Our Gameweek 26 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 26 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 meeting our century goal during Double Gameweek 24, we had an unexpected flop in Double Gameweek 25. Our Sleepers XI only ended up scoring 71.25 FPts but we were definitely a bit unlucky this time around given the surprise omissions and injuries. So let's see what went wrong and what went right!
In net we went Bournemouth's Kepa who we expected to get a clean sheet given they were facing Southampton but him and his teammates ended up conceding 1 goal. Surprisingly, he still put up 8 FPts, which even included 3 saves. In defence we went with a back-3 formation. Richards and Zabarnyi both played 90 minutes each, with the former conceding 2 goals and scoring 7.25 FPts while the latter scored 6.5 FPts after only conceding once but here's where the bad luck begins. Our final defender, Sepp van den Berg, was substituted after 59 minutes with a 6.75 FPts score but narrowly missed out on additional points, after Brentford ended up keeping a clean sheet against West Ham. Further up the pitch, we went with a 5-man midfield that included 2 double gameweek assets as well, which isn't as exciting as it sounds. Bailey apparently picked up an injury which kept him out of both matches during Aston Villa's double gameweek whereas Kamara's gameweek only lasted 15 minutes after starting the first match and ultimately being subbed due to injury, leaving him and owners with a measly 0.5 FPts. Another example of our bad luck also shone through Enciso's 16 minute appearance. The Paraguayan was also taken off due to injury and only managed to score 3 FPts. Thankfully our remaining two MIDs, Brooks and Schade, did make it past the half-time break - believe it or not - but were subbed off in the 66th and 74th minute respectively. Although Brooks only scored 3 FPts, Schade was able to score the only goal from our XI and register 15.5 FPts in the process. For our FWDs we went with Onuachu and yet another double gameweek player in Asensio. Asensio came off the bench in his first game and started the second game, which ultimately led to the Spaniard scoring 8 FPts across 92 minutes. Whilst our final bright light came from Onuachu, who registered an assist for Southampton's only goal which produced 12.75 FPts in the end.
So as you can see, GW25 was VERY brutal and it was a reminder that sometimes you can do all the planning in the world but ultimately there's a lot of luck in this game. Hopefully luck will be on our side for GW26. So let's brush off and go again for that 100+ FPts mark.
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 or not they'll start in Gameweek 26. 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.
Alex Palmer (G, Ipswich)
Although Walton's injury seems to be a bit of a long layoff for Ipswich, McKenna decided to stick to his guns and continue to avoid using Muric as his first choice goalkeeper. After being with West Brom for nearly 10 seasons and continuously going out on loan, Alex Palmer finally had his Premier League debut in GW25 against Aston Villa and did very well. Not only did he earn a priceless point for the Tractor Boys, he managed to save 6 of the 7 shots he faced and score 13.5 FPts in the process. If Palmer keeps the starting spot, he should continue to rack up points as Ipswich are a team that tend to concede a lot of shots given the quality of teams they compete against in the league. Also with a name like Palmer, how could you not want him?
Jan Bednarek (D, Southampton)
It's quite crazy to think that Bednarek is still viable as a sleeper pick at this point of the season. Since Juric's first game in charge back in GW18, Bednarek has scored the 5th most fantasy points of all defenders in the league. Even though the Saints are one of the worst teams in the league, having conceded the second most goals (57) so far, Bednarek has been one of the best performing assets in the game. His 20.3 gPP90 is the best of all defenders in the league this season and he's showing no signs of slowing down given his 19% GACS. Given how bad Southampton are this season, they should continue to concede chances ROS, which means Bednarek's efforts to keep teams out should translate to more fantasy points. Grab him while you can!
Joachim Andersen (D, Fulham)
According to our fixture difficulty tracker, Fulham DEFs have the best rated fixture in GW26 and the timing seems perfect as well. Andersen's 6.4 PPS and 7.3 gPPS might seem fairly accurate if you owned him for majority of the season, specifically between GW6 and GW22, as the Danish DEF only managed to score double digit points when keeping a clean sheet. However it seems as though that has changed over his last 3 starts. Despite conceding a goal in each of Fulham's last 3 games, Andersen has been averaging just under 12 gPPS. This is perfect for a DEF-2/3, especially one with the potential upside of a goal. Definitely worth a punt.
Ben Davies (D, Spurs)
Over the last 6 games of the season, Ipswich are the worst team in the league having only scored 5 goals, which is only better than two teams, Wolves (4) and Leicester City (2). Spurs seem to finally be turning a corner in their season as well, after registering back-to-back wins in the league for the first time since GW5 and GW6, not to mention consecutive clean sheets for the first time all season. So there's a good chance that Spurs keep their 3rd clean sheet in a row, when they visit the Tractor Boys in GW26. Although Spence might be the best defensive asset from Spurs at the moment, Davies' 8.2 gPPS still warrants him as a DEF-3 pick and could be decent cover if you're facing the likes of a Danso or Vicario in your matchup.
James Garner (M, Everton)
If you're looking for a MID-3 for your roster, you might want to consider James Garner. After having recovered from his long-term injury, this has been the first time all season that Garner has started consecutive games and boy have Everton needed some creativity in their midfield. With McNeil being out for majority of the season, and possibly still out for the next couple of months, Garner should continue to have a nailed starting spot for the Toffees, but more importantly, domination of the set-piece duty. If you take away Alcaraz' behemoth score from his only start all season, Garner's 7.0 gPPS is actually the best of all the fit Everton MIDs. He could also be a great option this gameweek as he faces Man Utd, a team that has conceded the 3rd most goals (11) from set pieces this season.
Kamaldeen Sulemana (M, Southampton)
There are rarely great and dependable assets from teams that are usually at the bottom of the Premier League but there's a chance that we might have been blessed by one since Juric's appointment at Southampton in GW18. Since then, Sulemana has managed more starts and minutes than he has all season. He also got his first goal and assist for the Saints in their last 2 games. Not only is Sulemana an exciting player to watch IRL, his 10.3 gPP90 is actually the best of all his teammates, even better than Mateus Fernandes. If Sulemana manages to nail a starting spot, he could potentially be a great hidden gem ROS.
Sasa Lukic (M, Fulham)
Lukic has only scored double digits points on 4 occasions this season. Despite his first 2 hauls being fuelled by an assist in each of those games, the scores to really take note of are his last 2 starts where he got scores of 11.75 and 20.75 FPts, with no attacking returns at all! In fact he managed to get 6 key passes during GW25, the highest of all players that gameweek with only a single fixture. Another thing to note, which seems to have gone under the radar, is that Lukic has been taking corners for Fulham. Although Andreas Pereira is usually responsible for this set piece, you can't take corners if you don't play games! Lukic has now taken the 2nd most corners (31) for Fulham and is ahead of the likes of Reiss Nelson and Harry Wilson as well, two players who are missing in action due to injuries. So it seems Lukic should retain his corner-taking duties which makes him a very attractive MID-3 ROS.
Tyler Adams (M, Bournemouth)
Tyler Adams seems to have finally gotten past his injury issues and has now cemented his spot as a regular starter for the Cherries in the heart of their midfield. Ironically enough, it was injuries to Bournemouth's regular right backs that saw Cook shift from midfield to the fullback spot, which allowed for Adams to partner Ryan Christie in the centre of the pitch. Adams isn't typically known for his goals or assists but his 10 PPS is definitely a great option as a MID-4/5 for any Fantrax roster, especially in a season where consistent scoring MIDs have been very hard to come by.
Jack Harrison (M, Everton)
Jack Harrison hasn't had the best season so far. However it seems as though he is yet another player that has benefitted from David Moyes being in charge of Everton again. It might have been partially due to Ndiaye's injury versus Liverpool in GW24, but Harrison has somehow found himself starting games for the Toffees again and he's actually scoring ghost points. In his 2 appearances under Moyes, he scored 8 FPts as a sub in 65 minutes and then followed that up with a 6.5 FPts score in 90 minutes. He's even had a share of the set-pieces. If you're still a bit skeptical that Harrison can maintain this form, then he's probably the ideal MID-4/5 for your roster and nothing higher. Definitely an asset to monitor in coming weeks.
Adama Traore (F, Fulham)
Break out the baby oil everyone - Adama is back! It's a bit confusing as to why it took injuries to Reiss Nelson and Harry Wilson for Adama to finally get minutes again but I guess Marco Silva doesn't care about Fantasy points the way we do. After GW25, this was the first time since the opening 9 gameweeks of the season that Adama has managed consecutive starts in the league. Even though Fulham have signed Willian , who we expect to eventually get minutes, we still think Adama will keep the starting spot for now. Adama's 8.4 gPPS is the best of all the Cottager FWDs and 2nd best of all their players. He should easily be starting for any manager's roster as their FWD-2/3.
Beto (F, Everton)
Another player that benefitted from the new manager bounce at Everton is Beto. Since David Moyes has been in charge, Everton have been undefeated in the league with 4 wins and 1 draw. During that time, Beto only started three of those games because DCL came off injured with a hamstring strain versus Brighton. That being said, since Beto's first start under Moyes, he has scored 4 goals in 3 consecutive starts. Although this is a very small sample size and possibly a purple patch, you'll still want to roster the big man for the Toffees, as his 8.4 gPPS alone is worth a FWD-2 spot in your roster.
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