Our Gameweek 27 differentials column highlights three low-owned Fantasy Premier League (FPL) assets for consideration.
All three players have ownership of 5% or less.
RIAN
- FPL Ownership: 1.0%
- Price: £5.5 million
- GW27-31 fixtures: how | SUN | BRE | bur | MUN
An away match against a West Ham United team that has failed to keep a clean sheet on home turf all season makes us think about Ryan (£5.5 million).
The Brazilian winger has had a fine start to life on the south coast, scoring or assisting in each of his first three appearances.
He was also directly involved in nine shots across his two starts (six by himself, three made for others), the most of any Bournemouth player.
With positional rivals David Brooks (£5.0 million) and Marcus Tavernier (£5.3m), who is returning to fitness, Rayan is not a guaranteed starter in every match. However, if you take his height and physicality into account, he could be a very important player against dominant teams like Sunderland and Brentford.
“It’s one of the things we were looking for in the winter market because this season we lost Antoine Semenyo and Dango Ouattara, two of the most physical wingers in the league. We needed someone with some physicality and with set pieces, as we are quite short, so I think he added those things to the team.” – Andoni Iraola about Rayan
Just one poor performance, or another mistake like the penalty he conceded at Everton, especially if it proves costly this time, could leave him vulnerable, but Bournemouth are in good form at the moment and it could well be Rayan’s shirt to lose.
The left flank has also been a weak spot for West Ham of late, with five assists in the last six gameweeks coming from that side of the pitch:
Above: West Ham United’s chances created (assists in green) over the past six matchweeks
With an ownership of just 1.0%, Rayan can therefore be an effective fourth or fifth midfielder for the coming period.
MICHAEL KAYODE
- FPL Ownership: 0.7%
- Price: £4.5 million
- GW27-31 fixtures: BHA | bur | build | WORLD | water
A favorable home game against goal-bound Brighton and Hove Albion, plus some very tasty fixtures to follow, makes us think Michael Kayode (£4.5 million).
The Italian defender has impressed at the Gtech Community Stadium this season, emerging as an effective source of attack on the right flank.
Indeed, Kayode comes first among Brentford players for the passes they received in the final third (201), when they were only Mikkel Damsgaard (£5.6 million) has created more opportunities (25).
He has also delivered more successful long throws than any other player in the Premier League, with 22.
Keane Lewis Potter (£4.8m) scored a thumping header from one of those launched balls in Gameweek 26, of course.
As for Brentford, they are in third place Season ticker due to the difficulty over the next six gameweeks, but from a defensive perspective they rise to first place. That’s partly because four of their next five opponents are in the bottom seven for expected goals (xG) in matchweeks 21-26:
Looking further ahead, Brentford also entertain Everton, Fulham and West Ham in matchweeks 32-35, so for those managers who have already used their second Wildcards, the long-term prospects become even more attractive.
First up though is Brighton, who are in very poor attacking form and have failed to score in either of their last two games, a period in which they created just 1.24 xG.
As a regular option in Brentford’s backline, this suggests Kayode could be a very good budget option for the remainder of the 2025/26 season.
NICO O’REILLY
- FPL Ownership: 4.8%
- Price: £4.9 million
- GW27-31 fixtures: NEW | lazy | NFO | how | –
Nico O’Reilly (£4.9m) was one of the standout Fantasy performers in Gameweek 26, with 13 points thanks to a goal, a clean sheet and a share of the bonus.
The England international is of course listed as a defender in the FPL, but was an ‘out of position’ left-wing number 8 in Pep Guardiola’s 4-1-3-2 formation.
O’Reilly then produced five shots against Fulham, the most of any player, and also scored five touches in the penalty area, again a match high.
“I love it. I love it in the middle, trying to dictate the game and trying to get into the penalty area to score goals. He [Guardiola] is very big in second balls, duels and dominating the midfield. I think I play a big role in that, using my body to win the ball back and counter. That’s what he’s trying to explain to me.” – Nico O’Reilly
Newcastle United visit the Etihad Stadium this weekend and while the Magpies are in decent form, with three consecutive wins in all competitions, they could be in for a European hangover after their midweek trip to Baku.
They have also kept just one clean sheet in their last 16 away games in all competitions.
Furthermore, Man City put three goals past Eddie Howe’s troops in the recent EFL Cup semi-final at the Etihad.
As for O’Reilly, his advanced, ‘out-of-position’ role is yet another string to his bow from a Fantasy perspective – and the main reason why his underlying attacking stats were so impressive against Fulham.
Tijjani Reijnders (£5.1m) is perhaps the biggest threat to O’Reilly’s minutes in the current setup, but City are in a good moment at the moment and Guardiola could opt to maintain this approach for a while longer.
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