Gameweek 24 Sleepers XI: Draft EPL

Our Gameweek 24 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 24 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.

After an underwhelming Gameweek 22, we were back to some lofty heights with our 96.25 FPts score in Gameweek 23, which is pretty surprising given we had one player who didn't start their game and another who ended with a negative score. So we might as well get the bad bits out the way first. In net, it was always a risk going with the Wolves shot-stopper, but Jose Sa managed only 2.25 FPts (2 goals conceded) against a Man City team that didn't start Haaland. In defence, Wesley Fofana scored 5 FPts (1 goal conceded) in 16 minutes, Maguire mustered 4.25 FPts (2 goals conceded) against Arsenal, and Wan-Bissaka only put up 3.75 FPts (1 goal conceded) against a Sunderland team that got battered. In midfield, Gallagher continued his steady-eddy production with another underwhelming score of 7.5 FPts whilst Janelt got 6 FPts, but the worst of the MID lot came from McNeil, who only scored 2 FPts in 45 minutes, after being subbed off at halftime. Only 1 player disappointed us more and that was Kroupi, scoring -1.75 FPts (1 yellow card). So who actually scored well for us? James Justin smashed out 22 FPts (1 goal scored, 1 goal conceded), Barry maintained his great form with 18 FPts (1 goal scored) and finally Odobert top scoring for us with 26.75 FPts (1 assist). We definitely fell on the right side of variance this gameweek, so it could have easily been a lot worse. Let's still try to beat it this weekend though, so keep reading to see our picks for Gameweek 24!

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 24. 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.

Martin Dubravka (G, Burnley)

After a bit of a lull during this season, Dubravka has reemerged as a hot prospect between the sticks again. In his past 3 games, despite conceding in every match, he's put up scores of 13.25, 19.75 and 17.5 FPts. This puts him as the top performing keeper of all options in the game over that stretch, and by some distance too. The Slovakian shot-stopper has been averaging just under 17 PPS. Only Sanchez, Pickford, Sels and Martinez have had better save percentages than Dubravka, which was made up by the fact that he made 23 saves in these past 3 gameweeks, 9 more than Sanchez. This is surely unsustainable but given they're away to Sunderland, a team whose form has been night and day and are easily better at home, I'd happily risk playing Dubravka this weekend.

Benoit Badiashile (D, Chelsea) 

I can't believe I'm suggesting Badiashile as a pick for any roster this season, but the points don't lie. Although for the season so far, he's only started 5 games with a PPS of 4.2, we still think he could sneakily be a great pick for this weekend against the Hammers. Ideally we'd have suggested Fofana, but due to his track record with injuries this season and a full midweek game against Napoli in the Champions League, we suspect Liam Rosenior will rotate his team and save his stronger guns for the midweek semifinal tie against Arsenal. We've noticed it for a while but we will say it again, anyone that partners Chalobah in the heart of the Chelsea defence, is most likely going to score well. Case in point, Badiashile scored 10 ghost points against Crystal Palace and we're expecting something similar against West Ham on the weekend. Despite the Hammers winning back-to-back games for the first time since Gameweek 10, there's still a chance the Blues can keep a clean sheet, making Badiashile an even more enticing option as your DEF-3/4.

James Hill (D, Bournemouth) 

James hill seems to have now secured a starting spot alongside Senesi in the Cherries' defence after starting the last 5 games for them in a row. Even though he's only started 7 games this season, his 10 PPS is the 3rd best at the club, while his 9.6 gPPS is the 2nd best. So even if he was to concede a goal or 2, he's very likely to score double digits, which makes him an ideal DEF-3 for your roster. He even got his first attacking return in Gameweek 23 against Liverpool, helping the Cherries secure a dramatic win and helping them end their diabolical run of form in the league. As a matter of fact, Bournemouth have been the 4th best team in the league over the past 4 gameweeks, whilst Wolves have been the 11th best only scoring 4 goals, the 2nd lowest in the league after 20th-placed Crystal Palace. He's the perfect replacement for one of your inform assets like a Leeds DEF who is facing Arsenal this weekend.

Sepp van den Berg (D, Brentford)

Sepp van den Berg was a nailed option in the Bees defence from the start of the season until Gameweek 17. He then lost his spot due to a combination of injuries and Ajer outperforming him. During his run of starts, Sepp was averaging 7.7 PPS and 8.0 gPPS. He was a reliable and consistent DEF-3 for most rosters and so with the injury to Ajer, we're expecting Sepp to pick up right where he left off. In Gameweek 23, Sepp actually came on for Ajer and scored 12 ghost points in 52 minutes! This haul included 3 interceptions, 6 aerials, 4 clearances as well as a successful dribble and blocked shot. After a marvellous run of form from Gameweek 16 till Gameweek 21, the Bees just lost back-to-back games against Chelsea and Forest. So they'll be looking to end the string of losses this weekend against Aston Villa, a team who seems to be losing their talismans by the game, i.e. McGinn, Tielemans and most recently Watkins in the midweek fixture. So there's a chance that Brentford could keep their 4th clean sheet in 8 games.

Yerson Mosquera (D, Wolves)

Over the past 5 gameweeks, Wolves' have won 1 game, drawn 3 and lost against Man City, their most recent match. Although players like Mane have been taking all the plaudits, defenders like Mosquera have been quietly going under the radar, and rightly so as they didn't register a single clean sheet until this improvement of form. In these past 5 games, Mosquera has been averaging just over 10 gPPS and just under 12 PPS, including 2 clean sheets. He's also been 1st for tackles won (12) and clearances (30), as well as being 2nd for shots on target (3), and interceptions (7). Believe it or not, he actually attempted the most shots (5) in Gameweek 23 against Man City of all teams. So maybe there's a chance of returns from both attacking and defensive parts of his game this gameweek.

Joao Gomes (M, Wolves)

According to our Fixture Difficulty Tracker, Wolves MIDs have the 3rd best rated fixture this weekend. It seems strange to suggest any of their attacking assets, as at one of point of this campaign, we couldn't suggest any Wolves assets barring Hugo Bueno or Mateus Mane. However, since the latter has been starting upfront for the West Midlands club, Joao Gomes has seen an uptick in his points production by going from around 4.5 PPG to just under 9.5 PPG, basically double his scoring rate. His recent form as also been all ghost points, being 1st for key passes (7), tackles won (14), interceptions (10) and successful dribbles (10), which is pretty impressive given the lack of corner kicks as part of his arsenal. So if you're looking for a MID-4/5 this weekend, Joao Gomes is worth a punt.

Lewis Cook (M, Bournemouth)

After missing most of this season due to injury, Cook has now started the last 3 games for the Cherries, and that's also partly due to their other starters like Kluivert and Tavernier missing due to their own lengthy injuries. The "Chef", as we lovingly like to refer to him, has always been a reliable MID-4/5 for the past few seasons, a glue guy for when your studs are missing. For example, last season he started 32 games for Bournemouth and had a PPS of 8.4. Despite only starting 6 games this season, the English MID actually has the 3rd best PPS of 8.8 amongst all his teammates. In fact, in those 6 starts he had scores of 19, 8.25 (twice), 3.75 (yellow card included), 6 and 7.75 FPts. He's even taken over corners in Tavernier's absence, taking 6 of their last 9. Wolves up next won't be easy for Iraola and his men, but I'd still start Cook.

Yeremy Pino (M, Crystal Palace)

If you've been burnt by Pino in the past and you're just rolling your eyes seeing his name as a suggestion, I totally get it! However I do think he still offers some value as your MID-3/4, especially with studs like Grealish, Tavernier and Tielemans all being ruled out for the foreseeable future. But what if I told you he's been averaging just over 11 PPS over his last 3 starts, with only 1 attacking return in those games. In fact, he even scored 9 ghost points in 24 minutes in Crystal Palace's 1-3 loss against Chelsea in Gameweek 23, where he registered 3 key passes and 2 successful dribbles after being subbed on. The Eagles face Nottingham Forest next, who despite finding some form over the last 4 games, are still one of the favourites to be relegated. Glasner is without Mateta and Wharton this weekend, so Pino should be on most set pieces and will be relied upon to help them get some goals and hopefully a win before Palace get dragged into the survival scrap themselves.

Brian Brobbey (F, Sunderland)

After scoring his first 2 goals of the season as a super-sub, Brobbey then cemented his spot as their primary striker, starting every game for the Black Cats since Gameweek 16 in the the Tyne-Wear derby. The Dutch FWD now has 3 goals in his last 4 starts, and is facing Burnley next, which is one of the best fixtures to start any asset really. The good thing about this fixture is that Sunderland are at home, which is where they've won most of their points and games this season. So if you're looking for a FWD-2/3 this weekend, Brobbey is an easy choice as the Clarets have conceded 10 goals over the last 6 gameweeks, the 2nd most in the league during that spell.

Igor Jesus (F, Nottingham Forest)

Despite being the starting striker for Nottingham Forest since Gameweek 9, Jesus has only managed 4 attacking returns in that time, with his most recent goal coming in Gameweek 23 against Brentford. He then followed that up with a brace against Ferencvaros in the Europa League. So you could say that the Brazilian striker is on form because that brings his tally to 4 goals in 4 games across all competitions. The problem with Jesus in the league though is his minutes. He's been getting subbed off earlier than not, which isn't fantastic news for managers, especially given his 4.6 gPP90. So he's pretty much return dependant. On the plus side, he's facing the worst team in the league over the past 8 gameweeks, Crystal Palace. The Eagles have conceded 16 goals over that period. So if there's ever a time to punt on Jesus again, it's now.

Mateus Mane (F, Wolves) 

Since Mane became a regular starter, Wolves have only lost 2 games. The Portuguese teenager has been the 7th top scoring FWD in the game over this 6 game spell, and been Wolves' 3rd best asset, scoring just under 10 PPS. He also attempted 16 shots (7 on target), the most amongst his teammates, scoring 2 goals. He has also been 2nd best in accurate crosses (3) and successful dribbles (6). He has now started taking corners, attempting 3 of the 6 that Wolves had against Man City, a game in which he scored 10.5 ghost points. Managers probably lost patience quickly after he only got 2.75 FPts against Newcastle, but he has now put up double digit scores in 3 of his last 4 games. Up next are Bournemouth, a team that has conceded the same number of goals (43) as Wolves, so this could be a high scoring affair.

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