This article is part of our Fantrax Waiver Wire series.
No one important got hurt last week, so this gameweek is all about the schedule, especially since it's a smaller slate than usual. Arsenal, Aston Villa, Manchester City and Sheffield United don't have league matches this week, which means you may have to tinker your squad.
FPL DIFFERENTIALS
This may be the perfect time to move away from players you've been waiting to get rid of from Aston Villa or Man City. Following the bye, Villa are at Leicester and then host Chelsea, while Man City face Man United, Chelsea and Liverpool in three of their next four. It may not feel good getting rid of Kyle Walker, Raheem Sterling or Sergio Aguero, but it may be for the best.
Wolves are a decent side to monitor for differential options even though Raul Jimenez is one of the more popular players. Diogo Jota should be in conversations with five goals in the last three matches in all competitions. It's a similar method to pivot from Danny Ings to Shane Long because Southampton get West Ham, Newcastle and Norwich City in their next three. Oddly enough, Edward Nketiah could be one of the more popular value forwards if he continues to start, though the GW28 blank doesn't help.
If you want to fade the public and make a move, it's a great time to drop Kevin De Bruyne or Jack Grealish. The popular move is likely to go back to Sadio Mane, though for differential purposes, Bruno
No one important got hurt last week, so this gameweek is all about the schedule, especially since it's a smaller slate than usual. Arsenal, Aston Villa, Manchester City and Sheffield United don't have league matches this week, which means you may have to tinker your squad.
FPL DIFFERENTIALS
This may be the perfect time to move away from players you've been waiting to get rid of from Aston Villa or Man City. Following the bye, Villa are at Leicester and then host Chelsea, while Man City face Man United, Chelsea and Liverpool in three of their next four. It may not feel good getting rid of Kyle Walker, Raheem Sterling or Sergio Aguero, but it may be for the best.
Wolves are a decent side to monitor for differential options even though Raul Jimenez is one of the more popular players. Diogo Jota should be in conversations with five goals in the last three matches in all competitions. It's a similar method to pivot from Danny Ings to Shane Long because Southampton get West Ham, Newcastle and Norwich City in their next three. Oddly enough, Edward Nketiah could be one of the more popular value forwards if he continues to start, though the GW28 blank doesn't help.
If you want to fade the public and make a move, it's a great time to drop Kevin De Bruyne or Jack Grealish. The popular move is likely to go back to Sadio Mane, though for differential purposes, Bruno Fernandes has already made a name for himself. The midfielder has one goal on 10 shots and two assists on seven chances created in three league starts. Nicolas Pepe is one week away before becoming a viable midfielder, while Steven Bergwijn has found it difficult living up to the goal he scored in his Tottenham debut.
My favorite defenders to back for the next month or two are from Leicester City and Wolverhampton. The Foxes get Norwich, Villa, Watford and Brighton in their next four, while Wolves face Brighton, West Ham, Bournemouth and Villa following this weekend's trip to Tottenham. Caglar Soyuncu is the top choice, albeit not a true differential, while Jonny Evans is a tad more expensive and on 10 percent fewer teams. Willy Boly and Conor Coady are the standouts for Wolverhampton, and the most intriguing stat is that they have five clean sheets in Boly's last six starts.
FANTRAX FINDS
Nketiah is an intriguing add, and he's available in 90 percent of Fantrax leagues. While Arsenal don't have a match this weekend, he should be on the radar for anyone who needs a forward. The only other widely available forward who is getting consistent time is Jay Rodriguez, which shows how few options there are to add this late in the season.
It's a similar situation in the midfield, with a lot of the available options being defensive players. Tom Cleverley is back from injury, but no one is running to the waiver wire with hopes of adding the veteran, especially against Liverpool next match. If anything, Jeff Hendrick may be one of the better adds this week. He doesn't provide much upside, but he has five shots in his last three starts, and he at least guarantees a full 90. On the other side of the field, Sean Longstaff has seen consistent time while Jonjo Shelvey recovers from injury. Others like Morgan Schneiderlin and Lukas Rupp are getting starts, but at some point getting starts and being fantasy productive don't mean the same thing.
If you're in need of a defender, both Federico Fernandez and Jamaal Lascelles are available in a good number of leagues and are home against Burnley. Because of the smaller slate, there aren't as many options as usual, but you can find players like Aaron Cresswell and Angelo Ogbonna, who are also in favorable spots at home. Gary Cahill may be one of the more underrated options in draft leagues and is on fewer than 10 percent of Fantrax teams. Crystal Palace may not secure a clean sheet at Brighton, but they shouldn't be outplayed by much.
CAPTAIN DEEP DIVES
A short week brings another captain discussion dominated by Liverpool's finest. If you're looking for another route, Jamie Vardy is a possibility at Norwich. The deeper dives are anyone from West Ham, while Danny Ings should get his usual opportunities against a bad Hammers back line. If you believe in the Toffees, Richarlison and Dominic Calvert-Lewin will be the ones to capitalize against Man United.
