Our Gameweek 16 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 16 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!
N.B. Due to time constraints, this article was written on Sunday, prior to the conclusion of the final four matches of Gameweek 16.
GK: Sam Johnstone
Team: West Bromwich Albion
Opponent: Leeds (Home)
Ownership: 25%
Points Last Gameweek: N/A
Prospects: Sam Johnstone recently came out on top of my Goalkeeper Rankings on Twitter, and this fixture against Leeds should prove why. The West Brom goalkeeper is likely to concede one or two goals, but will hopefully make five or six saves. This means he’ll come home with a decent score! If Johnstone does manage to keep a clean sheet, then even better! The main thing here is that his steady stream of saves almost guarantees him a decent points score.
DEF: Cesar Azpilicueta
Team: Chelsea
Opponent: Aston Villa (Home)
Ownership: 58%
Points Last Gameweek: 0
Prospects: It was rumored that first choice Chelsea right-back Reece James would miss a few games due to an ongoing injury. The youngster did actually start against Arsenal at the weekend, but the Blues played pretty badly and lost the game. Therefore, due to the poor team performance, there will be changes. And I expect one of those changes will be to give James a rest.
This is where Cesar Azpilicueta comes in. The club-captain is a dependable Fantrax asset, and I’m backing him to start against Aston Villa on Monday. If he doesn’t make the side once again, Azpilicueta is an easy drop as he plays in one of the earlier games.
DEF: Kortney Hause
Team: Aston Villa
Opponent: Chelsea (Away)
Ownership: 21%
Points Last Gameweek: 30.75
Prospects: I picked up Kortney Hause in the @FPLKickaround League, and I haven’t been disappointed. The Aston Villa center-back gained a huge score of 30.75 points during the Gameweek 15 victory over Crystal Palace. Andf with Mings set to miss the next game due to suspension, Hause will start again. The Villans are playing away to Chelsea, but I’m still going to start him. He’s a monster of a man who will gain decent ghost points, and is a danger from set pieces.
DEF: Charlie Taylor
Team: Burnley
Opponent: Sheffield United (Home)
Ownership: 30%
Points Last Gameweek: N/A
Prospects: I’m writing this Gameweek 16 Sleepers XI article prior to the Clarets’ fixture against Leeds, but Burnley plays against Sheffield United next so Charlie Taylor has to be backed. Burnley have a really small squad, so rotation shouldn’t be an issue over the Christmas period. Sheffield United have been really poor so far this season, so I would strongly back a Burnley clean sheet. Taylor does also get forward down the left-hand side fairly well.
DEF: Erik Pieters
Team: Burnley
Opponent: Sheffield United (Home)
Ownership: 3%
Points Last Gameweek: N/A
Prospects: And similar to the above, Erik Pieters also gets the nod. McNeil missed the Gameweek 15 match due to an injury, and with such a quick turnaround with the fixtures, I’m expecting Pieters to start against Sheffield United. The Dutchman is a defender on Fantrax, so he’ll pick up a clean sheet as well as potential attacking points from playing in midfield. Pieters was an obvious choice for my Gameweek 16 Sleepers XI once he was named in the lineup for the game against Leeds.
MID: Alex Iwobi
Team: Everton
Opponent: Manchester City (Home)
Ownership: 45%
Points Last Gameweek: 11.5
Prospects: Like FF Genie said in his Waiver Wire article, I’m also not sure how Alex Iwobi’s ownership is still so low. The Nigerian midfielder has now established himself in the Everton side and is picking up good ghost points pretty much every game. If Iwobi is still free in your Fantrax league, please go and sign him. I don’t think there’s much else to add here!
MID: Bertrand Traore
Team: Aston Villa
Opponent: Chelsea (Away)
Ownership: 56%
Points Last Gameweek: 19.5
Prospects: Bertrand Traore has certainly arrived. The Burkinabe midfielder has scored over 60 points during his last three games, and even managed 19.5 points in just 45 minutes at the weekend. Traore was the man to be sacrificed due to Mings being sent off. But this means he should be fit enough to start once again against Chelsea on Monday. Now that El Ghazi’s ownership has rocketed, Traore gets the nod for my Gameweek 16 Sleepers XI!
MID: Gabriel Martinelli
Team: Arsenal
Opponent: Brighton & Hove Albion (Away)
Ownership: 45%
Points Last Gameweek: 6.5
Prospects: My final midfielder for the Gameweek 16 Sleepers XI is Gabriel Martinelli. My good friend @satish_vasanth has been telling me to sign the Brazilian youngster for weeks, and after returning from injury only recently, Martinelli is back in the starting eleven for Arsenal. He only picked up 6.5 points during the 3-1 victory over Chelsea, but it was an encouraging display for a player only just returning from a serious injury. I’m not sure if Martinelli will start against Brighton, but he’s certainly worth adding to your roster if you can!
FWD: Oliver McBurnie
Team: Sheffield United
Opponent: Burnley (Away)
Ownership: 53%
Points Last Gameweek: 3
Prospects: Oliver McBurnie returned to the Sheffield United side as a substitute during the Gameweek 15 loss to Everton. The Scotsman is therefore back from injury, and in line to start the next game. Who do the Blades face in Gameweek 16? None other than aerial duel legends Burnely. Expect McBurnie to start this game, and have some fun (not sure if that’s the correct word) facing up against Tarkowski and Mee. If McBurnie has been dropped in your Fantrax league, I highly recommend snapping him up!
FWD: Ivan Cavaleiro
Team: Fulham
Opponent: Tottenham Hotspur (Away)
Ownership: 26%
Points Last Gameweek: 6.5
Prospects: I’ve got no idea how Ivan Cavaleiro’s ownership is still as low as 26%. The Portuguese forward is clearly the preferred option up front for Fulham, he’s on penalty duty, and scores fairly well for ghost points. The Cottagers are playing against Tottenham, but Cavaleiro still makes my Gameweek 16 Sleepers XI. He’s a good FWD3 for any roster, and I would confidently start him against most opponents.
FWD: Callum Hudson-Odoi
Team: Chelsea
Opponent: Aston Villa (Home)
Ownership: 16%
Points Last Gameweek: 14
Prospects: I’ll finish off this Gameweek 16 Sleepers XI article with a punt on Callum Hudson-Odoi. The uber talented youngster came on at half-time during Chelsea’s horrible 3-1 defeat to Arsenal. Hudson-Odoi bagged the assist for Abraham’s goal, and I wouldn’t be surprised to see him start for Lampard’s side on Monday. The great thing here is that Chelsea plays in the second fixture of the week, so if you play with live lineup changes activated then Hudson-Odoi is an ideal pick-up.
Average Ownership: 31%
Previous Editions: Gameweek 13 | Gameweek 14 | Gameweek 15 |
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