Fantasy Football: Early Season Differentials

Nick Pitner writes about fantasy sports for RotoWire and is an avid daily fantasy football player. Read more from Nick at Rotowire.com

While star players naturally tend to drive fantasy teams, any owner can appreciate the value of a lesser-known overachiever.

Two weeks into the Premier League season, a few players have outperformed their MondoGoal price tags, increasing their utility and emerging as fantasy bargains. Finding differentials has been key for the fantasy managers that have won the £2,000 first prize in MondoGoal’s weekly £10,000 fantasy Premier League contest. As Gameweek 3 of the Premiership approaches, here are some cut-price players whose impressive form could continue to allow owners to bank extra points on MondoGoal this weekend and take home some cash prizes.

Riyad Mahrez (£9.2M)
Perhaps the Premier League’s best player through two weeks, Mahrez opened the season with 24.54 points on MondoGoal, before tallying 17.74 last weekend. In leading Leicester City to a pair of wins out of the gate, Mahrez has supplied three of the Foxes’ six goals so far. In doing so, the Algerian has averaged three shot attempts per game. At only 24 years old, Mahrez appears poised for a breakout in only his second full season in England. Although his price is rising, Mahrez’s current £9.2M figure is still cheaper than 28 of his fellow midfielders.

Arouna Kone (£6.4M)
A player that didn’t even begin this season in his team’s starting lineup, Kone’s absence from fantasy squads can certainly be forgiven. However, with 19.66 MondoGoal points through Everton’s first couple contests, Kone should have the attention of prospective owners now, especially when they consider his budget-friendly £6.4M salary. As a Week 1 substitute, Kone not only set up Everton’s first goal of the season, but he also scored the Toffees’ late equalizer. Then, Kone supplied an assist after earning a Week 2 start, which should see him maintain his first XI spot in matches to come.

Nathan Redmond (£7.2M)
Redmond is only 21 years old, but through the Premier League’s first two weeks, he’s already compiled 23.53 points on MondoGoal. The young Englishman has found the back of the net in both of Norwich City’s matches thus far, which follows him being named to the Team of the Tournament at the U-21 Euros this summer. In their next three games, Redmond and the Canaries host Stoke City and fellow promoted side Bournemouth, with a date at Southampton sandwiched in between. Although it’s early, all of those matchups seem favorable for Redmond, whose £7.2M salary could work as the cheapest midfielder in most MondoGoal lineups.

Vincent Kompany (£6.0M)
Following a rough 2014-15 campaign, some had written off Kompany going into this season, projecting a close to his days as a top fantasy defender. In response, the Manchester City captain has scored off a corner in both of the Citizens’ matches thus far. Moreover, both of those games ended in 3-0 victories, earning Kompany a pair of clean sheets. Nonetheless, MondoGoal’s current £6.0M valuation of Kompany reflects the lowered expectations he carried into this season, opening an opportunity for fantasy owners to take advantage.

Brendan Galloway (£6.2M)
With teammate Leighton Baines expected to miss three months following ankle surgery, the 19-year-old Galloway has assumed Everton’s starting left back position. Last season, Baines led all defenders with an averaged of 7.76 fantasy points per game on MondoGoal. Through his past three starts, including Everton’s final match of last season, Galloway has averaged a commendable 5.69 per game. Just last weekend, he racked up 7.65 as Everton kept a clean sheet at Southampton. Although he’s tasked with mighty Manchester City this time around, Galloway could be a nice addition to fantasy squads while Baines is sidelined.

Jack Butland (£5.8M)
Yet another penny-priced young Englishman currently seizing his opportunity, Butland’s performances toward the end of last season surely made Stoke City more comfortable with selling long-time goalkeeper Asmir Begovic this summer. In three starts while Begovic was injured, Butland produced 10 saves and secured two clean sheets, resulting in a combined 24.4 points on MondoGoal. Now entrenched as Stoke’s regular goalkeeper, Butland is coming off five saves at Tottenham last weekend and the Potters’ next five leagues fixtures – Norwich City (A), West Brom (H), Arsenal (A), Leicester (H), Bournemouth (H) – seem to blend chances of high-save outings with clean sheet opportunities rather well.

These are just a few differentials to consider when chasing cash prizes and building your Fantasy Premier League Dream Team this week at Mondogoal.

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