Gameweek 7 Sleepers XI: Draft EPL

Our Gameweek 7 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 7 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 6 was an interesting score to say the least. Two of our players combined for more than half of our entire roster score of 86.5 FPts. These hauls came from our Sunderland lads. Roefs in net with 26.25 FPts (6 saves, 2 key passes and a clean sheet) whilst his teammate Alderete scored 24.25 FPts (1 goal and a clean sheet). Chances are if you had either one of these players, you probably won your gameweek. So what happened to the rest of our squad? Well in defence, Diakite scored 7.25 FPts (2 goals conceded), Jake O'Brien got 5.75 FPts (1 goal conceded), Zinchenko registered 4.25 FPts (1 goal conceded) and de Ligt ended on 2.75 FPts (3 goals conceded). The plus side is that all of them played 90 minutes, which is what we love to see. In our rarely-seen but very legal formation of a 2-man midfield, Tyler Adams finished on 3.75 FPts in 80 minutes, while the unpredictably frustrating Harry Wilson only put up 0.75 FPts in 79 minutes, including his yellow card, the only caution from our entire roster. Lastly, up front our 3 FWDs combined for an underwhelming 12 points. Isidor got 1 point in 84 minutes, Muniz was a surprise omission from the Fulham team and our shining light Calvert-Lewin scored an impressive 11 ghost points in 88 minutes. It's kind of shocking that only 3 players ended up in the double digit region, and is probably the main reason why we fell short of our 100 FPts weekly goal. Back to the drawing board I guess!

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 7. 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.

Giorgi Mamardashvili (G, Liverpool)

Alisson picked up an injury during Liverpool's midweek Champions League fixture versus Galatasaray and seems to be out for the foreseeable future. So if you're that unlucky owner, Mamardashvili should be a no-brainer, right? What if I told you that Alisson is currently the 12th best scoring GK asset in the game though. In fact, the Champions have only kept 2 clean sheets in the league so far. It's not great viewing but if you believe in Liverpool improving defensively over the next few gameweeks, then the Georgian shot-stopper is a great punt. His first league game is against a Chelsea team that are missing several key personnel due to suspensions and injuries, and the ones that are available for selection aren't even 100% fit. This could be an easy shut-out for the Reds.

Ferdi Kadioglu (D, Brighton)

I've never been a fan of options from Brighton and that's mainly due to Hürzeler's annoying level of rotation with the players he has at his disposal. Last season Kadioglu came into the league with a lot of hype, mainly due to his ability to get attacking returns, which Fantrax managers absolutely adore, particularly from a defender. Last season the Turkish defender only started 5 games but was averaging around 8.4 PPS (6.6 gPPS), with 1 goal to his name. Even though Kadioglu has only started 2 games this season, it's his last performance that really caught the eye. 9.25 ghosts against Chelsea, albeit the Blues being down to 10 men, it's really him playing the full 90 minutes being the main positive. This weekend the Seagulls face a depleted Wolves, after Vitor had mentioned in his presser that sickness has hit their camp, and a few of their sure starters could miss the game. This bodes well for all Brighton assets.

Hugo Bueno (D, Wolves)

Now that I've bashed Wolves' chances of getting a positive result against Brighton, naturally I'm going to suggest one of their assets. Hugo Bueno has emerged as a solid DEF-2/3 option for many managers over the past few gameweeks, and it really comes as a surprise because in the past he's not shown any promise. Despite playing over 20 games in each of the 22/23 and 23/24 seasons, Bueno never cracked 5 PPG. However this season something seems to have changed. Bueno is currently one of the best ghost point scorers from Wolves, averaging 14.2 gPP90 and 10.1 PPS. He's also been taking a few set pieces such as corners, so the upside is definitely there. Wolves don't seem likely to keep any clean sheets, but that doesn't seem to matter for Bueno's points output. He's also got the 2nd most key passes (8) of all defenders this season.

Malick Thiaw (D, Newcastle Utd) 

Despite Newcastle having several injuries to their backline, the Magpies still seem very good defensively this season. They've already kept 4 clean sheets in 6 games so far, and have only conceded in their games against Arsenal and Liverpool. So having gotten 2 of the big boys out of the way, they seem a safe bet for a clean sheet over the next few fixtures. Newcastle host Nottingham Forest this weekend and Ange's men aren't a great watch these days. The Tricky Trees lost yet another game last night (Europa League vs Midtjylland) and it seems as though they have picked up a couple of injuries along the way, whereas Newcastle kept yet another clean sheet in their midweek Champions League game. New boy Thiaw was introduced into the starting XI due to Schar's concussion, so there is a small risk of a non-start given Schar was on the bench for the UCL tie. However if the German DEF is nailed, at 10.8 PPS (9.8 gPPS), he's a great DEF-3 option.

Quilindschy Hartman (D, Burnley)

If you're looking for a DEF-4/5, then look no further than Hartman. Although he plays for Burnley, and yes I am aware that they shipped 5 goals in Gameweek 6, Hartman seems to be scoring well despite their results. The Dutch wingback has been averaging just under 9 gPPS and already has an assist to his name, which came versus Man City! Hartman has also been taking corners for Burnley, which further solidifies his floor as an asset. The Clarets visit Villa Park this weekend and could easily find some joy in the fixture. Aston Villa have only scored 4 goals this season, with 3 of them coming last week against Fulham. So even if Burnley were to concede at least 1 goal, Hartman still looks a good prospect for some points.

Emiliano Buendia (M, Aston Villa) 

According to our Fixture Difficulty Tracker, Aston Villa midfielders have the 3rd best rated fixture in Gameweek 7. Now I know I just criticised Villa's attack but after going on a 5 game winless streak in all competitions, Emery and his men have now won 3 games in a row. They even scored more than 1 goal in their last 2 fixtures, which sounds horrible, but is actually amazing given the ugly start to their 25/26 campaign. One man who has been central to this recent boost of form is the long forgotten Emi Buendia. Buendia's season has finally gotten off the ground with 2 goals and an assist in his last 2 appearances. Against Fulham in Gameweek 6, the Argentine was a HT sub and got a goal and assist within 5 minutes of coming on. The only concern about this performance was the 4.5 ghosts that he scored, but that shouldn't matter if he's getting consistent attacking returns! He's potentially a MID-3/4 gem in barren wasteland of midfielder options.

John Arias (M, Wolves)

Many managers were left frustrated and scratching their heads after draft day favourite Arias either struggled to get starts for Wolves or he was being subbed early with sub-par scores. However after his great performance in the EFL cup against Everton, which saw them eliminate the Toffees, Arias might have found his feet in the Premier League. In Gameweek 6, the Colombian MID scored just under 10 ghosts. This impressive tally included 3 key passes, 2 shots (0 on target) and 2 tackles won, along with a couple of notches in other categories. He even seems to be sharing set piece duty with the likes of Hugo Bueno. If Arias is one of the Wolves players unaffected by this random virus that seems to have hit the club, then he's a great MID-3/4 prospect. Not only for this weekend, but for the ROS.

Yasin Ayari (M, Brighton)

Given Hinshelwood is injured and set to be on the sidelines for a significant amount of time, Ayari seems a nailed option in that Brighton setup. Ayari is by no means the shiniest toy in the store, but given how dry the FA/Waiver pool seems at the moment for midfielders, he seems a great MID-4 option, and one that seems to be playing close to 90 minutes every game. Although the Swede has only been averaging just under 6 gPPS, he does have the ability to get the odd attacking return. We've seen him take some set pieces as well, which should help his points floor. If one of your midfield studs is missing due to injury or has been benched, Ayari seems a safe option as a way to navigate this gameweek.

Yeremy Pino (M, Crystal Palace)

One of the hot prospects of the summer transfer window might have finally hit form this season. It was never going to be easy filling Eze's shoes at Crystal Palace, but Glasner has heaped loads of positive remarks on the Spanish midfielder, and we're starting to take notice. Pino has only started 3 games in the league and his scores haven't been that impressive on first glance. If you look a bit closer though, he's actually been scoring around 7 gPP90, and has been arguably unlucky not to get an attacking return in the Prem. Last night in the Europa Conference league, he finally gave us a glimpse as to what managers could be getting. Pino was a standout performer against Dynamo Kyiv, scoring 28 FPts (15 ghosts), assisting both goal scorers in only 69 minutes. Palace are the only undefeated team remaining in the league and are showing no signs of that changing anytime soon. Pino has yet to score or assist in the league, and having accumulated 1.1 xG and 0.7 xA already, he could easily come good against the Toffees this weekend.

Adama Traore (F, Fulham)

Fulham could be without a recognised striker in the Friday night game against Bournemouth as the Cottagers kick off Gameweek 7. The injury to Jimenez in Gameweek 6 saw a Fantrax favorite in Adama Traore come off the bench and finally get significant minutes this season. In 78 minutes, Adama put up 6.5 ghost points. This included 2 key passes, 2 accurate crosses and a successful dribble. Despite Bournemouth having kept 3 clean sheets so far, one could argue that their fixtures so far have been fairly easy. The thing is though, you know what you're getting with Adama if he starts, a very solid FWD-3 with a dependable floor of ghost points.

Noah Okafor (F, Leeds) 

Our final pick before another dreaded International Break is new boy in the league, Okafor. The ex-Milan FWD has finally started putting points on the board, after his slow start to the season. The Swiss attacker is currently averaging 9.1 PPS (8.3 gPP90) and has already gotten a goal this season. He seems to love a shot at goal (5 attempts in 3 starts) and is a bit of a dribbler (9 CoS across his last 2 games). The only concern about Okafor is the fact that he's only played a max of 69 minutes in his 3 starts. So he's very much a FWD-3/4 for your roster. If you're struggling for a FWD option, he's a great backup plan, but just know the risks that come with rostering him.

For all the latest from The Draft Society, follow @Draft_Society on Twitter!

And for more in-depth and exclusive resources, become a member of The Inner Circle.