FPL: Five differentials to help you get ahead of the rest

Every season there are essential players you must have in your FPL team and this season has been no different. Salah, Kane, Alonso & De Gea have proven their worth and with that have a huge ownership.

Balancing your squad with under the radar picks can help you get a step ahead of the rest as we finish the season, if you’re willing to take the risk. That being said, I’ve picked five gems with relatively low ownership I believe have the potential to pick up a sizeable amount of points.

GOALKEEPER – Jack Butland (Stoke) – ~2% – £5.0

Upcoming Fixtures – HUD, WAT, bou, BRI

With Stoke’s recent form this may come as a surprise but Butland could be poised to be one of the higher scoring GKs the rest of the way. With England’s number 1 job up for grabs and fierce competition from Pickford and recently healthy Tom Heaton, Butland has an opportunity to claim his spot. Currently he’s 6^th in saves with 73, close to the likes of Pope and Pickford. Stoke have also signed quality fullbacks in Stafylidis & Bauer. Shawcross is back as well so they will be back to full strength. It’s also worth noting Stoke are safe from potential BGWs 28 & 31 so those looking for a GK replacement would be remiss to overlook Butland entirely.

DEFENDER – John Stones (Man City) – ~4% – £5.4

Upcoming Fixtures – NEW, WBA, bur, LEI

Manchester City have a good run of fixtures upcoming and shown they can get clean sheets. They’ll also be looking to respond to their first league loss of this season. Otamendi is the most popular route into the City defence but comes with a high price (6.5) for a centerback, high ownership (~33%) and an affinity for yellow cards.  For those who don’t have the money, Stones is a great option more than 1 million cheaper than his Argentine partner and has the potential to deliver similar returns and give you money to invest elsewhere.

MIDFIELDER – Manuel Lanzini (West Ham) – ~2.5% – £6.8

Upcoming Fixtures – BOU, CPL, bri, WAT

MIDFIELDER – Riyad Mahrez (Leicester) – ~12% – £8.6

Upcoming Fixtures – WAT, eve, SWA, mci

It’s astonishing that Mahrez is still owned by just 12% of FPL managers. Under Claude Puel he has shown many signs that he is back to his title winning best from a couple years ago. With just 2 blanks in his last 10 gameweeks, Mahrez has been both providing and scoring goals in his new number 10 role. At his price point Mahrez has been ignored for Man City and Spurs midfielders. With only Salah, Sterling & KDB outperforming him in midfield so far and a favorable run of fixtures on the way, owning Mahrez will surely help you move past those who choose not to. 

FORWARD – Cenk Tosun (Everton) – ~0.5% – £7.5

Upcoming Fixtures – WBA, LEI, ars, CPL

My least owned pick has the potential to become a quality option for the elusive 3^rd striker role. Cenk Tosun has come to Everton with one goal in mind; GOALS (no pun intended). Everton have lacked severely and Big Sam believes Tosun is the man to change their fortunes. In 17/18, Tosun scored 14 and assisted 3 in 25 appearances for Besiktas. Not only are those numbers impressive but recently bought Walcott, Sigurdsson, Rooney and Bolasie can provide quality delivery for Tosun to capitalize on. Owned by less than 1% of FPL managers and with enticing fixtures upcoming, Tosun can be the diamond in the rough to get you to the OR you desire.

By no means are these picks a guarantee for points but if you’re willing to take risks to get the OR you aspire for, I truly believe these players can make the difference.

This is my first FPL article so I want to thank 90maat for the opportunity. I also look forward to any questions/comments/concerns you all may have. Good luck and I hope your arrows stay GREEN.

Written by Ammar Nazarali. (@FPLAmmar)