Gameweek 38 Sleepers XI: Draft EPL

Our Gameweek 38 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 38 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.

Gameweek 37 was a slight improvement on a disappointing Gameweek 36, but not by much. 75.25 FPts for our efforts wasn't fantastic. We did try to go a bit risky but so much so that only 8 of our XI actually started their games. Colwill didn't feature at all, Kevin came off the bench at halftime and got 0.75 FPts, while Pablo got 5.5 FPts in his 27 minute cameo. So what did the starters actually do? Well in net, Petrovic scored 6 FPts despite conceding once, while the defenders did most of the heavy lifting, as they have done all season. Bijol scored 11 FPts with a clean sheet, Castagne hauled with 18 FPts after he got the assist for drawing a penalty (1 goal conceded), whilst Mavropanos put up 10.25 FPts despite conceding 3 goals. The less said about Wan-Bissaka the better (0.75 FPts in 62 minutes after conceding 2 goals). In midfield, Barnes scored 13 FPts with an assist, Gallagher put up a respectable 7.25 FPts score but Jensen disappointed with 2.75 FPts in 62 minutes. Alas, we come to the final Sleepers XI of the season. Hopefully we can end the season on a high, and help a manager out there win their title, survive relegation or even just have a bit of bragging rights with a few of our picks. As always, it's been a pleasure writing these articles and can't wait to be back for the 26/27 season.

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 38. 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)

If you're like me and you dropped Darlow before Gameweek 37, you must be massively regretting that decision. I don't blame you for dropping him though as he put up scores of 9 (with a clean sheet!),9.75, 4 and 3.75 FPts from Gameweek 33 to 36. However, he then followed that up with 22.5 FPts against Brighton. The English shot-stopper made 7 saves, along with a couple of clearances, an aerial won and a high-claim. It kind of makes sense though, as he faced a Brighton team that was chasing a must-needed win to secure European football. If we apply the same logic to Leeds' final game against West Ham, a team that needs to win to avoid relegation to the Championship, then Darlow should be a busy man on Sunday at the Olympic Stadium. Even if Leeds don't keep a clean sheet, you might still get close to a double digit score here.

Sven Botman (D, Newcastle) 

If Botman is free in your league, go pick him up right now. The Dutchman has scored double digits in 5 of his last 6 games, and not kept a single clean sheet either. In fact, the only game he didn't score over 10 FPts, was because he got 8.5 FPts with a yellow card against Bournemouth. This weekend he's facing a Fulham team that seems to have forgotten how to score goals as well. The Cottagers have only scored 2 goals in their last 6 games, which is the same as Wolves. This is basically relegation form, which Newcastle themselves were showing until recently. So Botman could be getting a massive score here in the final game of the season, as Howe and his squad aim to continue finishing their season on a high.

Kevin Danso (D, Spurs) 

Spurs are in a do-or-die situation for their final game of the season against Everton. They basically cannot lose, otherwise it is not in their hands with West Ham just 2 points behind. Moyes has already stated in his press conference that he's not going to go easy on them either. Moving up a spot or 2 in the league table could be the difference of a few more million pounds, which could massively help them with their transfer window for the 26/27 campaign. This means that Danso should be kept busy in defence. He's been averaging around 8.3 PPS this season, as well as 10.2 gPP90, which easily qualifies him as a great DEF-3/4 option for your roster this weekend. Despite conceding at least 1 goal and getting a yellow card in 2 of his last 3 games, he's still put up scores of 7.25 and 12 FPts. So even if you don't think Spurs keep a clean sheet this weekend, he's should still score well.

Maxim De Cuyper (D, Brighton)

After 3 promising sub appearances in a row, with one including an assist against Chelsea in Gameweek 33, De Cuyper has now started the last 2 games for Brighton, which hasn't happened since Gameweek 24. The Belgian defender has been one of the hottest pickups in the last couple of gameweeks, dropping a season-high 36.25 FPts against Wolves in Gameweek 36 and then a 10.25 ghost point game against Leeds in Gameweek 37. What's even more enticing about rostering him at the moment is the fact that he's been sharing set pieces with Pascal Groß. He's taken 9 of their last 15 corners, racking up 8 key passes in the process, along with 2 assists in 2 games. If Brighton get a win in their final game of the season, which is also at the Amex, they could secure European football. Manchester United don't really have much to play for either, so expect goals in this game, and possibly even a clean sheet.

Wesley Fofana (D, Chelsea)

Chelsea have had such a bizarre season. They've already had 3 different managers in their dugout, which isn't uncommon for the Blues to be fair, but after such a tumultuous time under Rosenior, the Blues have finally started having some positive results again, getting a draw at Anfield and then a win in their final home game of the season against Spurs. They visit Sunderland for the final game of the season, in which is actually an important clash for both clubs. If either team wins, they could secure European football for next season. However, the Black Cats have been horrid at home in their last 4 games at the Stadium of Light. They've only scored 1 goal in that time, which is the fewest of all clubs. Hence why we're backing the Chelsea defence. Fofana started the last 2 games for Chelsea and ghosted well, scoring 9.25 and 10 FPts. So if you trust that Chelsea can keep out Sunderland, Fofana could get a double digit score here.

Zian Flemming (M, Burnley)

Even though Burnley's season has ultimately been a failure, they can definitely say that Zian Flemming has been a massive success. The Dutch forward managed to score 10 goals this season for the Clarets, in only 20 starts. He's attempted 51 shots, 20 shots on target and won 63 aerials, which is the 2nd most for Burnley in all categories. If Burnley can beat Wolves, the worst team in the league, they can stay in 19th place, which would be a massive win for them. We're expecting loads of goals at Turf Moor, as both teams essentially have nothing to play for. Flemming actually scored 31 FPts in the reverse fixture, his highest tally of the season, where he scored a brace. Let's hope for the same again in Gameweek 38.

Jacob Ramsey (M, Newcaslte)

In spite of a really poor season, where Newcastle aren't securing European football and having lost both home and away fixtures against their local rivals Sunderland, the Magpies are actually having a strong end to their season. They've been the 7th best team in the league over the last 4 games, having only lost once, and scoring 7 goals in the process. Given the fact that they're missing some key personnel in their midfield like Joelinton and possibly Tonali for their final game, we could see Jacob Ramsey with another start. The young English midfielder actually has 2 assists in 2 games now, getting one off the bench against Forest. He's been averaging 6.6 gPP90 this season, which checks out given his 14 FPts haul against West Ham in Gameweek 37 as well. He'd be a great MID-5 punt if you need one.

Ao Tanaka (M, Leeds)

Although Leeds are safe from relegation and guaranteed Premier League football for the 26/27 campaign, Farke and his men still seem to be taking the end of their season seriously, especially with a possible top-half finish. However, it might be a bit of a struggle without, arguably their player of the season, Anton Stach. The German was confirmed out for their final game, along with the likes of Longstaff. This should mean that Tanaka could be on set piece duty for their game against West Ham. Even though it's a small sample size, from Gameweek 32-35, when Stach was out injured, Tanaka took all of Leeds' corners (10) and ended up with 2 double digit ghosting games (15.75 and 12.75 FPts) against the likes of Manchester United and Wolves. Although West Ham will be fighting for their lives, we're still expecting Leeds to get chances and so if you have a spare slot for a MID-4/5 in your roster this weekend, Tanaka could be a tidy pickup.

Valentin Castellanos (F, West Ham)

I'm not really sure what Nuno was thinking for their last game against Newcastle. Surely I was not the only one shocked to see the Hammers start with a back-5, and see both Taty and Pablo benched as well, especially after seeing the duo combine to bring West Ham within touching distance of surviving relegation. Hope Nuno will come to his senses and at least start Castellanos, also lovingly known as Taty. Since his first game in the league, Taty has attempted 46 shots (20 on target) for West Ham and scored 5 goals, which is the most in both categories for the London club. He's been averaging just under 8 PPG since his debut, and could ultimately be the deciding factor in West Ham's Premier League survival. Surely after attempting 8 shots (the most of all players in the league in Gameweek 37) in 64 minutes off the bench and scoring 20.5 FPts with a goal gets you a start in the final gameweek. If West Ham pull off the impossible, Taty could absolutely haul.

Loum Tchaouna (F, Burnley)

According to our Fixture Difficulty Tracker, believe it or not, Burnley forwards have the best rated fixture for Gameweek 38. It's probably because they're playing the worst team in the league, Wolves. Both teams are going back to the Championship but this game is basically for pride, and if Burnley can get either a win or a draw, then Wolves will stay as the worst team in the league this season. The funny thing is though, Burnley have actually been the worst form team in the league for the last 4, 6, 8, 10 and even 12 weeks. One of the main things that helps their case is the fact that on the road, Wolves have been just as bad, conceding 12 goals in their last 4 away games, which is the most in the league. Tchaouna has looked a bright prospect for the Clarets recently, starting their last 4 games and averaging 8.75 PPS, the best amongst their outfielders. He's been top for key passes (7) and accurate crosses (6) during that period as well. So if the Clarets do score a few, he could be involved.

Nick Woltemade (F, Newcastle) 

Let's be honest, Woltemade and Wissa haven't had the impact that Newcastle fans were expecting. Wissa missed most of the season through injury, while Woltemade has shown that he's not truly a No. 9, especially as a replacement for Isak. That being said, the big German may have found his ideal role as a support striker, especially to in-form Osula. Let's not completely write off Woltemade though, as his goal in Gameweek 37 pushed his tally to 8 for the season, which is actually the 2nd most for the Magpies this season, only 1 behind Bruno Guimaraes. Woltemade scored 16 FPts in 74 minutes, and we could see him start again in their final game of the season against a Fulham team that don't seem to care about their season anymore. The Cottagers have usually been solid at home this season, but overall, in their last 6 games, they've only won once. Howe and his men will want to end their season on a high, and will look to do so against a Fulham team that looks uncertain about their future, be it regarding Marco Silva or even some of their star players. We're expecting a Newcastle win here and hopefully some Woltemade returns.

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