer led some managers to invest fairly significant amounts of FAB (or a high priority waiver claim) to snag him. They likely had buyer's remorse for a few weeks as their new addition struggled to find time in Thomas Frank's side. Given the Dane's current "rosterhood" (shout out @KP_Collective), it's even a safe assumption that many managers either got impatient or couldn't afford to keep him in their lineups and dropped him for someone who was at least on the pitch from the first whistle. Fortunes appear to be turning around for anyone who kept the faith or who claimed Damsgaard from the free agent pool, as he appears to have worked his way into the first team picture for the Bees. A tricky away day at Newcastle beckons, but the early signs are promising that Damsgaard will be able to deliver a solid floor of points with the potential for returns given his advanced position and occasional role on set pieces.
MID: Cheick Oumar Doucoure
Team: Crystal Palace
Opponent: Leeds (Home)
Rostered: 31%
Points Last Gameweek: 5.5
Projected GW10 Points: 9.0
Prospects: Outside of the obvious choices (Haaland, Jesus), Doucoure has to be in the conversation for best signings of the summer transfer window. The Malian maestro has made himself at home at the base of the Palace midfield, filling a gap that had been lacking in top-tier quality for quite some time (with all due respect to Luka Milivojevic and Cheikhou Kouyate). In addition to his on-field contributions for his team, the all-action midfielder has quietly been a pretty handy fantasy asset as well. I expect him to continue racking up the ghost points against a Leeds side that often tries to do just a bit too much in possession.
MID: Douglas Luiz
Team: Aston Villa
Opponent: Nottingham Forest (Away)
Rostered: 13%
Points Last Gameweek: 14
Projected GW10 Points: 11.2
Prospects: The only other selection from the GW9 Sleepers XI to break double digits, Luiz keeps his spot ahead of the clash against lowly Forest. With Boubacar Kamara confirmed to be out until after the World Cup, the Brazilian midfielder should retain his spot in the starting eleven for the foreseeable future. Again, we should take Villa's scores from GW9 with a grain of salt given they were on the front-foot against 10-man Leeds for nearly the entire second half, but 13 ghost points can't be overlooked regardless of the situation. Luiz also has the added benefit of being on some set pieces, which bodes well against a very suspect Forest defensive unit.
MID: Vitaly Janelt
Team: Brentford
Opponent: Newcastle (Away)
Rostered: 20%
Points Last Gameweek: 7
Projected GW10 Points: 7.3
Prospects: Since scoring a goal as a substitute to tie the match against Everton back in GW4, Janelt has not only made a return to Brentford's starting 11, but also been a solid under-the-radar fantasy asset. His underlying stats haven't been anything to write home about, but he has added an assist to the aforementioned goal and may have a decent amount of defending to do against the dangerous midfield trio of Joelinton, Willock and Bruno Guimaraes. Everything points to this pick being a bit middle-of-the-road, if I'm honest, but...you guessed it...I've got a hunch he'll do better than projected. Let's see if it's 3 wins in 3 for my intuition.
FWD: Jordan Ayew
Team: Crystal Palace
Opponent: Leeds (Home)
Rostered: 22%
Points Last Gameweek: 11.5
Projected GW10 Points: 9.4
Prospects: I'm excited about the opportunity to return to a three-striker formation for the first time since GW3, though admittedly each of them has some question marks around their starting status. I'm going to take a gamble on Ayew keeping his spot in the Palace lineup following his lovely assist to Odsonne Edouard in GW9. Patrick Vieira has consistently turned to the Ghanaian, particularly in games where defensive workrate is required, so I expect him to deploy Ayew again regardless of whether Michael Olise also keeps his spot. We saw Vieira trial a system that included both in pre-season, and he was finally able to do so in the match against Chelsea last time out. Ayew has consistently scored well this season and is a good medium- to long-term pick-up if he's available in your league.
FWD: Patson Daka
Team: Leicester City
Opponent: Bournemouth (Away)
Rostered: 40%
Points Last Gameweek: 11
Projected GW10 Points: 13.3
Prospects: Following a first win of the season for Leicester in which Jamie Vardy was deployed from the start, there's definitely a possibility he could be called upon again for the trip to Bournemouth. However, Daka was looking like he was well on his way to becoming the preferred starter prior to the international break, from which he returned with an illness. While Vardy did manage an assist, Daka scored a fantastic goal off the bench so I am optimistic of a recall to the starting lineup against a less-than-watertight Cherries rearguard. Given the potential rotation with Vardy, you could potentially look to make a trade to either secure the handcuff or offer it to the manager who rosters Vardy as part of a larger trade in the event he doesn't start this week.
FWD: Gianluca Scamacca
Team: West Ham United
Opponent: Fulham (Home)
Rostered: 60%
Points Last Gameweek: 15
Projected GW10 Points: 8.9
Prospects: I'm pushing the roster qualifications to the limit with Scamacca, but I'd be remiss not to include him after he finally earned a start and delivered a well-taken goal against Wolves in GW9. The Italian striker has likely been on a similar trajectory as fellow sleeper Damsgaard, with managers losing patience after a string of substitute appearances. If that's the case and he's available in your league, I'd advise you to take the leap of faith to bring him in ahead of a solid run of fixtures for the Hammers. Knowing Moyes and his frustrating tendencies, Michail Antonio could still earn a recall in place of the 23-year-old, but it would certainly be detrimental to the young striker's confidence. You'd think the manager would stick with a hot hand, but you never know. Worth a risk if you need a forward, in any case.
The Reserves
If you're playing on Fantrax with Live Lineup Changes, you should definitely keep an eye on starting lineups for the following high upside players who have some question marks around their starting status this week. If any of these guys does get a start for their team, snap them up and plug them into your starting eleven!
Cesar Azpilicueta, Defender, Chelsea. Opponent: Wolves
Serge Aurier, Defender, Nottingham Forest. Opponent: Aston Villa
Conor Gallagher, Midfielder, Chelsea. Opponent: Wolves
Jean-Philippe Mateta, Forward, Crystal Palace. Opponent: Leeds
Armando Broja, Forward, Chelsea. Opponent: Wolves
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