Fantasy Premier League Football tournaments are big news in the UK and the rest of the world, with around eight million people playing. Of course, with so many fantasy players, and a select group of Premier League footballers to choose from, it can be hard to rank as highly as you would like. That’s where “differentials” come into play.
A differential, or a low-ownership player who scores lots of points, is often the difference between plateauing and dropping down the league table or shooting up it. What you need is somebody who your fellow competitors don’t know about or rate highly, and here are three of them for the upcoming festive period.
Diogo Jota
Before the start of the season, Diogo Jota was a certified benchwarmer. He showed his class at Wolves, yet he didn’t have a chance of uprooting the world-class front three that have ripped apart EPL and European teams in the past couple of years. However, football is a funny game, and funny things happen all the time. With Roberto Firmino unable to recapture his best form – www.premierleague.com points out he has only scored ten goals in the last fifty PL appearances – Jota got his opportunity and took it. Jota already has three goals to his name for Liverpool in 2020, leading to speculation he will replace his Brazilian teammate and partner Mane and Salah up top. The best part is his valuation – floating around £6.5m, putting him a good £5m cheaper than his top-scoring teammates.
Hakim Ziyech
It has taken Ziyech a while to settle in at Chelsea, but he appears to be ready to take the league by storm. The Dutch international only made his first appearance for the London-based club in mid-October, coming off the bench in a 3-3 draw with Southampton. However, he starred in Chelsea’s Champions League victory over Krasnodar eleven days later, scoring on his European debut, and followed it up with another goal against Burnley days later.
Ziyech didn’t manage to bag against Sheffield United in his latest performance, but he did land two assists, leading www.skysports.com to label it a masterclass. Like Jota, he’s underpriced, and his valuation has barely increased in the last couple of days. Also like Jota, Ziyech looks set to play a significant role in a Chelsea team that is riding on the crest of a wave – especially with Pulisic out injured for the coming fixtures.
Ollie Watkins
Aston Villa are a club with lots of history, but most people couldn’t have predicted how the midlands club would start the 2020-21 campaign. Even if you did, you probably would have had Jack Grealish in your side because he’s the main man who pulls strings. Although the England international has been a pivotal part of the squad’s fortunes so far, it’s Ollie Watkins, the Premier League newcomer, who has exceeded expectations.
With six goals in seven appearances, including a hat-trick against Liverpool, Watkins is now level with Harry Kane in terms of goals scored, and only two behind Son and Calvert-Lewin. As a result, www.stsbet.co.uk places him seventh in the race for the top goalscorer spot, above Mane, Sterling and Aubameyang. While he faces stiff competition, the fact he already has six goals shows he’s in the form of his life and can cut it in the EPL.
That’s not even mentioning Villa’s favourable fixtures against the likes of Burnley and West Brom during the Christmas period.