Our Gameweek 28 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 28 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. Additionally, I've included the rostership percentage from the "Community List" -- the twenty 12-team divisions that comprise the ultra-competitive DraftPL Community League and International Genie League -- to provide some additional context for who is likely to be available and where you might want to follow the wisdom of the crowd.
As always, let's take a quick look back at the week that was in Gameweek 27: The DGW defender trio of Bednarek, Dunk and Hickey came through with double digit returns each despite none of the three teams keeping consecutive clean sheets. Further up the pitch was a bit of a mess, with Joe Willock (20) the only standout, unless you count the lucky 14.5 from Wissa, who didn't start either match. He's officially in dead-to-me territory now. The weekly score of 87.25 keeps us right on track with the season average of 87 points, bumping the overall tally to 2261.5.
Fielding a full XI of starters this week is going to be a challenge for a lot of managers, as Brighton, Fulham, Liverpool, the Manchester clubs and West Ham are all out of Premier League action due to the FA Cup. That also means more competition on the waiver wire and people plunging deeper into the depths of the free agent pool to scout for potential starters. Sleepers will be crucial this week. Here are a few I have earmarked for your consideration:
GK: Neto
Team: Bournemouth
Opponent: Aston Villa (away)
Rostered: 6% (Fantrax) / 9% (Community)
Points Last Gameweek: 18.25
Prospects: It's not just the shock win and clean sheet against Liverpool in GW27 that has me putting my faith in Bournemouth's goalkeeper and now captain, Neto. The Brazilian has been the third highest scoring goalkeeper over the past two months, behind only David Raya and Alisson. The Cherries allow quite a few shots, but outside of the recent matches against Man City and Arsenal, they haven't conceded more than two goals in a game since Neto returned from injury in mid-January. A favorable run of upcoming fixtures kicks off against Aston Villa this week. I like Neto as either a one-week stand-in for your team or as a long-term pickup if you've been playing keeper roulette.
DEF: Max Kilman
Team: Wolves
Opponent: Leeds (home)
Rostered: 40% / 33%
Points Last Gameweek: 5.25
Projected GW28 Points: 7.6
Prospects: Wolves currently sit 7th for defenders in our Fixture Difficulty Tracker, but that doesn't tell the whole story. They are only behind Arsenal among the teams that don't double in GW29, which factors into the fixture difficulty score and can make some teams with less attractive fixtures more appealing - beware the trap of over-investing in mediocre players who play twice if there's a better single game option. I digress. In the immediate term, Wolves have a very good fixture against Leeds, a team that allows 8.4 points to opposition defenders on average. Those numbers may even be boosted with the more pragmatic Javi Gracia taking the helm at Leeds - could a higher chance at a clean sheet offset the peripheral stats gained from the more high-energy, erratic style of attacking under Jesse Marsch? Just a thought, but I like most of Wolves' defensive options as a result. Max Kilman, in particular, stands out. He has been dominating the ghost points among the CBs and has greater security of starts than the FBs. What's not to like?
DEF: Harry Souttar
Team: Leicester City
Opponent: Brentford (away)
Rostered: 7% / 47%
Points Last Gameweek: 6
Projected GW28 Points: 7.2
Prospects: With Wout Faes suspended and Jonny Evans unlikely to be fit enough to start, it looks like Daniel Amartey will be restored to the starting lineup for Leicester's match against Brentford. Amartey has some defensive liabilities that may lead to the Foxes conceding, but his play style may also mean even greater ghost point involvement for Harry Souttar, who will be expected to deal with the majority of aerial duels with Ivan Toney and company. Leicester also have a favorable double in GW29, so there's no time like the present to bring him in.
DEF: Max Wober
Team: Leeds
Opponent: Wolves (away)
Rostered: 10% / 47%
Points Last Gameweek: 6.5
Projected GW28 Points: 6.5
Prospects: It's the week for aerially dominant, ghost point attracting center backs, apparently. Despite the reported return to fitness of club captain Liam Cooper, I expect Max Wober to keep a place in the starting lineup. His versatility means he could be deployed at the heart of the defense, as a left back or even at the base of midfield in the absence of Tyler Adams. Wober is an all-action defender, equally capable of playing on the front foot and racking up interceptions as he is sitting back and winning aerial duels. I'm a fan of the solid floor of points he offers even when his team concedes. He's yet to put up a negative score, despite being on the losing side on five occasions.
MID: Philip Billing
Team: Bournemouth
Opponent: Aston Villa (away)
Rostered: 48% / 42%
Points Last Gameweek: 16
Projected GW28 Points: 9.3
Prospects: Two goals in two Premier League games for Philip Billing...an anomaly, or a sign that he's rediscovering his form from last season in the Championship? The Dane is now the top scorer for the Cherries in the EPL this season, and with Bournemouth in a good patch of form and with favorable fixtures on the horizon, I think Billing has a chance to continue in his rich vein of form. He has been fairly goal-dependent (34% reliant on goals, assists & clean sheets - not bad, not stellar in terms of ghost points), however, so just be aware of what you're getting if you decide to draft him into your side.
MID: Conor Gallagher
Team: Chelsea
Opponent: Everton (home)
Rostered: 41% / 9%
Points Last Gameweek: 12
Projected GW28 Points: 11.9
Prospects: It's far from guaranteed that Conor Gallagher will be in the starting lineup for Chelsea's match against Everton this weekend, but the England international did his chances no harm with a stellar 45-minute cameo in the 3-1 win over Leicester in GW27. Gallagher surprisingly replaced Joao Felix at halftime, but went on to deliver a ghost point performance along the lines of what we came to expect from him when he was on loan at Crystal Palace last season (how they could use him now!). If Gallagher does earn a start, he should be well-positioned to follow up on last week's 12-point outing with another double digit display. Calling on him is a bit of a risky move, however, as Chelsea play in the late game on Saturday ahead of a solitary Sunday fixture to close out the game week. High risk, high reward? You may need to be quick on the trigger to bring in a suitable replacement if he's on the bench again.
MID: Jacob Ramsey
Team: Aston Villa
Opponent: Bournemouth (home)
Rostered: 45% / 61%
Points Last Gameweek: 9.5
Projected GW28 Points: 9.4
Prospects: Aston Villa have been able to escape from the tractor beam at the bottom of the table and navigate themselves to almost certain safety under Unai Emery. A big part of that has been down to the manager figuring out the system that is best suited to the players at his disposal, though there are a couple areas where he still hasn't settled on his preferred starter (anyone else fed up with the Digne/Moreno timeshare?). Jacob Ramsey has started seven of the last eight matches and while his scores haven't been stellar, they have been improving. Add in a favorable home fixture (Villa's home win percentage is 43%, as opposed to just 30% on the road) and you've got a winning recipe.
MID: Kevin Schade
Team: Brentford
Opponent: Leicester City (home)
Rostered: 1% / 0%
Points Last Gameweek: 8.5
Projected GW28 Points: 8.5
Prospects: The heir apparent to Ivan Toney's #9 role is being made to wait while the outcome of the betting scandal trudges along, but Kevin Schade worked his way into Brentford's starting lineup last gameweek anyway, showcasing his versatility and a surprising turn of pace in the narrow victory over Southampton. The German caught the eye in his debut and put up strong fantasy numbers to go alongside it. He faces competition from Mikkel Damsgaard and stoppage time scavenger Yoane Wissa for the left wing berth, but I'm relatively confident he'll be on the teamsheet again for the home fixture against Leicester.
FWD: Patrick Bamford
Team: Leeds
Opponent: Wolves (away)
Rostered: 51% / 66%
Points Last Gameweek: 18.5
Projected GW28 Points: 8.4
Prospects: I'm not quite ready to proclaim that he's back, but Patrick Bamford did look pretty, pretty good against Brighton. Leeds have sorely missed having a true striker to lead the line, but with Bamford and Rodrigo now coming back to full fitness we could see them start to string some results together in an effort to break out of the relegation conversation. Despite a match against Arsenal coming in GW29, Leeds currently sit at the top of our Fixture Difficulty Tracker for forwards. So long as Bamford can remain fit, he'll be a player worth having on your roster.
FWD: Raul Jimenez
Team: Wolves
Opponent: Leeds (home)
Rostered: 42% / 66%
Points Last Gameweek: 3.5
Projected GW28 Points: 9.2
Prospects: On the opposite side from Bamford, another injury returnee has been working his way back into fitness and form. Raul Jimenez has yet to score a goal this season (although, sadly for Wolves, he is the last striker to have scored a Premier League goal for them), but has started each of the last four matches for Julen Lopetegui. The manager certainly has his favorites, so he may see Jimenez as the preferred choice up top for the rest of the season. That's not to say rotation won't come into play - Wolves aren't scoring many goals, after all - but like many forwards, a bit of confidence may go a long way to getting the Mexican back to his best.
FWD: Dominic Solanke
Team: Bournemouth
Opponent: Aston Villa (away)
Rostered: 54% / 85%
Points Last Gameweek: 1.5
Projected GW28 Points: 7.5
Prospects: I'm a bit nervous about how much Bournemouth investment there is in the Sleepers squad this week, but projections, recent form, upcoming schedule and my intuition are all pointing in their favor, so in comes Dominic Solanke. Unlike Billing, the forward has seen his fantasy stocks decline a bit following the injection of new talent in January. In fact, he hasn't scored a Premier League goal since before the World Cup. But past performance isn't necessarily an indicator of future results, and I think it's only a matter of time before Solanke is back on the scoresheet. It seems the community agrees with me, given his 85% rostership in those leagues.
The Reserves
If you're playing on Fantrax with Live Lineup Changes, you should 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 do get a start for their team, snap them up and plug them into your starting eleven!
Cesar Azpilicueta, Defender, Chelsea. Opponent: Everton
Takehiro Tomiyasu, Defender, Arsenal. Opponent: Crystal Palace
Christian Pulisic, Midfielder, Chelsea. Opponent: Everton
Bertrand Traore, Midfielder, Aston Villa. Opponent: Bournemouth
Jamie Vardy, Forward, Leicester City. Opponent: Brentford
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