Gameweek 20 Sleepers XI: Draft EPL

Our Gameweek 20 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 20 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 19 went a lot better than we expected. Ending 2025 and walking into 2026 with a 98 FPts score is something we'll definitely hold our heads high for. We actually managed to get 11 starters out, during such a rotation heavy period of the season too. Bad news first though. Up front, one of our forwards, Igor Jesus, only lasted 61 minutes and was one of the reasons we didn't hit the 100 FPts mark, as he ended up with a -2 FPts score. In our 5-man midfield, we had poor scores from Ayari (3.5 FPts), Ugarte (4.5 FPts) and Emile Smith Rowe (7.75 FPts with a yellow card). In our backline, Milenkovic only scored 6.25 FPts after conceding 2 goals and Lammens conceded 1 goal against Wolves to end up with 6 FPts. Time to highlight our stars. 2 of our 3 defenders got double digit scores, with Wesley Fofana scoring 17 ghost points (15 FPts after conceding twice) while Luke Shaw scored 10 ghost points (1 goal conceded). Two of our midfielders also smashed out great scores, with Janelt scoring 11.5 ghosts and Joelinton doing majority of the heavy lifting with his 23.75 FPts haul, which included a goal and a yellow card against Burnley. Finally, our 2nd FWD, Omari Hutchinson, continued his good form with 11.75 ghost points. So all in all a very tidy score and a standard we will aim to maintain for the remainder of the season. So bring on Gameweek 20!

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 20. 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.

Bart Verbruggen (G, Brighton)

It's weird that we're at Gameweek 20 and Brighton haven't played Burnley yet this season. Then again it was weird to only have one fixture on Boxing Day. Although Verbruggen only has 4 clean sheets to his name, it feels as though he's been doing better than that. The Dutch shot-stopper has already made the 4th most saves (56) in the league so far and has a 67.5% save success rate, which is better than the likes of a highly-owned Alisson. Burnley are still struggling to score on a consistent basis and it's clear that they're a good target for a clean sheet, as the Clarets have only scored 8 goals over their past 10 games which is the 2nd lowest of all clubs during that period. So if you're looking to twist on your GK position, consider Bart.

Jaka Bijol (D, Leeds Utd)

If you've been reading the past few articles we've been posting, then you'd have caught a whiff of the idea to start rostering Leeds defenders. Over the past 6 gameweeks, Leeds have been the 5th best team in the league. They've not lost a single game during that run, despite facing the likes of Chelsea, Liverpool (twice), Crystal Palace and Sunderland. They only conceded 7 goals during that spell too. Only 6 other clubs have conceded fewer goals and that includes the likes of Arsenal and Man City. There was some doubt over whether the loss of Rodon would have impacted their form, but Leeds have maintained their impressive run. One man who has been central to this change, and quite literally, is Bijol. He's been at the heart of their new 3 centre-back formation and been averaging 12 PPS to be exact. He even got a goal and an assist during that run. Up next are the Red Devils, who only managed to score 1 goal against the worst team in the league, so I'd happily roll out a Leeds asset as my DEF-3/4 against them.

Jake O'Brien (D, Everton) 

After keeping 2 clean sheets in their first 11 games of the season, Everton have now kept 5 clean sheets over their last 8 games. O'Brien has helped the Toffees earn 7 of these shutouts and his flexibility of being able to play as either a fullback or centre-back, like he did during Gameweek 19, has shown that he's a set and forget asset that should be rostered in most leagues. He had the opportunity to partner Tarkowski in Gameweek 19, due to a unforeseen injury that Keane seemed to have picked up, and one that could possibly keep him out this weekend as well as he's a bit touch-and-go according to Moyes. Although O'Brien's 8.2 PPS isn't the best, in the last 5 games they've kept clean sheets, O'Brien has been averaging just under 15 PPS. They host Brentford next, who have only scored 7 goals in their last 8 away games, so there's a genuine chance of another haul for Jake and his teammates.

Joel Veltman (D, Brighton)

Hey look a double-up on the Brighton defence! This shouldn't surprise you, and its also probably a strategy that you should consider, especially against teams that are struggling to score goals and ones that are looking doomed for the relegation zone. The only issue with Veltman is that he hasn't been starting regularly for the Seagulls. Gameweek 19 was his 1st start since Gameweek 6 against Chelsea, when he was a regular starter. His last couple of appearances have been very promising though. His half-time sub appearance against Sunderland saw him score 11 ghost points, which included a couple of key passes, successful dribbles and tackles won. Whereas in his start against West Ham, he managed to score a goal and end up on 19.25 FPts, despite conceding 2 goals. So if he does manage to get a start against Burnley, find a way to start him as your DEF-3/4.

Lucas Pires (D, Burnley)

A Burnley asset? A defender as well? Yup, you're reading this right. There is a method to the madness though. The thing is, we love a defender that's on set pieces, especially corners. Over the past 3 games, Lucas has started all 3 games and he's taken 7 of their12 corners. During that time, he's been averaging just under 9 PPS. Obviously this isn't a sustainable strategy, but given how Jekyll & Hyde Brighton can be at times, it's hard to ignore an asset that registered 4 key passes and scored 8.75 FPts after conceding 3 goals in Gameweek 19. If players like Minteh, who came off with an injury during Gameweek 19, are potentially missing for Brighton, this could be great news for Burnley. The Clarets badly need a win themselves, as the gap between the drop zone and Premier League safety is getting larger by the week. A potential DEF-4/5 punt.

Diego Gomez (M, Brighton)

Despite the return of the talismanic Mitoma, and heavy rotation that Hürzeler keeps implementing, Gomez still seems to be a regular starter for Brighton. He's started 9 of their last 10 games, only missing out against Sunderland, where he didn't even end up making an appearance. Out of all Brighton players that are currently at the club, Gomez' 9 PPS is actually the 4th best of all players, whilst his ceiling of 19.7 FPts is the 3rd best of all Seagull outfielders. We've already seen the Paraguayan's ability to score 4 goals in a game, despite it being a cup fixture against Barnsley, but Burnley aren't that much better. So I'd definitely find a way to start Gomez as your MID-3/4 if you can manage it.

Dwight McNeil (M, Everton) 

I can't believe it took 17 Gameweeks for McNeil to finally get a consistent run of games in the Everton XI. It might help that Ndiaye is away at AFCON and Grealish has been unwell over the past few games, but the highly drafted English MID has taken his opportunity with both hands. We'll forgive him for a poor showing against Arsenal in Gameweek 17, but against Burnley and Nottingham Forest, we finally got a taste of what we were hoping for all season. He might not be the MID-1/2 that people would have been seeking, but 6.75 FPts (no attacking returns) against the Clarets and his first assist of the season, along with 12.5 FPts against the Tricky Trees is more of what we're used to. He's even had the opportunity to share some of the set pieces with James Garner. They host Brentford next, a team whose away form has been a stark contrast to their home form. So we're expecting some goals from the Toffees.

Emile Smith Rowe (M, Fulham)

Up until Gameweek 19 had played out, Smith Rowe had been averaging 8.3 PPS. He's been a lock in the Fulham starting XI since Gameweek 14, and managed to score 2 goals during that run. You could say that he was a bit unlucky not to get an attacking return against Crystal Palace in Gameweek 19 with an xG of 0.44 and xA of 0.16, but his ghost points were very promising. He scored just under 10 ghosts, racking up 3 key passes, an accurate cross and also attempted 3 shots. Fulham seem to be coping quite well without their AFCON stars, seeing as they've been the 4th best team in the league over the past 4 gameweeks. So despite Liverpool being a tough fixture on paper, the Reds could easily concede to the West London outfit. So if you need a MID-4 this weekend, Smith Rowe is a great option.

Simon Adingra (M, Sunderland)

It might seem strange that I'm suggesting an asset that just scored 2 FPts (including a yellow card) in Gameweek 19, but we need to appreciate the fact that it was against Man City, Arsenal's closest rivals for the title. So let's focus on what happened in Gameweek 18 and the fact that being shunned by his nation for AFCON, could be the fire he needs to kickstart his campaign. Against a newly resolute Leeds defence, Adingra managed to put up his highest score of the season of 19.25 FPts. This also included his first goal for Sunderland in the league. In the last 2 games, he's attempted 2 shots each, as well as notch some stats in categories such as aerials won, successful dribbles and tackles won. Up next are Spurs, a team with the 18th best home form in the league over the past 8 home games for all clubs. So there's a genuine chance that Sunderland get a positive result in the nation's capital this weekend and one that Adingra could play a key role in.

Callum Wilson (F, West Ham)

This weekend is one of those classic 6-pointer affairs when 18th placed West Ham take on bottom of the league Wolves. West Ham are still 4 points from safety, and arguably more as Leeds have started to finally distance themselves from the relegation zone. So this is basically a must-win matchup for the Hammers. So Nuno may have to rely on the likes of Callum Wilson and co. to do him a solid and score a few goals against Wolves. Prior to Wilson's start and assist against Brighton, his 8.0 PPS has been West Ham's 4th best output this season, which is a bit sad given the fact that Areola is actually scoring better. That being said, I'd still roll out Wilson if he starts, especially against a team that has already conceded 40 goals this season. Wolves have also conceded the most goals (12) over the past 6 gameweeks, I'd be punting on attacking players from West Ham this weekend.

Mateus Mane (F, Wolves) 

According to our Fixture Difficulty Tracker, Wolves FWDs have the 2nd best rated fixture this weekend out of all forwards in the league, only behind the likes of Arsenal. I didn't think it would be possible to suggest a Wolves asset for the rest of the season, but when they're facing similar level opposition like West Ham, it's hard not to. Over the last 4 games, West Ham sit 19th in the form table having lost 3 games and conceded 9 goals, which is the 2nd most and only better than the likes of Bournemouth (11). One of the positives that has emerged since Rob Edwards took over at Wolves, has been the introduction of Mateus Mane. The Portuguese teenager started the last 2 games and played 90 minutes in each, scoring 4.5 FPts vs Liverpool and 6.25 FPts vs Man Utd. Over these 2 games, Mane has attempted the most shots (5) and had 3 of them on target. So if Wolves are to get anything from this weekend's matchup, Mane could be involved.

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