Our Gameweek 12 Sleepers XI article provides Fantrax 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 one of our Fantasy EPL sleeper picks could easily 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” on the sophisticated and statistics based Fantrax Scoring System!
Looking for a better way to play Fantasy Premier League? The Fantrax draft-style EPL Fantasy Soccer Leagues are the most feature-rich, easy-to-use, and customizable in the industry. Sign up now to enjoy the incredible experience that is a Fantasy EPL Draft League on Fantrax!
Fantasy EPL Gameweek 12 Sleepers XI
For this article, we use the ownership statistics from Fantrax. Our only rule is that each player we highlight is required to have ownership of 60% or below at the time of writing. Therefore there’s a good chance these players will be free agents in your Fantrax Draft League!
GK: Illan Meslier
Team: Leeds United
Opponent: West Ham United (Home)
Ownership: 42%
Points Last Gameweek: 8.25
Prospects: Leeds manager Bielsa literally named his side in his pre-game press conference yesterday, much to the delight of Fantasy EPL managers! Although it was pretty much a given that Illan Meslier would start this weekend, the confirmation is always nice. The Leeds shot-stopper has been racking up a good number of save points in recent weeks, and he looks to be a good streaming option this weekend. I signed Meslier myself in the @FPLKickaround League after @FFSimonLong inexplicitly beat me on a tiebreaker for my boy Darlow. Shame on me for dropping him last week.
DEF: Toby Alderweireld
Team: Tottenham Hotspur
Opponent: Crystal Palace (Away)
Ownership: 59%
Points Last Gameweek: 13.5
Prospects: I’m kicking off my Gameweek 12 Sleepers XI defense with a player I really didn’t think I would ever be featuring. Toby Alderweireld. Good footballer. Historically poor Fantrax points scorer. But here’s the thing. Tottenham have kept four clean sheets in a row. And Alderweireld has actually scored pretty well in his last three games. His score of 13.5 points last time around came courtesy of winning five aerials and making 10 clearances. More of the same, please! Tottenham faces Crystal Palace this weekend, and despite the Eagles finding their scoring boots last time around, a fifth clean sheet for Mourinho’s men is fairly likely.
DEF: Darnell Furlong
Team: West Bromwich Albion
Opponent: Newcastle United (Away)
Ownership: 54%
Points Last Gameweek: 2
Prospects: I’m backing Darnell Furlong for the third week in a row. His ownership really should be higher than 60%!! The West Brom right back had a really entertaining game last week. He conceded five goals (-10 points), and scored an own goal (-5), but still managed to post a positive score due to his assist, and general good play across many Fantrax statistics. This weekend the Baggies face a trip to Newcastle. There is a possibility of a clean sheet here, but in any case, Furlong should score pretty well due to his all-action style of play!
DEF: Jonny Evans
Team: Leicester City
Opponent: Brighton & Hove Albion (Home)
Ownership: 48%
Points Last Gameweek: 10.5
Prospects: Jonny Evans is another player I backed last week, but after a ghost points clinic against Sheffield United, he keeps his place for my Gameweek 12 Sleepers XI. The Northern Irishman gained a double-figure haul last time around, mainly due to the aerial duels he won against McBurnie. The veteran Leicester defender isn’t usually a player you can trust for points outside of attacking returns or clean sheets, but the Foxes have a nice fixture against Brighton, and it comes at the end of the week. If you play with live lineup changes, Evans is a great player to stash on your bench and call upon if one of your earlier players gets benched.
MID: Jonjo Shelvey
Team: Newcastle United
Opponent: West Bromwich Albion (Home)
Ownership: 54%
Points Last Gameweek: N/A
Prospects: I’m going Newcastle mad in the attacking slots of the Gameweek 12 Sleepers XI. Two midfielders and one forward from the Magpies!! First up is Jonjo Shelvey, who has returned to fitness and quickly got back up to speed with 10.5 points in Gameweek 10. If a fellow manager dropped the Englishman during his injury, or because of the postponed game last weekend, please go and pick him up! Shelvey is usually good for around 7-9 points per game, with attacking potential due to his good passing ability. Newcastle faces a West Brom side who shipped five goals last time around (although they did play with 10 men for most of the game).
MID: Matt Ritchie
Team: Newcastle United
Opponent: West Bromwich Albion (Home)
Ownership: 22%
Points Last Gameweek: N/A
Prospects: The second Newcastle midfielder in my Gameweek 12 Sleepers XI is Matt Ritchie. This one is a punt, but it makes sense. Ritchie entered the Magpies’ last game as a substitute when the game was 0-0. Newcastle ended up winning the game, and the Scotsman gained a solid 4.5 points from 23 minutes of action. With injuries to Saint-Maximin and Fraser keeping them out of action, I’m backing Ritchie to earn a start against West Brom. The former Bournemouth man has always scored well in Fantrax but has been let down by his fitness on many occasions. A worthwhile punt with Newcastle playing in one of the earlier games this weekend.
MID: Matt Phillips
Team: West Bromwich Albion
Opponent: Newcastle United (Away)
Ownership: 6%
Points Last Gameweek: 14.5
Prospects: Matt Phillips came into the West Brom side last weekend for the injured Conor Townsend. And despite the Baggies being demolished 5-1 by Crystal Palace, Phillips managed to bag 14.5 points without attacking returns. With influential midfielder Pereira now out suspended for three games, there will be even more onus on Phillips to provide the creative spark. The Scottish international midfielder is a good signing this week, and a really solid addition to my Gameweek 12 Sleepers XI.
MID: Josh Brownhill
Team: Burnley
Opponent: Arsenal (Away)
Ownership: 19%
Points Last Gameweek: 7.5
Prospects: Josh Brownhill. The man himself. The most consistent scoring player in Fantrax EPL history*. The Burnley midfielder has scored between 5.5 and 10 points every single game, with six of those scores being between 6 and 7.5 points! No matter who the opponent is, Brownhill scores a decent, run of the mill score. EVERY Fantrax league needs a player like that. I don’t care who big or small the league is!! If Brownhill is free in your league, sign him up and enjoy your 7 points per gameweek. Burnley faces struggling Arsenal this weekend.
* Statistic unconfirmed.
MID: Robbie Brady
Team: Burnley
Opponent: Arsenal (Away)
Ownership: 5%
Points Last Gameweek: 19.5
Prospects: Two Newcastle midfielders. Now two Burnley midfielders? Why the hell not!! The Clarets do face the side 15th in the Premier League table after all (sorry Arsenal fans). Robbie Brady is the man to get the nod for the Gameweek 12 Sleepers XI after a great points haul last weekend. The Irishman scored 19.5 points in the draw with Everton, as he grabbed an early goal to instantly reward anyone who took a punt on him. Brady has always been a decent scorer in Fantrax, but he’s just always injured! Let’s hope the former Norwich man can get a good run of games under his belt.
FWD: Joelinton
Team: Newcastle United
Opponent: West Bromwich Albion (Home)
Ownership: 29%
Points Last Gameweek: N/A
Prospects: Joelinton completes my Newcastle trio, after a huge haul of 31.5 points in his last outing. I’ll be open about the Brazilian forward here; I’m really not a fan of him. But a forward starting at home against a relegation-threatened side, who scored incredibly well in his last appearance… I can’t deny Joelinton is a decent option this weekend. Upcoming games against Leeds and Fulham make Newcastle assets pretty good options before of a horrible festive period against Manchester City, Liverpool, and Leicester. Take a punt on Big Joel ahead of the next three games!!
FWD: Christian Benteke
Team: Crystal Palace
Opponent: Tottenham Hotspur (Home)
Ownership: 28%
Points Last Gameweek: 35.5
Prospects: I’m saving the best until last for the Gameweek 12 Sleepers XI. Christian Benteke. I love him. I have to applaud a professional footballer who is so bad at actually, you know, playing football. The Belgian forward has the added ability to score incredibly well in the Fantrax Scoring System! It’s been a slow season for Benteke so far, but he started his first game of the season last week, Twitter went wild (well, at least the Twitter accounts of the Fantrax HQ staff), he scored 35.5 points, and the rest is history!
Benteke is fighting it out with Ayew and Batshuayi for a starting berth alongside Zaha, but after scoring two goals during the 5-1 thrashing of West Brom, it’s his place to lose. The former Liverpool and Aston Villa striker is by no means a long term asset, but for now, he needs to be praised. And signed in every single Fantrax league. Crystal Palace faces Tottenham away this weekend, but that shouldn’t stop Benteke putting up a good ghost points tally!
Average Ownership: 33%
Gameweek 12 Reserve XI
Our Reserve XI features even more low ownership Fantasy EPL Gameweek 12 Sleepers!
- Caoimhin Kellher | Liverpool | 14% ownership
- Ryan Bertrand | Southampton | 52% ownership
- Antonee Robinson | Fulham | 38% ownership
- Christian Fuchs | Leicester City | 15% ownership
- Jamaal Lewis | Newcastle United | 15% ownership
- Wilfred Ndidi | Leicester City | 53% ownership
- Conor Gallagher | West Bromwich Albion | 34% ownership
- Alex Iwobi | Everton | 18% ownership
- Ezgjan Alioski | Leeds United | 11% ownership
- Raphinha | Leeds United | 59% ownership
- Ivan Cavaleiro | Fulham | 16% ownership
Previous Editions: Gameweek 9 | Gameweek 10 | Gameweek 11 |
Follow The Fantasy Football Chaps on Twitter @TheFFChaps for all the latest!
Fantrax was one of the fastest-growing fantasy sites of 2019 and we’re not letting our foot off the pedal now! With multi-team trades, designated commissioner/league managers, and drag/drop easy click methods, Fantrax is sure to excite the serious fantasy sports fan – sign up now for a free year at Fantrax.com.