Here is Joseph’s fantasy premier league differentials article with his GW4 picks. As always, he will be giving three choices of varying ownership; 5-10%, 1-5% and <1%. Joseph finished with an overall rank of 13k last season
fantasy premier league differentials – Joseph’s GW4 picks
Last week’s picks
It seems that a good way to pick up points each week is to choose up my <1% pick and avoid the other two! Sturridge was the man to return last week as he registered the 4th goal during Liverpool’s thrashing of Arsenal. West Brom were looking good for a clean sheet until an error allowed Stoke to score which prevented Dawson returning more than 2 points. Richarlison was a little unlucky as an early red card for his teammate Britos rather reduced his attacking threat but I still think that he is one to keep an eye on over the next few weeks.
This weeks picks
Riyad Mahrez, 8.5mil MID, 5.0%
One of the more entertaining stories from deadline day was the whereabouts of Mahrez as he hunted for a move away from the King Power stadium. However, the transfer never materialised so he will continue playing his football at Leicester. He has started this season well with 3 assists during the opening three games. I am slightly concerned that he only showed such form to try and engineer a transfer. However, this impressive start could be the beginning of another season similar to 2015/16 where he registered 17 goals and 11 assists to bring home 240 points.
Mahrez has posted some great underlying stats to go with his decent opening points tally. He has created 3 chances for his team mates so far but it’s his goal threat that really stands out. The Algerian has taken 10 shots with 6 coming inside the 18-yard box and seems to be due his opening goal of the season. Looking at his upcoming fixtures, there seems to be the opportunities available for him. Leicester may play the champions at home this weekend but from GW7 onwards, their fixtures take a positive turn. If the Mahrez of 2015/16 returns, he could prove a great differential midfielder in the high-price bracket.
Leicester’s next 6 fixtures:
Chelsea (H)
Huddersfield (A)
Liverpoo, (H)
Bournemouth (A)
West Brom (H)
Swansea (A)
Fabianski, 5.0mil GK, 4.1%
The time has come for my first goalkeeper differential of the season. The man formerly known as Flap-ianski has been a solid fantasy performer in recent campaigns and has made a good start this year. His team have picked up 2 clean sheets with Fabianski making 9 saves. Save points have come regularly over the seasons for the Pole as he has registered over 100 saves in each of the last three years. Last year, Tom Heaton demonstrated that a number of saves can lead to an impressive bonus points haul and the Swansea man could follow a similar path.
I will admit that Swansea have been a little fortunate to pick up multiple clean sheets. They have conceded the highest shots of any team with 62 and they have also presented their opposition with 8 big chances. However, their upcoming fixtures look extremely promising. During the next ten gameweeks, they only play two of last year’s top 8 so it looks like a good time to bring Fabianski in. As such, I have made the decision to have him as the main goalkeeper in my wildcard team.
Swansea’ next 6 fixtures:
Newcastle (H)
Tottenham (A)
Watford (H)
West Ham (A)
Huddersfield (H)
Leicester (H)
Propper, 5.5mil MID, 0.1%
In order to continue my streak of returns from my <1% picks, I have turned to the Brighton midfielder. It’s fair to say that his team have struggled as an attacking force during their first Premier League campaign. However, Propper registered a brace while away on international duty with the Netherlands. He was playing in an advanced position during this game which may him take a similar place in the Brighton starting XI. He also scored 16 goals and laid on 13 assists in 67 games during his last two seasons for PSV Eindhoven to further demonstrate his potential for fantasy points.
Despite the above positives, Propper hasn’t looked particularly impressive following his transfer to England. Just the 4 shots and 1 chance created for him over the opening three fixtures. Nonentheless, the next three games look good for him to turn things around. Brighton take on West Brom, Bournemouth and Newcastle and they will be looking to jumpstart their season. Hopefully, the Dutchman will be at the forefront of this and will provide further points from the <1% picks.
Brighton’s next 6 fixtures:
West Brom (H)
Bournemouth (A)
Newcastle (H)
Arsenal (A)
Everton (H)
West Ham (A)
That concludes my picks for this week. Let me know any of your differential picks in the comments section and feel free to ask any questions about your team for this gameweek. You can also find me on Twitter.
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