Our Gameweek 12 Chaps Choices article provides Fantrax managers with a Fantasy EPL Sleepers XI. Our starting eleven of 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 Togga scoring model!
*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. This way there’s a good chance these players will be free agents in your Fantrax Draft League!
Fantasy EPL Gameweek 12 Sleepers XI
**60% ownership or below**
GK: Aaron Ramsdale
Team: Bournemouth
Opponent: Newcastle (Away)
Ownership: 28%
Average Points Last 5 Games: 9.25 PPG
Prospects: Three clean sheets and three double-digit returns in a row for Ramsdale! The under the radar goalkeeper only has 28% ownership, despite scoring the third-highest among goalkeepers over the last five gameweeks. The 21-year-old shot-stopper has seemingly solved all of Bournemouth’s goalkeeper problems from the last couple of years! This weekend Ramsdale faces a trip to Newcastle, and another decent score should be achieved. The Magpies actually scored three goals last weekend, but they are usually pretty goal-shy. Bournemouth has a good chance of making it four clean sheets in a row, and Ramsdale is a great option for this weekend.
Alternative Choice: Ramsdale’s opposite number Dubravka (35% ownership) is another solid option for a streaming goalkeeper this weekend. The Slovakian international has been scoring well in recent weeks, and Bournemouth has only actually scored once in their last three games.
GW12 Points Scored: 11.25
DEF: Adam Smith
Team: Bournemouth
Opponent: Newcastle (Away)
Ownership: 10%
Average Points Last 5 Games: 15.42 PPG
Prospects: Adam Smith has been pivotal to Bournemouth’s new-found defensive stability. The English full-back returned to the side in Gameweek 9, and The Cherries have gained three clean sheets in a row!! This is pretty unheard of for Eddie Howe’s men! Smith has amassed 46.25 points over this three-game period. His attacking instincts are key to this, as Smith supplied the assist for King’s goal against Manchester United last weekend. Bournemouth has two good fixtures coming up, as they face Newcastle this weekend, followed by Wolves at home in Gameweek 13. If you don’t already own a Bournemouth defender, we highly recommend snapping one up! That advice is a key takeaway from our Gameweek 12 Sleepers XI article.
Alternative Choice: Smith’s teammate Steve Cook (31% ownership) is also well worth bringing in to your Fantrax Draft Team. The big center back will rely more on aerials rather than attacking passes, but Cook should score well coming up against big Newcastle forward Joelinton this weekend.
GW12 Points Scored: 3
DEF: Kurt Zouma
Team: Chelsea
Opponent: Crystal Palace (Home)
Ownership: 44%
Average Points Last 5 Games: 9.75 PPG
Prospects: We backed Zouma last week, and he bagged us a very good score without gaining a clean sheet. The Frenchman still has relatively low ownership, so we’re backing him once again as Chelsea host Crystal Palace. The Blues have kept clean sheets in each of their last two home games, so we’re confident of another. Zouma and Tomori are developing a good relationship at the heart of the new-look Chelsea defense. The big center back consistently gains points for aerials, clearances, and interceptions, and this weekend should be no different. Pick up Zouma if you can!
GW12 Points Scored: 13
DEF: Matt Targett
Team: Aston Villa
Opponent: Wolves (Away)
Ownership: 57%
Average Points Last 5 Games: 10.55 PPG
Prospects: We’re jumping at the chance to feature Targett once again after his ownership has dropped to below our 60% threshold. Fantrax managers have been dropping the Englishman after fixtures against Manchester City and Liverpool, which is fair enough. However, now if the time to bring him back in!! The Villains have two winnable games, followed by three hard games, but then the schedule gets a lot better for them! This weekend Aston Villa face Wolves in the midlands derby, which should be a feisty, but open game. Therefore, we’re backing Targett to gain plenty of points for key passes and accurate crosses, as well as potentially gaining a goal or assist! If the left-back has been dropped by a fellow manager, now if the time to pounce on him!
Alternative Choice: Fellow Aston Villa full-back Guilbert (41% ownership) is also worth a punt if he’s currently a free agent in your Fantrax Draft League. The Frenchman has performed well so far this season, and, like Targett, offers plenty of attacking potential.
GW12 Points Scored: -0.5
DEF: Jetro Willems
Team: Newcastle
Opponent: Bournemouth (Home)
Ownership: 44%
Average Points Last 5 Games: 15.62 PPG
Prospects: We’ve backed Willems for the last two Sleepers XI articles, and we’re backing him again for Gameweek 12! The flying Dutchman is performing very well for the Magpies, and has gained 62.5 points from his last four games! Because of this form, Willems has featured in the Hot section of our Hot or Cold Player Rankings for quite some time!! This weekend Newcastle face Bournemouth in front of their own fans, and confidence will be high after beating West Ham last time out. Take a punt on Willems this weekend if you still can – he’s a key component of our Gameweek 12 Sleepers XI. A word of warning here though, Matt Ritchie will be back from injury soon, and he could oust the Dutchman from his left wing-back slot.
GW12 Points Scored: 9
MID: Robert Snodgrass
Team: West Ham
Opponent: Newcastle (Home)
Ownership: 44%
Average Points Last 5 Games: 19.75 PPG
Prospects: Snodgrass performed well again last week, bagging himself 22.5 points to go alongside his tally of 17 points the week before! The Scottish attacking midfielder is an absolute beast on Togga scoring when he starts. The issue is, he doesn’t start all that often! But at the moment he’s in West Ham’s best eleven, and as long as he stays there, he’s a great Fantrax asset! Snodgrass has seen his ownership shoot up over the last week or so, and rightfully so. If he’s still a free agent in your Draft League, you need to sign him. Snodgrass is an essential piece of our Gameweek 12 Sleepers XI! West Ham faces a trip to Burnley this weekend, and if the veteran midfielder can get anywhere near to his 5 key passes from last week, he’ll score well.
Alternative Choice: Tottenham man Lo Celso (46% ownership) is surely edging towards his first Premier League start. Pochettino is really struggling at the moment, so Lo Celso could be given a chance from the off this weekend against Sheffield United. Lo Celso started in the Champions League Wednesday night and played very well. He may not start this weekend, but he needs to be acquired immediately if he’s a free agent in your Fantrax Draft League!
GW12 Points Scored: 5
MID: Andreas Pereira
Team: Manchester United
Opponent: Brighton (Home)
Ownership: 30%
Average Points Last 5 Games: 5.9 PPG
Prospects: Now here’s a player we didn’t think we would be featuring. Andreas Pereira. The Manchester United midfielder has been given a chance in the side after the continuing injury issues surrounding Pogba. Solskjaer has put his faith in the youngster, and Pereira has been taking his fair share of set pieces, as well as providing a fair few key passes. With Brighton visiting Old Trafford this weekend, we have to back Manchester United to win. Therefore Pereira could score well, and finally start proving that he has the talent to succeed in the Premier League. Backing Pereira in our Gameweek 12 Sleepers XI is risky… but it could pay off!
Alternative Choices: If you don’t fancy Pereira, then perhaps a couple of steady scoring alternatives could take your fancy. Propper (44% ownership) and Armstrong (4% ownership) offer decent MID4 value, and could happily slot into your starting eleven this weekend. Brighton midfielder Propper is especially impressive: Chap 1 watched him live at the Amex in Gameweek 11, and he’s a very impressive footballer!
GW12 Points Scored: 21
MID: Miguel Almiron
Team: Newcastle
Opponent: Bournemouth (Home)
Ownership: 46%
Average Points Last 5 Games: 4.2 PPG
Prospects: Now we’re certainly not the biggest fans of Almiron, but he has put in a couple of decent scores over the last two games. We think this is down to Saint-Maximin being in the side, as Newcastle look so much better going forward when he’s on the pitch. The Paraguayan gained two key passes in Gameweek 10, and three shots on targets in Gameweek 11. Almiron is slowly increasing his output, and we think he’ll score fairly well again this weekend as Newcastle host Bournemouth. The Magpies did look pretty good in Gameweek 11 against West Ham, and confidence will be high after that victory. Backing Almiron for this weekend could be a masterstroke!
Alternative Choice: Newcastle teammate Hayden (20% ownership) gained a start last weekend in the victory over West Ham, and bagged a great score of 16.5 points. Considering how much better Newcastle looked at the weekend, we expect Hayden to keep his place in the side.
GW12 Points Scored: 5.5
MID: Onel Hernandez
Team: Norwich
Opponent: Watford (Home)
Ownership: 14%
Average Points Last 5 Games: 7.17 PPG
Prospects: We’re backing Hernandez again this weekend, as Norwich faces Watford at home in a must-win game. The Argos loving midfielder (yes, we will share that link every time we write about Hernandez) made a huge impact in Gameweek 10, as he scored against Manchester United. Things didn’t really go his way during the Gameweek 11 defeat to Brighton, but Hernandez, along with Buendia, were the only Norwich players who looked lively. Norwich simply has to win on Friday night, when they face win-less Watford in front on their own fans. Hernandez will be key to this, and will surely bring home a decent points haul (and justify us including him in our Hot List!). Successful dribbles, key passes, and shots on target should be gained.
GW12 Points Scored: 11
MID: Trezeguet
Team: Aston Villa
Opponent: Wolves (Away)
Ownership: 15%
Average Points Last 5 Games: 7.4 PPG
Prospects: Last week Trezeguet was put forward as a Sleepers XI Alternative Choice, due to the hard fixture against Liverpool. The Egyptian winger managed to score against the league leaders and make it two double-digit returns in a row! Therefore, Trezeguet has been given an upgrade to the starting eleven this weekend, as Aston Villa face a trip to Midlands rivals Wolves. Our colleague @draftgenie certainly agrees with this call, as he included Trezeguet in his Gameweek 12 Waiver Wire and Trade Targets article! It looks as though the skillful winger is now ahead of El Ghazi in the pecking order, and Trezeguet should be a good option for Fantasy EPL managers.
GW12 Points Scored: 19.5
FWD: Allan Saint-Maximin
Team: Newcastle United
Opponent: Bournemouth (Home)
Ownership: 41%
Average Points Last 5 Games: 10.62 PPG
Prospects: We’ve been backing Saint-Maximin for a few weeks now, having featured in the Hot section of our Hot or Cold Player Rankings, as well as our last two Sleepers XI’s. Somehow the Frenchman still only has 38% ownership! Saint-Maximin is a beast on Togga scoring, as he consistently gains points for successful dribbles and key passes. If the enigmatic forward can start adding goals or assists, he’s going to be absolute gold for the rest of the season. Newcastle actually looked pretty decent in attack in Gameweek 11, as Saint-Maximin, Joelinton, and Almiron formed a fairly good trio! Snap him up if you still can. You won’t regret it.
Alternative Choice: If Saint-Maximin is taken in your Draft League, and quite frankly he should have been taken weeks ago, then perhaps Jay Rodriguez (7% ownership) takes your fancy? The Burnley man has started the last three games as Wood and Barnes have both struggled with injuries. This weekend Burnley face West Ham at home, and Rodriguez has a decent chance of scoring his second goal of the season.
GW12 Points Scored: 18.5
Gameweek 12 Sleepers XI:
Team Points – Gameweek 12: 116.25
Team Average Score – Gameweek 12: 10.5
Average Ownership – Gameweek 12: 34% Fantrax ownership
Previous Sleepers XI Editions: Gameweek 4 | Gameweek 5 | Gameweek 6 | Gameweek 7 | Gamweek 8 | Gameweek 9 | Gameweek 10 | Gameweek 11 |
Wondering who the best current Fantasy EPL players to target are? Look no further than our Top 100 ROS Player Rankings on Fantrax!!
Looking for a better way to play Fantasy Soccer? Our Fantasy EPL 101 looks into the world of ‘Draft’ Fantasy EPL, providing details of how it works, and why it is the best version of the game!
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