Our Gameweek 8 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 8 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: Alphonse Areola
Team: Fulham
Opponent: West Ham (Away)
Ownership: 13%
Points Last Gameweek: 10
Prospects: Alphonse Areola was a surprising 5th place in our GK Rankings last week, and followed this up with his first clean sheet of the season at the weekend. Fulham is slowly improving and they gained their first win of the season in Gameweek 7. The French shot-stopper, much like Sam Johnstone, is benefitting from playing for a poor side who concede a fair few shots. If Areola can continue his trend of turning goals conceded into saves made, he’s a goalkeeper to keep an eye on! Fulham faces a trip to West Ham this weekend, and Areola is my streaming goalkeeper of choice for the Gameweek 8 Sleepers XI!
Fun Fact: Areola was the first player since Argentina’s Hector Zelada in 1986 to lift the World Cup trophy with France in 2018, despite being uncapped for his country at the time.
DEF: Vladimir Coufal
Team: West Ham
Opponent: Fulham (Home)
Ownership: 39%
Points Last Gameweek: -2.75
Prospects: Vladimir Coufal was the first name on the team sheet for my Gameweek 8 Sleepers XI. The Czech Republic right wing-back has been performing really well since his low-key move to East London at the end of the transfer window. I was a little bit skeptical over his prospects due to the competition from Fredericks, but Coufal has firmly established himself in the West Ham starting eleven.
And it’s right in time for their good fixture schedule! The Hammers face Fulham, Sheffield United, Aston Villa, Leeds, and Crystal Palace in their next six games, and Coufal looks set to build upon his 7 PPG average so far this season. The 28-year-old has gained either an attacking return or a clean sheet in three of his four games to date. Coufal is an essential signing ahead of the upcoming period.
DEF: Rayan Ait-Nouri
Team: Wolves
Opponent: Leicester City (Away)
Ownership: 35%
Points Last Gameweek: 21.5
Prospects: Rayan Ait-Nouri. Take a bow. The young Frenchman made his Wolves debut in Gameweek 7 and came away with a goal, a clean sheet, and a 21.5 point haul! Many people within the Fantrax Community were quietly confident that the 19-year-old on loan from Angers would become a good asset. But I don’t think anyone expected such a rapid gain in notoriety for Ait-Nouri!
The Wolves defense has been incredibly hard to predict so far this season, but I’m hoping Ait-Nouri can nail down a starting slot at left wing-back. At least until Jonny returns from his long term injury early next year. This weekend Wolves face a trip to a good Leicester side, but I would happily start Ait-Nouri if I could!
DEF: Antonee Robinson
Team: Fulham
Opponent: West Ham (Away)
Ownership: 25%
Points Last Gameweek: 14.5
Prospects: Antonee Robinson is quickly becoming one of my favorite Fantrax players. I backed him last week, and he came away with 14.5 points from an all-round good display. The American left-back was an easy choice for my Gameweek 8 Sleepers XI! This weekend the Cottagers face a trip to West Ham, but confidence will be high after gaining their first win of the season last week. I’m a big fan of Robinson, and would happily own him across all of my Fantrax leagues!
MID: Tom Cairney
Team: Fulham
Opponent: West Ham (Away)
Ownership: 59%
Points Last Gameweek: 8.5
Prospects: I passed on Tom Cairney last week, and I was left to regret it. The Scottish midfielder backed up impressive consecutive double-digit hauls with a really strong 8.5 points without attacking returns. Over the last three games, Cairney has racked up 9 key passes, 4 shots on target, 5 successful crosses, and 10 successful dribbles. Those are some really strong numbers, and it may be time to jump on board the Cairney-Craft! This weekend the Cottagers face a trip to West Ham, and the Fulham midfielder rounds out my trio of Parker’s boys in the Gameweek 8 Sleepers XI!
MID: Theo Walcott
Team: Southampton
Opponent: Newcastle United (Home)
Ownership: 49%
Points Last Gameweek: 8
Prospects: Two games. Two assists. And nearly 30 points. It has been a pretty productive start for Theo Walcott’s second spell at Southampton! This weekend the Everton loanee was brought back into the side at the expense of Redmond, after missing Gameweek 7 due to ineligibility. Walcott supplied an assist during the 4-3 victory over Aston Villa and looks set to stay in the side. With the injury to Ings, Hassenhutl is short on options and Walcott will surely stay in the side for the foreseeable future. And potentially be fielded as a forward. If you can still sign him, go down that right now!
MID: Cengiz Under
Team: Leicester City
Opponent: Wolves (Home)
Ownership: 34%
Points Last Gameweek: 9.5
Prospects: Cengiz Under is slowly working is way into contention at new side Leicester City, with assists in consecutive substitute appearances. The Turkish winger has always been a talented footballer but has experienced injuries and fitness issues his whole career. Rodgers has already highlighted the fact that Under needs to be doing more in training and that he isn’t fit enough. But if he keeps on performing this well in matches when it really matters, the Leicester boss will have no choice but to start him. Imagine a frontline of Vardy, Barnes, Maddison, and Under… dreamy!
MID: Pascal Gross
Team: Brighton & Hove Albion
Opponent: Burnley (Home)
Ownership: 16%
Points Last Gameweek: 14.5
Prospects: Here are a few reasons why you should sign Pascal Gross this weekend. He played well in Gameweek 7 and scored 14.5 points. He plays in the first game of the weekend, so if he doesn’t start (and you use live lineup changes) then you can drop him for another option. He faces a Burnley side who are in poor form. He will be on set-piece duty. Is that enough to convince you Gross is good enough for my Gameweek 8 Sleepers XI?
MID: Josh Brownhill
Team: Burnley
Opponent: Brighton & Hove Albion (Away)
Ownership: 14%
Points Last Gameweek: 6.5
Prospects: Josh Brownhill may just be the most consistent performer in Fantrax right now. In his six games so far this season, all of his scores have been between 5.5 points and 10 points, with a PPG average of 7.42. I’m always banging on about every roster needing a steady scoring midfielder who can pick up 7/8 points each and every week. Brownhill is a great choice for that role! Burnley faces Brighton in the first game of the weekend. Bring in Brownhill and get your Gameweek 8 off to a steady start.
FWD: Michy Batshuayi
Team: Crystal Palace
Opponent: Leeds United (Home)
Ownership: 38%
Points Last Gameweek: 1
Prospects: I’m backing Michy Batshuayi this weekend despite a poor outing last time around. The Belgian striker gained a solitary point against Wolves, but it could be a whole different story this weekend as the Eagles face a Leeds side who shipped four goals at the weekend. Batshuayi should remain in the side, despite a return to full fitness for fellow forward Ayew. Batsman looks to be goal dependent at the moment, but certainly worth a punt given the lack of forwards with low ownership!
FWD: Andriy Yarmolenko
Team: West Ham
Opponent: Fulham (Home)
Ownership: 5%
Points Last Gameweek: 0.5
Prospects: My final Gameweek 8 Sleepers XI pick is a bit of a punt, but one that could work out pretty nicely! Andriy Yarmolenko has been appearing from the bench fairly frequently so far this season and is undoubtedly a talented footballer. The Ukrainian winger has struggled with injuries and consistency since joining the Hammers from Borussia Dortmund and is often a player worth the odd punt on.
This weekend West Ham face Fulham, and there’s a decent chance that Yarmolenko is handed a start. Antonio is injured, and Haller didn’t take his chance last weekend. If Yarmolenko gets the start against Fulham, there are plenty of points potential!
Average Ownership – Gameweek 8: 30% Fantrax ownership
Gameweek 8 Reserve XI
Our Reserve XI features even more low ownership Fantasy EPL Gameweek 8 Sleepers!
- Alex McCarthy | Southampton | 27% ownership
- Arthur Masuaku | West Ham United | 52% ownership
- Patrick Van Aanholt | Crystal Palace | 50% ownership
- Wesley Fofana | Leicester City | 50% ownership
- Charlie Taylor | Burnley | 21% ownership
- Pablo Fornals | West Ham United | 58% ownership
- Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa | Fulham | 55% ownership
- Leander Dendoncker | Wolves | 48% ownership
- Alexis Mac Allister | Brighton | 2% ownership
- Said Benrahma | West Ham United | 54% ownership
- Danny Welbeck | Brighton | 2% ownership
Previous Editions: Gameweek 2 | Gameweek 3 | Gameweek 4 | Gameweek 5 | Gameweek 6 | Gameweek 7 |
Enjoy these Gameweek 8 Sleepers? Follow The Fantasy Football Chaps on Twitter @TheFFChaps for all the latest!
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