Gameweek 6 Sleepers XI: Draft EPL

Bantah Boyz
Sep 26
8 min read

Our Gameweek 6 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 6 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 5 went pretty well in the end - 98 FPts to be exact. It's a shame that we could not muster a few more points to cross the desired 100 FPts barrier but it's still a step in the right direction, especially after our last few gameweeks. Some of our top performers were Martin Dubravka (15.25 FPts despite no clean sheet), Emmanuel Agbadou (16 FPts while conceding 3 goals), Trai Hume (10 FPts with 1 goal conceded), Ryan Sessegnon (12.75 FPts with an assist) and Wilson Isidor (15.5 FPts with a goal to his name). The other assets who didn't do so well were Joachim Andersen (6 FPts after conceding one goal), James Garner (6.75 FPts), Enzo Le Fée (2.5 FPts), Sasa Lukic (4.25 FPts including a yellow card), Tolu Arokodare (8.75 FPts) and Kevin (0.25 FPts with a yellow card as a sub). On the plus side, Kevin was our only player who came on as a substitute while the others played 79-90 minutes in their respective fixtures. Ideally, we want all our assets starting in their games so let's see if we can improve on an already respectable score. Bring on Gameweek 6!

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 6. 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.

Robin Roefs (G, Sunderland)

As it stands, Roefs is currently the 3rd highest scoring GK in the game. So it's a bit bizarre that he's qualified as a Sleeper pick and I'm assuming that's because of his stinker of a score in Gameweek 5: 3.25 FPts against an Aston Villa team that have been woeful in front of goal. It compares to his score of -0.75 FPts against Burnley, which shows how much a GK can suffer when coming up against a team that is not very attacking. Hence, Gameweek 6 seems like the perfect time to bring Roefs back into your roster. After Dubravka put up over 15 FPts vs Forest in Gameweek 5, it feels like Roefs has the potential to do the same. Angeball is very attack-focused, so Roefs should be very busy this weekend. Even without a clean sheet, we've seen the Dutch shot-stopper put up a double digit score.

Bafode Diakite (D, Bournemouth)

Just when we thought Milosavljevic was the second coming of Huijsen, Diakite squashed those hopes and dreams and came right back into the Cherries starting XI. Bournemouth have now kept 3 clean sheets in 5 games and that tally could increase this weekend as they visit Elland Road. Leeds have only scored 1 goal in their 2 home games so far and have amassed one of the lowest xGs of all teams in the league. Even if Leeds are put one in, Diakite's 7.4 gPPS is a good enough floor be started as a DEF-4/5 in your roster this weekend. It should also be noted that Diakite started in all of the Cherries' games when they got their clean sheets. He's also a solid coverage pick if you face an opponent with Senesi.

Jake O'Brien (D, Everton)

O'Brien has picked up exactly where he left off last season and continues to be a reliable pick under David Moyes. O'Brien has been averaging 8.4 PPS while scoring just under 7 gPPS. He's won the most aerials (18) of all the Toffee defenders, tied with Tarkowski. Maybe there's a chance of an attacking return against West Ham in the Monday night game, since the Hammers have conceded the most goals (7) from set pieces. We should also highlight his impressive performance against Wolves in the EFL cup in midweek, despite Everton losing 2-0. The Irish DEF scored around 17 ghost points, which included 4 key passes and a shot on target to go with his standard defensive contributions. He's an easy start against the 19th placed team in the league.

Matthijs de Ligt (D, Man Utd)

It's quite strange to see the top scoring Manchester United DEF available in some leagues still. Yes, I am aware I'm trying to suggest a defender from a team that has conceded in every league game so far, but despite that de Ligt continues to put up impressive scores this season. The Dutch CB has been scoring just under 11 gPPS, which is basically DEF-1/2 numbers, so imagine when Man Utd actually keep a clean sheet! There was a bit of concern about de Ligt's points output while playing in a different spot due to the introduction of Harry Maguire in the last game, but de Ligt maintained his impressive production with 13 ghosts against Chelsea. The Bees haven't been very convincing when it comes to goal scoring and so we could potentially see another double digit score for the Red Devils defender. A no-brainer pick as your DEF-3 and possibly a stash ROS.

Oleksandr Zinchenko (D, Nottingham Forest)

It feels wrong suggesting a defender from an Ange-team but Zinchenko might be the ugly duckling of the group, and in a good way to boot! Since Ola Aina's injury, Forest have had to tweak a few things in their backline, which meant Neco Williams swapping over to the right side and allowing Zinchenko to play in his preferred LB spot. The on-loan Gunner has started life at his new club quite well too. In his first league game, he managed to score 10.25 ghost points against Burnley, where he had a key pass and attempted 3 shots (1 on target). He then followed that up with an 11 ghost point game against Real Betis, last season's Europa Conference League runners-up, where he got 3 key passes. So, there is the possibility of some upside with the Ukrainian DEF. Ange and his boys come up against Sunderland in the Aussie's first home game in charge and according to our Fixture Difficulty Tracker, Forest have the easiest fixture of all teams in the league, so this seems like a very safe play.

Omar Alderete (D, Sunderland)

The Black Cats have surprised many Fantrax managers this season as they have been a blessing as an option for streaming defenders every gameweek. The only recent headache is the availability of Ballard and if he plays, who misses out. It seems as though either they play a 5-man defence or Mukiele fights for minutes and starts with Ballard, so Alderete could be the safest option out of the lot! He might not be the best scorer of all the Sunderland DEFs (9.1 PPS, 8.1 gPPS) but he has shown that he could potentially be a threat on set pieces after he hit the crossbar in Gameweek 5. Sunderland will be in for a real test against Ange's Forest team, who have yet to win a game under their new boss, which could mean lots of defensive work for Le Bris and his men this weekend. So, if you need a DEF-4/5 or just want to cover your opponent's other Sunderland picks, Alderete is a great option.

Harry Wilson (M, Fulham)

After a mixed start to the season, Harry Wilson finally scored his first goal of the season. Wilson was one of the hottest prospects coming out of the preseason games but other than Gameweek 5, he only averaged just over 2 gPPS, with 2 ghost points coming from his two other sub appearances combined. It also hasn't helped his floor that Lukic has largely taken over corners for the Cottagers. However in Gameweek 5, Wilson put up just under 20 FPts, his best score of the season. He also registered 3 key passes and an accurate cross to go with his solitary goal. You would think that Wilson retains his starting spot when Fulham visit bottom of the league Aston Villa this weekend, but just be mindful that it is the early kick-off on Sunday with only 2 other matches to follow. So, have a plan B in case the worst happens.

Tyler Adams (M, Bournemouth)

It is such slim pickings for midfielders in the waiver wire this gameweek, so bare with me as I try to convince you on starting a steady-eddy this weekend. If you're planning to roll out 4 or 5 midfielders, then consider Adams as an option. The American has been averaging just under 7 PPS this season but somehow managed to rack up 10.5 ghost points against Newcastle in Gameweek 5. Most of his points have come from defensive contributions, which could be the case as the Cherries are the away team this weekend, but interestingly enough, Adams has more shots on target than key passes this season. In fact, every single shot he has attempted has been on target! That being said, he's also accrued 3 yellow cards in his last 4 games so it's not as rosy as it seems. This is a last-resort plug if your other studs are missing due to injury and you were unsuccessful with your waiver run.

Dominic Calvert-Lewin (F, Leeds)

It's good to see DCL fit and firing again since his departure from the blue corner of Merseyside. The English FWD has been significantly hampered by injuries over the past few seasons but might have found a new lease on life at Leeds. We're talking about a solid FWD-2 in seasons gone, where he reached the heights of 16 goals back in the 2020/21 season and started 32 games. Since then, he's managed 15,15, 26 and 19 starts in consecutive seasons. In a season where managers are struggling for FWDs, DCL could be a god-send. He managed to play 88 minutes in Gameweek 5, showing that he's getting fitter game by game, and with a floor of just under 6 gPPS, he could be a great FWD-3 for your roster.

Rodrigo Muniz (F, Fulham)

The age-old debate of who is the starting striker for Fulham might have finally been put to bed this season. Muniz has now started the last 4 games in a row for Fulham and has been showing good potential as a FWD-3. Although his points production hasn't been too impressive, one could argue that he's actually been better than what the points have shown thus far. The goal ruled out for King vs. Chelsea would have been Muniz's assist and he was also robbed of a goal against Brentford late on in the game, which would have been his 2nd for the season. There will be the odd game that Jimenez starts, but that's more likely when there is a fixture congestion for Marco Silva and his team to navigate. Until then, Muniz should be a lock in your squad.

Wilson Isidor (F, Sunderland)

Isidor finally started back-to-back games this season and now has 3 goals in 5 appearances. This now makes Isidor the first player in Premier League history to score in each of a newly-promoted side's first three home games. The Sunderland FWD already has the 3rd most shots attempted in the league, alongside the likes of Semenyo and Richarlison, which is pretty good company to keep. It's debatable whether or not the French FWD will manage to get penalty duty, but he seems to have at least stolen the starting spot from Mayenda, and held off Brobbey, which makes him a good option as your FWD-3. He should also see some joy against a team coached by Ange, one that typically plays with a high-line and rarely keeps clean sheets. Grab him while he's free!