Gameweek 30 Sleepers XI: Draft EPL

Our Gameweek 30 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 30 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'd say 87.75 FPts is a respectable score for Gameweek 29, especially when you consider the quick turnaround for players and possible doubts over minutes and starts. That being said, all 11 of our picks started their respective games! So why did we still fall short of the 100 mark? Well only 2 players scored double digits and we had zero attacking returns. In net, Lammens conceded 2 goals but still managed 6 FPts. In defence, Alex Jimenez and Sepp van den Berg did most of the heavy lifting with their scores of 15.75 FPts score (clean sheet) and 14.75 FPTs respectively, whilst Mykolenko only managed 9.5 FPts despite keeping a clean sheet as well. Our other 2 defenders conceded a goal each with Canvot getting 6.75 FPts but strangely Struijk only scoring 3.5 FPts. In our 3-man midfield, everyone got their single clean sheet point. Jensen landed on 8.25 FPts (yellow card), McNeil only put up 7.5 FPts against Burnley and in-form asset Alex Scott dropped 9 FPts. Finally, our 2 forwards had fairly polar opposite scores. Chukwueze got 6.25 FPts whilst Mane only got 0.5 FPts after playing just 69 minutes, the earliest sub of all our picks. So definitely a lesson learnt was in quick-turn-around gameweeks, it's probably safer to have a plethora of defenders to pick from. Alas, with the FA Cup and Champions League occurring before Gameweek 30, we probably need to maintain a similar approach. So keep reading to see who we go with.

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 30. 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.

Melker Ellborg (G, Sunderland)

One of the main reasons for Sunderland's success in the league this season has been their goalkeeper, Robin Roefs. He is currently the highest scoring GK in the game and his 10.2 PPS is the best amongst those with 5 or more starts. Unfortunately Roefs injured his hamstring against Bournemouth and is now facing a short spell on the sidelines. So naturally you'd think his immediate replacement, Ellborg, would be a no-brainer pick for your roster as well. In the Swede's debut game, he scored 14.5 FPts in an away game at Elland Road, one of the toughest away venues this season. He made 4 saves, had 2 clearances and kept a clean sheet. Sunderland host Brighton next, a team who has only just started improving their horrid form in the league, but have still only managed 5 goals in their last 6 games, which is the 2nd lowest in the league during that period.

Ethan Ampadu (D, Leeds) 

As it stands, Pascal Struijk is the best scoring Leeds defender in the game, at least from a total points perspective. When we dig a bit deeper into the numbers, James Justin stands out with his 10.7 PPS. So why are we suggesting Ampadu? His 6.4 PPS is on the lower end of the Leeds defensive options. The thing is though, he's very much an out-of-position option with more routes to points, which probably explains why he has one of the higher ceilings (14.2 FPts) amongst his defensive teammates. He's also the long throw taker for Leeds, which we've seen can be an unexpected route for random key passes and assists. Over the past 4 games, Ampadu has been the best scoring option from their backline, averaging just under 10 PPS, registering the most key passes (5), accurate crosses (3), interceptions (5) and aerials (8). He also got an assist during that time! A solid DEF-4/5 option for any roster.

Jackson Tchatchoua (D, Wolves) 

Did you know that Tchatchoua is actually the fastest player in the league? It seems as though Rob Edwards has finally figured out a way to get the best out of the Belgian wingback as well. Wolves and Tchatchoua have not had a great season, especially the latter when you look at his scores this season. Before February, he only scored 10+ once, which included a clean sheet as well. However, it's his last 3 games that have really caught the eye. 10 FPts (1 goal conceded) vs Crystal Palace, 11.5 FPts (clean sheet) against Aston Villa and most recently, their win 2-1 win against the Champions, where he got an assist, his first attacking return of the season. Wolves are essentially relegated from the league but Edwards and his team are giving their remaining fixtures a proper go. Given this game is playing on the Monday, this makes Tchatchoua a great backup option if one of your other studs doesn't start earlier in the gameweek.

Kenny Tete (D, Fulham)

For the longest while, I've been trying to find a reliable Fulham defender, especially given their recent fixtures against Sunderland, Spurs and West Ham. Not to mention their upcoming ones against Forest and Burnley. You'd think there'd be at least 1 clean sheet over the next 2 games for the Cottagers. However, although declared fit, Andersen has still not appeared for their last 2 games and Bassey's goose egg of a score in Gameweek 29 has really put me off from going there again despite scoring 6.75 and 20 FPts in the 2 games before that. The other issue is that the leftback spot has been a bit of a minefield with Sessegnon and Robinson constantly being rotated. So that leaves us with Kenny Tete. Since returning to the starting XI, he's been averaging just under 7 gPPS, which makes him an ideal DEF-4/5 option for your roster. Last time he played Forest, he dropped 13.75 FPts with a clean sheet. Can he do so again against a team that haven't won any of their last 4 home games? Maybe.

Kristoffer Ajer (D, Brentford)

According to our Fixture Difficulty Tracker, Brentford defenders have the best rated fixture in Gameweek 30, and it should come as no surprise as they host bottom of the league Wolves. Strangely enough, Wolves have actually been the 4th best team in the league over the last 4 gameweeks but if you look at their away form, they haven't won any of their last 8 away games. In fact, Wolves have only scored 1 goal in their last 4 away games, so there's a great chance of a Brentford clean sheet. The real concern though, is who is starting in the backline for the Bees. The good news for Ajer is that both Hickey and Henry are out injured for the foreseeable future and so Ajer should take up the leftback spot, which is a blessing for his Fantrax output. Ajer has predominantly played as a CB this season but in the few games that he has played as a LB, he registered his highest scores of the season: 17 FPts with a clean sheet against West Ham and 15.75 FPts with an assist and 2 goals conceded against Liverpool. A great pick as your DEF-3 this gameweek.

Alejandro Garnacho (M, Chelsea)

Garnacho has not been a very fun asset to own this season. So I'd understand if you were skeptical while reading this, but given he's a bit of a purple patch of a player, there's a chance that we might be timing the pickup at the right time again. A couple of times this season, across all competitions, we saw Garnacho get 2 goals and 2 assists across 4 games and then around the winter period, we saw the Argentinian score 4 goals with an assist across 6 games. Now in the last 3 games, Garnacho has started twice and played 90 minutes, getting a goal and an assist. In fact in the game where he got the assist, he registered a season high of 6 key passes against Villa and also put up his 2nd highest score of the season. Given the inconsistency and disciplinary issues of other wingers like Pedro Neto, there's a chance that Garnacho could get another run out against Newcastle at the Bridge. And you'll definitely want an attacking asset from Chelsea given they've been one of the most attacking teams in the league since Rosenior took over (19 goals scores in 8 games).

Douglas Luiz (M, Aston Villa)

It's actually crazy to see that Douglas Luiz's ownership has been dropping in the game. Since moving from Forest to Villa, he's gone from averaging just over 4 PPS to just under 10 PPS, and that's with only 1 attacking return (1 goal) since his return to Emery's squad. During this 6 game spell, he's scored the most points amongst Villa assets, topping categories like key passes (12) and corner kicks taken (20 of 38). At one point, Aston Villa were part of the title race discussion, but over the last 6 games, they've only won once and scored 4 goals, the fewest in the division. Yet somehow they're still tied for 3rd place in the league but could run the risk of dropping to 6th if results don't go their way. Villa won't want to risk having all of their European hopes in the Europa League, so expect them to keep fighting in the league, especially this weekend when they play Man Utd, a team that is tied on the same number of points.

Joelinton (M, Newcastle)

It's a well known fact that when Bruno G is unavailable for the Magpies, they don't tend to do well. They've only won once in the 6 games that the Brazilian has missed since signing, with that win coming in Gameweek 29 against Manchester United. It's very difficult to see Newcastle getting past Barcelona in the Round-of-16 tie, and so Newcastle's only hope of getting back into Europe, will be to climb up the Premier League table and hope that the English coefficients fall in their favour. One player who could step up in Bruno's absence is his fellow countryman Joelinton. To be honest, Joelinton's first half of the season isn't very impressive, with only 1 double digit score in 12 starts. However since the turn of the year, he's been averaging just over 13.5 PPS in games where he's played nearly 90 minutes. He could be a real gem of a MID-3/4 pick ROS.

Anthony Elanga (F, Newcastle)

If you're like me and are struggling for forwards in one of your leagues, then you might want to consider Elanga. This is proper scraping of the barrel stuff but his recent numbers, as sad as it sounds, have actually been some of his highest scores all season. If you take out the goose-egg score against Man City, let's face it you'd never be starting him in that game anyway, his recent scores have been quite promising from a PP90 perspective, with scores of 9, 5.75, 7.5 and 8 FPts, with no attacking returns. This is around 10.5 PP90. During this period, Elanga racked up the 2nd most key passes (7) and most accurate crosses (3). Given their 2nd leg against Barcelona is next week, we'd expect some rotation to their starting XI, which could mean another start against Chelsea.

Beto (F, Everton)

From Gameweek 10 to Gameweek 27, Barry had started all but one game for the Toffees in the Premier League. However, the new boy seems to have lost his spot as it's been the first time since Gameweek 8 that Beto has started back to back games under Moyes. In the last 2 games, Beto has returned 20.5 FPts (1 goal) against Newcastle and 7.5 FPts (no attacking returns) against Burnley. It won't surprise me if Moyes decides to flip the script again though. However, if Beto was to get the nod again, then I'd considering rolling him out. Playing at the Emirates against Arsenal is definitely one of the hardest matchups in the league, but over the past 4 gameweeks, Everton have been the 2nd best away team in the league, not losing any of their games. As a matter of fact, they've only lost 1 of their last 8 away matches. They'll probably need Beto's physicality against Gabriel and co. as well.

Mathys Tel (F, Spurs) 

Spurs are in serious trouble at the moment, sitting only 1 point outside the relegation zone. Tudor's appointment has probably been one of the worst decisions the club has made in recent years, but they need to try and forget what has happened so far and focus on getting as many points as possible. As obvious as it sounds, goals win games and if they're to find any joy in their remaining fixtures, there's a chance that Tel could play a massive role. In their 3-1 loss to Palace, Tel put up his 2nd highest score of the season (16 FPts), but more impressively, he created 4 chances, the most he's made in any game this season. He also registered his 2nd most shots (3) in a game, as well as his 2nd most successful dribbles (4). Liverpool up next isn't the best of fixtures either, but the Reds have shown how susceptible they are at the back, and without Alisson in net, we could genuinely see Tudor finally get his first league points for the season.

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