Our Playoff Punts Special article is here to outline the prospects of some undervalued Fantasy EPL players for the upcoming playoff fixtures.
Thank you to The Trax Man for submitting this article, essential reading ahead of playoffs!
Playoff Punts
These are the Fantasy EPL players that could have an impact towards the end of the season! Keep an eye on these Draft Premier League players, and bring them into your Fantrax squad if you can. For this article, we use the % rostered from Fantrax. Our only rule is that each player we highlight is required to be rostered in less than 60% of our "Community List" -- the twenty 12-team divisions that comprise the ultra-competitive DraftPL Community League and International Genie League community leagues, at the time of writing. Therefore there's a good chance some of these players will be free agents in your Fantrax Draft League!
James Garner
Position: Midfielder
Team: Everton
Community Leagues Rostered: 19%
GW36-38 Fixtures: MCI, wol, BOU
Prospects: It may have taken an injury to Onana to give Garner a route into the Everton XI, but it is an opportunity he has taken with both hands. With Everton getting ever more desperate for points you’d expect to see more balls being whipped into the box in the hope of a resurgent DCL getting on the end of them. With Garner sharing set pieces with McNeil he seems well-placed to profit from this.
Playoff games to target: 37 & 38
Joel Ward
Position: Defender
Team: Crystal Palace
Community Leagues Rostered: 0%
GW36-38 Fixtures: MCI, wol, BOU
Prospects: The previous four GWs have seen Joel Ward quietly putting up some solid numbers, with a score of 7.25 despite conceding three goals in GW34 against West Ham solidifying his current ghost point form. Crystal Palace look a rejuvenated team under young Roy Hodgson and they have a very kind run of games coming up, playing ‘on the beach’ Fulham and Bournemouth, before coming up against one of the league’s lowest scorers, Nottingham Forest, on the final day.
Playoff games to target: 36, 37 & 38
Jakub Kiwior
Position: Defender
Team: Arsenal
Community Leagues Rostered: 19%
GW36-38 Fixtures: BRI, nfo, WOL
Prospects: After being introduced for a shaky 10-minute cameo against Liverpool in GW30, Kiwior finally made his full league debut against Chelsea in GW34. Whilst he did not set the stat sheet alight he looked quietly assured and was a threat at set pieces. If Gabriel is injured, not looking good for the Brazilian, then we will likely see Kiwior retain his place at the centre of Arsenal’s defence, where his Fantrax scoring will benefit from taking on extra defensive actions in the Brazilian’s absence.
Playoff games to target: 37 & 38
Kamaldeen Sulemana
Position: Midfielder
Team: Southampton
Community Leagues Rostered: 4%
GW36-38 Fixtures: FUL, bri, LIV
Prospects: Cast your mind back to early February, Arsenal were clear at the top of the league and pundits starting to ask if City were better off without Haaland as he went two league games in a row without scoring. How times change. As a raft of new recruits hit the player pool the fantasy community were sending furtive glances in the direction of Kamaldeen Sulemana, after an impressive first half of the season at Rennes. I think we all hoped that the starts would come whilst he was still a Premier League player, but with Southampton desperate for any sort of result and Sulemana a bright spark in another disappointing loss in GW34, that time may finally have come. If he does start any of the remaining games then he should be worth a run out.
Playoff games to target: 36 & 37
Matty Cash
Position: Defender
Team: Aston Villa
Community Leagues Rostered: 19%
GW36-38 Fixtures: TOT, liv, BRI
Prospects: Fantasy managers have been spoilt this season by Aston Villa’s transparency with the release of their injury update on Twitter each week. Sadly, Matty Cash has been a familiar face on this graphic since the international break, but with rumours that he is returning to training, the Villa social media team may have to do like the rest of us and get used to going Cash-less. Despite not having the easiest run of fixtures, Unai Emery will be desperate to return to his rightful home of the Europa League, so we should see Cash reclaim his place from Ashley Young.
Playoff games to target: 36, 37 & 38
GW36-38 Teams to Target
We have highlighted the teams with favourable fixtures for each GW of the playoffs below. If you're playing on Fantrax with Live Lineup Changes, you should keep an eye on starting lineups for the following players who may get a rare start, or be worth a stream, as we come towards the end of the season. If any of these guys do get a start for their team, snap them up and plug them into your starting eleven!
GW36:
BHA (ars, new) - Deniz Undav
CHE (NFO) - Trevoh Chalobah
FUL (sou) - Neeskens Kebano
MCI (eve) - Nathan Ake
MUN (WOL) - Alejandro Garnacho
NEW (lee, BHA) - Matt Targett
GW37:
ARS (nfo) - Emile Smith-Rowe
BRI (SOU, MCI) - Deniz Undav
EVE (wol) - Nathan Patterson
FUL (CRY) - Neeskens Kebano
NEW (LEI) - Matt Targett
WHU (LEE) - Nayef Aguerd
WOL (eve) - Hugo Bueno
GW38:
BOU (eve) - Chris Mepham
CRY (NFO) - Jeffrey Schlupp
EVE (BOU) - Nathan Patterson
LEI (LEI) - Patson Daka
LIV (sou) - James Milner (likely to be his last game for the club)
MUN (FUL) - Alejandro Garnacho
TOT (lee) - Emerson Royal
WHU (lei) - Nayef Aguerd
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