Spot The Differential – Gameweek 37

Chelsea’s Cesc Fabregas and Arsenal’s Mesut Ozil produced attacking points for our Gameweek 36 selections and we’ve opted for three more midfielders in our latest differential picks.

All three players face two matches in Double Gameweek 37, having registered either a goal or an assist in their last appearance.

David Silva

With a goal and three assists over his last five matches, Manchester City’s David Silva enters Gameweek 37 in impressive form, making the midfielder a prime differential candidate.

The Spanish playmaker is owned by just 2.5% of Fantasy Premier League (FPL) managers, and available at just 8.6, is considerably cheaper than team-mate Kevin De Bruyne, who sets us back 10.4.

But over the last six Gameweeks, Silva has actually produced more shots from inside the box (eight) than the three managed by the Belgian.

Silva has also created a chance every 22.6 minutes, compared to 23.1 for De Bruyne.

The former Valencia midfielder produced a sublime performance in last weekend’s 5-0 win over Crystal Palace and now faces further favourable home fixtures against Leicester City and West Bromwich Albion.

The Baggies clash, in particular, looks promising as Tony Pulis’ side are without a win in their last six and suffered a 4-0 defeat in the reverse fixture back in Gameweek 10.

Despite Leicester’s upturn in form since the appointment of Craig Shakespeare, they have conceded nine goals in their five away matches under the new manager, so City look to have the ideal fixtures in which to build on the Palace victory.

With De Bruyne, Raheem Sterling and Leroy Sane all more highly-owned than Silva, the Spaniard represents plenty of upside as a differential for Fantasy managers in need of a late-season push.

Riyad Mahrez

Mahrez looks to be edging back to his best on the back of an eye-catching display in Leicester City’s 3-0 win over Watford, which included his sixth goal of the season.

The Algerian tallied 11 penalty box touches against the Hornets – more than any Foxes player has managed in a single fixture this term.

Indeed, his underlying statistics have been hugely encouraging since Craig Shakespeare took the reins at the King Power Stadium.

He leads the way for goal attempts (20), shots inside the box (12) and chances created (13) among Leicester players since Gameweek 27.

The Foxes face a trip to Manchester City and a home encounter against Spurs in Gameweek 37, before ending the campaign with a favourable home match against Bournemouth.

While the two clashes this week are testing, they shouldn’t phase a confident Mahrez, who boasts an ownership of just 8.2%.

He has enjoyed his recent outings against City, registering a goal and two assists in his last two appearances, while Leicester have averaged 2.6 goals per match at home under Shakespeare.

So even a resilient Spurs defence may struggle to contain the confident Algerian, while the Cherries clash appears hugely promising – only Hull City (41) have conceded more goals than Eddie Howe’s side (37) on their travels.

Last season’s 17 goals and 11 assists tell us that an in-form Mahrez can be a devastating Fantasy asset, so he looks a tempting 8.9 option for the final two Gameweeks.

Aaron Ramsey

Arsenal face two very favourable fixtures in Gameweek 37 – away to Stoke City and at home to Sunderland – so it could be worth considering Aaron Ramsey as an end of season punt.

Since Gunners boss Arsene Wenger switched to a 3-4-2-1 formation back in Gameweek 33, the Wales international has been one of Arsenal’s stand-out performers, with the new system offering the midfielder more freedom to make late runs into the box.

Ramsey ranks second for goal attempts (eight) among Arsenal players in that time frame, and is also second for key passes with seven.

Those numbers have only translated into two assists so far, but with Wenger’s side gaining in confidence following back-to-back 2-0 wins, it may pay off to take a chance on the 1.1%-owned midfielder.

It’s the Sunderland match-up that looks particularly favourable, given the Black Cats rank second for the most shots conceded inside the box in away matches this season with 191.

David Moyes’ side have only managed two clean sheets in their 17 road trips thus far and suffered a 4-1 defeat when the two teams met earlier this season.

Stoke, meanwhile, have only won one of their last nine encounters, registering just two shut-outs over that period.

While many Fantasy managers already own Ramsey’s team-mate Alexis Sanchez, the fixtures look strong enough to consider the 7.6-priced Welshman as a partner alongside the Chilean.