Welcome back to another Fantasy Premier League Differential Tips for Gameweek 17 article. This week Callum Read returns to highlight best differentials ahead of Gameweek 17.
A quick skim over this weekend's fixtures won't give you as much food for thought as usual. Saturday boasts the likes of West Brom hosting Bournemouth and Leicester visiting Everton, before next Monday when second meet third as Manchester City travel to the Emirates.
Based on recent form almost every fixture looks evenly matched and it's hard to call a clear winner. Therefore we've decided to highlight our favourite differentials for both FPL, Mondogoal and FantasyBet.
Please note, all players must be below 5.0% ownership to be considered a differential.
Junior Stanislas (4.2m) vs West Brom (A) 0.8% Ownership Bournemouth have now won back-to-back Premier League games for the first time this season, coming against Chelsea and Manchester United. Stanislas played a key role in both the wins, scoring directly from a corner in last weeks 2-1 victory over Manchester United. During Gameweek 14 he got on the score sheet twice and has since started to hit some form. With the busy Christmas period coming up Eddie Howe's side are going to need him to step up to the plate and provide, starting against West Brom this weekend. Glen Johnson (5.1m) vs Crystal Palace (H) 3.9% Ownership Stoke have a habit of keeping clean sheets a the moment, with right back Glen Johnson picking up clean sheet points left right and centre for his new side. He also brings good attacking potential, the right back likes getting forwards and producing the goods for his strikers. In the last two weeks he's collected 13 points combined and will be hoping to add to that considerably this weekend. Mauro Zarate (5.3m) vs Swansea (A) 0.9% Ownership Swansea are really struggling at the moment without a manager and we think Zarate could create some problems for the defence as the Liberty Stadium. He is West Ham's best available striker and has come close to scoring in the past two fixtures. This weekend seems like the game where he will most likely break his duck. Rob Elliot (4.0m) vs Aston Villa (H) 1.9% Ownership We never thought we'd be bringing you a Newcastle keeper as a differential tip, but the Magpies have looked a lot better defensively in recent weeks with Elliot himself upping his game. This weekend they welcome a struggling Aston Villa side to St. James Park, who have only scored three goals in their last five Premier League games.
Ayoze Perez (5.1m), Aleksandar Mitrovic (4.4m), Papiss Cisse (6.5m) vs Aston Villa (H) Newcastle seem to have hit a run of form picking up back-to-back wins against Liverpool and Spurs. Steve McLaren seems to have sorted the big egos out and has finally got the group playing as team. Their opponents Aston Villa are in awful form having not won since the opening day of the season. We are unsure just who Newcastle will start upfront against Aston Villa as Cisse has been given the nod in the previous three fixtures but not delivered, whilst Perez and Mitrovic have made an impact off the bench. Make sure you check the team lineups here to see what Newcastle striker is starting. Ryan Shawcross 6.8m vs Crystal Palace (H) Stoke have conceded two goals in their last five games and have shipped only seven in front of their home fans this season. Mark Hughes has turned them back into a tight defensive unit that are not easy for any team to break down. They also have one of the best keepers in the league in Jack Butland who has hung onto his clean sheets with some incredible saves in recent weeks. We expect that to continue and for Stoke to have another shut out against Crystal Palace this Saturday. Diego Costa 6.2m vs Sunderland (H) You'd be mad to be backing a Chelsea player in their current form but after the sacking of Jose Mourinho earlier this week you get the feeling their big names are going to produce the goods against Sunderland. At the point of writing Guus Hiddink is favourite to take over the reigns until the end of the season and in his first game you'd imagine he will select the strongest squad possible. It'll be tough on Loic Remy after scoring against Leicester but Costa may have a change of approach with a new manager. Patrick McNair 6.3m vs Norwich (H) Manchester United just refuse to concede goals at Old Trafford and they show no signs of changing this weekend when they welcome Norwich to the Theatre of Dreams. McNair has been given a shot in the first team due to a number of injuries to first team players and his run shows no signs of slowing down this weekend. He comes in at a very cheap price when you consider just how good United are defensively at home.
Paulo Gazzaniga 4.5m vs Tottenham (H) Gazzaniga impressed in his first start of the season last weekend against Crystal Palace, he made a number of impressive saves but couldn't keep out the winner from Yohan Cabaye. His task this weekend is a little bit more difficult but Koeman will be keen to keep a clean sheet in front of his own fans. Aaron Cresswell 5.5m vs Swansea (A) The West Ham left back loves to get forward and help out in attacking situations, he has great attacking potential to deliver a goal or an assist. He's also very good defensively and has proven that time and time again since joining from Ipswich last year. West Ham will be going into this one looking to keep their third consecutive clean sheet against a struggling Swansea side. Marc Albrighton 5.0m vs Everton (A) Mahrez and Vardy are obviously the frontrunners for Leicester City players in Daily Fantasy Football but if you want a differential attacking option then opt for Marc Albrighton. He's a different player from the one we saw last season and contributes a lot more in attack than most people think he does. He has seven assists to his name this season but is vastly overlooked by DFF players. Arouna Kone 4.5m vs Leicester (H) Finally it's the Everton striker Kone, the Ivorian has proved inconsistent and hasn't scored in five games but there is a relationship with fellow striker Romelu Lukaku brewing which see's Kone lay on countless chances for his fellow striker. Leicester do have defensive issues and are not the best at the back, this is something Kone should be looking to expose.
Differential Tips For FPL
Junior Stanislas (4.2m) vs West Brom (A) 0.8% Ownership Bournemouth have now won back-to-back Premier League games for the first time this season, coming against Chelsea and Manchester United. Stanislas played a key role in both the wins, scoring directly from a corner in last weeks 2-1 victory over Manchester United. During Gameweek 14 he got on the score sheet twice and has since started to hit some form. With the busy Christmas period coming up Eddie Howe's side are going to need him to step up to the plate and provide, starting against West Brom this weekend. Glen Johnson (5.1m) vs Crystal Palace (H) 3.9% Ownership Stoke have a habit of keeping clean sheets a the moment, with right back Glen Johnson picking up clean sheet points left right and centre for his new side. He also brings good attacking potential, the right back likes getting forwards and producing the goods for his strikers. In the last two weeks he's collected 13 points combined and will be hoping to add to that considerably this weekend. Mauro Zarate (5.3m) vs Swansea (A) 0.9% Ownership Swansea are really struggling at the moment without a manager and we think Zarate could create some problems for the defence as the Liberty Stadium. He is West Ham's best available striker and has come close to scoring in the past two fixtures. This weekend seems like the game where he will most likely break his duck. Rob Elliot (4.0m) vs Aston Villa (H) 1.9% Ownership We never thought we'd be bringing you a Newcastle keeper as a differential tip, but the Magpies have looked a lot better defensively in recent weeks with Elliot himself upping his game. This weekend they welcome a struggling Aston Villa side to St. James Park, who have only scored three goals in their last five Premier League games.
Differential Tips For MondoGoal
Ayoze Perez (5.1m), Aleksandar Mitrovic (4.4m), Papiss Cisse (6.5m) vs Aston Villa (H) Newcastle seem to have hit a run of form picking up back-to-back wins against Liverpool and Spurs. Steve McLaren seems to have sorted the big egos out and has finally got the group playing as team. Their opponents Aston Villa are in awful form having not won since the opening day of the season. We are unsure just who Newcastle will start upfront against Aston Villa as Cisse has been given the nod in the previous three fixtures but not delivered, whilst Perez and Mitrovic have made an impact off the bench. Make sure you check the team lineups here to see what Newcastle striker is starting. Ryan Shawcross 6.8m vs Crystal Palace (H) Stoke have conceded two goals in their last five games and have shipped only seven in front of their home fans this season. Mark Hughes has turned them back into a tight defensive unit that are not easy for any team to break down. They also have one of the best keepers in the league in Jack Butland who has hung onto his clean sheets with some incredible saves in recent weeks. We expect that to continue and for Stoke to have another shut out against Crystal Palace this Saturday. Diego Costa 6.2m vs Sunderland (H) You'd be mad to be backing a Chelsea player in their current form but after the sacking of Jose Mourinho earlier this week you get the feeling their big names are going to produce the goods against Sunderland. At the point of writing Guus Hiddink is favourite to take over the reigns until the end of the season and in his first game you'd imagine he will select the strongest squad possible. It'll be tough on Loic Remy after scoring against Leicester but Costa may have a change of approach with a new manager. Patrick McNair 6.3m vs Norwich (H) Manchester United just refuse to concede goals at Old Trafford and they show no signs of changing this weekend when they welcome Norwich to the Theatre of Dreams. McNair has been given a shot in the first team due to a number of injuries to first team players and his run shows no signs of slowing down this weekend. He comes in at a very cheap price when you consider just how good United are defensively at home.
Differential Tips For FantasyBet
Paulo Gazzaniga 4.5m vs Tottenham (H) Gazzaniga impressed in his first start of the season last weekend against Crystal Palace, he made a number of impressive saves but couldn't keep out the winner from Yohan Cabaye. His task this weekend is a little bit more difficult but Koeman will be keen to keep a clean sheet in front of his own fans. Aaron Cresswell 5.5m vs Swansea (A) The West Ham left back loves to get forward and help out in attacking situations, he has great attacking potential to deliver a goal or an assist. He's also very good defensively and has proven that time and time again since joining from Ipswich last year. West Ham will be going into this one looking to keep their third consecutive clean sheet against a struggling Swansea side. Marc Albrighton 5.0m vs Everton (A) Mahrez and Vardy are obviously the frontrunners for Leicester City players in Daily Fantasy Football but if you want a differential attacking option then opt for Marc Albrighton. He's a different player from the one we saw last season and contributes a lot more in attack than most people think he does. He has seven assists to his name this season but is vastly overlooked by DFF players. Arouna Kone 4.5m vs Leicester (H) Finally it's the Everton striker Kone, the Ivorian has proved inconsistent and hasn't scored in five games but there is a relationship with fellow striker Romelu Lukaku brewing which see's Kone lay on countless chances for his fellow striker. Leicester do have defensive issues and are not the best at the back, this is something Kone should be looking to expose.
