Brentford, Aston Villa and Crystal Palace players are on our differentials radar in Gameweek 3 of Fantasy Premier League (FPL).
NATHAN COLLINS
- FPL ownership: 2.3%
- Price: £5.5m
- GW3-7 fixtures: SUN | bou | CHE | avl | LIV
Brentford defender Nathan Collins (£5.5m) is our first differential pick ahead of Saturday’s home match with Sunderland.
The centre-back racked up 30 defensive contribution (DefCon) points in 2025/26, the seventh-most of any FPL defender.
He also hit the required DefCon threshold in 50% of his home matches.
Collins carries a bit of goal threat from set plays.
In fact, his total of five shots in the box so far this season is the most of any FPL defender:
A clean sheet may have eluded Brentford at Elland Road last week, but they have conceded just one goal in their first two matches.
They’ve allowed only 2.02 expected goals (xG) in that period, the third fewest of any team.
Sunderland meanwhile scored just 17 goals away from home last season. They also ranked 18th for xG on their travels.
Brentford subsequently sit second in the clean sheet odds list for Gameweek 3:
With many routes to points, plus a favourable Gameweek 3 fixture, Collins looks like a really decent differential punt, with his ownership currently just 2.3%.
“I think we’ve seen it with Nathan now. He’s growing all the time, he’s developing, his leadership skills for someone who’s so young, he keeps making strides. He leads by example on a daily basis and he’s so eager to develop his individual game, and I think that’s in a really good place.” – Keith Andrews on Nathan Collins
NICOLAS JACKSON
- FPL ownership: 1.0%
- Price: £6.5m
- GW3-7 fixtures: hul | NFO | tot | BRE | new
With Aston Villa in desperate need of three points when they visit Hull City on Saturday, it may be time to take a chance on Nicolas Jackson (£6.5m).
It’s been a slow start for Unai Emery’s men, who have lost to nil against Brighton and Hove Albion and Arsenal.
However, Jackson’s performance in Gameweek 2 indicates that he is the man most likely to deliver.
As the focal point of the Villans’ attack, he showed some nice touches on Monday, and with better connections in the final-third, he could have been played in numerous times, even against the division’s best defensive unit.
Remember, Jackson scored 10 goals and supplied six assists in 28 Premier League starts for Chelsea in 2024/25, prior to his loan move to Bayern Munich.
As for Hull, they have taken six points from their first two matches, with wins (and clean sheets!) over Manchester United and Coventry City.
However, they have allowed 32 shots, the sixth-most of any team, with goalkeeper Konstantinos Tzolakis (£4.6m) keeping out two Opta ‘big chances’.
Above: Hull City’s xG shots conceded map in 2026/27
Beyond Saturday’s trip to the MKM Stadium, Villa’s next few fixtures should give Jackson further opportunities to return.
Indeed, Villa sit top of the Fixture Ticker in Gameweeks 3-6, with home clashes against Nottingham Forest and Brentford, plus Tottenham Hotspur away, to come.
Certainly, with the squad bolstered by the deadline day arrivals of Ibrahim Mbaye (£6.0m) and Taylor Harwood-Bellis (£4.5m), plus Johan Manzambi’s (£6.0m) return from injury, you’d think Villa will start putting some points on the board sooner rather than later.
ANAN KHALAILI
- FPL ownership: 0.1%
- Price: £5.0m
- GW3-7 fixtures: ful | IPS | lee | NFO | bha
Owned by just 0.1% of Fantasy squads, wing-back Anan Khalaili (£5.0m) has made a bright start to his Crystal Palace career.
The Daniel Munoz (£5.4m) replacement, who arrived from Union Saint-Gilloise for a fee of around £21m, took up some advanced positions down the right flank in Gameweek 2, even against Manchester City.
The fact that he received 13 passes in the opponent’s half and delivered five, albeit unsuccessful, crosses in that match, the most of any Palace player, provides optimism, particularly with Fulham and Ipswich Town up next.
Notably, Gameweek 3 opponents Fulham conceded eight open-play crosses from their left flank at Sunderland last week, compared to five on the right.
That is something Khalaili will surely look to take advantage of on Saturday.
Khalaili also carries DefCon potential.
He claimed DefCon points in Gameweek 2, despite only lasting 74 minutes, with 14 in total.
Prior to that, he banked nine DefCons in only 37 minutes of football in Gameweek 1.
After Fulham and Ipswich, the fixture list remains reasonably kind for Palace all the way up to the end of November:
So, for those on the lookout for a new defender, Khalaili could prove an interesting differential route to follow.
