EPL GW-10: Best FPL Differentials

The Premier League was back with a bang last weekend. Despite the international break, Manchester City continued its fine run of form with a 6-3 drubbing of Manchester United that featured hat-tricks for both Erling Haaland and Phil Foden. Liverpool continued its meh form, first going 2-0 down to Brighton, then taking the lead before finally settling for a 3-3 draw. There are signs that their attack is starting to fire, but the defense is still a big problem area. West Ham United comfortably overcame Wolves 2:0, a result that precipitated the sacking of Bruno Lage.

This weekend sees a full round of fixtures for all teams. Below I’ll highlight a few options who are little-owned and who could help your team make its way up the league. All are at less than 10% ownership. I’ve decided to ignore Manchester City although they have a plum home fixture against Southampton because Haaland, De Bruyne and Cancelo are far and away the best Citizens to pick, and because Foden is now at 10% ownership so he wouldn’t qualify anyway.

Before we dive in, a word of caution: There are European fixtures between now and Saturday, so keep an eye on injury news.

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (£9.0m, 1.1% ownership, Chelsea vs Wolves)

PEA’s 9 point haul against Crystal Palace has seen his ownership more than double since last week (and hats off to Paul for tipping him back then). He lasted 75 minutes against the Eagles, scoring a goal and claiming the full bonus. He also netted in the Champions League this week. Managerless Wolves comes next and he’ll certainly hope to add to his tally.

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Jarrod Bowen (£8.1m, 3.9%, West Ham vs Fulham)

Bowen racked up 14 points last time out with a goal, assist, clean sheet and 3 bonus points against Wolves. A home fixture against Fulham offers more potential, although a small caveat is that West Ham play in Belgium on Thursday evening in the Europa Conference League, and often haven’t been so effective the weekend after a European match. But Bowen may see his minutes managed on Thursday, and could be a very nice differential against the Cottagers.

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Miguel Almirón (£5.1m, 3.3%, Newcastle vs Brentford)

I’m a little wary of this since it feels like points chasing, but Almiron scored twice and amassed 15 points against Fulham at the weekend so he’s hard to ignore. A home game against Brentford offers more attacking potential.

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Bruno Guimarães (£5.6m, 2.4%, Newcastle vs Brentford)

The other Bruno is working his way back to fitness after injury and contributed his first assist of the season against Fulham at the weekend. He’s a little more expensive than Almiron, but could be the better long-term pick.

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Patrick Bamford (£7.3m, 0.4%, Crystal Palace vs Leeds United)

Another player who is coming back from injury, and almost nobody owns him at the moment so if he comes good, you’ll be sitting pretty. Sinisterra is suspended for this one, so the competition for places is reduced. Palace isn’t an easy fixture but Bamford was on penalties last season, which adds to his potential.

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Philippe Coutinho (£6.7m, 4.3%, Nottingham Forest vs Aston Villa)

I can’t point to his form to support this pick, but Coutinho was heavily involved against Leeds at the weekend. He’s still waiting for his first attacking return of the season, and in general Villa has not been looking great. But a game against Forest might be the tonic for something explosive from Coutinho.

What do you think of my differential picks? Do you have room for any of them, or are there others you’re looking to bring in? Please log in and let us know your thoughts in the comments below!

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