FPL Waiver Wire: Gameweek 12 Differentials

Midweek fixtures are always a mess to deal with and it never helps when an injury occurs, which is what happened to Ederson, the second-most popular goalkeeper in the Premier League's official fantasy game. The good news is that the injury isn't serious, and Man City have a tough trip to Liverpool anyway, but it's an example of what can happen. Maybe the best thing about midweek matches is that it makes it easier to predict who will start in Man City's attack, as Sergio Aguero played just 17 minutes Wednesday.

FPL DIFFERENTIALS

Since there aren't any relevant injuries outside of David Silva and Dani Ceballos, I'll focus on the players you may want to drop ahead of Gameweek 12. Unfortunately for almost everyone, that's Manchester City because of their upcoming fixture list. Over their next five gameweeks, they travel to Liverpool, Newcastle and Burnley, as well as host Chelsea and Man United. Sure, it's never a good thing to doubt Man City, but they've had issues away from home and may be without their goalkeeper for a match or two. The other aspect is that their players are too popular for that schedule. Kevin De Bruyne and Raheem Sterling are the highest-owned midfielders while Aguero is the fifth-most popular forward. Playing time may not be a concern for those guys in the long run, but are they worth paying up for with that schedule and given how popular they already are?

I'd rather focus on differential options from teams with better schedules like Leicester City, Tottenham and Wolverhampton. In addition to Leicester playing well, they may be favored in their next five matches, the home fixture against Arsenal on Saturday included. Jamie Vardy's popularity has shot up with five goals in his last five starts, and his price will continue to rise along with James Maddison's. But since this is a differential article, I'll focus on Ayoze Perez and Harvey Barnes. While Perez is living off his hat trick a couple matches ago, Barnes has been part of the reason for Leicester's improved play, creating 1.90 chances per 90 minutes which has resulted in four FPL assists in his last three starts. Caglar Soyuncu should also be one of the more popular defenders and this may be the last week he can be considered a true differential because he's still on fewer than 10 percent of teams.

I'm not as sold on Tottenham because of their away struggles, but home matches against Sheffield United, Bournemouth and Burnley are intriguing, especially for Son Heung-Min, who was on 6.2 percent of teams upon writing. His red card was overturned and, more importantly, I think his non-league form will transfer to league play in this upcoming stretch. I'd also put Serge Aurier in this group because I don't think his price will keep dropping, and he's been healthy for the past month. Wolverhampton are inconsistent, but I wouldn't drop them just yet with upcoming home matches against Aston Villa, Sheffield United and West Ham. Adama Traore has lost his spark since bracing against Man City, but as your fifth midfielder, you can do worse. I've written about Conor Coady before, but for someone who hasn't missed a minute this season, he's surprisingly unpopular. 

FANTRAX FINDS

The only widely available forwards who regularly start are from Sheffield United, and that probably won't change in the next month. However, if you're desperate, you can look ahead and take a gamble on a player or two. Cenk Tosun scored in his return from a groin injury and could get a start here and there. Otherwise, David McGoldrick and Lys Mousset are the hot tickets. McGoldrick hasn't scored, but he started the last three matches, while Mousset has two goals and three assists in his last three appearances, so both are doing something right.

There are plenty of options in the midfield, and Jonjo Shelvey is one of them because Sean Longstaff still has two matches on his suspension. Shelvey won't score every match, but he's on set pieces and that'll be enough to accrue points against Bournemouth. If you're in need of a one-match play, Onel Hernandez should do a little more at home against Watford, while Fabian Delph can do the bare minimum against Southampton. Leander Dendoncker is another player in that mold and has a better matchup against Aston Villa. If you really believe in Norwich in that Friday match, Tom Trybull has done more than some teammates and at least gets defensive stats as a central midfielder.

This is a perfect gameweek for adding defenders because of the usually unpopular teams in favorable situations. Conor Coady and Christian Kabasele are widely available, and Djibril Sidibe has a chance to do something positive in a good spot against Southampton. Dipping further, Craig Dawson and Ben Godfrey are a couple more Watford and Norwich City options, respectively. Fabian Balbuena won't match last weekend's total, but he should post viable numbers against Burnley. That said, I'd probably turn to Ciaran Clark, who has a good chance for a clean sheet against Bournemouth and is available in almost every league.

CAPTAIN DEEP DIVES

A couple months ago, I may have pegged someone from Friday's tilt between Norwich City and Watford, but together they've scored five goals in their last 10 matches combined. This week will likely be all about Tammy Abraham and the Blues in terms of captaincy, though Vardy should be in the discussion given his form. If you want to mix it up, I suggest riding Man United against Brighton, who have lost their last four away by a combined 8-1 score line. Unfortunately, Marcus Rashford may be the only possible choice for the armband. Otherwise, Wolverhampton are in play against Aston Villa, with Raul Jimenez looking to build on the three goals scored in his last four starts in all competitions.