In Gameweek 22, the likes of Abdoulaye Doucouré (£5.6m), Reece James (£5.0m) and Brandon Williams (£4.0m) hit double-digit hauls, all of whom have ownership of 5% or less.
There’s no shortage of differential candidates to consider this week either.
This time we’re focusing on the value on offer in midfield, with three promising match-ups a key factor in our thinking.
Leandro Trossard
Ownership: 0.4%
Price: £5.8m
GW23-27 fixtures: AVL | bou | whu | WAT | shu
It’s quite simple, if Brighton want to start scoring more, they need to get Leandro Trossard (£5.8m) firing.
The Belgian winger is without a goal since Gameweek 11, so this is a move which comes with risk, but there are encouraging signs that returns may be on the horizon.
He went closest to scoring for Brighton at Goodison Park last weekend, when he hit the bar, and has impressed at home this season – both his goals and four of his five assists have come at Amex Stadium.
With the Seagulls seeking to extend their unbeaten home record to three matches, having beaten Bournemouth and drawn with Chelsea recently, this is a huge game at the bottom of the table, and they will see it as an opportunity to put some distance between them and the relegation zone.
Aston Villa, meanwhile, visit on Saturday having struggled defensively this season and are without a clean sheet on their travels. In fact, no team has conceded more away than Villa’s 23.
Trossard can take advantage of those frailties at the back, and with his next four games all against teams near the bottom of the table, could be a nice differential over the next few weeks.
Emiliano Buendía
Ownership: 0.9%
Price: £6.0m
GW23-27 fixtures: BOU | tot | new | LIV | wol
Norwich City are probably destined to get relegated this season, but in recent weeks, have offered a small glimmer of hope to supporters picking up points against Tottenham Hotspur and Crystal Palace.
Whilst a revival is unlikely, if they are to come good, the Argentinian playmaker Emiliano Buendía (£6.0m) will be central to it.
In his last two matches at Carrow Road, Buendía has supplied two assists and 14 points.
The underlying stats further highlight Buendía’s importance to the 2018/19 Championship winners.
He’s created more chances (28) than any other player in the league over the last six Gameweeks. Remarkably, that’s 12 more than Kevin De Bruyne (£10.7m) has managed in that time.
Although he has yet to score this season, his total of 24 shots is only bettered by Teemu Pukki (£6.5m) and Todd Cantwell (£4.9m) for Daniel Farke’s side.
Their opponents on Saturday, Bournemouth, have conceded nine goals in their last three games against Watford, West Ham United and Brighton & Hove Albion.
Bournemouth’s poor defence bodes well for Buendía, who sits in just 0.9% of squads, to deliver big points on Saturday.
Callum Hudson-Odoi
Ownership: 0.6%
Price: £5.3m
GW23-27 fixtures: new | ARS | lei | MUN | TOT
Next up is an interesting budget option at Chelsea, Callum Hudson-Odoi (£5.3m), who is regaining confidence after recovering from a ruptured Achilles tendon.
He has now produced attacking returns in each of his last two appearances across all competitions, having scored against Nottingham Forest in the FA Cup and Burnley in Gameweek 22.
A theme in both matches has been his brilliant link-up play with right-back James, which was seen when they combined for the Blues second goal against Burnley, before Tammy Abraham (£7.8m) headed home.
These comments from Frank Lampard suggest we’ll be seeing plenty more of this partnership going forward…
“Hopefully it’s just the start of the partnership as far as first-team football goes. When Callum is being as aggressive as he was today and Reece is behind him, of course it is a big thing.” – Frank Lampard
Chelsea’s away form is worth noting, only Liverpool have picked up more than their seven wins on the road this season, with 25 goals scored in 11 games, compared to just 14 at home.
Saturday evening’s away meeting with Newcastle United, who have failed to win since Gameweek 18, hands Hudson-Odoi the chance to continue his form.
The winger’s instant impact upon returning to Chelsea’s starting eleven offers us a cut-price route into the Chelsea attack, and if he can nail down a spot in Frank Lampard’s eleven, which looks likely with Christian Pulisic (£7.0m) out injured, he could offer real value at just £5.3m.
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