Fantasy Sports
Kieran Darcy, ESPN Staff Writer 6y

Fantasy Premier League differential picks for Matchweek 6

Fantasy Soccer, Fantasy

After building your ESPN Fantasy Soccer team each week, you'll probably find yourself with the same player as your opponent in one or more slots. For instance, Eden Hazard is going to be the Tier 1 midfielder on so many Premier League rosters this week after his hat trick last weekend.

Sometimes you will want to go with the crowd. But finding differentials -- players who probably won't be very popular choices, but are capable of a big performance -- could be the key to winning your fantasy matchup. They're a little risky, but could lead to a great reward.

Here are five of those players in the Premier League, looking ahead to this weekend:

Romelu Lukaku (Manchester United)

Either Sergio Aguero or Mohamed Salah are going to be most people's Tier 1 forward, as long as those guys are in the starting lineup. But Lukaku has quietly had a pretty good start to the season. He's tied for second in the league with four goals -- more than both Aguero (three) and Salah (two) -- including three goals in the past two games. He's also tied for second in shots on goal (nine) and 11th overall in fantasy points (72.3).

Lukaku usually struggles against the other big clubs in the league, but Manchester United host Wolverhampton Wanderers on Saturday. That's not as easy a matchup as you might think -- Wolves look better than most teams that come up from the Championship and have only conceded five goals in five games. But I wouldn't be surprised if Lukaku finds joy against them.

Sadio Mane (Liverpool)

It'll take some guts not to choose Hazard as your Tier 1 midfielder this week -- Chelsea are away, but they are playing West Ham, who have conceded 11 goals in five games. But, if you feel like rolling the dice, Mane is certainly a great option.

You can't really call him a sleeper. Mane is part of Liverpool's much-lauded front three and already has four goals this season. But he probably won't be nearly as popular a selection as Hazard this week. Yet Mane is also tied for second in the league in shots on goal (nine) and is third overall in fantasy points (84.6). Liverpool are at home on Saturday, against Southampton, who have only won one of their first five games. My only concern is Jurgen Klopp could rest some players coming off their big 3-2 win over Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League on Tuesday.

Callum Wilson (Bournemouth)

His team is off to a flying start, with three wins and a draw in their first five games. They're currently in fifth place -- ahead of Manchester United, Tottenham and Arsenal -- and they're playing at Burnley on Saturday, who are winless and have conceded 10 goals in five games.

Most of the attention has gone to midfielder Ryan Fraser and rightfully so: He already has three goals and two assists this season. But Wilson and fellow Tier 2 forward Josh King have been very good, too. Wilson has two goals and two assists, while King has two goals and one assist. Both are capable of a big game, but I give the edge to Wilson because he's taken 16 shots, seventh-most in the league. King has only taken nine shots.

James Maddison (Leicester City)

His name may not be familiar -- Maddison played in the Championship last season, for Norwich City. But he would have been the fantasy points leader in the second division last year, and he's off to a promising start in the top flight, with two goals and an assist in five games. He's currently 14th in the Premier League in fantasy points (70.2).

Maddison is playing as Leicester's central playmaker and will surely pick up some more assists now that Jamie Vardy is back and playing in front of him (Vardy was suspended for three games due to a red card). Maddison is also not afraid to shoot as he's taken 12 shots in five games, as many as the likes of Harry Kane and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang. He's a very solid option as a Tier 2 midfielder, especially playing at home against Huddersfield Town this week -- a team that has conceded 11 goals in five games.

Kieran Trippier (Tottenham)

I wrote last week that, at the moment, your Tier 1 defender has to be either Marcos Alonso or Benjamin Mendy. And I still believe that ... that's how good those two players have been so far this season, although Mendy missed last week's game due to injury and Alonso had a relatively quiet game against Cardiff City.

However, if you want to go rogue, Trippier could deliver for you. He's averaging 11.9 fantasy points per game -- considerably less than Mendy (16.8) and Alonso (16.3). But Tripper has started to take some free kicks and already scored a goal via one this season. He also has an assistnand seven chances created -- as many as Alonso and Mendy, despite only playing in four of Tottenham's first five games. And he was left at home for the Champions League loss at Inter Milan on Tuesday, which should leave him fresh and highly motivated Saturday at Brighton, a team that has conceded nine goals in five games.

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