Gameweek 5 Sleepers XI: Draft EPL

Bantah Boyz

13 hours ago

8 min read

Our Gameweek 5 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 5 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.

So the goal to score above 100 FPts in Gameweek 4 didn't go exactly as planned, but there were still some positives to note from our 78 FPts score. We still had 3 double digit scorers, one per outfield position in fact. So let's start with the strikers. Kostoulas got a goal and an assist in Brighton's 5-0 rout of Coventry, resulting in 20 FPts. On the other hand, Tyrique George only scored 3.75 FPts with a 64th minute sub in their 0-0 draw against Spurs. In midfield, Belloumi was the star of the show with his 24 FPts brace against Chelsea during his 59 minute appearance, while Bobb (62 minutes) and Mcatee (81 minutes & 1 yellow card) put up respectable scores of 6.5 and 8.25 FPts in their games, without any attacking returns. Our backline is where we had most of our disappointment. Disasi (-4 FPts) was sent off after 33 minutes, Hato scored 2 FPts and was subbed off at halftime, whereas Schuster and Bobby Thomas both played their full matches but only ended up with scores of 4.25 FPts (2 goals conceded) and 1.5 FPts. (5 goals conceded) respectively. Our 5th and final defender Khalaili continued to show how reliable of an asset he is by scoring a goal, conceding twice and still scoring 11.75 FPts. Lastly, our goalkeeper Scherpen ended up 7.75 FPts despite conceding twice as well. I would definitely say we got a bit unlucky, so stay tuned to see if our Gameweek 5 team fares better.

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 5. 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.

Matz Sels (G, Nottingham Forest)

Coventry are one of only 2 teams left in the Premier League to register their first goal for the campaign. Coventry have only attempted 41 shots this season, which is the 3rd fewest in the league and only 6 of those have been big chances, which is the 2nd lowest in the league. Fair to say they don't look like a massive goal threat to many teams at the moment, and it won't help their case this weekend that first-choice striker Awoniyi is going to be missing the next couple of games for them. So this feels like a very safe punt for a clean sheet, even if the Forest backline is missing some of their key starters.

Aaron Wan-Bissaka (D, Aston Villa)

"The Spider" is back in the league. The right-back from West Ham United is on loan in the Premier League and already got his first start for the season in Gameweek 4. Their mainstay option for the past few seasons, Matty Cash, was named among the subs for their midweek EFL cup clash at Coventry but didn't feature after feeling an issue during the warm-up, which bodes well for another Wan-Bissaka start on the weekend against Spurs. Despite conceding 2 goals against Nottingham Forest, AWB still emerged with a tidy score of 7 FPts. The DR Congo defender registered 1 key pass, won 2 tackles, had 3 interceptions, made 4 clearances and completed 1 dribble successfully. A fairly all-rounded performance. Spurs haven't scored a goal all season either, so maybe a clean sheet is on the cards this weekend for the Villans.

Jayden Bogle (D, Leeds)

Depending on your league and when the cut-off for stat corrections is, Bogle is either on around 26 FPts or 15 FPts. Nevertheless, he's still a top asset at the moment and should be rostered in all leagues. For the sake of this article, we're going to treat it like he still has the goal against Newcastle in Gameweek 4, which makes him their top scoring asset this season. He currently has the 2nd highest shots on target (4), which shows that his upside is probably not going away any time soon. He doesn't seem to be smashing any other category in particular, but he does have the most clean sheets of all his teammates, and it's probably due to the early subs in his games. We'd usually criticise those playing minutes for most assets, but as a defender, it could be a blessing in disguise.

Ousmane Diomande (D, Nottingham Forest)

New signing Diomande finally got his first start in the league for the Tricky Trees after it was reported that Jair Cunha and Milenkovic were feeling tightness in their hamstrings after training. The Cote D'Ivoire defender had an impressive start to his season by scoring 8.75 FPts without a clean sheet. He registered 1 interception, 11 clearances, 1 blocked shot and 4 won aerials. The best part was that he played the full 90 minutes, and even attempted a shot. I've always loved doubling-down in defence by matching my goal keeper pick, and now more than ever, especially as they host a Coventry team that don't look like scoring their first Premier League goal anytime soon.

Ryan Giles (D, Hull)

At what point do you think us managers are finally going to accept that Hull City and their assets could actually be roster worthy this season? One player that still seems to be floating around free in leagues is Genie's lovechild Ryan Giles. The former Luton Town defender is currently averaging just under 8.5 gPPS and around 14 PPS. He's created the most chances (6) and had the most accurate crosses (7) for the Tigers, which is impressive stuff given he's not taken any corners for them this season. Him and his teammates have only conceded 2 goals this season as well, both of which came in the game against Chelsea. They're away at St. James' Park this weekend, which is never an easy away fixture, but with the likes of Elanga, the Magpies' biggest goal threat, possibly ruled out for the next few games, Hull could nick another clean sheet here.

Shea Charles (D, Fulham)

Shea Charles, for those that aren't aware, is currently the most expensive Northern Ireland footballer in history after completing his permanent move from Southampton to Fulham. He's also the youngest ever captain for the national team. I'm starting to understand why he's so highly rated too, particularly when you look at his Fantrax career thus far. He's started the last 2 games for the Cottagers and has been averaging 10.5 PPS and 9.5 gPPS. He's already leading his teammates in interceptions (7) and blocked shots (3), and has actually been playing OOP in midfield. This probably explains why he managed to rack up 3 key passes against Crystal Palace in Gameweek 3. He's facing Manchester United next, which on paper seems a tough fixture, but the Red Devils are looking shaky at the moment, so he could be a great DEF-4/5 play. He might even be a hold beyond that given he's playing all 3 promoted teams in a row after the International Break.

Ao Tanaka (M, Leeds)

Ao Tanaka, who is the inspiration behind the graphics for our article this gameweek, is looking like one of the best streaming options for Gameweek 5. Leeds face Crystal Palace this weekend, which could be another goal fest. Crystal Palace have conceded the 2nd most shots (71) in the league so far, which probably explains why they've conceded the most goals (11) in the league as well. Pierre Sage looks well out of his depth and football fans have already started tipping last season's European Conference champions as early relegation candidates. Off the back of a massive win against Newcastle at Elland Road, we could see Leeds doing something similar versus Crystal Palace, with Tanaka at the heart of it. The Japanese midfielder has started the last 2 games and gotten an assist in each game. So, it won't surprise me if he notched his 3rd one this weekend and more; a man in form.

Jack Rudoni (M, Coventry)

It's not looking great for Coventry this season. Last season's Championship winners are currently rock bottom of the league with 0 points, 0 goals and 0 wins. So why even bother suggesting their assets at all? Well, aside from the horrid team stats, there is one shining light from a Fantrax perspective, and that man is Jack Rudoni. He took 4 of their 5 corners last game, and is actually their 2nd highest Fantrax scorer, averaging 10 PPS and 9.7 gPPS. For Coventry, he's 1st for key passes (8), shots on target (3) and accurate crosses (3). So, if Coventry are to ever break their dry spell in front of goal, Rudoni could be involved. He's very much a MID-5 pick though, and nothing higher for now.

Regan Slater (M, Hull City)

One of the other promoted picks that has been going under the radar slightly is Regan Slater. Maybe managers were turned off by the fact that he only scored 0.5 FPts, with a yellow card, against fellow promoted team Coventry. However, outside of that, he's been averaging 10.75 PPS. This impressive points production even came against the likes of Manchester United, Aston Villa and Chelsea. He's taken 5 of the 10 corners that Hull have been awarded this season, and appears to be a very all-rounded asset. He's tied for the most tackles won (5) and is 3rd for the most chances created (4). He's an ideal MID-5 pick, which is a great stopgap for when your other stud midfielders are still not starting games, such as Dango, Wilson and Kudus.

Liam Delap (F, Nottingham Forest)

According to our Fixture Difficulty Tracker, Nottingham Forest forwards have the 3rd best rated fixture in the league this weekend. Under new management and at a new club, we might finally be able to see the Liam Delap that impressed us all when he was the starting striker for Ipswich Town a few seasons ago. Last gameweek, he attempted the most shots (6) in the league, with his only shot on target being his first goal for the season. Even his 6.1 gPPS is digestible as your FWD-2/3. Delap could be the main guy for Glasner moving forward, so you'll want to grab him while you can. Just be patient as he beds into a new system and around new teammates.

Noah Okafor (F, Leeds)

One of the hottest players from the backend of last season is up and running for the current campaign, after netting against Newcastle United in their Monday night fixture at Elland Road. The ex-Milan forward scored 17.25 FPts, which included 2 shots (1 on target), 1 key pass, 2 tackles won, 1 accurate cross and 2 aerials. He's never been known for ghosting well in games, and typically gets subbed around the 60-70 minute mark, but that might not matter when he's playing against one of the worst defences in the league at the moment. As we mentioned before, Crystal Palace have conceded the most goals in the league, so it seems like a safe bet to play any attacking assets from Leeds against them.