By
Jack Woodfield
The festive magic of December's schedule proliferation can be a joyous time for FPL managers. With six gameweeks left this month, there's ample opportunity to extend mini-league leads to Man City levels of superiority, and likewise to claw back deficits.
To that end, differentials can be pivotal. Over 53% own Mohamed Salah, he's so darn good not having him in your team is downright negligent, but Salah won't help you beat the person who captains the Liverpool forward every week and is 90 points clear. It's the differentials that can make the difference.
As an early Christmas present, I've scoured the 12 differentials of Christmas (well, of December, but that doesn't marry up with the carol). They're players either in good form already or coming into form, and while accounting for festive rotation is problematic, this dozen ostensibly have first team slots locked down.
Marvin Zeegelaar
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Only 554 managers owned Zeegelaar prior to his first start for Watford against West Ham in GW12, and his 22 points from consecutive starts encouraged 33,000 more owners to procure him. Playing as a winger, Zeegelaar's attacking threat yielded two assists against Newcastle; he costs just £4.4m.
Riyad Mahrez
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He may not have earned plaudits akin to Leroy Sané or Raheem Sterling, but Mahrez's form has been steadily improving for a number of weeks. With three goals and four assists and in eight games, Mahrez is the talisman in a resurgent Leicester side that have lost just one in nine league games, and he's owned by less than 5%.
Petr Cech
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Cech has the second most clean sheets this season, yet he is the 11th most-owned goalkeeper in FPL. Just over 5% possess the Arsenal stopper, and he's the cheapest route into an Arsenal backline that has been staunchly improving all season, and have an acceptable December fixture run.
Andreas Christensen
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Christensen was in and out of Antonio Conte's side for the first quarter of the season, but a standout performance in Chelsea's 1-0 victory over Man Utd, coupled with an injury to David Luiz, ensured his place has remained intact. Fewer than 3% own Christensen, who's priced at just £5.4m, and given Chelsea's fixtures - they don't play a top-six rival (Arsenal) until January - it's an inviting time to welcome the Dane into your team.
Jordan Pickford
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Last season's must-have budget goalkeeper has collected more points (21) in the last two weeks than between GWs 3-13. But this isn't a staggering upturn in form - Pickford's made an average of three saves per game this season, and he's fourth for total saves - rather an upshot of Sam Allardyce tightening up Everton's defence in their last two games, lessening the space afforded to West Ham and Huddersfield to get shots away. The Big Sam stifling effect makes the Toffees' defensive line much more enticing, and less than 7% own Pickford.
Jonjoe Kenny
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The apparent solution to Everton's right-back indecision in the absence of Seamus Coleman, Kenny has also racked up more points in his last two weeks (16) than his previous GWs combined, and the combative, marauding youngster, priced at a miserly £4.2m, should too benefit from Big Sam's defensive counsel.
Phillippe Coutinho
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Coutinho has returned four double-figure hauls from just eight league games this season. The Brazilian appears to be at the peak of his powers, and given Liverpool's straightforward December fixture list, it won't be long before his 7% ownership undergoes a festive increase.
Gylfi Sigurdsson
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Another player re-hitting his stride, Sigurdsson has amassed two assists and a couple of goals in four league games. An essential asset last season, his stock dropped considerably following a dire start to his Everton career - his price is now at £8m (dropped from £8.5m prior to GW1) – but Sigurdsson's growing influence is hard to ignore.
Jesse Lingard
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Whether he'll get the game time of Anthony Martial and Marcus Rashford is far from certain, but Lingard's spectacular consecutive double-figure hauls have certainly been eye-catching. At £5.8m, he is cheap enough to gamble on as a short-term investment at the very least, and not even 1% of managers own him.
Dominic Calvert-Lewin
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Having clutched the mantle of "best budget striker" from Tammy Abraham, Calvert-Lewin has completed 90 minutes three times in a row now, his best run of the season, and his delicate flick for Sigurdsson against Huddersfield evidenced the youngster's growing confidence. With less than 5% ownership, the in-form Toffees striker is available for £5.2m.
Ashley Young
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Having grasped the left-back slot at Old Trafford for himself, Young is a fascinating option in that, as a midfielder, he won't collect any clean sheet points, but similarly to Milner last year, he's a driving forward force who, like his team-mate Lingard, is accruing attacking returns in an improving Man Utd side.
Charlie Austin
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Injuries have prevented Austin from replicating his 18-goal heroics of 2014/15, but his latest return to the Southampton first team has yielded three goals in two games. His price has dropped £0.5m since the start of the season, making him an affordable option on the cusp of a good run of form.
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