Our Fantasy EPL 22/23 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 highlights Fantrax Fantasy EPL Sleepers from Aston Villa, as we highlight three potential hidden gems for the new season! Click here for details on how you can access our 22/23 Draft Kit.
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Aston Villa Sleepers
As noted above, these are potential Fantrax Sleepers from Aston Villa. These Fantasy EPL players are likely to be drafted in the later rounds. Read below for three under the radar players who could provide excellent value in your pre-season draft.
Emi Martinez
Position: Goalkeeper
21/22 Points: 230.25 (11th best goalkeeper)
21/22 Points Per Start: 6.4 (36 starts)
22/23 Projected Points Per Start: 7.1 (36 starts)
Recommended Draft Pick: 160 or later (12 Team League: Round 14 or later)
Overview: Coming off a down year, Emi will be near the bottom of the goalkeeper board for most. But his 2020/2021 numbers show he has it in his locker to be a top keeper. Decent punt, especially if Villa shore up the defense.
Like most of the rest of Aston Villa last season, Emi Martinez was underwhelming in real life and in fantasy EPL. Midtable among goalkeepers; he went from 1st to 11th. His 6.4 pps this campaign was a shell of his 10.3 pps from 2020/2021, when he was the top goalkeeper and 28th highest overall scorer. This led many - not yours truly, of course - to draft him as early as the 9th round last season. Folks have hopefully learned to never draft a goalkeeper that early. But they will also likely overreact to this dramatic fall from grace and leave Martinez until the latter part of the run on goalkeepers in this draft.
This should provide a good opportunity to nick him at value. Villa's defense should improve with the addition of Diego Carlos (mentioned below) and with more time to adapt to Stevie G's system. We've yet to see what that system is but we have been told that he does indeed have one. All boats will be lifted, including Martinez's, who should get more saves and cleansheets. Based on his astronomical 2020/2021 campaign, when he had 142 saves & 15 cleansheets (compared to just 95 & 11 this past season), we know he can be a top fantasy asset between the sticks. He likely won't hit those lofty heights from the season before last but could get close, making him worthy of a late punt as goalkeepers come off the board.
Tyrone Mings
Position: Defender
21/22 Points: 231.5 (26th best defender)
21/22 Points Per Start: 6.7 (36 starts)
22/23 Projected Points Per Start: 7.4 (26 starts)
Recommended Draft Pick: 160 or later (12 Team League: Round 14 or later)
Overview: Up & down season for the captain and was largely un-rosterable for much of 2021/2022. But new boy Diego Carlos should help shore up a porous backline, lead to more clean sheets, and help Mings' numbers.
Tyrone Mings can be a commanding presence in one instance and commit an error that leads directly to a goal in the next. He and his partner Ezri Konsa had some gaffes in them. While Villa chalked up 11 cleansheets - 7th most in the EPL - it was still fewer than the previous campaign. And Mings' 7ish ghost points per game were not enough to make him anything better than a streamer for most of the campaign.
What's changed? Well, the new back 4 of Digne, Mings, highly-touted transfer Diego Carlos, & Matty Cash should gel and they'll have new CDM Kamara in front of them breaking up attacks. The defensive solidity is sure to improve. Carlos & Kamara will ensure Mings has far fewer fires to put out, which by many accounts, should free him up to focus on his game. He has the ability to get forward and is also a set piece threat. The big fella did nick a goal and 4 assists last season - not bad for a CB. Will Carlos steal some ghost points or even some starts (with Konsa alongside him)? A very late round pick is likely worth it to find out, especially given Villa's relatively kind schedule early doors.
Leon Bailey
Position: Forward
21/22 Points: (66th best forward)
21/22 Points Per Start: 4.4 (5 starts, excluding early exits)
22/23 Projected Points Per Start: 7.4 (9 starts)
Recommended Draft Pick: 110 or later (12 Team League: Round 10 or later)
Overview: Arrived with much fanfare but was a spectacular disappointment. He couldn't keep fit or nail down a starting role. It's difficult to see him supplanting Ings or Buendia in the XI. But he has bags of talent and should get an opportunity. This is a gamble that could pay off - and is somewhat low risk after the10th round.
Well, that ended in tears. Leon Bailey, the critically acclaimed transfer from Bayer Leverkusen, had a nightmare debut season in the Premier League. His initial substitute cameos resulted in a goal and 2 assists and had all of our collective mouths (some more than others; some = this author) watering. After his debut start on Halloween, it all went pear-shaped for Bailey. He only started 4 more games and would fail to deliver another attacking return the rest of the season, consistently picking up knocks along the way. His paltry 4.4 points per start is all he had to show for this season - a letdown of epic proportions.
The Jamaican winger was coming off a 15ppg/10+ghost points per game season in Germany. He is a gifted player and on his day he can light up the Premier League. But can Bailey stay fit and force his way into the starting eleven this campaign? The competition is rife - currently, Danny Ings and/or Emi Buendia are ahead of him in the pecking order for the 3rd attacker spot, unless Stevie G tweaks the formation. And his recent injury history, as noted above, gives us reason to be concerned. However, Villa won't give up on this investment just yet; surely he gets a chance to prove this worth this season. Bailey has tremendous upside if he can overcome these hurdles. A 10th round lotto ticket may reward the adventurous drafter willing to give him another shot.
Honorable Mention:
If there are no big new signings in the midfield, Douglas Luiz departs as expected, and he can lock down a starting role alongside McGinn, then Jacob Ramsey has all the makings of a sleeper. He put in some big performances last season but struggled for consistency. He is a good punt after Round 12 or so if you want to take a chance on a high upside mid.
More Fantasy Sleepers: Arsenal | Bournemouth | Brentford | Brighton | Chelsea | Crystal Palace | Everton | Fulham | Leeds | Leicester | Liverpool | Man City | Man United | Newcastle | Nottm Forest | Southampton | Tottenham | West Ham | Wolves
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