Having a few under the radar players in your back pocket is essential for a Fantasy EPL Draft. People will pick up the players you want. That's 100% going to happen. You need to delve a little deeper into the Average Draft Position (ADP) data to finish off your draft research... and that's where we're here to help! Find below 11 players who could provide excellent value towards the end of your draft. And even if you've already drafted, you could sign a couple of these players from the free agent pool!
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A Starting 11 of Sleepers
My self-imposed rule here is that all players featured must have an ADP of 150 or over. Therefore, you should be able to pick up these players between Rounds 13 to 16 of your Fantasy EPL Draft!
Tim Krul | Goalkeeper | Norwich City | ADP 150
My boy Tim Krul! I was so relieved to see that his ADP was within my 150 or over remit. I featured the Norwich shot-stopper in my Norwich City Sleepers article, and wrote at length about how Farke has tightened things up over the last year. I am quietly optimistic that the Canaries will perform ok in defence, which means that Krul shouldn't be giving up a crazy number of goals. He will make plenty of saves though. I see the Dutchman as a Johnstone/Areola type from last season, and would happily draft him during the final few rounds.
Ben Godfrey | Defender | Everton | ADP 164
Ben Godfrey is a defender in Fantrax!!! This season we'll finally be able to use the Everton and England youngster! Godfrey had a really impressive debut season with the Toffees after signing from Norwich for around £30m. The versatile defender also made it into the preliminary Euros squad, and made his debut for the national side prior to the tournament. This year I think Godfrey will go from strength to strength, establishing himself under new manager Benitez and becoming a regular feature in England squads.
If we delve into the numbers from last season, Godfrey would have scored 205.5 points if he was classified as a defender and the updated Fantrax Default Scoring system was in place. That would have made him the 38th best defender. Not bad at all. Godfrey is well worth a punt towards the end of your draft, as Everton face an Ings-less Southampton side in Gameweek 1!
Ethan Pinnock | Defender | Brentford | ADP 165
Thanks to amazing work from Drafterthoughts, we're able to see that Ethan Pinnock has potential as a Fantrax asset. As outlined in the Brentford Sleepers article, the man-mountain of a CB is incredible in the air and is worth a late round draft pick for that alone. Last season Pinnock averaged 10.4 Points Per 90, and a very high 9.7 Ghost Points Per 90. The lad is not clean sheet dependent, probably because he won 220 aerial duels last season! Anyway, he's a nice little sleeper and your league mates probably won't have taken the time to find out who he is.
Joel Matip | Defender | Liverpool | ADP 161
With Van Dijk and Gomez re-gaining their fitness after long injury absences, and new signing Konate still settling in, I think Joel Matip is almost guaranteed to start for Liverpool in Gameweek 1. Who do they play? Norwich City. The Cameroonian defender does score really well in Fantrax and could potentially help your season get off to a flyer. I would strongly recommend looking at Matip for a Round 15/16 punt ahead of the opening game of the season. You'll probably need to drop him in a few weeks time, but this one is worth it for the short-term gain. Matt Lowton (ADP 160) is another good option if you're looking for a Gameweek 1 defender. Burnley face Brighton in what I would imagine will be a low scoring affair.
Nat Philips | Defender | Liverpool | ADP 154
And for my final defender, I'll highlight a player who currently has pretty poor prospects, but could really benefit from a transfer between now and the end of August. Nat Phillips. The Liverpool defender performed well in real life during the season run-in, and kind of amazingly in Fantrax! The giant of a CB dominated in the air for the Reds, and pretty consistently put up incredible scores. Phillips' game is pretty well suited to the Fantrax Default Scoring System, pretty much because he gets one point for every aerial he wins! If the big man gets a move to a mid-table Premier League club, he has great potential. Take a punt on him towards the end of the draft... it's better than drafting someone like Coleman, Perraud or Dunk who you'll likely drop in a few weeks time.
Ryan Fraser | Midfielder | Newcastle | ADP 160
In the 2018/19 season Ryan Fraser scored 487 points and was the 6th highest overall scorer. Since then, he's been pretty shocking. His debut season with Newcastle during the 2020/21 campaign wasn't great, but he did show glimpses of his Fantrax potential: 24 points without an attacking return during the 2-1 defeat to Crystal Palace on February 2nd. This is exactly why Fraser is worth a punt towards the end of the draft. If he can recapture anywhere near to his previous form then he's going to be worth the punt! If he starts the season on the bench with limited opportunities, then just drop him.
Matt Ritchie | Midfielder | Newcastle | ADP 162
Matt Ritchie is another Newcastle asset who is currently fairly undervalued during draft season. The Scotsman established himself in the side at left wing-back last season, and I see him continuing in that slot. Ritchie offers pretty decent ghost points and could be a fairly reliable MID4/5 to pick up during the final few rounds. Jacob Murphy (ADP 155) is a similarly decent pick. Not as consistent, but more explosive. Murphy was featured in our Newcastle Sleepers article.
Moussa Djenepo | Midfielder | Southampton | ADP 197
With the shocking news of Danny Ings' exit from Southampton, this opens the door for several of their fringe players. Considering the speed of the deal, I doubt the Saints have a replacement lined up. Therefore, this could mean that Redmond or Walcott are pushed further forward, allowing Moussa Djenepo to stake a claim for a starting berth. The Malian midfielder has shown decent Fantrax potential over the last couple of seasons, but he's never performed consistently well. Maybe this could be Djenepo's time. Hassenhutl has also mentioned that he could see minutes at left-back after impressing during training and pre-season.
Callum Hudson-Odoi | Midfielder | Chelsea | ADP 150
Now this one is obviously a high risk, high reward type of punt. Chelsea have an insanely good, and insanely big squad. The chances of Callum Hudson-Odoi establishing himself in the Chelsea starting eleven are pretty low. But if he manages to start one game in every three or four, you could have yourself a pretty good prospect on your hands. Hudson-Odoi looks to be the back-up option at right wing-back, but with Lukaku's return to Chelsea looking increasingly likely, I would expect a small increase in prospects for the wing-backs whipping in crosses. If you're towards the end of the draft and have a choice between Hudson-Odoi, Hojbjerg, Bissouma, or Partey, take the potentially explosive option in Hudson-Odoi.
Ross Barkley | Midfielder | Chelsea | ADP 165
And I'm finishing off the midfield with another Chelsea asset... but one who I wouldn't expect to be playing for Chelsea when the transfer window closes. Last season I snapped up Ross Barkley prior to his loan move to Villa, and I will be looking to do the same this year. I can't see him staying at Chelsea for the upcoming season. Barkley is worth a punt in the final few rounds in the expectation that he gets a loan move to a mid-table side, and becomes a decent MID4 option!
Cucho Hernandez | Forward | Watford | ADP N/A
I've mentioned Drafterthoughts a couple of times already in this article. The reason being that he's far more knowledgeable and intelligent than myself. This week he highlighted Cucho Hernandez in our staff Slack channel and I was intrigued. The Colombian international forward has been impressive during pre-season, and despite the fact that he's never actually played for Watford since signing for the club in 2017, he might have a chance of making an impact this season. Round 16 punt!
Here's a few reasons why a last round punt on Hernandez could work out:
Watford have lots of players and a relatively new manager - their team is hard to predict so he could get game time
Hernandez has played in La Liga for the last three seasons, so does have big league experience
Last season he gained 8.7 Points Per 90 (18 starts), and in 2019/20 he gained 10.3 Points Per 90 (17 starts)
If you're in need of a forward at the end of the draft, there really won't be many options!
Or Hernandez could easily just be another Dodi Lukebakio. A player Watford sign on the cheap, loan him out for a few years whilst he develops, and then sell him on for profit!
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