At some point in human history (likely in Ancient Greece), someone decided it was necessary to find a way to calculate the rate at which a quantity (in a line) was changing at any point in time. They determined that the best way to do this was to find the slope of a line tangent to the first line at any given point, and thus, differential calculus was born.

Much later (though maybe still in Ancient Greece), the word “differential” left the mathematical lexicon and was repurposed for fantasy soccer/football to describe a player that is on relatively few teams. Therefore, managers who start that player will see a large increase in their ranking when that player scores more points than other, more popular options, relative to managers without the differential player. If, like me, you’re not quite where you want to be in your mini-league table, it’s a good time to start thinking about some differential players.

Speaking of, congrats to Amber Waves of Pain who maintained their lead in the Manser’s Answers mini-league after Round 6! I’ll definitely need some differential options to catch up.

Who are the best differential captain options?

We started talking about differential forwards last week, so let’s talk about captains this week.

Temwa Chawinga, with good reason, is by far the most popular captain in FNWSL. She typically gets the armband from between 30%-38% of managers each week. Barbra Banda is the second-most popular pick – generally around 17% each week. Going into Round 6, no other player was captained by more than 5% of FNWSL managers. So really, any other player could be considered a differential at captain!

Considering the number of goals scored by the Kansas City Current, many FNWSL managers would look there first for alternative options. There are plenty of great choices in KC, but the issue is that it can be tricky to predict which players will get significant minutes each week. Other than Chawinga, Lo’eau LaBonta is the only KC attacker that has started each game so far, and Ellie Wheeler and Kayla Sharples are the only DFs that have done so. Loading up your roster with Currenters is still a good idea, but I probably wouldn’t captain anyone besides Chawinga unless the KC XI is released before the FNWSL deadline (it’s possible but doubtful this week, as the Seattle-KC match will kickoff 2.5 hours after the deadline). Among Current players, Debinha is typically the only one (other than Chawinga) captained by more than 1% of FNWSL managers.

It’s worth noting that Chawinga was a halftime sub in North Carolina last week, but we should have KC’s injury report before the deadline for you to make your decisions!

Esther has been on a heater over the last few weeks (seven goals in four matches) and has rocketed all the way to the league lead in fantasy points. As pointed out by NWSL Analytics (@nwslstat.bsky.social), she’s probably due for some negative regression due to her incredible shot efficiency, but she does have a good matchup this week vs. Chicago in the Pizza Rivalry. Her Gotham teammate Sarah Schupansky also went off again in Round 5, and should be in the captaincy mix as well in Round 6. Esther got the armband from 2% of managers last week, and Schupansky less than 1%.

There is also a long list of defenders consistently scoring high points each week. Orlando already has three clean sheets and only four goals conceded overall, so Pride DFs are probably the best DF captain options. I personally would pick Kerry Abello because of her involvement in the attack, but any of the starting DFs are good choices, and all are typically captained by only 1-2% of managers in any given week.

Which low-cost players are racking up the minutes?

If you do pick one of the premium-price FWs as your captain, and especially if you’re starting Chawinga and Banda as well, you’ll need to save money elsewhere on your roster. We’ve talked about the $75k first-year players quite a bit so far this season: Lily Reale, Sarah Schupansky, Taylor Huff, etc. But there are several other low-cost players you should consider as well, and some more first-year players emerging.

One way to pick which players you want to bring in is to focus on players that have been getting consistent minutes for their NWSL teams over the first couple months of the season. Since they’re playing every week, you know they have a high floor for FNWSL points, and if they happen to snag a goal or clean sheet, you’re really in business! Other than the aforementioned trio, here are some other low-cost players that are racking up the minutes (all are priced at $75k unless otherwise noted):

• DF Jordyn Bugg: 6 starts, 540 minutes
• FW Riley Tiernan: 6 starts, 501 minutes
• MF Janni Thomsen: 5 starts, 464 minutes
• MF Angharad James-Turner ($100k): 5 starts, 450 minutes
• FW Gia Corley: 5 starts, 342 minutes

All are great options, but I really like the upside of Jordyn Bugg and Angharad James-Turner. Seattle’s only conceded twice over the past three matches and the Reign are tied for third in GA, so a clean sheet is definitely a possibility. Furthermore, James-Turner is leading the team in tackles and blocks and is in the mix on corner kicks, while Bugg is second in clearances and interceptions. Neither are on more than 3% of all FNWSL teams, so both are ideal differential options too!

What are your plans for Round 7? Comment or tweet @MansersAnswers!