Az From FPL Blackbox Provides Some Key Differential Picks For Your Teams Ahead Of Gameweek 6

I’m Az from FPL Blackbox, and welcome back to my series on SportsCasting, and we’re back with another selection of FPL differentials ahead of Gameweek 6.

With a best overall finish of 817th in the 2017/18 season, I have been sharing my knowledge in regards to all things Fantasy Football ever since.

Az From FPL Blackbox Tips: Differential Picks For Gameweek 6

As hundreds of thousands of FPL managers use their Wildcards this week, let’s examine a couple of key differentials that could boost your ranking and give you an edge in your mini-leagues.

Ola Aina (£4.5m, 5.5% ownership) / Alex Moreno (£4.4m 0.6% ownership)

With a great set of fixtures from now until Gameweek 12, investing in a Nottingham Forest defender looks a shrewd move. Milenkovic and Murillo both appeal, but it’s the full backs I’m looking at. Aina looks set for a prominent role in this Nottingham Forest team, having completed 90 minutes in his last 4 league games and even being moved over to right back to accommodate Alex Moreno. Even on a booking against Brighton, Aina was moved to the other side of the pitch, with Moreno being sacrificed at half-time.

Aina hasn’t got a great track record of scoring or assisting in the Premier League. He has just 1 goal for Forest and 2 for Fulham in the 20-21 campaign. Moreno, on the other hand, was an exciting player to own in the 22/23 season, where he was marauding up and down the wing for Aston Villa. He even managed two goals last season despite playing few minutes for the Villians.

Aina certainly looks more secure for minutes and starts going forward, but I have a feeling Moreno will make the left back spot his own for Forest and presents a slightly more exciting option if you are willing to roll the dice.

Antoine Semenyo (£5.6m, 7.3% ownership)

With the clamour for Semenyo this week, you’d be forgiven for thinking that he was a highly owned player. However, the Bournemouth man is still under 10% owned and is about to play two promoted teams in his next two games.

Only Haaland, Salah and (perhaps surprisingly) Brennan Johnson have had more shots inside the box than Semenyo this season. His xGI of 3.11 is also in keeping with many coveted assets at higher prices – such as Bruno Fernandes (£8.3m, 3.18) Luis Diaz (£7.9m, 3.24) and even Bukayo Saka (£10.0m, 2.88) and Cole Palmer (£10.6m, 2.21)!

Bournemouth have also impressed going forward this season, creating a chance every 5.8 minutes. This is bettered by only Tottenham (5.6) and Manchester City (4.9). Both Leicester and Southampton sit in the bottom six for total shots conceded in the league and I’m backing Semenyo to get at least one double-digit haul in the coming weeks.

Harvey Barnes (£6.5m, 3.1% ownership)

At Leicester, Harvey Barnes was a great asset for us and I remember him plundering over 30 goal involvements across the 21/22 and 22/23 seasons. While he’s struggled to really nail down a spot at Newcastle, it now looks like it is his time, with three goals and an assist in his first four games.

The signs are certainly promising, he’s having an attempt every 26 minutes and creating a chance every 44 minutes, which eclipses his most prolific season (37 minutes per attempt, 143 minutes per chance created). With Anthony Gordon being a bit more expensive at £7.3m and failing to get an attacking return since Gameweek 1—and Alexander Isak potentially playing through the pain barrier with a toe injury—I’d be very tempted to go for Barnes as an alternative.

One thing to watch, however, is a relatively tough run for Newcastle, where they play Man City, Chelsea and Arsenal in the next 5 games. It’s a good run from Gameweek 11 though and with the wind in his sails, who would back against Barnes to continue his impressive early season run?