Promising Raphinha can exploit Digne absence as Leeds visit Everton

The Gameweek 10 deadline is now upon us which gives us the opportunity to have a look at some other differential options.

This time, we’ve got routes into Manchester City and Leeds United’s attacks, plus Manchester United’s defence.

As always, to qualify, the player must have an ownership of 5% or less at the time of writing.

Raphinha

• FPL ownership: 0.1%
• Price: £5.4m
• GW10-14 fixtures: eve | che | WHU | NEW | mun

Raphinha (£5.4m) has had to be patient since his deadline day move from Rennes, but finally made his first start against Arsenal last time out.

Operating on the right of Leeds United’s 4-1-4-1 setup, the Brazilian looked lively throughout. 

Though he lacked an end product, he showed his quality in flashes and provided some eye-catching moments, producing four shots, four penalty area touches and the highest expected assist (xA) total of any player on the pitch. It was an impressive full debut for the 23-year-old who saw out the full 90 minutes and almost capped the day with a late winner.

His performances in France certainly suggest he can thrive in England, as he helped Rennes to qualify for the Champions League last season, contributing a combined eight goals and assists in 22 Ligue 1 appearances. 

Whites head coach Marcelo Bielsa will know, of course, that he may be able to target Everton’s left-flank this weekend, knowing that Lucas Digne (£6.2m) will sit out after suffering an ankle ligament injury in training. That could mean the inexperienced Niels Nkounkou (£4.0m) steps into a defence which has now conceded two or more goals in six straight Premier League matches, which further boosts Raphinha’s appeal. 

Leeds could count themselves highly unlucky not to have scored against Arsenal last weekend, but will take encouragement from their performance. The signs are good though, and Raphinha should only get better as he settles into his new surroundings.

Raheem Sterling

• FPL ownership: 4.7%
• Price: £11.5m
• GW10-14 fixtures: BUR | FUL | mun | WBA | sou

England forward Raheem Sterling (£11.5m) has gone from strength-to-strength during his time at Manchester City, netting 31, 25 and 23 goals in his last three seasons.

He is yet to hit those heights this term, but has enjoyed a reasonably productive start, scoring five times in all competitions despite the Citizens’ well documented troubles in front of goal.

Against Olympiakos on Wednesday night, Pep Guardiola made several tactical tweaks in an attempt to rejuvenate his faltering attack. The wingers, who played on their stronger footed sides, were positioned closer to Gabriel Jesus (£9.3m) with the full-backs providing the width. It resulted in them looking sharper than they have done in weeks, with Sterling providing the assist for Phil Foden’s (£6.5m) winner. 

We’ve seen the wingers playing on their natural sides in Europe on a couple of occasions now, is the Premier League next?

Saturday’s opponents Burnley were dealt a huge blow earlier this week with the news that influential keeper Nick Pope (£5.4m) looks set to miss out. With home games against Fulham and West Bromwich Albion to follow, either side of the Manchester derby, City now have the opportunity to kick start their season, and if they are to find that rhythm their assets have the potential to rack up huge individual hauls.

Sterling is an intriguing differential ahead of City’s fixture swing, and is perhaps an overlooked pick for the armband in Gameweek 10.

Alex Telles

• FPL ownership: 1.6%
• Price: £5.5m
• GW10-14 fixtures: sou | whu | MCI | shu | LEE

After making his first Premier League start against West Bromwich Albion last weekend, Alex Telles (£5.5m) is at long last ready to make his debut in this column.

The Brazilian completed his move from Porto to Manchester United in the summer, but has had a stop-start beginning to his Old Trafford career after testing positive for coronavirus (COVID-19) last month.

However, the 27-year-old has now started back-to-back matches for his new club and impressed in both, particularly with his delivery from wide areas. Against the Baggies, Telles served up seven crosses in total, which was more than any other player on the pitch. He also had the second highest number of touches in the final third and registered two shots, which are encouraging numbers. 

He then built on that performance against Istanbul Basaksehir in midweek, which is where he really caught the eye. One of the standout performers on the night, Telles created four goalscoring chances and was instrumental in The Red Devils first two goals.

In the absence of Luke Shaw (£4.8m), Telles is expected to get an extended run in the starting XI, and could become a major asset down United’s left-flank. Given how focused they are down that side, he has the potential to be one of the best defensive assets in the game, and could be a huge differential for those willing to invest early.