In Fantasy Premier League, following the template is safe, but it rarely delivers huge rank gains. We recently published an article looking at the Most-Owned XI ahead of Gameweek 1, but the managers who really break the mould often do so by trusting differentials – low-owned players who fly under the radar but have the potential to explode.
This 11-man team, with every player owned by fewer than 10% of managers, could be the smartest contrarian play in 2025/26. Each pick is backed by strong underlying data and upside potential. Will you be brave enough to back them?
Verbruggen – Brighton – £4.5m – 6.7% owned
Brighton’s 22-year-old shot-stopper kept 7 clean sheets and earned 6 bonus points last season, despite the team conceding 58 goals.
Priced at just £4.5m, he’s a strong enabling differential goalkeeper – and with Brighton strengthening their defence, returns could improve in 2025/26.
If you're considering a Gameweek 1 Bench Boost, he pairs well with Kelleher (£4.5m) of Brentford. According to the Rotation Planner, the two rotate favourably over the first eight Gameweeks.
Murillo – Nottingham Forest – £5.5m – 3.8% owned
An absolute bonus magnet, Murillo collected 18 bonus points the most of any defender and 12 clean sheets last season. Add 2 goals and he’s one of the strongest differential defenders at just 3.8% ownership. It appears the £5.5m price tag is putting FPL managers off.
Milenkovic – Nottingham Forest – £5.5m – 7.4% owned
The Serbian scored 5 goals last season – the most of any defender – matching Gvardiol and Cucurella, as shown in the Opta Stats Sandbox.
And it wasn’t a fluke: he registered 27 shots in the box and 7 big chances, underlining his strong attacking threat.
Doubling up on Forest’s defence might seem risky, but according to the Fixture Planner, they rank top for defensive fixtures over the first six Gameweeks.
Let’s not forget, the Tricky Trees kept 8 clean sheets in their first 19 matches last season.
Could we see another solid defensive start? It’s a calculated gamble – but one that might just pay off.
Muñoz – Crystal Palace – £5.5m – 8.8% owned
The attacking full-back produced 4 goals and 6 assists last season – and based on his 5.18 xG, he could have scored more.
Despite early hype from the FPL community, his £5.5m price tag appears to be putting many managers off. Before prices were revealed, he was widely considered a lock-in.
A quick glance at his Opta Shot Map is a clear reminder of how attacking he is:
With his low ownership and strong attacking threat, he’s a standout differential option in defence.
Eze – Crystal Palace – £7.5m – 8.7% owned
His relatively low ownership may be down to ongoing Arsenal transfer rumours, but if he remains at Palace, he’s a differential with serious upside.
Let’s not forget his blistering form at the end of last season – over the final 10 matches, he averaged 5.9 FPL points per game, scoring 6 goals and providing 2 assists, as shown in the Opta Heatmaps tool.
If he carries that form into 2025/26, Eze could be an unbelievable differential with the potential to deliver big early returns.
Gibbs-White – Nottingham Forest – £7.5m – 4.5% owned
A talismanic figure for Forest – and completing the triple-up in this differential XI – Gibbs-White registered 7 goals, 11 assists, and 18 bonus points last season, finishing on 154 FPL points. Only Chris Wood (200) outscored him for the club.
At just 4.5% ownership, he’s a powerful differential who could give your rank a serious boost.
He also has a promising run of early fixtures: Forest host a depleted Brentford side on the opening day and face two of the three promoted teams by Gameweek 6.
Schade – Brentford – £7.0m – 2.2% owned
Speaking of a depleted Brentford, could Schade step up and fill Mbeumo’s boots as the team’s new talisman?
He scored 11 goals from 8.36 xG last season, which some may call clinical – others might say overperformance. But what really stands out is that he posted a higher xG (non-penalty) per 90 than Mbeumo, showing he consistently gets into dangerous positions.
Schade in the second half of 2024/25:
— Fantasy Football Fix (@FantasyFootyFix) July 27, 2025
✅ 7 goals in 19 games
✅ Higher xG (non-pen) per 90 than Mbeumo
✅ Could step up after exits
Is he worth a look — or is £7.0m too steep? 🤔 pic.twitter.com/AF83TZ3Ukq
Owned by just 2.2% of managers, Schade is the ultimate differential punt with serious upside.
The sticking point? His £7.0m price tag. If he’d been priced at £6.5m, he’d likely be far more popular. But if he hits the ground running, that valuation might start to look like a bargain.
Kluivert – Bournemouth – £7.0m – 5.1% owned
Once considered a must-have during parts of the 2024/25 season, Kluivert now enters 2025/26 as a differential.
He delivered 12 goals and 6 assists last campaign and also has penalty duties in his locker.
While Bournemouth face champions Liverpool on the opening weekend, but a glance at the Fixture Planner shows they rank top for attacking fixtures from Gameweek 2 to 6.
Versatile, dangerous, and owned by just 5.1% of managers – it might be wise to get ahead of the curve and include him from the start.
Rice – Arsenal – £6.5m – 7.4% owned
Declan Rice may be priced like a holding midfielder at £6.5m, but with new signings expected to anchor Arsenal’s midfield, he’s likely to operate in a more advanced role under Arteta this season.
He’s already in the squad of Elite XI: Team Reveal manager Tom Dollimore (world #1) – a strong endorsement from the very top.
Tom had this to say about the England international:
"... just felt like he is a player who would benefit from the defensive contributions points and also may be in a more advanced role this year at £6.5m."
If the world’s best FPL manager is backing him, surely Rice is a differential worth considering.
Check out the rest of Tom’s latest draft now.
Evanilson – Bournemouth – £7.0m – 2.6% owned
With just 2.6% ownership, Evanilson is flying under the radar – surprisingly so for a forward who scored 10 goals last season.
His underlying numbers back up his output too, with 0.43 xG per game, showing he consistently gets into goal-scoring positions.
As mentioned earlier, Bournemouth’s tough opening fixture against Liverpool might be putting managers off. But once that’s out of the way, expect FPL managers to start targeting their assets – and getting ahead with Evanilson could be a smart move.
Wissa – Brentford – £7.5m – 8.0% owned
With 18 goals and 6 assists last season, Wissa ranked as the fourth-highest scoring forward and was joint-third for assists, according to the Opta Stats Sandbox.
Despite those impressive numbers, his uncertain future may be deterring FPL managers... for now.
But if Isak moves to Liverpool and Wissa ends up as Newcastle’s main striker, he could become an instant must-have.
For now, he's a differential to monitor closely as the transfer window unfolds.
This Differential XI isn’t just a punt – it’s a calculated strategy!
That said, we wouldn’t recommend going full differential with your FPL squad.
Instead, this team - shown in our Future Planner tool - is designed to highlight a group of low-owned players in each position who are currently flying under the radar.
The data shows they’re more than capable – the only question is whether you’re brave enough to back them.
In FPL 2025/26, sometimes the smartest move is to zig while everyone else zags – and this Differential XI certainly gives us all something to think about.
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