Gameweek 18 Sleepers XI: Draft EPL

Our Gameweek 18 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 18 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.

I try to aim for at least 70 FPts every gameweek with this article and in Gameweek 17 we fell 0.5 FPts short. 69.5 FPts wasn't the gift I was hoping to receive during Christmas but here we are. So let's unpack what went right and what went wrong. Let's start with the bad bits for once. In defence, we had 2 poor scores from Clyne (-0.5 FPts, 3 goals conceded) and more surprisingly, Wesley Fofana (3.25 FPts, 2 goals conceded). I wouldn't really consider Alex Jimenez's 8 FPts (1 goal conceded) a bad score but we usually try to aim for at least 10 fantasy points from each asset that we choose. In midfield, we were definitely let down by the likes of Curtis Jones (2 FPts), Lewis Miley (7.25 FPts), Yeremy Pino (3 FPts), Savio's sub appearance (2 FPts) and Emile Smith Rowe (4 FPts). Up front, we only went with 1 FWD in Omari Hutchinson (7.5 FPts) who ghosted well again, but alas we hoped for more. Pretty dire returns but let's end on a high shall we. It came as no surprise that both our Brentford assets, who faced Championship-bound Wolves, absolutely smashed it. Sepp van den Berg, despite getting a yellow card, still scored 14 FPts with a clean sheet, whereas his teammate between the sticks, Caoimhin Kelleher, kept a clean sheet and saved a penalty kick to earn him a team-high score of 19 FPts. It's a shame that we can't get XI sleepers against the likes of Wolves every gameweek but what's the fun in that?! So stay tuned as we go into the Boxing day fixtures and try to end 2025 on a high.

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 18. 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.

Bernd Leno (G, Fulham)

Over the last 6 gameweeks, West Ham have been 18th in the form table, drawing 3 and losing 3 while only scoring 6 goals, which is only more than Sunderland (5), Burnley (5) and Wolves (2). Fulham on the other hand have been 4th in the same form table. Fulham's clean sheet in Gameweek 17 against Nottingham Forest was their 4th of the season, which is 1 fewer than they had last season, so maybe they're due a few more now. Hopefully they at least match it when they take on the dull Hammers this weekend.

Ian Maatsen (D, Aston Villa)

After a poor start to their season, with no wins in their first 5 games of the season, Aston Villa have now won 11 of their last 12 games. During that run, Aston Villa have been the best team in the league and only 3 teams have conceded fewer goals (13) than them: Man City, Arsenal and their next opponents Chelsea. Although Chelsea are a tough team to play a defender against, and an opposition that is most likely to score, Maatsen is probably the best option you'd want to go for, especially if you think the Villans can keep a clean sheet. I find that players always tend to show up well against their old clubs with something to prove, and Maatsen's 10.9 gPP90, the best of all his teammates, still warrants rolling him out as your DEF-3/4. He's shown that he can get the odd attacking return as well.

Jorge Cuenca (D, Fulham) 

Now that AFCON is up and running, Andersen's regular partner-in-crime, Bassey, is no longer an option and so Jorge Cuenca has finally gotten the opportunity to get a run of starts in the Fulham backline. I wouldn't normally back a Fulham defender this season but with the return of Antonee Robinson and the fact that they're playing an awful West Ham team this weekend, it seems a great time to take a punt. In Cuenca's last 2 starts, he scored 9 FPts against Arsenal after conceding once, whilst against Nottingham Forest in Gameweek 17, he scored 13.5 FPts with a clean sheet and a yellow card. Decent numbers if you need to play a DEF-4/5 this weekend as the Hammers are winless in their last 6 games, having only scored 6 goals as well.

Pascal Struijk (D, Leeds)

Over the last 4 games, Leeds have been the 4th best team in the league. Yes, rub your eyes and read that sentence again. Farke's new 532 system has been reaping its rewards and his squad aren't the only things that have been bringing in the points. One of his centrebacks, Struijk, has been been a massive beneficiary of this change. Playing as the LCB of a back-3, he's been averaging just over 9 PPS, without any attacking returns. Compared to his defensive teammates, he's created the 2nd most chances (3), had the 2nd most tackles won (6), tied for the most interceptions (5), been 1st for clearances (27) and 1st for aerials won (14), as well as having blocked the 2nd most shots (3). These are pretty good numbers for a DEF-3, and I'd be very tempted to play him against a Sunderland team that has scored the 2nd fewest goals (5) of the league over the last 6 gameweeks.

Patrick Dorgu (D, Man Utd)

Another player that has benefitted from the AFCON tournament is Patrick Dorgu. He's probably going to be a nailed option over the next few gameweeks, and despite Man Utd's captain and talisman being out for the next few matches, Dorgu is probably still worth a starting spot in your roster. His 10.9 gPP90 is 2nd of all Man Utd players, only behind the likes of Bruno Fernandes, which is fantastic as a DEF-4 option. In Gameweek 17, despite the 2 goals conceded, the Danish DEF put up his highest score of the season with 21.25 FPts. He registered 3 KPs, 2 ACNCs and 3 tackles won to go with his assist, which was his 2nd of the season. In Amorim's system, Dorgu's wingback position is always going to give him the potential to get returns on either end of the pitch, and against a Newcastle team that have been poor on the road, I'd be starting him.

Vitalii Mykolenko (D, Everton)

I don't think we need to check a fixture difficulty tracker to convince you to play any defensive assets against Burnley. The Clarets have only scored 5 goals in their last 6 games, which is the 2nd lowest of all teams in the league, only 3 more than Wolves. Despite having 9 more points than Wolves, they're still 7 points from safety and it doesn't seem to be getting any better. Everton, on the other hand, have only conceded 3 goals in their last 4 games, tied with Arsenal for the fewest goals conceded over this period. It's quite unfortunate that Mykolenko hasn't been the same this season compared to last, and maybe it's an effect of having Grealish play on the same side as him, but his 6.1 PPS means that he's most likely free in your league. So this is purely a fixture play. Grab him this gameweek but drop him the next.

Carlos Alcaraz (M, Everton) 

Although Everton lost Ndiaye to AFCON and KDH to an injury over the last few gameweeks, Carlos Alcaraz has managed to fill the void well enough. Over the last 4 gameweeks, Alcaraz has had a few see-saw like scores. 11.25 FPts with an assist and yellow card against Bournemouth, 2.75 FPts against Nottingham Forest despite a 3-0 win for the Toffees, 12.5 ghost points in a sub appearance against Chelsea, and most recently a 3.5 FPts outing against a stern Arsenal defence. These scores won't really fill you with tonnes of confidence but it's really the fact that he's playing against Burnley, a team that has conceded the 2nd most goals (12) over the last 6 gameweeks. Don't overthink this one and just find a starting spot for him in your roster.

Keane Lewis-Potter (M, Brentford)

According to our Fixture Difficulty Tracker, Brentford midfielders have the 2nd best rated fixture of all midfielders in Gameweek 18. It's a shame we didn't start him in our XI in Gameweek 17 against Wolves, as the English MID put up a whopping 30 FPts. His haul included 2 goals from 3 shots on target, along with a few other notches in some default scoring categories like key passes, interceptions and successful dribbles. Although Bournemouth seem like a tough fixture on paper, the Cherries have actually had a horrid run of form over their last 8-10 gameweeks. They've actually conceded the most goals (18) during their last 8 games. So if you need a MID-4, KLP could fit in nicely as a replacement for one of your studs who could be benched during this congested fixture period.

Lewis Cook (M, Bournemouth)

The Chef is back in the kitchen and cooking again, after his short suspension. Cook is back to his ghosting ways, and the good kind of ghosting. In his last couple of starts, he scored 8.25 ghost points as a defensive midfielder and 19 ghost points as a right-back. So it seems like regardless of where he plays, he'll do a great job as a MID-4 in your roster. With Tyler Adams out for the foreseeable future, Lewis Cook should be a nailed starter in the Cherries starting XI. Even though it's a ridiculously small sample size, Lewis Cook actually has one of the best PPS at his club! He's one of the more reliable Fantrax assets you could have in your squad.

Eddie Nketiah (F, Crystal Palace)

Nketiah is yet another asset who has benefitted from a combination of AFCON departures and injuries. The ex-Gunner is facing Tottenham in one of the less-important London derbies. Nketiah has only recently started getting starts, with 2 in his last 3 appearances, with his 2nd goal of the season coming during his 1st start vs Fulham. The English FWD has not played many games this season, but still scores around 10.6 gPP90, which is actually the best of all his teammates. His record of scoring against London teams is also great in the Premier League, having scored most of his goals against Chelsea (5), West Ham (5) and Fulham (4). So he's definitely worth a gamble if you can afford one.

Thierno Barry (F, Everton) 

Most managers are probably not a fan of Barry as a reliable FWD option for their roster, but when you're facing Burnley, one of the worst teams in the league, then you really should punt on possible points. His most recent scores of 0.5 FPts vs Chelsea and 1.5 FPts vs Arsenal should be taken with a grain of salt, as those are some of the toughest teams in the leagues to play against. What you really should take notice of is his 10 FPts vs Nottingham Forest and 10 FPts vs Bournemouth. So really we're expecting a low-end double digit score at the least, but hopefully one that's closer to 20 FPts with a goal or an assist. Feel free to ditch him after that.

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