Gameweek 3 Sleepers XI: Draft EPL

Our Gameweek 3 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 3 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.

If there was one thing that we learnt about last season, it was that going big at the back won you your gameweek, more often than not. So that was the strategy we went with for Gameweek 2, especially when the potential of the attacking options were still fairly unknown to us fantasy managers. So let's start with the 5 defenders. After an absolute haul in Gameweek 1, Aina was massively disappointing, scoring only 2 FPts against Liverpool after conceding 2 goals and receiving a yellow card. Ajer continued to be an easy source of fantasy points (11.75 FPts, 1 goal conceded &1 yellow card), while Castagne's 8 FPts was probably very lucky, given he got subbed off with a clean sheet before Fulham conceded. Giles was quite similar as well, only scoring 9.25 FPts with his clean sheet against Coventry. Dara O'Shea finally reverted to the norm by having a terrible score of -6.75 FPts, which was probably expected as he conceded 5 goals against Man Utd. In midfield we had the likes of Janelt (7.25 FPts, 1 yellow card), King (4 FPts) and Mcatee (5 FPts), all who contributed very little on their own. We also had 2 forwards, with the Toffees' only recognised striker Barry scoring 8.5 Fpts in 69 minutes, while Emersonn scored 1.75 FPts in 45 minutes, who was subbed early due to injury. Finally, we saved the best for last. Tzolakis topped the scoring chart with 15 FPts, making 3 saves and keeping a clean sheet. He might be the real deal and a season-long-hold moving forward. All in all, 65.75 FPts wasn't the best start to this series, but it could have been a lot worse, especially with no attacking returns across the team. Let's see if we can do better in Gameweek 3!

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 3. 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.

Zion Suzuki (G, Aston Villa)

Hull have had a brilliant start to their season, sitting comfortably 3rd in the table amongst the big boys in the Premier League. They'll surely want to extend their win streak at the MKM Stadium against a struggling Aston Villa side, who have yet to score a goal this season themselves. This could mean that Suzuki could be a busy boy between the sticks. After shipping 4 goals in Gameweek 1 to Brighton, and then only conceding once against the Champions Arsenal, Villa are showing signs of steadying the ship again. So this could be a potential banana peel for the Tigers, as well as a great opportunity for the Villans to get their first points of the season, meaning Suzuki could play a vital role this weekend.

Abdukodir Khusanov (D, Man City)

With the change from Pep to Maresca, oddly enough, Man City look better defensively, despite not keeping a clean sheet for the season. It's probably because they're playing at least 4 or 5 CBs in their weekly setup. At some point, they're going to shut a team out, and it could very well be this weekend. Coventry are another team in the league that have failed to score a goal this season, and it should probably not shock you, as they've registered the 3rd fewest for big chances (2) and for attempts at goal (15). We should caveat that they did play against Arsenal at the Emirates though, so maybe we're being a bit harsh. That being said, Man City still have the best odds for a clean sheet this weekend, and if you couple that with a floor or around 6 FPts, Khusanov is a great DEF-4 option this weekend.

Antonio Silva (D, Bournemouth)

After a poor start to this season as a Fantrax asset, scoring 5.75 ghost points against Man City, the new face in the Cherries backline finally had a promising showing in Gameweek 2 with a 8.5 FPts score. Interestingly enough, he's the only Bournemouth defender to not have registered a key pass yet, but he does lead them in clearances (17) and blocked shots (2). Up next is a Newcastle team that have surprised many Fantrax managers and football fans with their start to this season, especially under new management and with the core of their team having been sold during the transfer market. However, one could argue that Bournemouth's defence is better than Liverpool's, and is definitely better than Spurs'. So this might not be a walk in the park for the Magpies. If you need a DEF-5, Silva is a decent punt

Joachim Andersen (D, Fulham)

After serving his suspension, which started from the back-end of last season, the Dane was back in the heart of the Cottagers' defence, as his presence was noticeably missed in their opening game of the season against Chelsea. Despite not keeping the clean sheet against Sunderland in Gameweek 2, Andersen still managed to score 7.75 FPts after conceding once and receiving a yellow card. His ghost points mainly came from 5 aerials and 7 clearances, which actually puts him top amongst all Fulham DEFs in those categories, even though he's only played 1 game so far. Arbeloa has already criticized his players in the recent pressers, and is demanding a reaction this weekend. The Eagles still look a bit out of sorts in their attack and are missing one of their key talismen in Sarr, so expect another tidy score from Andersen.

Jaydee Canvot (D, Crystal Palace)

Although all the attention for Crystal Palace defenders has been on new boy Anan Khalaili, and rightly so, Canvot has actually been scoring decently from a ghost point perspective as well. The French CB has now been able to secure a starting spot, mainly due to Lacroix's absence, and has been scoring around 6.5 gPPS. It feels a bit crazy to suggest a Palace defender, especially after they just conceded 4 goals to Man City, but they're facing Fulham this weekend. I quite fancy their chances to keep a clean sheet against an attack that is still learning to play together in a fluid manner, especially when the main components of their attack are new transfers to the club.

John Egan (D, Hull)

Were you aware that Egan is currently the 10th best scoring defender in the game? He even has the most clearances of all players in the game, standing tall with 27 of them. Hull have truly surprised the league with the start of their campaign and we don't think it's a fluke either. Their 3-ATB system have actually looked quite solid, despite conceding the most crosses in the league. They've kept 2 clean sheets against the likes of Manchester United and Coventry City, and are facing an Aston Villa team who have yet to score a goal this season. Emery's new-look Villans might still need time to find their stride, especially with Nico Jackson up-top, a striker that's well known for being quite inaccurate with his attempts at goal. Even if Hull don't keep a clean sheet, I can't see Villa scoring too many goals. Egan scores enough ghost points to still warrant a start as your DEF-4/5.

Daichi Kamada (M, Crystal Palace)

If you need a MID-4/5 asset for this weekend, especially if you own studs like Kudus, Manzambi and Grealish, then you might have to rely on some punts like Kamada. This is purely a match-up play against a Fulham team that have conceded 8 big chances over 2 games, the 3rd most in the league so far. Kamada doesn't usually get many goals or assists, but he is ticking along nicely with some dependable ghost points. He scored 9 ghosts against Everton on the opening weekend, and then 6.75 ghosts against Man City in their 4-1 loss. He does seem like an all-action midfielder too, racking up points in almost every default scoring category except blocked shots, which makes him a great support option for your roster.

Malick Yalcouye (M, Brighton)

Even though he looks like he's 50 years old, the actual 20-year old Mali international got his first start against Chelsea in a very exciting 4-3 loss, and he absolutely smashed it from a Fantrax perspective. Yalcouye dropped a monster score of 20.5 FPts which included 2 shots on target, 1 key pass, 2 clearances and 4 successful dribbles, not to mention a wonder-goal against World Cup winning Emi Martinez. Brighton have been absolutely ravaged by injuries this season, which could see Yalcouye keep his starting spot for the foreseeable future. He's up against Leeds next, which could prove fruitful as Leeds could and should have easily been a few goals down against the Bees. It was thanks to Farke's tactical tweak during the game which saved their blushes.

Ross Barkley (M, Aston Villa)

According to our Fixture Difficulty Tracker, Aston Villa midfielders have the best rated fixture of all midfielders in Gameweek 3. It should come as no surprise as they're facing a promoted team, which despite their success over the first 2 games of the season, have still conceded the 4th most shots in the league (32) and the most crosses from both flanks (Left Flank: 40 & Right Flank: 33). Even though the Aston Villa assets have had a terrible start to the season from a Fantrax perspective, you might be able to still stream the top scoring one from the lot. Rossy Barks has been averaging just under 7 PPS and has been their most creative outlet with 4 key passes. So if Villa are to finally break the dry spell, Barkley might play a part.

Sasa Lukic (M, Ipswich)

One of the most attractive aspects of owning Sasa Lukic during his time at Fulham was the fact that he was once their chief set piece taker, particularly from corners. So there was always a concern about his potential output as an asset when he switched allegiances to newly promoted Ipswich. However, lo and behold, of the 7 corners that the Tractor Boys have been awarded, Lukic has taken nearly half of them. He's also been averaging just under 8 PPS, having already notched an attacking return for the season as well, registering an assist versus Sunderland in Gameweek 1. Liverpool have conceded 8 big chances for the season already and do not look like they can keep a clean sheet anytime soon, so there's some upside with this punt as your MID-4/5.

Abdul Fatawu (F, Ipswich)

I cannot believe that Fatawu is free in some leagues as I'm writing this. It's absolutely criminal that this stud isn't nearly 100% rostered as he's shown in the past that he's an absolute ghost machine. Sure he might get dispossessed a lot, but it's because he's constantly trying to take on his opponents and create as many chances as possible. He's Ipswich's top creator at the moment with 5 key passes, and with scores of 10.5 FPts vs Sunderland in 65 minutes and 14.25 FPts (1 assist and a yellow card!) in 82 minutes against Man Utd, you could do a lot worse with him as your FWD-2/3 ROS. Liverpool's fullbacks, regardless of who starts, are going to have a very tough time against this dribbly boy.

For all the latest from The Draft Society, follow @Draft_Society on Twitter!

And for more in-depth and exclusive resources, become a member of The Inner Circle.