Manchester City, West Ham United and Chelsea midfielders are on our differentials radar in Gameweek 15 of Fantasy Premier League (FPL).
At the time of writing, these three players all have an ownership of 5% or less.
KEVIN DE BRUYNE
- FPL ownership: 4.1%
- Price: £9.4m
- GW15-19 fixtures: cry | MUN | avl | EVE | lei
Following a stunning performance in the 3-0 win over Nottingham Forest on Wednesday, Manchester City’s Kevin De Bruyne (£9.4m) is our headline selection.
The playmaker produced a goal, assist and three bonus points, lasting 73 minutes before Pep Guardiola decided it wasn’t worth the risk to leave him any longer.
In his first Premier League start since September, De Bruyne attempted five shots and created four chances. That’s the third time he’s recorded four or more in each category in a single match this season.
| Gameweek | Opponent | Start | Minutes | Shots | Chances created |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Chelsea (a) | Yes | 90 | 2 | 1 |
| 2 | Ipswich (h) | Yes | 89 | 4 | 4 |
| 3 | West Ham (a) | Yes | 87 | 6 | 6 |
| 4 | Brentford (h) | Yes | 90 | 2 | 5 |
| 11 | Brighton (a) | No | 16 | 1 | 0 |
| 12 | Tottenham (h) | No | 16 | 1 | 2 |
| 13 | Liverpool (a) | No | 11 | 1 | 0 |
| 14 | Nott’m Forest (h) | Yes | 73 | 5 | 4 |
With Jack Grealish (£6.4m) deployed in a left-sided central midfield role, De Bruyne positioned himself to the right against Forest, but always drifted to find space.
It coincided with a much-improved Man City display, ahead of Saturday’s trip to Crystal Palace.
Just back from injury, Guardiola surely won’t push De Bruyne too hard, but his influence on this City team can’t be denied.
“I’m really pleased. He’s an incredible person. What he’s done these years with us have been outstanding. When he’s fit, maybe he can’t play every three days, but hopefully he can help us like he has since coming from Germany. We’ll see how he recovers after a long time injured but we will see how he feels in three days.” – Pep Guardiola on Kevin De Bruyne
“It’s been an uncomfortable injury, a mystery and a puzzle. I’m getting better slowly. I was able to play a big amount of minutes and not feel bad. It’s a relief. I know a lot has been said. There have never been issues between me and Pep. He knows I’ve been struggling [with a sports hernia]. It’s painful and uncomfortable. I want to be back on the pitch. I felt good at the start of the season. I’m working hard to get back with my body. Maybe it’s going to be an up and down moment from now. Hopefully I can get back to my body with not much pain and then I’ll be fine.” – Kevin De Bruyne
LUCAS PAQUETA
- FPL ownership: 1.3%
- Price: £5.8m
- GW15-19 fixtures: WOL | bou | BHA | sou | LIV
West Ham United may be heading into Monday’s home clash against Wolverhampton Wanderers on the back of a 3-1 defeat to Leicester City, but there are several reasons why we think Lucas Paqueta (£5.8m) could do well.
For starters, the Hammers are creating plenty of chances, despite some iffy form.
In the last two Gameweeks, they’ve racked up 4.64 expected goals (xG), a superior figure to every other Premier League team except Chelsea, Arsenal and Liverpool.
Paqueta will also face a Wolves side who have conceded a league-high 36 goals over the season, with fans turning on manager Gary O’Neil after Wednesday’s 4-0 defeat at Goodison Park.
From midfield, Paqueta has produced eight key passes in his last three starts. He’s only fired off a modest three shots in the box in that period, but he should be on penalties, which could be key with dribblers like Jarrod Bowen (£7.4m), Mohammed Kudus (£6.2m) and Crysencio Summerville (£5.7m) on the pitch.
Furthermore, Paqueta often receives the ball in the half-spaces and creates from there. It’s an area of the pitch Wolves often have trouble defending, so the Samba Star has the potential to deliver in Gameweek 15.
Above: Wolverhampton Wanderers’ chances created conceded heatmap in 2024/25
Rested in Gameweek 14, Paqueta offers a cheap route into West Ham’s attack and, at just £5.8m, can always be benched if he picks up his fifth booking of the season (he’s currently on four).
ENZO FERNANDEZ
- FPL ownership: 2.7%
- Price: £4.9m
- GW15-19 fixtures: tot | BRE | eve | FUL | ips
Enzo Fernandez (£4.9m) is emerging as a fresh budget midfielder on the back of some fine recent showings.
Setting us back just £4.9m in FPL, the Argentine has impressively registered two goals over the last three Gameweeks.
Enzo also notched his third assist of the season in the 5-1 win at Southampton in Gameweek 14, when his corner found Axel Disasi (£4.2m) for the opener. He’s now registered eight key passes over the same three-match spell.
Benefitting from a more advanced role, where he can roam and exploit the spaces in between the opposition’s midfielders and defenders, Enzo looks primed to be among the leading budget midfield options during the festive period.
Above: Enzo Fernandez’s touch heatmap in Gameweeks 12-14
“I’m trying to convince Enzo, in the same way as I did last year with Ndidi and Kiernan [Dewsbury-Hall] that attacking midfielders need to arrive in the box.” – Enzo Maresca on Enzo Fernandez
Chelsea travel to local rivals Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday, colliding with a Lilywhites defence that has conceded at least one goal in each of their last six home matches.
In fact, Spurs have just three home shut-outs in 26 Premier League home games under Ange Postecoglou.
With the fixtures kind for some time to come, Enzo could therefore be a decent cheap punt.
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