So this is who I think will be the greatest differential either in the coming weeks and why, on each team. Some of these players will be obvious differentials that you may be looking into already and others will be players that you would never dream of having.
Arsenal - This season the Gunners have supplied us with some nice options such as Aaron Ramsey, Mesut Ozil, and Olivier Giroud. The problem with these three is that their ownerships are incredibly high with Ozil’s 32.7% ownership being the lowest of the three. In the immediate future fantasy owners should consider Santi Cazorla for a spot in their midfield who at 9.6 million has dropped .9 million since the start of the season and is owned by just 2.3% of owners, this coupled with a goal against Liverpool in his first game back makes him very appealing. Theo Walcott when he returns will be a viable option with just 3.7% ownership and should bring in many goals from the forward position.
Aston Villa – Many owners are looking into bringing back Christian Benteke into their teams due to his drop in price, but since he has over 12% ownership I will ignore him. Leandro Bacuna could quite possibly be another of this season’s breakout budget midfielders. Villa haven’t scored a goal since their impressive 3-2 victory over Manchester City but in that game Bacuna scored a goal and got an assist on his way to a twelve point showing. There hasn’t been much going for the Villa attack right now but at just 4.6 million and with 1% selecting him for their squads Bacuna could become a good differential in the future especially with the return of Benteke.
Cardiff City – I have never been a big fan of having promoted sides’ players in my team and that doesn’t change here. The best option is definitely Pete Whittingham at just 4.9% ownership who is on set pieces and penalties and is definitely Cardiff’s best attacker. If you are looking for a cheaper alternative to Whittingham’s 5.1 million there is Jordan Mutch at 4.4 with a 1.6% ownership who could provide some return on your small investment but won’t give you much. If you were to stake a claim in Cardiff, Whittingham is the way to go.
Chelsea – The blues are an interesting case in that there is a multitude of midfield options, so much so that on any given game week a player can be rotated under Jose Mournho, which is just a fantasy headache. Samuel Eto’o who is coming off of a brace in the Champion’s League vs. Schalke looks to have temporarily nailed down a starting spot due to a Fernando Torres injury, and with just a price tag of 8.3 million and an ownership of 0.8% Eto’s could be primed for big things with his next five fixtures being; WBA, WHU, Southampton, Stoke, and Sunderland.
Crystal Palace – Once again I am not a huge supporter of having players from promoted sides but for my selection I will take Danny Gabbidon who is nailed on at 4 million and is owned by just 5% of players. Although Crystal Palace does not have a clean sheet yet, they could bring in their first in the next five matches in which they play; Hull, Norwich, West Ham, and Cardiff.
Everton – You will be hard-pressed to find a differential in this Everton side which has four players with 24% ownership or more and Phil Jagielka at 16.4%, but there are still differentials here. For the attack your best bet that isn’t overly selected like Romelu Lukaku and Ross Barkley would be Kevin Mirallas. Mirallas hasn’t performed as most people have hoped but at just 3.4% and 7.2 million in cost Mirallas is a very explosive player who can bring points in bunches. At defense there are two pretty good options; Silvan Distin and Tim Howard. Distin is priced kindly at 5 million making him the most cost friendly with just 5.4% ownership. Tim Howard is currently the join top scorer along with Artur Boruc for keepers but has just 4.3% ownership along with a 5.5 million evaluation.
Fulham – Pajtim Kasami like Bacuna offers the potential to emerge as a cut-price midfield option. He has scored two goals this season and is priced kindly at 4.5 million with a 6.3% ownership. Kasami has played decently well through the first ten weeks, he looks to be nailed on and has gotten a fair amount of chances per game and could well score a few more goals before the season’s end.
Hull City – I think for a differential you could just take your pick from the defense. Almost all the defensive starters for Hull are priced at 4 million or lower and Hull so far have proved to be the best promoted side when it comes to racking up clean sheets.
Liverpool – Everyone knows about SAS this year and about their rampant form but Philippe Coutinho has just returned from injury and could make that duo even better. Coutinho will likely be handed the role in the hole and should get tons of assists and chip in a few goals and show form reminiscent to his end of last year dominance, At just 8.5 now with an ownership of 4.9% Coutinho is a very good option for those looking to fill a Michu or David Silva type void.
Manchester City – I have been very excited about Alvaro Negredo all year due to the likelihood of him being rotated but his form seems to have for now given him a starting spot and he has made the most of it especially with a hat trick midweek in the Champion’s League. He has benefited greatly from the presence of Sergio Aguero. At just 3.5% ownership and a price tag of 9.1 million dollars he is a more cost efficient way of getting a piece of City’s front line compare to Aguero’s 24.6% ownership and 11.8 million price tag.
Manchester United – This is a bit of a shot in the dark here but bear with me. Shinji Kagawa has finally cracked the United 11 and has brought some life into their attack when he’s played although that hasn’t yet calculated into points just yet; he really has only played about a game and a half in the Premier League so far. At just 7.2 million and with 0.8% percent ownership Kagawa is looking like more than just someone to sit on our watch lists, he could become a great differential once his starting spot is completely secured.
Newcastle – This is an easy differential to pick and it is incredible that more people haven’t noticed Yohan Cabaye yet. He has two goals and two assists so far this campaign but has fired a staggering amount of shots and shots on target. At 6.2 million he is looking like great value and is emerging as another Michu/Silva replacement. He has been unlucky on a few instances and I expect the goals to keep on coming. He has less than one third of his teammate Hatem Ben Arfa’s ownership at 3.7% compared to HBA’s 11.5% ownership.
Norwich – If there is ever a time for an old midfield hero to emerge it would be now. Robert Snodgrass has not played like a man who scored over 150 fantasy points last season in fact this up until now he has just 16 points. With our midfield options weak and Snodgrass with a nice run of fixtures in his next three matches, at 5.9 million Snodgrass could become a popular bandwagon if he can break onto the score-sheet.
Southampton – Although he usually doesn’t play the full 90 minutes, Jay Rodriguez in his last four games has three goals and an assist and has been gaining more minutes with each passing game. Rodgriguez was courted before the season started for his low price and is now at 5.8 million and provides a good differential with just 2.8% of managers selecting him.
Stoke City – Someone who was well liked on this site was Marko Arnautovic, but a few blanks later and owners were losing hope. A free kick goal against Manchester United has made him somewhat relevant again and at 5.5 million he is well priced with just .5% of managers selecting him, he could become a very good option in the near future if his form picks up.
Sunderland – After returning to the starting 11 in game week 9, Steven Fletcher picked up a goal and reminded us of his great run of form last year. If he can start posting similar numbers with just 0.2% of managers selecting him he could potentially become a great differential. Jozy Altidore could also be a good differential but at the moment Sunderland don’t seem to be scoring very many goals, so I would stay away from the team in general.
Swansea – Chico while being .2 million more than Ashley Williams is selected by 5.8% less managers. Chico in addition to his very attractive fixtures is the second most attacking defender behind Ben Davies who is selected by just .4% more than Chico. With all the Swansea defenders being given similar price tags you really can’t go wrong especially not with those fixture which are sure to yield some clean sheets.
Tottenham – During Midweek in the Europa League Erik Lamela finally made his mark, contributing with a goal and an assist. Lamela’s initial price being 9 million is now way down to 7.4 million and if he can cement a starting spot he could become a key player to have.
West Brom – Stephane Sessegnon is really the only player I would consider but only based off of previous endeavors. Just 2.5% of managers have selected him and with some decent fixtures he could be worth a punt especially with a price of 6.6 million.
West Ham – Ravel Morrison has been on top of his game for England and for West Ham recently and he will be getting some favorable fixtures his way pretty soon, at 4.7 million in price he is a fantastic option as a starter in some teams and provides a bit of a differential with just 6.8% of managers selecting him.