Our Gameweek 19 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!
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Fantasy EPL Gameweek 19 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!
An Author’s Note
The crazy Fantasy EPL times continue to roll… this week we’ve got 11 teams with two fixtures and one team with a blank! Leeds v Southampton was supposed to make it 13, but that fixture has been postponed to allow Saints to play their FA Cup Third Round game against Shrewsbury. So hard luck to anyone who had been stashing players from those two teams ahead of Double Gameweek 19! That’s just how it goes this season, unfortunately.
Aston Villa v Everton was called off yesterday, with Aston Villa v Newcastle replacing that fixture and being played on Saturday 23rd January. This means that Gameweek 19 will run from Saturday 16th January all the way through to the following Saturday! More examples of why you shouldn’t beat yourselves up about H2H results not going your way. It’s a truly unpredictable season!
The teams that feature in the “double” category this week are currently Aston Villa, Burnley, Chelsea, Fulham, Leicester, Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United, Newcastle, West Brom, and West Ham. I’m going to solely feature players from these teams in my Gameweek 19 Sleepers XI. Everton is the team with the blank. And of course, I would still start the likes of Kane, Son, Neto, JWP, Raphinha, etc despite them only having one game. Don’t bench a very good player for a streamer with a double!
GK: Alphonse Areola
Team: Fulham
Opponent: Chelsea (Home) + Manchester United (Home)
Ownership: 31%
Points Last Gameweek: 9.25
Prospects: I love a bit of Alphonse Areola. The Fulham shot-stopper and World Cup winner (I think I mention that every time I write about him) was placed in 7th in my recent GK Rankings refresh on Twitter. 12 points against Southampton and 9.25 points against Tottenham has really solidified Areola as a top asset in Fantrax. Fulham are on really good form, they are playing good football, and they are now pretty good defensively. I expect Areola to be one of the best keepers between now and the end of the season. Oh, and he has two games this week. Don’t be put off by the fixtures against Chelsea and Manchester United, he’ll still score well.
DEF: Kenny Tete
Team: Fulham
Opponent: Chelsea (Home) + Manchester United (Home)
Ownership: 13%
Points Last Gameweek: 6.5
Prospects: And I’m going straight in with the Fulham defensive double up, welcoming Kenny Tete to the Gameweek 19 Sleepers XI. The 25-year-old Dutch international right back with the middle name of Joelle has 13 caps for the national side and has previously played for Ajax and Lyon (thanks, Wikipedia). Tete does have a really good pedigree, but he’s struggled with injuries the last few years. Including during his brief period at Fulham. After 129 minutes of action back in September, Tete didn’t feature for in the EPL until the Gameweek 18 draw with Tottenham.
I’ve been desperate for Tete to get back to full fitness for a while. I’ve been sending out tweets promoting his return. I’ve been signing him up in my leagues in the hope he makes it into the match-day squad for the last month. And then it happened, the Dutchman started a Premier League game once again. So why am I so pumped about Tete?! During his one 90 minute appearance, he gained 12.75 points despite conceding four goals. Now that Fulham has steadied the ship and no longer give up 2/3/4 goals per game, he should be prime for points!
Tete gained 6.5 points during 66 minutes against one of the best sides in the league on Wednesday. He’s basically playing as a right midfielder. Fulham has a Double Gameweek 19, followed by a pretty nice fixture schedule. Have I written enough about him to convince you to sign him yet? Apologies if the rest of the article is brief, I’ve just used up half of my word count talking about Kenny Tete. I think it was worth it.
DEF: Angelo Ogbonna
Team: West Ham United
Opponent: Burnley (Home) + West Bromwich Albion (Home)
Ownership: 40%
Points Last Gameweek: N/A
Prospects: Next up in the Gameweek 19 Sleepers XI is Angelo Ogbonna. The big Italian center-back has started every game for West Ham so far this season and has gained double-figure scores in both of his last games. He looks primed for a punt during the Double Gameweek, as the Hammers face Burnley and West Brom. Both of these fixtures are at home, and I’m hopefully of two clean sheets after good defensive performances during their last two games. Ogbonna is pretty high on my list of low ownership gems for Gameweek 19.
DEF: Darnell Furlong
Team: West Bromwich Albion
Opponent: Wolves (Away) + West Ham United (Away)
Ownership: 36%
Points Last Gameweek: N/A
Prospects: Up next is a former darling of my Sleepers XI. Darnell Furlong. The West Brom defender has been a low ownership legend the last couple of months, but his stock has fallen after the Baggies most recent games. Conceding nine goals in two games, followed by a Blank Gameweek 18, I’m not surprised to see Furlong’s ownership drop to 36%. This one is a risk, as West Brom are on poor form and have two tough fixtures during their Double Gameweek 19. But I’m backing my boy Furlong to come out with a good score.
DEF: Joel Matip
Team: Liverpool
Opponent: Manchester United (Home) + Burnley (Home)
Ownership: 42%
Points Last Gameweek: N/A
Prospects: Next up in my Gameweek 19 Sleepers XI is a Double Gameweek Liverpool player. Not many of their assets qualify for my article, but perhaps Joel Matip does due to his recent injury. The Cameroonian defender has missed the last two games after scoring huge hauls of 19 and 23 points in back-to-back appearances. It going to be touch and go if Matip is fit for the first game of Liverpool’s double, but he should be ready for the second game against Burnley. That’s enough for me.
DEF: Craig Dawson
Team: West Ham United
Opponent: Burnley (Home) + West Bromwich Albion (Home)
Ownership: 3%
Points Last Gameweek: N/A
Prospects: I’m going five at the back for the Gameweek 19 Sleepers XI. I think I played five at the back in all my leagues for Gameweek 18, so why the hell not? And I’m also featuring a second West Ham defender. Again, why the hell not? As mentioned above, the Hammers have been good at the back in recent games and have kept two clean sheets in a row. Craig Dawson made his debut in the first of those games and kept his place for the second. The veteran defender isn’t a glamourous pick, but he should be free in most leagues. Dawson is a really solid punt.
MID: Robert Snodgrass
Team: West Bromwich Albion
Opponent: Wolves (Away) + West Ham United (Away)
Ownership: 12%
Points Last Gameweek: N/A
Prospects: Robert Snodgrass. Snoddy. The Scottish Steam Engine (I made that one up). Whatever you refer to him as, he’s back in business as a Fantasy EPL asset. The veteran midfielder has moved from West Ham to West Brom and has a chance of once again becoming a steady scoring Fantrax player. It remains to be seen where he’s going to fit into the Baggies’ team, and if he’s even going to be fit enough to play after a season on the sidelines. But anyway, I would take a punt on Snodgrass for Double Gameweek 19. Historically a great little Fantrax scoring player.
MID: Robbie Brady
Team: Burnley
Opponent: West Ham United (Away) + Liverpool (Away)
Ownership: 19%
Points Last Gameweek: 3
Prospects: Robbie Brady gets the nod again, making it into my Gameweek 19 Sleepers XI. The Irishman was disappointing last week against Manchester United, but I’m hoping for a better performance during his Double Gameweek. Due to injury and fitness concerns, I’m not sure if Brady will start both games, but if you’re in a larger league and there aren’t many options in the free agent pool, he’s worth a shot. The Burnley midfielder is well suited to the Fantrax Scoring System, he’s just never able to get a run in the side without suffering from an injury.
MID: Wilfred Ndidi
Team: Leicester City
Opponent: Southampton (Home) + Chelsea (Home)
Ownership: 50%
Points Last Gameweek: N/A
Prospects: Finishing off the midfield is a classic steady scoring midfielder in Wilfred Ndidi. The Leicester man has two games and should start them both. He usually scores 6 to 8 points per game, so multiply that by two and you get 12 to 16 points. Which would be a really strong return. Leicester have tough games against Southampton and Chelsea, but this means that the central midfielder areas will see a lot of action. Therefore, Ndidi will see a lot of action. I expect the Nigerian midfielder to pick up a steady stream of tackles, interceptions, and aerials across his two games.
FWD: Ivan Cavaleiro
Team: Fulham
Opponent: Chelsea (Home) + Manchester United (Home)
Ownership: 32%
Points Last Gameweek: 16
Prospects: I don’t understand how Ivan Cavaleiro’s ownership has been so low basically all season. Fantrax managers still haven’t realized that he starts most games, he scores well for ghost points, he’s the designated penalty taker, and he’s generally acclimatized to life in the Premier League pretty well. The Portuguese forward scored during the 1-1 draw with Tottenham, and as I’ve said above, Fulham is looking pretty good right now. Don’t be put off by the two tough games Cavaleiro faces, he’ll score double digits.
FWD: Callum Hudson-Odoi
Team: Chelsea
Opponent: Fulham (Away) + Leicester City (Away)
Ownership: 28%
Points Last Gameweek: N/A
Prospects: My final pick is a bit of a punt. Callum Hudson-Odoi. The Chelsea youngster has faced stiff competition for a starting slot this season, but he’s slowly working his way into contention. The Englishman has attacking returns in both of his last substitute appearances and scored a respectable 6.5 points during his start in Gameweek 16. I think Hudson-Odoi will start one of Chelsea’s fixtures during Gameweek 19, and come on as a sub in the other game. That’s enough for me, so he makes the Gameweek 19 Sleepers XI!
Average Ownership: 27%
Previous Editions: Gameweek 16 | Gameweek 17 | Gameweek 18 |
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