Gameweek 13 Sleepers XI: Draft EPL

Our Gameweek 13 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 13 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.

Gameweek 12 was such a fall from grace. After a great Gameweek 11 score, we ended up with our second lowest score of the season, 59 FPts. Only two of our picks scored double digits, Kenny Tete with 10.5 FPts (a clean sheet) and Yeremy Pino with 21 FPts (1 goal & 1 yellow card). Two of our picks, Wesley Fofana and Amadou Onana, didn't even start or come on as a substitute - yikes! We even had a negative score from Diego Gomez, -2.5 FPts with a yellow card! As for the other assets we chose, let's start from the back and go forward. Emiliano Martinez managed to score 9 FPts without a clean sheet. Defenders Jan-Paul van Hecke and Sepp van den Berg put up 3 and 4 FPts respectively, with the former conceding once and the latter twice. Midfielders Mateus Fernandes (5.75 FPts) and Enzo Le Fee (5.5 FPts) basically scored the same, while our lone forward, Dan Ndoye, only managed a lowly score of 2.75 FPts. It's not great viewing at all but the only way is up from here. Surely it can't get worse, right? RIGHT?! Time to tackle Gameweek 13.

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 they'll start in Gameweek 13. 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.

Alphonse Areola (G, West Ham)

In Gameweek 12, Areola was the 3rd highest scoring asset with 31.75 FPts. In spite of the fact that the French shot-stopper conceded twice, he made 10 saves and got an assist for Callum Wilson's 1st goal in their matchup against the Cherries. After being second choice to Hermansen under Graham Potter to start the season, Areola has now become Nuno's main man and has actually made the most saves (33) in the league, since the start of his manager's tenure way back in Gameweek 6. The Hammers host an extremely out-of-form Liverpool next, a team who over the last 8 matches are currently 19th, having lost 6 times and only scored 9 goals. It's hard fathom the Reds not scoring goals, but even if they were to do so, Areola is most likely going to make tonnes of saves. So if you're looking to take a gamble with the GK spot in your roster, this is the keeper to punt on.

David Moller Wolfe (D, Wolves)

After Rob Edwards replaced Vitor Pereira as the Wolves manager, Fantrax managers like myself got very excited at the prospect of new streaming options for our rosters. We were hoping that it would have been the likes of draft-day darling Arias, but we'll definitely take a wingback any day. The only problem is that Wolves are one of the worst defences around, so said wingback is going to need some upside, which Wolfe has. The Norwegian defender has 6 attacking returns for both club and country this season, with his most recent Wolves returns having come in a 4-3 loss against Chelsea, where he scored a brace. In Gameweek 12, Wolfe was given the nod ahead of Hugo Bueno and scored 7 ghost points, including 2 key passes (1 big chance), 1 tackle won, 1 interception, 2 clearances and 1 successful dribble. This spread of points is very promising and offers a better floor than what most FWDs have offered this season. I'd gamble on his ability to return on either ends of the pitch as a DEF-4/5.

Nathan Collins (D, Brentford) 

It's feels very weird to see Nathan Collins qualify as an option for a Sleeper's article during this campaign. Last season, the Irish defender was scoring just over 10 PPS, but is now averaging 5.5 PPS, which is a staggering drop off. Even though he's 1st for interceptions (14) and blocked shots (13), he's still only got a gPPS of just under 7. This shouldn't be too concerning this gameweek though, given they are hosting 19th placed Burnley. The Clarets have only won 1 of their 6 away games this season, while the Bees have actually only lost once at home. Even though Burnley seem to be scoring goals on the road, 9 of them in fact, which is only fewer than Chelsea and Tottenham, they've still amassed the lowest xG (8.6) in the league, and registered the fewest shots (98). After Brentford's last home win against Newcastle, Collins emphasised that they're trying to make the G-Tech a fortress and a very difficult place to visit. If that's the case, this could be a clean sheet banker.

Nikola Milenkovic (D, Nottingham Forest)

After such a horrid start to their campaign, Dyche seems to have finally steadied the Tricky Trees' ship. After only winning once in their first 11 games across all competitions, Nottingham Forest have now only lost once in 7 games, keeping 4 clean sheets during that period. Although Milenkovic has only averaged 7 PPS during that run, he's still been 1st for clearances (28), blocked shots (8) and aerials (8). He's actually the only defender to not have gotten an attacking return in the Premier League under Dyche. That could possibly change this weekend though. Murillo is a doubt after being subbed during their European fixture, whilst Milenkovic played the full game and got his first attacking return for the season. If we get close to last season's 9.7 PPS version of the Serbian defender, then he's an obvious DEF-3 option for any roster.

Pau Torres (D, Aston Villa)

According to our Fixture Difficulty Tracker, Aston Villa defenders have the best rated fixture in Gameweek 13. The Villans host Wolves in the first edition of the West Midlands derby this season, which could arguably be one of their easiest matchups in the derby's history. Wolves are languishing at the bottom of the Premier League, having only earned 2 points for the season so far, which is the same number of goals that they've scored in their last 4 games. Aston Villa are currently the 3rd most in-form team in the league over the last 4 games, behind the likes of Arsenal and Chelsea. Emery's men have only conceded 11 goals this season, having kept 2 clean sheets in their last 4 games. Given Wolves are under new management, it's probably going to take some time until things click for them in attack, so this could be a very easy clean sheet opportunity for Pau Torres and his teammates.

Adam Wharton (M, Crystal Palace)

If you're in need of a MID-4 for your roster this weekend, then look no further than Adam Wharton. The young English midfielder, believe it or not, actually has the most key passes (16) of all Crystal Palace outfielders this season. It almost feels hard to believe, as he's been in and out of the team with multiple small injuries this season. That being said, a player who tends to be involved in a few different defensive categories, takes the odd set piece and is averaging just under 8 PPS, he really should be rostered in more leagues. In Gameweek 12, Wharton managed to surpass his ceiling of 12.9 FPts, a feat he's actually managed 3 times this season already, getting his 2nd assist of the season. Wharton could thrive against a Manchester United midfield, who have had a major reshuffle in tactics, given injuries to star players such as Cunha and Sesko.

Harvey Barnes (M, Newcastle) 

Harvey Barnes is currently one of the most prolific players in the league. The English midfielder has 4 goals and an assist over his last 4 games in all competitions, and is showing no signs of slowing down. Newcastle will be looking to bounce back after a disappointing midweek loss in the Champions League, and could do very well against the Toffees. Despite Everton's spectacular result against Manchester United in Gameweek 12, where they shut out the Red Devils after going down to 10 men for majority of the match, it mainly thanks to Pickford's heroics. Everton have actually racked up an xGA of18.23, but only conceded 13 goals. So you could say that their defence has actually been over-performing, meaning there's a chance that things could revert to the mean and Newcastle might score a few at St. James' Park this weekend. If Newcastle do score, Barnes is most likely going to be involved, considering he's scored all of their goals over their last 3 matches.

Sasa Lukic (M, Fulham)

Having served his suspension in Gameweek 12, the Serbian midfielder should come straight back into the starting XI for the Cottagers when they visit Spurs, in what you'd consider as one of the less popular London derbies. The Fulham midfielder's ceiling of 13.9 FPts, along with his 7.8 PPS for the season, always makes him a great MID-4/5 option. This is actually one of the most intriguing matchups this weekend, as Spurs have the 2nd worst home form of all teams, whereas Fulham have the 2nd worst away form. So this game will either have tonnes of goals or none at all, with Lukic most likely being at the heart of the action. He's taken the most corners (24) and registered the 2nd most key passes (13) for Fulham, so if Fulham are to find any joy in this fixture, there's a strong possibility that Lukic will be directly involved.

Callum Wilson (F, West Ham)

Over the last 6 matches in the league, Liverpool have conceded 13 goals, which is only 1 fewer than Wolves. The Reds also conceded 4 goals to PSV Eindhoven in the Champions League, which is further proof of how great of a fixture they are proving to be for gambling on starting any attacking asset against them. Nuno seems to have found a winning formula for his new club, and Callum Wilson seems to be at the heart of it. Despite the English striker being 33 years old, and seemingly incapable of playing near 90 minutes in any game this season, he's now scored 3 goals in 2 games. Wilson has also mentioned the fact that he's trying to play himself into a possible spot in the England setup for the World Cup, so the motivation is definitely there for him to keep performing.

Igor Jesus (M, Nottingham Forest)

Since Igor's first goal under Dyche, which was coincidentally during his first game in charge, you could say that the Brazilian has been very unlucky to not be on the scoresheet since. In fact, in his last game against Liverpool, I'd say he was harshly judged to have controlled the ball with his arm and be denied the reward of a very good finish. I'm still expecting Chris Wood to be Dyche's first choice striker, but the Kiwi is still missing in action due to injury. So we should continue to see Jesus lead the line. Under Dyche, the ex-Botafogo striker has registered the most aerials won (14) and shots attempted (10) of any Forest outfielder. So it feels like it's only a matter of time until he gets his first goal in the league.

Thierno Barry (F, Everton) 

In Gameweek 12, Barry registered 14 aerials, the most by any FWD this season in any given gameweek. We honestly haven't seen these kinds of numbers since prime-Benteke days, and it's very exciting. The FWD pool is extremely dry at the moment and assets such as Jaidon Anthony, who started the season on fire, have now withered away and basically become waiver wire fodder. After his impressive and very improved display against Fulham, Barry proceeded to score his highest tally of the season in Gameweek 12, 8 ghosts points. The crazy part is that he didn't attempt a single shot. Now there's probably a bit of game state here considering Everton were down to 10-men very early against Manchester United and were basically defending a 1 goal lead all game, but the signs look very promising. A possible FWD-2 in the making.

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