GW8 differential picks: rising through the FPL ranks

Welcome to raensports FPL differential picks article. In this article, we’d be conducting an experiment with an FPL team that’s currently ranked 8,982,796 in the world, we’d be seeing how high we can get this team to finish this season.

We’d be deploying various strategies and tips in a bid to get this team to finish in the top 100K. We’ve not done such experiment before and this would be the first time we’d be doing this.

If you enjoy such experiments then feel free to follow us through this journey as we’d be looking to rise through the FPL ranks. Some of the tips we’d be sharing in this article would also be useful for those who are looking to climb up their FPL mini-leagues.

This article would be a weekly one so do make sure to check back every week so you don’t miss out on any tip and you can also easily track the progress of our team.

How to rise through the ranks: climbing up your mini-league and the FPL overall leaderboard

There are so many things we can do in FPL to improve our ranking and one of those things we can do, is to get in a couple of differentials.

And that’s the first strategy we’d be deploying with this team. We’d be looking to get in a couple of differentials, alongside a couple of highly owned FPL assets.

This team has not been worked on since the start of the season, no transfer has been made and that’s why it’s ranked 8,982,796. Here’s what the team looked like in gameweek 6.

Clearly, from the looks of things, this team has been abandoned and has been in total disarray. However, to fix it we’d be activating our wildcard this gameweek and we’d be trying to get in as many differentials as possible.

This is a long-term project so once again do make sure to stick around until the season ends.

GW8 wildcard team with 5 differential picks

We’ve wildcarded and this is the team we’ve got. As the heading says, we have five differential picks in this team and these differentials are the ones we’re hoping would help drag us out of this mess and get us to the first 100k.

In goal, we have Ederson of Man City and the reason why we’ve gone for Ederson is because we’re looking to capitalize on those clean sheet points. We’re currently trying to catch-up so every point matters and that’s why we’ve gone for a more premium goalie who we can count on for clean sheets.

In defense we have Trippier, Stones and Ivan Perisic nothing to crazy in the defense. Spurs play against Leicester a team with one of the worst defenses and we’re looking to target that fixture, that’s why we’ve got Perisic.

Newcastle have pretty good fixtures and that’s why we’ve gone for Trippier. He has the potential to get both clean sheet and attacking points and so he’s in our team.

In terms of differential picks, John Stones is one them ones. He is owned by just 2.0% of managers and it’s quite obvious why he is owned by few managers(He’s not a nailed on starter).

He’s not one that would make so much of a difference in this team, but he’s cheap and allows us to spend more in other areas of the pitch.

Midfield is where most of our differentials are and these are the ones we’re hoping would make the difference in this team. Here are our differential midfield picks:

GW8 differential midfield picks

• Bowen – £8.1m – 2.6% – MID / WHU
• Son – £11.7m – 8.6% – MID / TOT
• Saint-Maximin – £6.4m – 6.6% – MID / NEW

Bowen, Son and Saint-Maximin are the three standout differential picks for us this gameweek. These players haven’t yet exploded or done anything over the top so far this season and that’s why they’re owned by very few managers.

Son and Bowen have decent underlying stats and the potential for them to haul or even find their form this gameweek is high. Bowen for one, did well in West Ham’s last Europa League clash and that’s a positive worth holding onto.

Saint-Maximin is an injury doubt and we’d be hoping he’s fit before the start of GW8. His partnership with Isak is another thing that is exciting about owing him.

If these differential picks can find their form as quickly as possible we’d no doubt climb-up the ranks.

To find out what teams have good fixtures going forward check this article out:

GW8 team selection and free hit team: transfer targets and scout picks

for wildcard draft templates you can see this one:

GW8 wildcard draft: some of the best gameweek 8 wildcard to consider

Check out some of the best GW8 captain picks:

GW8 captain picks: Mitrovic, Haaland, Jesus, Kane – the best GW8 captains

and for a complete GW8 guide, this one is for you:

GW8 FPL tips: wildcard draft, team selection, chip strategies predicted line-ups | complete GW8 guide

Then lastly, we’ve three forwards. We’ve gone for Haaland, Isak and Mitrovic. We have three of the most in-form forwards in the game in Haaland and Mitrovic and a differential pick with Isak. Newcastle nice set of fixtures is one of the reasons why we’re doubling up on them.

Our five GW8 differential picks

1. Bowen – £8.1m – 2.6% – MID / WHU
2. Son – £11.7m – 8.6% – MID / TOT
3. Saint-Maximin – £6.4m – 6.6% – MID / NEW
4. Stones – £5.4m – 2% – DEF / MCI
5. Isak – £7m – 5% – FWD / NEW

A couple other differentials that we have on our shortlist and could join our team in future gameweeks are:

• James Maddison
• Jesse Lingard
• Brenan Johnson
• James Ward-Prowse(would be a nice Saint-Maximin alternative if he’s not fit)

Basically, we’re keeping an eye on teams with easy fixtures, we’d be targeting players that have good underlying stats, pass the eye test and are owned by few FPL managers.

redeyedrae

Redeyedrae, is an FPL content writer with years of experience in playing and writing about FPL. He has written for major FPL blogs like ALLABOUTFPL, Fantasytipsters, FF Titans, and nevermanagealone. With his deep knowledge of the game, he has become a trusted source for FPL fans worldwide. His content is well-researched and always up-to-date. He’s passionate about helping FPL managers gain an edge in their leagues by sharing insights and analysis about everything fantasy football on raensports.