Our Fantasy EPL 21/22 Draft Kit promises to be the most comprehensive set of pre-season Draft Premier League articles ever produced! A key component of our Draft Kit will be the Team Preview articles which analyze key assets to sit alongside our all-important Draft Rankings. This article delves into the Best Fantrax Fantasy EPL Players from newly-promoted Watford!
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Watford Best Fantasy Players
As noted above, these are the Best Watford Players for the Fantrax Fantasy EPL platform. We analyze the Hornets' top three prospects ahead of the new season, with an estimated draft pick for each player.
Foreword
Watford are a bit of a mess right now. They've signed a bunch of fairly uninspiring attacking players and arguably their best player, Will Hughes, might leave if he doesn't sign a new contract. With so much uncertainty at the club right now, there aren't many exciting draft prospects to consider.
Ismaila Sarr
Position: Forward
20/21 Points: N/A (~404 in the Championship)
20/21 Points Per Start: N/A (~10.5 PP90 in the Championship)
Recommended Draft Pick: 65-75 (12 Team League: Round 6 to 7)
Overview: Watford's top scorer last season and will be their main attacking outlet again. His numbers aren't mouth-watering but will play 90 minutes almost every game. The only Watford player I'd draft in the first 10 rounds.
Sarr is by far and away the most exciting player in the Watford squad for fantasy purposes, but even his numbers aren’t particularly special when you compare him to someone like Buendia. The Senegalese winger is clearly talented, but 13 goals and 4 assists from 39 starts is solid, rather than spectacular.
The good news is that we have a vague idea of what to expect from him in the Premier League, given he became a regular for the Hornets when they got relegated in 2019/20. Back then he had a PP90 of 10.7 and we can probably expect something similar from him this season.
If they can keep hold of him (he's long been rumoured to be a Liverpool transfer target), Sarr will be crucial to Watford’s survival bid and will start almost every match. I think he’ll get close to the 300 point mark, which could see him finish in the top 50 players overall, but I’d draft him lower than that as his ceiling looks fairly low.
Francisco Sierralta
Position: Defender
20/21 Points: N/A (~237 in the Championship)
20/21 Points Per Start: N/A (~9.2 PP90 in the Championship)
Recommended Draft Pick: 133rd onwards. You should be able to get him later than that though. (12 Team League: Round 12)
Overview: Only became a regular half way through the season but quickly established himself as Watford's best defender. Good in the air.
The Chilean international was scouted by the Pozzo recruitment network and promptly shuttled off to Udinese in 2017. After a few loan spells, Sierralta made the inevitable move to Watford in September 2020. The lofty centre back barely got a look in under Vladimir Ivić, but became a regular under Xisco Muñoz and quickly became a fan favourite.
For Fantrax purposes, the most important thing to focus on is his aerial ability. He’s no Ethan Pinnock, but 3.8 aerials won per 90, with a success rate of 73%, is promising. Watford were excellent defensively last season (23 clean sheets and 30 goals conceded were both best in the Championship) and if they’re going to stay up, Sierralta will have a large part to play.
Adam Masina
Position: Defender
20/21 Points: N/A (~262 in the Championship)
20/21 Points Per Start: N/A (~12.2 PP90 in the Championship)
Recommended Draft Pick: Last couple of rounds only.
Overview: All-action left back who scores well in Fantrax but may not be first choice. One to keep tabs on.
Masina was injured for a large part of last season with a ‘tendon crack’, whatever that is. He got a good run in the side in the second half of the season and has all the tools to score well in Fantrax. Bear in mind that Watford have recently signed the Jose Mourinho Fan Club founder, Danny Rose, so we don’t know who is going to be first choice at this stage.
As you can see from his percentiles chart, Masina scores well in a number of different categories. He’s an active ball-winner but also gets likes to get forward. He even takes the odd direct free-kick. Masina averaged 8.3 PP90 when Watford were last in the Premier League, and I think he can better that this time around. However both his fitness issues and competition from Mr Rose make him a risky draft pick.
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