Gameweek 4 Sleepers XI: Draft EPL

Draft Society

6 hours ago

8 min read

Our Gameweek 4 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!

Michail Antonio shooting the ball for West Ham

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 4 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.

92 Fpts isn't probably going to win you your gameweek in a competitive league these days, but there were some positive picks that could have made a difference as a one-off pick for your own roster. As always, going defence heavy always feels like a safe play for a landing a double digit haul, which is where we got 3 of our 5 10+ FPts scores, which includes our goalkeeper. On that note, let's look under the hood and start with Suzuki. The Japanese shot-stopper dropped a 16.5 FPts haul, making 4 saves with a spread of defensive stats and a clean sheet against Hull. Speaking of which, we also had Egan, who made 10.25 FPts in the 0-0 draw against the Villans. Antonio Silva smashed out 11.5 FPts, which were pure ghost points, even after conceding twice! Canvot (2 goals conc.) and Joachim Andersen (3 goals conc.) were disappointing though, scoring 5 FPts and 4.5 FPts respectively. Khusanov was even worse, with the Man City defender only getting 7.75 FPts with a clean sheet and a yellow card. In midfield we had the trio of Barkley (6.5 FPts), Kamada (10 FPts, 1 assist), Lukic (3 FPts) and Yalcouye (6.5 FPts). Whilst our lone forward was Fatawu, who put up 10.75 FPts with no attacking returns. Let's hope this is the week where we score 100 FPts+, so keep reading to see our Gameweek 4 attempt.

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 4. 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.

Kjell Scherpen (G, Ipswich)

It's not always easy to land a clean sheet with a GK stream, but loads of save points isn't a bad fall back plan. Scherpen, tied with Hornicek, has completed the most saves (13) in the league this season. It's probably because Scherpen has also faced the most shots (21) in the league. To be fair to the Tractor Boys though, they faced Man Utd and Liverpool in their first 3 fixtures, so facing Crystal Palace could yield a different outcome, especially with the Eagles having attempted the 4th fewest shots in the league. So even a clean sheet is on the cards if all things go right for Ipswich. Seems like potential for points either way.

Anan Khalaili (D, Crystal Palace)

Believe it or not, Khalaili has actually scored the 4th most ghost points in the league so far, only behind the likes of Szoboszlai, Tarkowski and Ajer. Even though Crystal Palace are one of the worst teams in the league at the moment, having conceded the most goals (8) in the league (tied with Ipswich Town), Khalaili's 11.75 gPPS still warrants starting him almost every gameweek. Even when he came off the bench in GW1, he scored 10.75 FPts in 35 minutes, which were all ghost points as well! If you can get him by hook or by crook, he could be a rest of season hold that could help you win your league.

Axel Disasi (D, Crystal Palace)

According to our Fixture Difficulty Tracker, Crystal Palace defenders have the best rated fixture of all teams this gameweek. So it makes complete sense to double down on their picks this weekend. The on-loan Chelsea defender started for his new club against Fulham and scored 15.25 FPts without any clean sheet, including 2 goals conceded. The French CB registered 3 tackles, 4 interceptions, 3 clearances, 2 blocked shots and 3 aerials. Disasi might not keep many clean sheets this season, but if he's going to do most of the defensive work in the heart of their 3-ATB system, then he could be a DEF-4/5 pick most weeks.

Bobby Thomas (D, Coventry)

I don't know what's crazier, the fact that Thomas attempted 5 shots against Man City or that he scored 16.5 FPts against them. This didn't even include any clean sheet points or attacking returns. The Coventry CB has been averaging just under 10 gPPS, so if they manage to reduce the number of goals they concede per game, especially after switching to a back-5 system, Thomas feels a great DEF-4/5 pick in any given gameweek. Despite Brighton's impressive start to their season, I still think Coventry get some joy in this fixture. So even if Coventry concede a goal or 2, Bobby Thomas' ghost point production and potential threat on set pieces, warrants rolling him out this weekend.

Jannik Schuster (D, Brentford)

Nathan Collins was subbed off in Gameweek 3 due to a calf injury, and it looks like he will be missing the game this weekend as well. This paved the way for the Bees' new signing Schuster to get his first appearance of the season, scoring 7.25 FPts, all ghosts, in 73 minutes. He registered 9 clearances, 4 aerials and a blocked shot. Collins was averaging 9.5 gPPS in the Bees backline, and even though they are not the same player, you'd still take 9-10 gPPS from Schuster if you assume there's a slight drop-off in points production. Brentford are visiting Bournemouth this weekend, which doesn't look great for clean sheet potential, but I'd probably still consider Schuster if he was your DEF-4/5 option.

Jorrel Hato (D, Chelsea)

Chelsea hosting Hull this weekend feels like one of the easiest options for a clean sheet. The only team that probably has better clean sheet odds than the Blues are the Champions Arsenal, which makes sense given they are heads and shoulders above the league in defence. The problem is though, the Blues' defence have been horrid. They've already conceded 7 goals this season, not to mention they conceded 3 during the week in the EFL cup versus Leeds. So it wouldn't surprise me if Chelsea concede against Hull. So why not go with an option that has a bit of upside. Despite only scoring around 6 gPPS for the season, Hato has actually registered an assist in each of his last 2 games. Don't let the Hull clean sheets fool you either, because their xGC delta (goals conceded minus the xG conceded) is -5.05, the highest in the league.

James Mcatee (M, Nottingham Forest)

Mcatee is one of the surprise assets has only just emerged from the new-look Forest team under Glasner. After the new-Forest manager was singing his praise all of pre-season, the young English midfielder has looked extremely promising over the first 3 games of the season. He leads his teammates in chances created (9) and corner kicks taken (7 of 10). He's had scores of 11, 5 and 15 FPts as well, which involve zero attacking returns. So if you need a MID-4/5, he's looking like the perfect option. In fact, in his most recent haul against Spurs, none of the 5 KPs came from corners, which is music to a manager's ears for potential upside and ceiling. Villa up next is another juicy fixture you definitely want a part of.

Oscar Bobb (M, Fulham)

Another Man City youth product has also emerged in the league as a viable set & forget asset. Oscar Bobb is starting to thrive at Fulham, and after a first couple of quiet gameweeks with scores of 4.5 and 3.5 FPts, he dropped 12 ghosts against Crystal Palace. This high score involved 4 key passes, 1 shot on target and 2 successful dribbles. He's even taken the most corners for the Cottagers, taking 9 of the 17 that they were awarded. Liverpool at Anfield is by no means an easy fixture, but with Arbeloa at the helm, Fulham are going to keep playing an expansive and attacking style of football. Liverpool have also been fairly leaky to start their campaign, having conceded 2 goals in each of their first 2 fixtures. I'd stick Bobb in as my MID-4/5.

Mohamed Belloumi (M, Hull City)

It's fair to say that Belloumi is absolutely smashing his ADP of 204 from the start of the season. The Algerian midfielder is currently averaging just over 8.5 gPPS and currently leads his teammates in successful dribbles (3), interceptions (9), tackles won (5) and shots attempted (5). He seems like a very all-rounded option that can get points from almost any category. So when he's facing a team like Chelsea, especially one that allows chances being created and attempts at goal, Belloumi seems like a very safe option. I'd argue he's almost showing MID-3 potential, particularly if he maintains this level throughout the season. He won't stay on the waiver wire much longer, so be quick and grab him if you can!

Charalampos Kostoulas (F, Brighton)

Kostoulas was a late draft pick for many savvy managers during their league drafts this season. However, he was a quick drop to the waiver wire after Rutter started the season for the Seagulls. That didn't last very long though, as Rutter picked up yet another injury, which saw the Greek wonder-kid get his opportunity, starting the last 2 games. He scored 12 FPts, with an assist, in their 3-4 loss against Chelsea and then scored 5.25 FPts, all ghosts, against Leeds. I actually like the latter score more because he stayed on the pitch and played the full 90 minutes, which is what you want from almost any asset that you own. Despite getting off the mark against Tromsoe in their qualifying European KO fixture, he's attempted the 2nd most shots (6) for Brighton in the league, so that league goal could be coming sooner than you think.

Tyrique George (F, Everton)

After making his move to Chelsea permanent, "Evil Saka" looks like he could be a permanent starter for the Toffees, especially when you consider Ndiaye's transfer to Man City. Even though Moyes has highlighted George's flexibility of being able to play as a back-up striker for Barry, he actually showed his true potential against Man Utd by being able to play on either wing as well. He's been averaging just under 9 gPPS and got his first goal of the season against the Red Devils with an absolute banger. He's attempted the 2nd most shots (8) for the Toffees, created the 2nd most chances (6) and is 1st for successful dribbles (7). Spurs still look a mess under RDZ, and Everton definitely look better in attack this season, especially with Jack Grealish in their ranks. Tyrique George should not be free in leagues, and I expect his ROS% to sky rocket very soon.