Differentials can be a great way to make up ground over your mini-league rivals or even the whole Fantasy Premier League player base.
They don’t always have to be a risky pick who is a minutes worry or someone few people have heard of either. Sometimes, it’s just about buying a good asset before the rest of the field inevitably jumps on him.
A few players come into this category in the 2024-25 game. Here, I will go through my top five low-ownership FPL options who might just make the difference over the remainder of the calendar year and in the next few months.
The Argentinian midfielder is only in five per cent of FPL squads but that number will surely increase in the coming weeks.
Fernandez has started the past four games, playing 90 minutes in all of them. He has benefitted from being used in a more advanced position and this has shown in his output and underlying numbers. His three goals and three FPL assists have all come in the past five matches, where he has recorded an expected goals (xG) of 1.14 and an expected assists (xA) of 1.65.
In the below table, we can see the change in Fernandez’s numbers from Gameweek 1 to Gameweek 10 and the five most recent gameweeks.
Enzo Fernandez’s stats
| Stats | xG | xA | xGI | Goals | Assists |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
GW1 to GW10 |
0.48 |
0.89 |
1.37 |
0 |
0 |
|
GW11 to GW15 |
1.14 |
1.65 |
2.79 |
3 |
3 |
At his price and with Chelsea’s fantastic run of fixtures coming up, he is a great option for your fifth midfielder slot. He also takes some corners — a bonus for his FPL prospects. I can see Fernandez continuing in this advanced role, since he has been thriving there, unless injuries to other players in the squad require him to play deeper again. He is worth the gamble.
Another important point to note is that head coach Enzo Maresca has given him the captain’s armband, which further solidifies his expected minutes.
Gordon’s start to the season has not been the best — and the same can be said for his club. However, Newcastle have proven they can still score goals and their assets can be good value.
He has just three goals and two FPL assists, but has registered an xG of 5.0 and an xA of 2.3. This tells us he has been underperforming slightly and should get more attacking returns during Newcastle’s attractive upcoming games, starting with Leicester City at home tomorrow. He is a proven asset, having managed 11 goals and 16 assists last season.
Gordon’s total expected goal involvement (xGI — xG plus xA) is higher than those of Bruno Fernandes (£8.5m), Jarrod Bowen (£7.4m) and Son Heung-min (£9.8m). He ranks seventh for this metric among all FPL midfielders.
Anthony Gordon – a surprisingly low-owned FPL asset? (Richard Pelham/Getty Images)
He was benched for the most recent fixture against Brentford, which seemed like a rest due to a packed schedule. He should play every game as long as he is fit, and he’s owned by 8.6 per cent of FPL managers at the time of writing.
After the Leicester game, Eddie Howe’s side face Ipswich Town (A), Aston Villa (H), Manchester United (A), Tottenham Hotspur (A) and Wolverhampton Wanderers (H) next, and I can see them scoring a few goals over this run. Gordon could get some big scores.
The forward signed from Portugal’s Porto in the summer has established himself as his new club’s first-choice No 9.
Evanilson has four goals and four assists but is only owned by 4.6 per cent of FPL managers. He is great value at that price, especially considering Bournemouth’s upcoming fixtures.
Andoni Iraola’s side are eighth in the Premier League, having scored 23 goals (the joint-eighth-most) and registered the second-best xG (30.4). They have a good attack overall and Evanilson will get plenty of chances as their centre-forward.
Bournemouth’s next five fixtures are: West Ham United (H), Manchester United (A), Crystal Palace (H), Fulham (A) and Everton (H). Those are good games for attacking purposes.
Evanilson should get plenty of minutes too, as Bournemouth won’t have any midweek matches during that run because they are already out of the Carabao Cup, which has its quarter-finals next Wednesday and Thursday.
Amad (£5.1m) — Manchester United
The 22-year-old has registered five assists in the past five games and looks to be one of the most effective attackers for United’s new head coach Ruben Amorim.
Amad has started four of those five, and came on at half-time against Arsenal in Gameweek 14 — the first player Amorim subbed on to try to change that match. Amad played 90 minutes in the four starts, so seems nailed-on to be in the XI under the new manager.
Although he has been playing as a right wing-back, Amad is often one of the most advanced players on the pitch, almost operating as a winger. This is evident in his attacking returns. He is a fine option as your fifth midfielder, and his price allows you to upgrade another position.
United visit neighbours Manchester City next, which may not be as intimidating a fixture as it looks on paper with the champions’ ongoing problems, then come up against Bournemouth (H), Wolves (A), Newcastle (H), Liverpool (A) and Southampton (H).
If you have a strong seven-man attack, Amad can easily be rotated in those more difficult games against City and Liverpool. He is just as good an option as Morgan Rogers (£5.4m) of Villa and Bournemouth’s Antoine Semenyo (£5.7m), who are the most popular budget midfielders among engaged FPL managers.
Dean Huijsen (£4.3m) — Bournemouth
If you are in the market for a cheap defender with kind fixtures, Huijsen looks like a great pick.
He looks sure to start for the foreseeable future, with Marcos Senesi (£4.8m) ruled out for a significant period with a thigh injury, and he has already shown he has an attacking threat: in only 430 minutes this season, the Spain Under-21 international has registered five shots and scored once.
Dean Huijsen scored his first Bournemouth goal in Gameweek 14 (Justin Tallis/AFP via Getty Images)
Huijsen should be a nice option as a rotating defender for most of the season.
Bournemouth have some plum fixtures on the horizon, including home games against West Ham, Palace and Everton.
Iraola’s lads are a competent side at the back too, and have the fifth-best defence in the league based on their xG against (18.0). They should keep a few clean sheets in their upcoming matches.
GO DEEPER
FPL: Who is the best ‘fourth midfielder’ for your team?
(Top photos: Amad, left, and Evanilson; Getty Images)
