Gameweek 35 Sleepers XI: Draft EPL

Our Gameweek 35 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 35 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.

Don't ask me how, but without 6 clubs to choose from, we managed to smash our weekly goal, ending up with 124.25 FPts during blank Gameweek 34. Only 5 players scored less than 10 FPts, which is probably what did the trick. So who were these culprits? Well both our FWDs to start, combined for just over 10 FPts themselves, with Hutchinson only getting 7.25 FPts in 66 minutes, and Castellanos getting 3 FPts and a yellow card in 78 minutes. In midfield, McNeil got a respectable 7.25 FPts in 64 minutes. Our other 2 disappointments came from defence, with Walker-Peters getting 8.5 FPts and Jair Cunha, who was unlucky to not get a clean sheet after being subbed off in the 49th minute with 0.75 FPts due to injury. Now for the heavy hitters. Starting in net, Sels scored 15 FPts with a clean sheet. In our backline, Danso got 12.25 FPts with a yellow card whilst Hincapie smashed out 18.25 FPts, with both earning clean sheets. Not to mention the return of Maguire to the Red Devils setup, who hauled 22 FPts with an assist to his name. In midfield, McGinn continued his great form with a 11.5 ghost point score and the same could be said for Jensen, after he dropped 18.5 FPts with a goal against Man Utd on the Monday night fixture. All in all, a great effort by the team, and one that we hope to replicate for the remainder of the season. So stay tuned for our Gameweek 35 lot!

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 35. 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.

Karl Darlow (G, Leeds)

Of all teams in the league, over the last 3 matches, Karl Darlow has been the 2nd best scoring goal keeper, averaging 10.75 PPS to be exact. He's made the most saves in the league (12), tied with Roefs, and only kept 1 clean sheet in the process. Unlike Roefs, Darlow has actually been keeping shots he's faced out of his goal. If those numbers aren't good enough reasons to start Darlow this gameweek, then here's the best one: he's facing Burnley. The Clarets have now officially been relegated, they've fired their manager and despite looking like they've been more attacking of late, the Clarets have only scored 2 goals in their last 6 games, which is the fewest in the division over that period. This should be one of the easiest clean sheets possible.

Sven Botman (D, Newcastle) 

Over the last 12 matches or so, Newcastle have been showing some serious relegation form, so why am I even bothering to suggest one of their assets. Well, what if I was to tell you that despite losing 4 games in a row and conceding 2 goals in three of those games, Botman has still been averaging just under 12 gPPS. Yes, you read that right. He even got a yellow card in one of those fixtures! Majority of his points have actually come from aerials, blocked shots, interceptions and clearances. Sure, the Newcastle team have been performing horribly in general, but it's because of those situations that he is forced into making defensive plays, which are naturally translating into points. This should continue as the Magpies host Brighton, one of the most in-form teams in the league.

Abdukodir Khusanov (D, Man City) 

With the confirmed news of Ruben Dias still being ruled out of action due to injury, Khusanov should be a nailed starter in that Man City setup yet again. Typically we would advise against playing Man City defenders as they've never scored well in the past, but something seems to have changed recently. Khusanov has started the last 4 games in the heart of the Man City defence and has been averaging just under 14.5 PPS. He's helped to keep 2 clean sheets in 4 games, and Man City are going to need more of that impenetrable form if they are going to have any hopes of beating Arsenal to the title. Also, despite Everton only recently turning their home form around, you should note that Man City have been the stingiest away team over the last 4 away games of all teams, only conceding 1 goal in that time.

Joe Rodon (D, Leeds)

As typical of this article this season, doubling down on a defence has been a norm. It is always a risky strategy, but one that could pay off massively if everything goes right. However, this seems to be one of the least risky plays all season, especially when you're punting against one of the worst form teams in the league. Although Rodon missed the last few games due to injury, and with his teammates also performing well, he will be relied upon as Gudmundsson is now ruled out due to injury and Bijol seems a doubt as well. The Welsh defender did come on as a half-time sub in their last league game and scored 7.25 ghost points, which is quite promising. He's even got goal threat from set pieces, having scored both of his goals at home as well. Find a way to start him!

Ben White (D, Arsenal)

Another asset that is benefitting from a teammate injury is Benny Blanco. Arteta, if we can truly trust him, has ruled out Jurrien Timber for this weekend's match against Fulham, which should mean an automatic start for the English defender. Although he only scored 2.75 ghost points against Newcastle in their 1-0 win in Gameweek 34, one thing seems almost certain in any given gameweek, and that's Arsenal keeping a clean sheet. They've now kept kept 16 of them! The problem with Fulham is that they're such a Jekyll & Hyde team, and you never know what to expect from them. However, over the last 6 games, they've only scored 4 goals, which is only more than Burnley (2). So they've not been very prolific of late, which further justifies the idea of playing an Arsenal defender against them.

Conor Gallagher (M, Tottenham)

It's such a shame that Xavi Simons has now been ruled out for the rest of the season, due to his injury in Gameweek 34, and quite possibly out of the World Cup this summer as well. Alas, the show must go on and Spurs have to find a way to get as many points on the board as possible. One player that could benefit from this bad news is Gallagher. He's found his way back in the starting XI as a regular feature again under De Zerbi, and has been averaging just over 8 PPS with no attacking returns. That's a great floor for your MID-3/4 asset in any given season, but it's the lack of attacking returns which is the concerning bit. However, with Villa needing to overturn a semifinal tie in Europe against Forest, rotation and fatigue could play a factor in Spurs' favour.

James Ward-Prowse (M, Burnley)

It's a shame that Scott Parker was let go as soon as Burnley were confirmed to be relegated from the Premier League, because one of the veterans of our game finally started to get a run of consistent games in the league again. Despite this, we're still going to bank on the fact that JWP has built enough credit in the bank to continue playing, and hopefully score points in the process. If you need a MID-4/5 this week, look no further. JWP has now started 5 games in a row and played 90 minutes in all but one, dropping scores like 14.25, 15.75 and 9 FPts. Sure, there's a couple of bad scores like the 4.25 FPts against Man City, but most assets don't score well against them. Enjoy him while he's still in the league!

Keane Lewis-Potter (M, Brentford)

We love OOP (out-of-position) assets in the game, but probably not ones where they are tactically placed further back on the pitch. However, that seems to have improved KLP's points output as an asset. Since mid-March, KLP has been deployed as a left back and has put up scores such as 12, 13.25, 10.75, 9.25 and most recently 5.75 FPts. The shocking thing about these run of scores is that only the first one included an attacking return, which was an assist against Wolves. His points have mainly come from key passes and accurate crosses, which bodes well for his ceiling as well. So if you can afford a MID-4/5 punt, gamble away.

Igor Jesus (F, Nottingham Forest)

One of the most frustrating assets this season seems to have finally found his rhythm under Vitor Pereira. That's now 7 attacking returns in 7 games for the Brazilian, with 3 of them coming in Gameweek 34. In their 0-5 rout of Sunderland, Vitor deployed both him and Chris Wood in the rarely seen 442 formation. However, it seems to have worked a treat and it could be the new norm for the Forest attack moving forward, especially after losing a couple of their creative wingers. Despite the 1-0 advantage in the Europa League against Aston Villa, Forest cannot afford to slack off in the league as they're only safe by 5 points. They'll be looking to push on as the most inform team in the league over the last 4 matches (13 goals scored) as they face the worst form team in the league, Chelsea (10 goals conceded).

Mathys Tel (F, Tottenham)

It's really unfortunate that so many players are picking up injuries this season, but as a draft manager, it's almost music to our ears as that gives us the opportunity to gamble on unpopular assets that could finally come good so late into the season. Under Tudor, Tel seemed like a must own asset, as he was basically a nailed starter and was pretty much responsible for all of Spurs' corners. However, due to Solanke's injury, Tel might be needed now more than ever, and if you consider his recent scores off the bench, he's actually been averaging just under 11 PP90. Sure the sample size is tiny (2 sub apps), but what have you got to lose at this point of the season. So if you're struggling for a FWD in your league and need to punt on one, try Tel.

William Osula (F, Newcastle) 

According to our Fixture Difficulty Tracker, Newcastle FWDs have the 2nd best rated fixture for the gameweek. It's crazy to think that we're not listing either of the big money spends like Wissa or Woltemade though. Yet here we are, suggesting young William Osula. The Danish striker has now started the last 3 games in a row for Newcastle, and actually has 2 goals in 3 of those appearances, scoring against the likes of Crystal Palace and Bournemouth. So you'll probably excuse him for not scoring against the best defence in the league. Despite coming up against Brighton, one of the most in-form teams in the league, playing at St. James Park is still no easy feat, and with 4 losses in a row, Eddie Howe will be under pressure to rectify this as soon as possible.

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