Gameweek 11 of Fantasy Premier League (FPL) is just hours away, which gives us an opportunity to have a look at some more differential options.
This time, we’ve selected low-owned picks at Chelsea, West Ham United and Crystal Palace, who we think have the potential to make an impact.
As always, to qualify, the player must have an ownership of 5% or less at the time of writing.
MASON MOUNT
- FPL ownership: 4.4%
- Price: £7.6m
- GW11-15 fixtures: avl | bre | MUN | bha | ARS
Mason Mount (£7.6m) put in a man-of-the-match display in Milan on Tuesday, winning the penalty for the first goal and providing the pass for the second. With Chelsea comfortably in control and the fixtures coming thick and fast, Graham Potter opted to give the 22-year-old, who is the only outfield player to have started every match of his brief tenure so far, a much-needed rest, replacing him with Conor Gallagher (£5.7m) at half-time.
In addition, Mount produced his best score of the season so far in Gameweek 10, supplying two assists in the 3-0 win over Wolverhampton Wanderers, collecting 12 points. His underlying numbers also stood out, as he registered three shots inside the box and created five chances for his teammates.
“I feel good. I’m enjoying it and we’re playing well and scoring goals, so that’s the most important thing. Hopefully next I get a goal because it’s been coming but I just haven’t finished it off yet. But I’ll take the assists, setting them up for my teammates and I’m very happy for them today.
The manager has spoken to me about trying to get in the box and also connecting the midfield to the strikers and being able to move and be free and get assists and then get goals. It’s been happening for me over the last couple of games and I want more, I want to continue doing that and hopefully that will happen in the next few games too.” – Mason Mount
Chelsea remain unbeaten under Potter since he arrived as their new head coach at the beginning of September. They have picked up four wins and one draw in their last five matches across all competitions, scoring 11 goals and conceding just twice. Now, they return to action in the Premier League on Sunday when they face Aston Villa, before visiting Brentford in Gameweek 12, both of whom have won just one of their last six matches.
Mount is hitting a rich vein of form, and given his midweek breather, is a nice midfield differential to attack Chelsea’s next two fixtures.
GIANLUCA SCAMACCA
- FPL ownership: 2.0%
- Price: £6.8m
- GW11-15 fixtures: sou | liv | BOU | mun | CRY
Gianluca Scamacca (£6.8m) has started West Ham’s last two Premier League fixtures and seized his opportunity, with goals against Wolves and Fulham.
In that time, the Italian has produced 17 points, plus some decent underlying numbers, including seven goal attempts, five shots inside the box, four efforts on target and three big chances.
In his most recent start v Fulham, he could and have had a hat-trick on the day, were it not for some wasteful finishing and excellent stops from Fulham ‘keeper Bernd Leno (£4.5m). However, his partnership with playmaker Lucas Paqueta (£6.0m) is thriving, which suggests more goals are on the horizon.
“Lucas Paqueta and I have a good connection. It’s one we also have with [Jarrod] Bowen, [Declan] Rice, and everyone in the team all together. We found a good solution to going behind today, but Lucas is a brilliant player and it’s a pleasure to play with him.” – Gianluca Scamacca
Scamacca has played second fiddle to Michail Antonio (£7.1m) in the season’s early stages, but has been the go-to striker of late. Now, with the Jamaican missing Thursday’s UEFA Europa Conference League clash with Anderlecht through illness, a possible scenario is that Scamacca starts against Southampton and Bournemouth, with Antonio selected for the midweek visit to Anfield.
West Ham have won six of their last seven fixtures in all competitions, scoring 14 goals. Next up is a trip to Southampton, who are the only team yet to keep a clean sheet in 2022/23, with appealing home matches against Bournemouth, Crystal Palace and Leicester to follow before we pause for the winter World Cup.
Scamacca has found his form of late, and with his partnership with Paqueta blossoming, could be a smart differential pick.
MICHAEL OLISE
- FPL ownership: 0.2%
- Price: £5.4m
- GW11-15 fixtures: lei | WOL | eve | SOU | whu
Despite a tricky start to the season, Crystal Palace now sit top of our Season Ticker for ease of fixture between Gameweeks 11-16. In that time, they face the Premier League’s current bottom three – Leicester, Wolves and Nottingham Forest – plus Everton, Southampton and West Ham.
With fixtures improving, they have an opportunity to build on last week’s 2-1 home win over Leeds United, a match which saw Michael Olise (£5.4m) record his first attacking return of 2022/23, as Odsonne Edouard (£5.3m) converted his whipped cross.
The Eagles were a different side in the second half, creating chance after chance, which coincided with Jordan Ayew (£5.4m) being moved into a number eight role alongside Eberechi Eze (£5.5m). That, in turn, freed Olise up to get further forward on the ball and into wider areas where he could affect the game.
Olise has been limited to just three starts so far this season, but his underlying creative numbers catch the eye. Indeed, he is averaging 6.18 crosses and 2.42 created chances per 90 minutes, with his share of set-pieces a key factor behind his FPL appeal.
With an assist in Gameweek 10, Olise will now be looking to add to his tally against a Leicester side that have lost seven of their nine league matches this season, conceding two or more goals on seven occasions. That suggests he can be an effective differential for managers on the lookout for a new budget midfielder.
